Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association MARACOOS CARA GCOOS
SECOORA’s Structure 3 full time staff, plus contract support 24 member Board of Directors Policy Committees Board Development, Governance, Finance & Audit, Public Policy Program Committees Science Advisory, Operations & Maintenance, DMAC, Outreach and Education Over 40 members Make into two column slide
Who are our Members? Over 40 representatives from academia, industry, government agencies, and NGOs Why become a member? Provide input into data and information products Leverage organization’s monitoring/observation activities Participate in collaborative opportunities and networking Set regional priorities Access to coastal and ocean related educational products and materials 37th institutional member in process: Georgia Aquarium
What do we do? Sustain SECOORA as a Regional Information Coordination Entity Sustain an Observing Subsystem Moored and Coastal Stations and High Frequency Radar (HFR) Support a Multi-Scale Multi-Resolution Modeling Subsystem Enhance Data Management and Communications Support a Targeted and Leveraged Education and Outreach Subsystem
Success Stories Basic Observational Buoy (BOB) Educational project for universities and high schools to address STEM disciplines "This model has reduced the sampling burden for our Regional staff; but the major benefit has been the Department's quicker response time for posting beach advisories and subsequent enhancement of our agency's primary mission of protecting the public health." David E. Tilson, PE Chief, Bureau of Water, SCDHEC Water Quality Modeling Cross RA effort to enhance prediction and analysis of bacterial public health concern
Success Stories Marine Weather Portal Provides marine observations, forecasts, and warnings for coastal and offshore waters Oil Spill Response Many members contributed resources and expertise to understanding the impacts and movement of the spill
Where are we going? Challenges…SECOORA is a big region with many legacy systems Plans to overcome include: Developing, in coordination with IOOS and other RAs, a 10 year build out plan Focusing on end products with stakeholder feedback at every level – from the build out plan to the final product Strong integration with other regional entities, especially the Governors' South Atlantic Alliance Continuing cross-RA communication and coordination
Contact Information Debra Hernandez Executive Director SECOORA debra@secoora.org 843.906.8686 www.secoora.org