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Business Plan
Please read this document before the annual members meeting.
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This document is also available as an Adobe PDF • Word Document • Open Document ContentsBusiness Plan for the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association – v1.1 1.0 Executive Summary The Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association (SECOORA) is envisioned as a regional System of Systems that will effectively link ocean observing system elements operated by separate entities and funded by a variety of sources within the southeastern US. To realize maximum benefit, the whole must operate as one; it must be planned, coordinated, and managed as a system. The following Business Plan is intended to provide a framework to guide the development of the Regional Association (RA) and establish how priorities and goals are set. The governance plan for the RA is listed in Appendix A.
SECOORA will produce data and products in response to user requirements identified by its members. These requirements fall within the seven broad objectives of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS):
The role of Regional Associations (RA) in IOOS is to provide oversight in development and operation of the Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System (RCOOS) in accordance with the philosophy and guidelines developed by Ocean.US (Appendix B for preliminary RCOOS design document). A regional approach was chosen by the IOOS community to encompass coastal areas linked by common circulation systems and corresponding ecosystems, and to be responsive to regional concerns. The RAs are being established to design, implement, operate and improve their RCOOS. The regional efforts are intended to determine the appropriate resolution at which variables are measured, supplement the variables measured by the national backbone, provide data and information tailored to the requirements of stakeholders in the region, and implement programs to improve public awareness and education. The value for IOOS is predicated on the intention to build an infrastructure that will enable SECOORA to leverage its investment in environmental observations, systems, and services so that these assets can be applied to other initiatives that generate value to citizens and economies. Within a regional enterprise such as SECOORA, we need to make decisions on what applications and services we intend to embrace (based upon the needs and requirements of our local user groups). However, this growth needs to be done in such a way as to preserve our agility so that transitions in emphasis or application can be made as users’ needs shift or evolve. For example, we may make the case that improved spatial/temporal assessments of water quality/beach health is essential to maintaining growth in our tourism industry, but Federal and State budgets may end up being more aligned with Homeland Security issues. Thus, improving Marine Situational Awareness through the exploitation of civil assets may become a more sensible focus area that would enable SECOORA to build the infrastructure needed to move towards self-sufficiency.
SECOORA must have an infrastructure capable of evolving with changing expectations. As such, SECOORA will develop products and services and fill infrastructure gaps within the context of regional priorities. By addressing discovery, access, and interoperability within the federal and regional guidelines, we also enable others beyond our boundaries to exploit our data, information, products, and services in ways that benefit other regions as well as SECOORA. This improves the value proposition for our investment and also enables us to remain agile so that SECOORA can evolve in response to shifting federal and state budgets and shifting priorities among our user base.
SECOORA consists of three interconnected subsystems:
These subsystems support two primary activities:
Development of a complete system will likely take decades. This document describes the design to meet 5-year goals. Designing an RCOOS for the SE US that can effectively address the IOOS societal goals requires consideration of a number of factors, including the SE environmental/oceanic setting, existing capabilities, and anticipated resources. Complete implementation of the SECOORA RCOOS will be an incremental process. The range of temporal and spatial scales over which coastal ocean processes operate requires that both observations and models provide a robust and multi-purpose estimation and prediction system. The range of applications implied by the broad societal goals for the IOOS also dictates that a "nested" strategy will be required for the allocation of resources. Some degree of sub-regional to local focus will also be required for the RCOOS to serve in a Research & Development role for the RA, e.g., providing technology testbeds.
Since resources for the RA are presently limited and future funding is uncertain, SECOORA will direct its efforts towards focused data collection, aggregation and assimilation, and the rapid delivery of products that advance regional priorities. To achieve these goals, SECOORA will concentrate on three of the seven broad IOOS objectives in the Business Plan and RCOOS Design during the initial one to five year time frame. The three targeted objectives are: 1. Facilitating safe and efficient marine operations (Marine Commerce), such as, Search and Rescue; 2. Preserving and restoring healthy Marine Ecosystems, such as, fisheries and monitoring water quality; and, 3. Predicting and mitigating against coastal hazards, such as, short term coastal inundation resiliency & long term sea level rise.
Each of the priorities relies on accurate representation of the physical state of the coastal ocean. While physical variables will be the initial focus for observations in the developing RCOOS, this does not imply the system will serve only as a physical oceanographic estimation system. Rather, this reflects the present state of sensor development and maintenance for the existing biological and chemical sensors, and recognition of physical processes as driving biogeochemical and ecological processes. As more robust, cost-effective technologies become available for measuring chemical and biological properties, these will be incorporated into the RCOOS in a coordinated, multidisciplinary manner. Given the close coupling of physical processes with chemical and biological processes in the coastal ocean, an initial physics-based RCOOS observational design will also serve interdisciplinary needs, including implementing ecosystem-based management practices in the SE coastal ocean.
During the 5-year period, SECOORA will execute regional pilot programs to develop and test physical state estimations for the SE coastal ocean in support of specific applications, including forecasting models for coastal ocean circulation, coastal inundation, surface gravity waves and regional marine meteorology. These pilot programs will be coordinated with similar efforts by neighboring RA’s to maximize impact, ensure efficient use of available resources and establish consistent data management. The observations will validate the models, and will be used for assimilation, from which forecasts and products of known accuracy will be produced.
