Overview
Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) received National Ocean Service (NOS) stimulus funding to meet over 2 workshops to identify how both programs can work together to support NOS and program goals.
- Click here to access Phase I Workshop materials held January 21-22, 2016
- Click here to access Phase II Workshop materials held September 13-14, 2016
- Click here to access Final Workshop Documents
What's Next
The IOOS-NERRS partnership has a session titled: "Collaborating across geographic scales: integrating estuarine and coastal ocean information”. This session will bring together those who are conducting real-time monitoring of estuarine/coastal ecosystems, interpreting and analyzing monitoring data, and/or applying these data to ecosystem-based management. Outcomes of this session will be an improved understanding of large spatial/temporal-scale changes in coastal ecosystems and the emergence of collaborations and applications of these observing networks across broader geographic and temporal scales.
We are also planning to host a lunch event on Thursday, November 9th to discuss the possibility of transferring this effort to other areas of the U.S. Details TBD.
A number of people on our project team are presenting at the session.
The east coast and gulf IOOS Regional Associations and NERRs were invited to the first workshop at the Guano-Tolomato Matanzas (GTM) National Estuarine Research Reserve in St. Augustine, Florida January 21-22, 2016. At this workshop, IOOS RA and NERRS representatives met to identify program commonalities and brainstorm on ways to develop an enhanced offshore-nearshore-inshore network to better understand the impacts of weather and climate on coastal ecosystems, including coastal communities. Below are some of the documents supporting and summaries of the workshop. There are plans to schedule the next workshop in the early fall 2016 in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Sponsored by: NOAA NOS
Location: GTM – St. Augustine, FL
Date: January 21-22, 2016
Meeting Materials:
- Meeting Agenda
- Workshop Participant List
- Meeting Summary
- Short Meeting Summary for Participants
- NERR and IOOS RA Interview Summary
- Background Information (Excel)
- NERRS-IOOS Phase 1 Meeting Two Pager
Presentations:
- IOOS 101 (Jennifer Bosch, US IOOS)
- NERRS: A Programmatic Overview (Marie H. Bundy, NOAA Office for Coastal Management)
- The Benefits of Integrated Environmental Monitoring / Observing in Supporting Science to Inform Decision Making: Brief Case Studies (Dwayne E. Porter, University of South Carolina)
- Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Overview (Dr. Michael Shirley, GTM NERR)
- Monitoring Ecosystem Change: A Partnership Approach (Paul Stacey, Great Bay NERR)
NERRS-IOOS Phase II Workshop
For the second of two NOS funded workshops between IOOS and NERRS - the east coast IOOS Regional Associations and NERRs representatives were invited to the Jacques Cousteau NERR in Tuckerton, NJ on September 13-14, 2016. Stemming from the discussions from the Phase I workshop, participants of this Phase II workshop discussed the operating structure of this new NERRS-IOOS monitoring network as well as a project proposal to demonstrate the integration of observations collected with both programs to respond to extreme events.
Building on the success of this demonstration project, participants also began planning the development of a decision support tool to aid in decisions surrounding the potential impacts of coastal inundation. Below are some of the documents supporting and summarizing the workshop, including a list of actions to move this network and its project plans forward into FY17.
Sponsored by: NOAA NOS
Location: Jacques Cousteau NERR in Tuckerton, NJ
Date: September 13-14, 2016
Pre-Workshop Materials
- Workshop Agenda and Participants
- NERRS-IOOS Data Manager Contacts
- NERRS-IOOS Integration of Observations: A Demonstration Project Proposal
- A project designed to demonstrate the value of and obstacles to integrating and analyzing IOOS and NERRS observation data to assess the impact of events, like Hurricane Joaquin, on inshore to offshore water quality along the East Coast. Ultimately, this led to the submission of an abstract to the CERF 2017 Session.
- NERRS-IOOS Proposed Pilot Project: Species of Concern Alerts
- A Species of Concern Alert that requires the integration of NERRS and IOOS data sets across multiple regions with a benefits to fisheries management.
- A Species of Concern Alert that requires the integration of NERRS and IOOS data sets across multiple regions with a benefits to fisheries management.
Post-Workshop Materials
- Workshop Summary
- Workshop Action Items
- The attendees identified next steps for moving the process forward, including the development of the Framework document below.
Final Workshop Documents
- NOS NERRS-IOOS Collaborative Coastal Observing Network One-Pager (updated July 2017)
- NERRS-IOOS Framework for a Collaborative Observing Network
- This version represents the final iteration of a Framework document based on the results of the workshop and input from participants. It is currently our guiding document and describes the ways that the NERRS and IOOS programs can work collaboratively to characterize the inshore to the offshore coastal environment to address ecosystem changes, public health concerns, and inform management. It also describes existing collaborative partnerships. Looking forward, this Framework will help support the development of new tools that inform managers about recurring events like coastal storms, hypoxia, and coastal acidification.