IOOS Awards $31Million for Ocean Observing

U.S. IOOS is proud to announce the awarding of over $31 million in grants to support ocean, coastal and Great Lakes observing efforts throughout the United States, Caribbean and Pacific.

Photo credit: IOOS

The funds are distributed primarily in the form of five-year cooperative agreements, augmented by funds from other federal offices and agencies, as well as outside groups including: NOAA’s Office Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program (OAP), the National Weather Service (NWS), NOAA Fisheries (NMFS), NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey (OCS), NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service (NESDIS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), and the IOOS Association. Some additional funding is directed through the Ocean Technology Transition (OTT) project at IOOS, which sponsors the transition of emerging technologies to operational mode.

These cooperative agreements are a fundamental activity for IOOS. It not only fulfills requirements set forth in the 2009 ICOOS Act, which establishes a national-level integrated system, but it also forms the foundation on which the system stands. An integrated system that serves global needs depends on cooperation, clear data standards, shared data, and the development and maintenance of projects and technology that address existing needs to build a system that addresses the needs of the many. By pairing regional systems who are connected to the communities where they work with the national system and working together, we’re able to establish and maintain a network of people, technology, and data, customized to real needs, that helps us understand and forecast changes in our ocean and climate, prepare for and respond to coastal disasters, and balance the needs of resource use, economic development, and environmental stewardship.

Goals for these new agreements are wide ranging, but focus on increasing the availability and accessibility of data, and on maintaining and expanding the ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes observing capabilities throughout the country.