A dynamic SECOORA Sensor Inventory will be established to provide up-to-date databases and maps of regional observing capabilities (locations, sensors deployed, variables measured) and their operational status. Requirements for this include functional links between metadata and observations, and providing the capability to assess the quality of measurements made by specific sensors over time. Input procedures for data providers must be defined to insure that consistent data quality criteria are applied.
Data Management within the first year will focus on establishing the Southeast Ocean Data Partnership to build upon and codify data management procedures and processes established by sub-regional efforts within the SECOORA domain. For planning out to five years, SECOORA will be a proactive leader in the development and maintenance of an effective information management framework for the region. This framework will enable ready access to information from the observing and modeling subsystems. A distributed set of data providers will coordinate information exchange through a virtual regional information hub. Critical elements of the data management development include:
With respect to data analysis and data products, the observation network must be used for validation of model output. The complementary development of regional observing and modeling capabilities is essential to continued improvement of our understanding of processes in the SE coastal ocean and for providing coastal ocean state estimates. Ocean observations will never be dense enough to cover all scales of interest; therefore, in addition to providing end users with real-time observations, the deployment of observing assets must consider what is required to support a range of modeling systems.
Currently, SECOORA members have nowcast/forecast systems for coastal ocean circulation, running quasi-operationally for sub-regions of the SECOORA domain. Within the next five years, SECOORA should test nowcast/forecast systems for sub-regions that can support the priority applications. Modeling products can make an important contribution to an annual SECOORA document, which provides an assessment of state of the southeast coastal ocean, with an emphasis on quantitative descriptions of major events and detection of environmental and ecological change in the region.
For the SECOORA RCOOS to make effective use of technological advances, Marketing and Research & Development must be included in the Business Plan. Products and services must reflect requirements of regional users; therefore, market research is critical for planning and the creation of valued products. Regional user group workshops will be convened to refine and prioritize requirements in the three focus areas. The results of this effort will form the basis for prioritizing and coordinating further expansion of the observation network in support of product and service delivery.
To provide products beneficial to end users, a robust and ongoing program of market research combined with R&D is required to advance capabilities and transition specific information generating activities through the developmental stages of research, pilot projects, and pre-operational to operational status. The growth and changing needs of coastal populations will require the constant development of new information products, which will need to be coordinated with the private sector. Furthermore, as observing and modeling capabilities advance, there will be opportunities to provide new types of information and delivery systems to members. In most cases, significant R&D input will be required for the successful development of the desired products.
A closely related responsibility is to provide regional stewardship for the National Backbone, comprised of observing subsystem, modeling subsystem, and information management subsystem elements provided or supported by federal agencies. This stewardship includes assessment and utilization the National Backbone, and advocating for its enhancement. Coordinated planning for the joint evolution of the combined National Backbone and RCOOS assets and services will be required.
In summary, the SECOORA Business Plan is intended to address near term and longer term (out to five years) regional priorities, initially focusing on three of the seven IOOS societal goals. This regional approach will be carefully engineered to ensure that limited resources are effectively used and user benefits are maximized through smart data collection, aggregation and analysis, and product delivery. Discovery, access, and interoperability in an IOOS compliant manner will enable other RAs to exploit our data, information, products, and services. This approach also enables us to remain agile so that we can evolve our foci in response to shifting federal and state budgets and shifting priorities among our stakeholders. As resources remain uncertain, the near term should be based on current funding and the five year program built on enabling SECOORA to have a functional RCOOS.
2.0 BUSINESS CONCEPT/MISSION
2.1 SECOORA Identification
The name of this organization is the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (and referred to as SECOORA). This organization is in the process of establishing itself as a nonprofit entity incorporated under the laws of the State of South Carolina.
2.2 Mission Statement
SECOORA is to be designed, implemented
and operated as a not-for-profit entity to provide data, information
and products on marine and estuarine systems deemed necessary to the
users in a common manner and according to sound scientific practice.
SECOORA will serve the needs of users with measurements and data
transmission, data management and communications, and data analysis
and modeling. SECOORA will include the infrastructure and expertise
required for this system.
2.3 Location The geographic extent of SECOORA is the coastal zone and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the southeastern United States which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Florida is part of SECOORA and the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association. This joint designation reflects the overlapping and interrelated nature of regions. The coastal zone extends inland to the head of tidal affects in rivers. There are other regional coastal ocean observing systems along the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf coasts with which SECOORA will also coordinate: To the North, the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (MACOORA) and, to the southeast, Caribbean Regional Association (CARA).
