Bulletins

Dr. CJ Beegle-Krause, Dr. Deborah French McCay, and Chris Galagan will instruct a pre-conference workshop that will provide an overview of a variety of spill case histories with discussion of the science that governs how spills behave. Observations discussed include overflight maps, beach surveys and simple oceanographic sampling. Different types of trajectory modeling will be demonstrated, including working with multiple (stochastic) trajectory simulations. Students will learn the basics of how to put together a spill timeline from the past to the present and into the future using field information and predictions, and how to integrate results with GIS applications such as ArcView® and Google Earth.

On June 12, 2009, President Obama sent a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and federal agencies establishing an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The Task Force is charged with developing a recommendation for a national policy that ensures protection, maintenance, and restoration of oceans, our coasts and the Great Lakes. It will also recommend a framework for improved stewardship, and effective coastal and marine spatial planning. On 24 September, Lauren Decker, Lee Dooley, Kelly Knee, and Christin Reynolds, attended the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force Public Meeting held in Providence, RI. ASA gave specific recommendations to close the gap between science and policy through public private partnerships related to marine spatial planning, eco-system based management, and data integration to the Task Force representatives along with testimony from other private, public, and non-profit organizations.

ASA's CJ Beegle-Krause was interviewed by the New York Times for an interesting article about Lagrangian coherent structures. She also brought in Search and Rescue expert Art Allen of the U.S. Coast Guard to contribute to the story. Very interesting piece on front page of the New York Times Science section. (www.nytimes.com/pages/science).

Applied Science Associates (ASA) has enabled public access to real-time data from the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) Sound Predictions 2009 Prince William Sound (PWS) experiment through Google Earth. ASA has integrated data from PWS experiment's ocean observing systems and models to create Google Earth KML files which are hosted using Amazon cloud computing. Amazon S3 storage enables efficient distribution of large datasets by dividing the work among computers based in data centers around the globe. From July 19-Aug 3, the experimental scientific collaborative will be evaluating regional forecast models for their effectiveness in predicting wind, waves, and ocean circulation in Prince William Sound. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), gliders, and drifters will be used to roam Prince William Sound in an effort to collect scientific data in the 2-week field test called Sound Predictions 2009 (www.aoos.org).

ASA has been added to the Dewberry and Davis team that holds a contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center (CSC). The Coastal Geospatial Services Contract (CGSC) is an Architectural and Engineering Contract vehicle to provide geospatial services. As well as a support contract for NOAA, this contract is also available to other federal, state, and local agencies through Memorandums of Understanding and offers a variety of geospatial services.

ASA is on a team of companies lead by ERG that was recently awarded a contract with the US EPA to provide technical support services to its office of Oceans and Coastal Protection Division (OCPD). OCPD is one of three divisions within the EPA Office of Wetlands, Ocean, and Watersheds and it operates under major environmental legislation, such as the Clean Water Act, and under international treaties such as MARPOL. OCPD has the responsibility to manage and oversee programs intended to protect the oceans, estuaries and coastal waters of the US. The OCPD mission is to protect human health and the environment, reduce risk to human and aquatic life from pollutants, and restore and maintain the environmental benefits and uses of water bodies and their surrounding environments.

ASA's Christin Reynolds and Melanie Schroeder attended the "Northeast Regional Workshop on Marine Spatial Planning" on 8-9 June in Warwick, Rhode Island. With growing human ocean uses, changing climates and habitats marine spatial planning could provide a framework to minimize conflicts, protect ecologies and plan for strong ocean economies. The workshop was hosted by The Nature Conservancy, Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Attendees included several federal and state government marine policy and resource managers, as well as non-government and academic research scientists. Workshop activities included break-out sessions and work groups discussing regional data availability and overall goals of marine spatial planning. Guest speakers included U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Grover Fugate (RI CRMC), and Bruce Carlisle (MA CZM).

ASA has acknowledged World Oceans Day on June 8 and will celebrate all this week. The United Nations General Assembly decided that, as from 2009, 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as “World Oceans Day” (resolution 63/111, paragraph 171). The concept for World Oceans Day was proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and it had been unofficially celebrated every year since then. Official designation by the U.N. is a significant step in conserving and protecting our world's ocean.

The 1st Annual Matunuck Eco Concert was held on May 20, 2009 at Theater by the Sea with live musical performances by the Matunuck Elementary School Chorus to benefit Save the Bay (Narragansett Bay). The environmentally conscious fundraiser was the brainchild of 5th grader Cameron Burke and featured the music of Jack Johnson. The event was sponsored by Applied Science Associates (ASA).

The ASA biological team headed by Deborah French McCay, presented a poster outlining the ESVI modeling approach at the Rhode Island Natural History Survey’s 13th Annual Conference on 23 April in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The conference was titled “Rhode Island’s Off-Shore Marine Ecosystem and the Potential Impacts of Energy Development.”

On March 11, Cyclone Hamish whipped up seas off the Queensland coast as the cargo ship Pacific Adventurer lost 250 tons of oil as 31 shipping containers packed with ammonium nitrate fertilizer slipped from its decks in the rough weather. Some of the 20 foot metal shipping containers punched holes in the cargo ship's hull, allowing its bunker fuel oil to spill into the sea and eventually wash up on beaches nearby onshore.

Asia-Pacific ASA's response was immediate, delivering an oil spill prediction to AMSA (Australian Maritime Safety Authority) within 74 minutes of notification (deadline was 90 minutes). Using OILMAP™, ASA's first prediction was spot on.

The Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island erected and commissioned the state's second utility-scale, megawatt-sized wind turbine. The small town is recognized as a successful model in municipal sustainable energy projects that can offset rising town budgets and provide clean energy at the same time. Many people in the state, including ASA's wind energy expert, Daniel Mendelsohn, who worked on the project, applaud Portsmouth's leadership and commitment in perusing alternative energy solutions at the municipal level.

With only oars to power him, Paul Ridley attempts a historic solo trans-Atlantic expedition for the cause of cancer research, as he rows for 10-12 hours per day with little help coming from anything more than favorable ocean currents and wind direction. When the wind, waves, and currents don't cooperate, the journey called Row for Hope, becomes more challenging and uncertain. ASA's SARMAP and EDS: Environmental Data Server-a combination of search and rescue technology and real-time and forecast ocean data system was voluntarily used by Jonathan Cornelius, of Antigua Barbuda Search and Rescue (ABSAR), to look at possible drift scenarios for family and friends who are anxiously awaiting Paul's landing in Antigua.

ASA's EDS: Evironmental Data Server and SAROPS are highlighted in this Scientific American Ask the Experts Interview.

To find out how authorities go about finding those lost at sea or in other vast waters, ScientificAmerican.com spoke with Art Allen, a physical oceanographer with the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue and lead collaborator with ASA on the development of SAROPS: Search & Rescue Optimal Planning System.