2.4 Role of SECOORA in IOOS
SECOORA will coordinate and support the development, implementation, and operation of a regional coastal ocean observing system (RCOOS), as part of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), and to provide data and data products regarding the ocean to a diversity of users in a timely fashion, on spatial and temporal scales appropriate for their needs. The RCOOS that SECOORA operates is meant to address regional needs and supplement the federal coastal ocean environmental monitoring system (the “national backbone”) capabilities provided by various federal agencies in the Southeast (e.g., NDBC buoys and CMAN stations, NOAA PORTS systems, USGS stream gauges, USACE wave stations, etc.). SECOORA will eventually support the seven societal goals defined by IOOS; however, since resources for the RA are presently limited and future funding is uncertain, SECOORA will focus its efforts on data collection, management, aggregation, and assimilation, to support the following three IOOS goals that are of primary interest to the southeast region:
As the IOOS is implemented it is vital that essential components of the national backbone and the RCOOSs develop and maintain a high level of interoperability. For data and information flow, sets of standards must be established that enable data sharing among all components and a common set of tools and applications will be needed to enable seamless data discovery, archiving, and transfer. This work has begun with the Ocean.US DMAC plan and will continue within IOOS. SECOORA will actively participate in this national process. 3.0 SECOORA OPERATIONS PLAN
3.1 Observations and Transmission Subsystem Due to the range of temporal and spatial scales over which coastal ocean processes operate, both observations and models are essential for creation of a robust and multi-purpose estimation and prediction system. The range of applications implied by the broad societal goals dictates that a nested strategy will be required for the allocation of observing and modeling resources. The ability to download and process satellite remotely sensed data on a regional scale from all potential sources is critically needed as well.
To address the range of applications envisioned by SECOORA, a fundamental role for the RCOOS will be the routine operation of forecasting models. SECOORA will also provide observational data because of its stand-alone value. Determining the predictive skill of such models, and providing information that can improve forecasts through data assimilation, will require a robust observation and data transmission network, with appropriately formatted data and model products delivered to users through the RCOOS data management system. Since it is recognized that available resources will set limits to the observational assets that can be deployed and maintained in sustained operation, the implementation plan for the RCOOS in the SE will have to follow the SECOORA defined priorities (see 2.4)
The National Federation of Regional Associations (NFRA) has initiated the development of an up-to-date catalog of observing system assets maintained by the non-federal data providers in each of the Regional Associations (RAs). It is recognized that such asset inventories have been compiled in the past, but without a mechanism for continual update, these rapidly become obsolete. The initial NFRA approach will be to ask each data provider to maintain a list and status of assets and make this accessible via the web.
SECOORA is addressing the regional inventory of observing assets through reorganization and upgrade of a prototype system (developed by the SEACOOS program: http://seacoos.org/Research%20and%20Technology/Folder.Observing/Folder.EquipmentInventory). The initial objectives are to:
For implementation of the Observations and Data Transmission System (from inception out to year 5) see Appendix C.
3.2 Data Management and Communications Subsystem Data Management and Communications (DMAC) is one of three broad subsystems identified by Ocean.US for the national Integrated Ocean Observing Systems (IOOS) effort: 1) Observing, which is focused on remotely sensed and in situ measurements and their transmission from platforms; 2) Modeling and Analysis, focused on evaluation and forecasting of the state of the lake/ocean environment based upon measurements; and, 3) DMAC, the integrating component that coordinates the two and renders them available to users. Both IOOS and the RCOOS being developed across the country will have DMAC components and responsibilities. The SECOORA DMAC will coordinate and facilitate the distribution of data and information to and from system components, to and from other observing systems, and to end users at all levels. Access to data from components of the observing system should be facilitated by DMAC protocols and storage services. DMAC should also provide standards and access tools so that outputs from the Modeling and Analysis groups can be made available to scientists, policymakers, educators, the general public and other interested parties.
The Ocean.US DMAC Steering Team recommends the establishment of regionally-based data and information management systems, which address both the national priorities identified by Ocean.US and the needs of regional partners. As there is an enormous volume of near-real-time and historical data available from instruments measuring and monitoring the ocean and coastal waters and air of the southeastern US, the management of these widely distributed data requires a sophisticated system that can organize, retrieve, aggregate, document and disseminate data and derived information for a variety of purposes and applications.
The Information Management (IM) component of the IOOS is fundamental to its entire operation, in that it will provide the network of regional-to-global systems that enables the collection, aggregation, accessing, utilization, archival, and dissemination of data and information products. To advance the IOOS Data Management and Communications (DMAC) Subsystem, it will be necessary to establish a coordinated and cooperative network among the various regional systems and the users of IOOS products. It will also be necessary to establish a range of new capacities to establish this network and ensure its functionality at a range of temporal and spatial scales. The IOOS DMAC is envisioned to be comprised of the following components (First IOOS Development Plan, 2005):
The Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (SEACOOS) was originally established to coordinate coastal observing systems in the southeastern US, and create the capacity for meaningful assembly, integration and dissemination of data and information from these systems. With an initial scientific focus on the development of the capability to observe and accurately model the time-varying three-dimensional circulation and state fields in the coastal ocean from the Outer Banks to the Florida Panhandle, an IM component was identified as a priority to enable the integration and interfacing of the observation, modeling, and user application components of SEACOOS. With the transition of SEACOOS towards the implementation of a RA structure, the IM component of SEACOOS is being transitioned to SECOORA.
For implementation of the Data Management and Communications Subsystem (from inception out to year 5) see Appendix D.
3.3 Modeling and Analysis Subsystem The Modeling and Analysis Subsystem is the third component, with a mission to support three primary activities: Product and Services, Research and Development and Marketing/Outreach Planning. A need clearly exists for SECOORA to develop a strategic plan for data analysis, modeling and forecasting implementation that facilitates activities consistent with the three IOOS objectives that SECOORA has prioritized for the next 1-5 year period.
SECOORA will develop a variety of integrated, value-added products based on regional priorities. SECOORA’s marketing and public awareness campaigns will bridge the transfer of observed and modeled data to the appropriate user, thereby providing an “end to end” system, through data analyses and value added product development. There is a need to develop ongoing feedback mechanisms to ensure user-satisfaction with products developed under SECOORA guidance.
For this business plan, data analyses and modeling are activities that use observational data to create value-added products in support of an operational RCOOS. Products generated as part of these activities should:
3.3.1 Value added product identification (models and other products) SECOORA will support data collection, modeling, aggregation and assimilation, and product delivery activities. User requirements for product development will have to be identified by the SECOORA Marketing Committee. These assessments should be used to prioritize future resource allocations and to identify continued development of value-added products and support for data analysis tools, visualization tools, cyber infrastructure requirements.
Presently, several nowcast/forecast systems exist in the SECOORA domain. These include quasi-operational ocean circulation forecasting systems. They are based on primitive equation models, treat temperature and salinity stratification, have mesoscale resolution, and use realistic atmospheric, tidal, and open boundary forcing. Synoptic maps of sea surface currents, sea surface temperature, sea surface height, etc. are forecast for three days once a day. For standard release points, Lagrangian particle trajectories are forecast, too. Some provide 24/7 forecasts of wind, water level, wave, and inundation during the hurricane season and include nesting to local levels.
There are numerous other models in use within SECOORA for applications or process studies. A critical first step for SECOORA is to actively engage end users and members so that their needs can be used to help guide the existing or future modeling activities within SECOORA. At the same time, SECOORA is starting an effort to produce an inventory of current modeling activities. Several such inventories exist (e.g. the "Inventory of Hydrodynamic, Water Quality, and Ecosystem Models of Florida Coastal and Ocean Waters” compiled by Florida DEP) which provide a foundation for this effort.
Within the next five years, SECOORA should test and compare nowcast/forecast systems for sub-regions as well as the entire region that can support the priority applications. Modeling products can make an important contribution to an assessment of state of the southeast coastal ocean, permitting quantitative descriptions of major events and detection of environmental and ecological change in the region.
3.3.2 Gap Analysis There must be a complete inventory of products (available and under-development) within SECOORA. In the beginning, we will only focus on products that address the three SECOORA priority areas. SECOORA should establish a strategy to prioritize resource allocation for development of new data products.
Some value added products require different degrees of spatial and/or temporal coverage and/or additional types of observations (i.e. beyond backbone and core variables). For example, nowcast/forecast systems will need to be validated and verified with independent data sets; e.g., coastal sea level from tide gauges, coastal wave height and period from wave gauges, and coastal inundation from overland water level sensors. Procedures should be developed in coordination with the research and operations groups to ensure that deficiencies in collection networks are regularly re-evaluated with respect to data analyses and value-added product development. Changes in measurements may include: sampling frequency, sampling location, variables measured, rate at which data and information are delivered. Many of these observational changes will have to be made on a case by case basis; however, SECOORA should establish strategies for prioritizing these activities.
A mechanism for identifying those analyses needed to develop scientifically-sound QA/QC criteria and “on-the-fly” flags for real-time data should be developed in conjunction with the DMAC and operations working groups. Furthermore, generalized “error bars” are needed for all model output and other developed products. A plan must be developed to ensure that these analyses and results are periodically reviewed.
3.3.3 Operational Continuity Development of products (or simply data --- when data is the product) that rely on a continuous stream of observational data (e.g.. near realtime models) must be reliable, quality controlled, and have known error bars. For nowcast/forecast models, in particular, appropriate in situ data are needed for data assimilation (e.g. vertical profiles of temperature and salinity are particularly valuable). Additional data will be needed for nowcast/forecast verification and other process models. The availability of observational data must be coordinated with DMAC and observations groups to ensure that delivery of a product is not hindered by breaks in data flow. Procedures should be implemented that will monitor the flow of data and information among observing, DMAC, data analysis and modeling components. These procedures should also address appropriate calibration and servicing approaches for all mission-critical sensors not considered part of the national IOOS backbone.
Because data are a product, policies and error-checking protocols need to be in place so that data and value-added products are of known quality at all times (i.e. the level of accuracy for any data set used in a SECOORA function must be known at all times). The marketing working group should be engaged to ensure that this information (both for data and value-added products) is accessible to users within their particular decision loop, particularly those with mission critical tasks such as navigation and emergency response, which demand appropriate levels of accuracy and consistency at all times.
3.3.4 User Satisfaction To ensure that SECOORA goals and user-needs are being met, processes need to be in place for regular review of data and value-added product quality, delivery and accessibility by the appropriate user communities. Results of such reviews must be used to guide continued development and/or expansion of data products. The development of these processes will be coordinated with the observations (i.e. data collection/observations & telemetry) and marketing (i.e. cost-benefit of value added products) working groups. 4.0 MARKETING PLAN A primary function of SECOORA is to ensure that its operations are designed to fulfill the needs of the broader community. Although the SECOORA membership will include representatives of the broad user community, it will be important to assess the needs and priorities of stakeholders beyond the immediate membership so that the products and services developed have optimum utility. An assessment of these needs is essentially a “marketing plan,” so the SECOORA strategy can be largely based on existing methodologies. Market research is critical to a successful marketing plan. An initial plan is outlined below with more details given in Appendix E.
Establishing, satisfying and growing a user community will be critical to the survival of SECOORA but can not and should not be done in isolation. A number of institutions, both public (e.g. state and federal agencies) and private (e.g. the value-added industry) already provide products to potential SECOORA markets. The market plan is described generically in this document and does not specifically address the roles and responsibilities of participants in the marketing plan but a concept of operations is an obvious topic for further discussion.
4.1 Identifying our Market To fully understand our diverse market segments, Needs Assessments tailored to each target market must be completed. SECOORA will need to interview potential customers to understand their wants and needs and determine what motivates their buying decisions. This Needs Assessment will help SECOORA understand the target market size and how the market is segmented (the needs assessment is described in Appendix E, section 4.3.3). This process will help SECOORA understand the products and services that are of interest to our market segments. It also will allow SECOORA to gather customer information that is useful in product/service research and development and in developing a marketing plan for those identified products and services.
Output from this process should guide implementation planning. It should also be used in the pursuit of funding for SECOORA, providing justification for data development programs and new collaborative initiatives identified as relevant or needed. The following outline should guide the development of the user needs assessment.
4.2 Preliminary Target Market Summary
During years one to five, SECOORA will concentrate on markets affected by the three goals listed in section 2.4. Their information and product needs should to be validated through a preliminary needs assessment to gain a better understanding of their market segment. Information, products and services needs may overlap between target markets. Also, since SECOORA strongly supports outreach and education, the K-16 education market is also listed in this section. Targeted user groups include, but are not limited to:
4.3 Marketing Strategy The SECOORA business model is not a simple model with customer’s paying for SECOORA’s products or services. Figure 4.3 illustrates some of the business relationships that we expect to develop as SECOORA’s products and services become readily available. It is envisioned that the Federal Government will be the predominant revenue source for SECOORA and its members. The block “customers” represents all those organizations, institutions and individuals who want information from SECOORA except the Federal Government. While it is recognized that the Federal Government will continue to be a SECOORA customer, for clarification purposes, the Federal Government has been identified separately.
The principle marketing strategy will be to understand the customer’s wants and needs and their potential for political influence and/or their ability to pay for the information they receive. In order to optimize and infuse SECOORA with the necessary resources for the organization to succeed, it is imperative that SECOORA be able to provide its members with the dollars necessary to continue development. While the Federal Government will be the major source of funding, it is recognized that obtaining Federal dollars will become increasingly competitive. Having customers who recognize the value of SECOORA’s product and services and have the ability and willingness to support SECOORA’s pursuit of Federal and State dollars will be critical to the success of the program.
As part of the Needs Assessment, an assessment of the potential value of each customer will be conducted (where value = ability/willingness to pay $ + ability/willingness to support SECOORA politically). This information will be used to prioritize both our marketing effort and product/services research and development initiatives. The long term goals of the marketing plan and SECOORA’s business model should be to increase non-federal resources and to diversify the customer set to lessen the impact of local/regional economic trends.
A secondary marketing effort should be initiated in conjunction with the market selection process. Advertising SECOORA’s fundamental mission, serving the public good, is needed for long term success. Public services available from SECOORA should be identified and public branding and recognition of SECOORA established early in the marketing effort.
5.0 Research and Product/Service Development
Although R&D efforts will most likely be supported and justified with specific information products and anticipated outcomes in mind, research for improving data products in one area will likely yield improvements in products in other areas. For example, improvements in models of surface currents that are designed to improve management of fisheries by permitting more accurate prediction of larval transport and recruitment will also improve applications related to navigation and shipping by improving search and rescue and mitigation of oil spills. Thus it is important that fundamental research and development offers improvements across the spectrum of societal needs that is the foundation of the coastal IOOS effort.
R&D efforts will also play an important role in the development and internal operations of the RA. It is important for the RA to catalog its observing capabilities, project desired future capabilities, conduct a gap analysis, and establish performance measures. Pilot projects are envisioned to be an important strategy for providing a focus for these activities, thereby facilitating quantitative evaluation of these criteria. In addition, pilot projects may provide an effective strategy for educating the next-generation observatory operators and users.
To ensure that the information distributed through the RA continues to meet the evolving needs of the user community, R&D efforts are assumed to be a continuing effort within the operations of the RA. This will require a sustained funding source within the RA organization to maintain continuity and balance between sustained information delivery and the evolution necessary to meet new challenges and needs.
5.1 R&D Implementation Issues
Support: R&D is envisioned as an ongoing activity representing a strategic investment in the development of future capabilities. To provide continuity of specific efforts and activities and to promote new opportunities, a portion of the RA budget must be available for R&D. Procedures should be established to assess R&D needs within the context of the total RA activities and thereby develop an appropriate budget allocation of the total budget to R&D efforts.
Evaluation/Review Procedures and Criteria: Procedures must be established to evaluate R&D needs and progress and to make recommendations for future support. Reviews of on-going activities and applications for new R&D efforts should occur annually, in conjunction with the Marketing needs assessments. Criteria must be developed to guide the review and evaluation process. Criteria for different stages (Research, Pilot Project, and Pre-operational) may differ. Possible criteria include:
Clients and user groups. How many constituents (including individuals, industries, agencies and/or municipalities) within the RA region will benefit from advancing the delivery of a proposed product?
Importance of supporting information product. What is the relative ranking of the proposed new or improved product within the spectrum of societal benefits anticipated by RA activities?
Feasibility and anticipated development timeframe. Are significant improvements achievable within the observing, computational and communications capabilities of the RA or proposed improvements of those capabilities?
Cost of implementation. Can significant improvements be made within the realities of RA budget projections?
Likelihood of success. How likely is the activity to succeed in yielding the proposed improvements of new capabilities?
5.2 R&D Priorities
Pilot projects permit the testing, evaluation, development and improvement of all aspects of the IOOS end-to-end concept. As an on-going activity, it is anticipated that R&D efforts will evolve with time, project maturity and user needs. Over time and as the RA develops, R&D activities are anticipated within all of the major IOOS societal benefit areas; however, during SECOORA’s first five (5) years of operation, R&D efforts will support the three highlighted IOOS objectives.
5.3 Possible Pilot Study Ideas
HAB Forecast Tool: This project is aimed at advancing the capability of identifying and predicting the occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) in the SECOORA region. The basic strategy is to more effectively couple remote and in situ sensor systems to regional transport models.
There are numerous users groups who would benefit from improved HAB detection and prediction. These include NOAA, NCEP, NASA, individual states, local governments and municipalities who issue public health warnings and control fisheries closures. The societal benefits include improvement in identifying and predicting public health risks, monitoring coastal ecosystem health, managing the sustained use of coastal ecosystems and mitigating the effects of natural hazards.
While significant effort may focus on the west Florida shelf, through the use of regional transport models and other observing technologies, this project may also advance regional integration of information and products. Furthermore, this issue is of importance in many other RA areas and may focus to improve connectivity with other RCOOSs and RAs.
Coastal Inundation Models: This project goal is to advance understanding and ultimately the prediction of coastal inundation during storms. This builds upon ongoing pilot projects such as SCOOP, the Tsunami Inundation Model (for entire east coast), regional efforts (ADCIRC - coastal inundation model) and local efforts such as SEACOOS - FVCOM (Tampa Bay/Charlotte Harbor).
There are many potential users of improved inundation information including county, state and national government officials (FEMA, DOD, NOAA, USACE, DOE) and a variety of private sector industries and constituencies such as insurance companies, port authorities, emergency contingency planners, power companies, and the tourist industry. As such this project has applicability throughout the entire SECOORA domain and can focus aspects of RCOOS operations from sensor networking, modeling and community communication. Improved information delivery will assist in the mitigation of coastal disasters, improve marine operations, enhance national security, mitigate public health risks and improve the management of coastal ecosystems.
Fishery Management Models: This project focuses on biological impacts and provides advanced management tools for the coastal fisheries by improving the accuracy and utility of larval transport and resource recruitment models. The strategy is to improve model nowcasts and forecasts of coastal circulation and integrate that information with appropriate biological data and models. Potential user groups include the Southeast Atlantic Fisheries Management Council, local and state governments, NOAA-NMFS, commercial and recreational fishers, water management districts and the general public.
This project also has the potential to integrate observing and modeling activities beyond the SECOORA domain. The anticipated societal benefits will be mostly within the areas of improved management of coastal resources, reduction of public health risk and improved understanding of coastal ecosystem health. As noted previously, however, many projects may yield synergistic benefits.
Other possible projects: Addition possible projects that have been identified include: 1) Water quality monitoring and change prediction and 2) Maritime Industries, including ocean safety and navigation. Appendix A: Governance Plan Framework A. Governance Premises 1. SECOORA is a membership organization and the active participation of its members is core to its effectiveness. The governance structure should therefore place in the membership the ultimate authority to elect the board of directors, amend the by-laws, increase dues, and change the dues structure. The governance structure should also strengthen the membership's role in setting SECOORA’s substantive and strategic directions and priorities by giving members a clear role in the organization's planning process. The structure should also provide ample vehicles, such as program committees and working groups, through which members can coalesce, coordinate, work with and support one another. 2. The Board is responsible for developing the Ends Policies related to the strategic goals, directions, and priorities of the organization. It is important that the Board prescribe Ends Policies from an appropriately long-term perspective. Boards can make invaluable contributions to implementation planning; however, the Board should not do the actual long-range planning. By casting Ends Policies out toward the planning horizon, the Board lays out those values on which the staff makes and implements operational plans. 3. The Board is responsible for developing Executive Policies that define the Board’s expectations with regard to executive leadership and communications, and identify Board values with respect to minimum levels of staff prudence and ethics. The Executive Director is designated the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the association and is accountable to the Board for the management of the organization. The CEO reports directly to the Board of Directors and appoints staff to assist in carrying out the responsibilities of the organization. The Board of Directors should grant the CEO the necessary responsibility and authority for managing every aspect of the organization’s day-to-day affairs. The Board’s challenge is to exercise oversight with respect to staff operations, without obscuring role differences and without impeding the CEO’s ability to make operations and management decisions. The appropriate expression of the Board’s legitimate interest is not to make staff issues into a board issues, but to define Board expectations of the CEO as clearly and concisely as possible in advance. 4. The Board is responsible for developing the Governance Policies for the organization. The governance policies should ensure that the Board acts in trusteeship for the organization’s members and broader public “ownership.” The governance structure should serve as a legitimizing connection between this base and the organization. The Board’s status as a subset of the ownership is a built-in mechanism of linkage. Board members do not constitute a random subset however, as they are selected because they can best fulfill the trust of governance. The Board of Directors should be composed to the extent possible of people who reflect the perspectives and views of the various subsets of the ownership. However, in their service on the Board, directors should rise above the interests of their particular organizations, sectors, or political boundaries and focus on what will be best for the community of owners as a whole. 5. SECOORA’s Board of Directors should have the option of including some people from outside of SECOORA who are known for their strong commitment to ocean sciences, technology, and public policy, and who bring a broader outside perspective or expertise that can help SECOORA better achieve its mission. There are two major ways in which the Board may be strengthened by including outsiders on the Board.
6. SECOORA’s Board should be a size appropriate to be effective, that is small enough to govern effectively and large enough to be inclusive of the different perspectives within SECOORA’s membership and broader constituency. There must also be some mechanism for an even smaller body to make urgent decisions when immediate and swift action is needed. B. Proposed Committee Structure 1. Executive Committee – The Executive Committee shall be made up of the four officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) as elected by the full Board of Directors, along with the immediate past Chair. The Executive Director will also serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee acts on behalf of the Board between meetings of the Board in areas that are defined and restricted by the Board as a whole. General authorities include:
2. Board Policy Committees - Board policy committees are established by the Board of Directors and regularly report on their activities to the Board. They are established to deal with ongoing responsibilities of the Board. Policy committees are always chaired by a Board member and can be comprised of both board members and non-members. Board policy committees are ongoing and provide written reports at each Board of Directors' meeting. These committees include: a. Board Development Committee
b. Governance Committee
c. Finance and Audit Committee – Chaired by Board Treasurer
d. Public Policy Committee – (At Board’s Direction)
e. Stakeholder Advisory Council. Once potential users and stakeholders for SECOORA have been identified, a Stakeholder Council will be established to ensure that SECOORA is developed with user benefits in mind. Stakeholder Council members will be appointed by the SECOORA Board of Directors and will reflect the broad spectrum of users and stakeholders interested in the products of ocean observing systems. The Stakeholder Council will provide advice on policies, identify potential new audiences for data and products, provide input to improve data and products, assist or advise on ways to support the activities and enhance the national resources of the National Federation of Regional Associations, and suggest improvements in disseminating data and products to users and decision makers. They will advise on other matters as may be requested by the SEACOORA Board and Committees. The chairperson and other officers, as may be determined to be necessary by the Council members or the Board of Directors, will be elected by the Stakeholder Council members through an election organized by the Membership Committee. At least one member of the Board of Directors shall serve on the Stakeholder Council. 3. Policy Task Forces - Policy task forces may be established by the Board of Directors and regularly report on their activities to the Board. They are always chaired by a Board member, are comprised members of the Board, and are mandated to examine and develop recommendations on Board policy matters. These task forces have a limited time horizon, a defined sunset clause in their mandate, and are required to provide reports at each Board of Directors' meeting until their task is completed. 4. Program Committees - Program committees are authorized by the Board and established by the Executive Director. Program committees report to the Executive Director. The committees may handle operational or management issues and serve in either advisory or functional roles for the Executive Director. The Chair of a program committee is appointed by the Executive Director and must be a SECOORA member or affiliate. Reports on the activities of program committees are provided to the Board of Directors through the Executive Director's CEO Report at each Board meeting. In the absence of a large staff, it is anticipated that a significant portion of SECOORA’s mission will be accomplished through the activities of the program committees. Examples of program committees may include:
C. Proposed Membership Categories To facilitate broad membership among all sectors, several different categories of membership are available. The primary membership in SECOORA is organizational. Only organizations will be afforded full membership rights and privileges either as Sustaining Members or Institutional Members. There are also individual memberships and affiliate memberships, with limited privileges, available to accommodate and encourage direct participation from ocean observations users and other stakeholders. Membership Categories 1. Sustaining Member - Any organization substantially engaged in the collection, delivery, or use of ocean observing data or information may join as a Sustaining Member, if they wish to participate at this level. Dues $10,000/ Year Membership Rights and Privileges for Sustaining Members:
(* Organization defined as paying dues and a decision maker/speaks on behalf of their organization)
2. Institutional Member – Any organization (public, private, non-profit) engaged in the collection, delivery, or use of ocean observing data or information may join as an Institutional Member. Sole proprietorships and individuals are not eligible for membership within this category. Dues $1,000/Year Membership Rights and Privileges for Institutional Members:
3. Individual Member - individuals who engage in the collection, delivery, or use of ocean observing data or information may join as individual members. Individual memberships allow for SECOORA participation by individuals operating sole proprietorships and individuals who are unable to act on behalf of their full organization. It also permits participation from multiple individuals within large organizations and encourages broader membership among users. Individual membership, however, does not include full voting membership privileges. The only voting rights of individual members are for the election of at-large board members. If individuals are elected to serve on the Board through those elections, the member is then entitled to full Board voting privileges for the duration of the term. Dues $500/Year Membership Rights and Privileges for Individual Members:
4. Affiliate Member – any organization that would otherwise qualify as an Institutional Member but whose ability to officially join SECOORA is constrained in some way. Affiliate membership is determined on a case by case basis by the Board. Affiliate members do not have voting rights. Affiliate members may be eligible for nomination and election by the Board to serve as non-voting, ex-officio Board members. Definitions 1. Organization: For purposes of membership eligibility, “organization” is defined below. Questions concerning eligibility of organizations will be referred to the Board for decision and clarification.
2. Member in Good Standing: A member in good standing is defined as a member of SECOORA who meets all eligibility requirements and dues are current. D. Structure and Composition of SECOORA Board 1.
Composition of the Board
2.
Board Terms of Service 3.
Board Meetings 4.
Role of Membership in Governance Individual Members have an opportunity to participate in the annual membership assembly and vote in the at-large Board elections. Individual Members also have ample opportunity to participate in committees and voice their views on what SECOORA’s agenda and priorities should be. All members have opportunities to provide input, shape programs, tactics and strategies, and contribute through program committees and working groups. Appendix B: Towards a Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System (RCOOS) Design for SECOORA
Summary
A conceptual design for the SE RCOOS is offered. It envisions support of a broad range of applications through the routine operation of a series of predictive models that rely on observations to ensure their validity. A distributed information management system enables information flow, and a centralized information hub serves to aggregate information regionally and distribute it as needed. A variety of observing assets are needed to satisfy the model requirements, and an initial distribution is proposed that recognizes the physical structure and forcing in the region. It includes in-situ data collection to provide 3D sampling, HF radar for synoptic sampling of surface currents, and satellite remote sensing of other ocean surface properties. Nested model systems are required to properly represent ocean conditions from the outer edge of the EEZ to the watersheds. The reliance on a vital National Backbone of observations, model products, and data management is obvious and highlights the needs for a clear definition of its components and Concept of Operations (CONOPS). Estimates of costs and personnel to sustain existing programs viewed as initial components of the RCOOS are included.
Background
The U.S. coastal ocean component (COOS) of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) is envisioned to consist of a federal network (the “National Backbone”) of in situ and satellite remote sensing observational, predictive modeling, and data management elements that will be focused broadly on the national scale, as augmented by Regional Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (RCOOSs) that will be focused narrowly on the regional scale. The RCOOSs will be an integral component of their respective regional associations (RAs) of stakeholders (viz., data providers and users), which in turn will be members of the National Federation of Regional Associations (NFRA). As a pioneering activity associated with the regional development of COOS, the Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (SEACOOS) has considered the scientific and technical design criteria of the operational RCOOS that will be a central element of the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA). SECOORA, and its RCOOS, are required to be fully interactive and interoperable with other regional associations (RAs), especially with the neighboring GCOOS for the Gulf of Mexico, CaRA for the Eastern Caribbean, and MACOORA for the mid-Atlantic, as well as with the National Backbone provided by the federal agencies. Discussed here are preliminary thoughts on planning the design of an RCOOS for SECOORA, some aspects of how this RCOOS may interact with the National Backbone, and how elements of the RCOOS will transition to certified, fully operational components of IOOS.
Assumptions about Critical Design Issues
Anticipated Functions and Approaches
The RCOOS of SECOORA will be responsible for providing operational coastal oceanography information services for the states of NC, SC, GA, and FL. These services are broad, complex, and sophisticated, and the RCOOS will need to comprise a partnership among the academic, federal, state, and private sectors to fulfill them. A complete end-to-end system is needed that links researchers and system developers to managers of autonomous observing and modeling systems to national level providers of observations and model products to so-called “super-users” (e.g., NWS marine forecasters, value-added environmental information industry, The Weather Channel, and State Climatologists) who interface to a wide range of end-user societal applications.
The RCOOS will:
Many user communities will benefit from enhanced RCOOS information services. They are too numerous to enumerate in detail here (see Website for Ocean.US and SECOORA). However, for the foreseeable future, they can be categorized into three broad thematic application areas: Marine Operations and Emergency Management, Coastal Hazards, and Environmental and Ecological Management. Marine Operations and Emergency Management includes topics of safe and efficient ship routing, offshore oil and gas operations, fishing, and sand and gravel mining; effective search-and-rescue and hazardous material (oil and toxic chemical spills) mitigation operations; efficient offshore aquaculture, waste disposal, and energy operations, etc. Coastal Hazards includes topics of storm winds, precipitation, and waves; storm surge and coastal inundation; rip currents; and beach erosion. Environmental and Ecological Management includes topics of ecosystem-based fisheries management; design and monitoring of Marine Protected Areas; detection of global change; monitoring and prediction of water quality, hypoxia, and harmful algal blooms. Further, researchers and educators are not to be overlooked as recognized and legitimate users of IOOS who, respectively, provide useful feedback on the COOS system performance and the regional environmental and ecological systems on one hand, and build understanding of the natural system and societal issues and options, as well as awareness of SECOORA, etc. on the other hand.
Information on the physical environment (wind, waves, current, temperature, salinity, sea level, turb |
