The 2026 SECOORA Stakeholder Meeting brought together coastal managers, researchers, practitioners, and community leaders to explore emerging challenges and opportunities related to coastal resilience, observing systems, artificial intelligence, and decision support. Discussions highlighted the importance of long-term observations, community engagement, and innovative technologies in supporting coastal communities across the Southeast.
Building a Regional Community of Practice Around Surface Elevation Tables (SETs)
The meeting opened with a session focused on the growing regional Surface Elevation Table (SET) network and its role in informing marsh management and resilience planning. Debra Hernandez (SECOORA) provided background on how partnerships with coastal managers led to the development of a four-state SET network and Community of Practice (CoP), supported through Regional Ocean Data Sharing (RODS) funding.
Presentations from Wilhelmina Bradway (City of Jacksonville, NC), Jenny Davis (NOAA NCCOS Beaufort Laboratory), and Nisse Goldberg (Jacksonville University) highlighted how SETs are being used to measure marsh elevation change at millimeter-scale accuracy and assess whether wetlands are keeping pace with sea level rise. The regional SET CoP now includes more than 50 members and over 200 monitoring stations across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
Key takeaways included:
- Long-term SET observations provide critical information for marsh restoration and management decisions.
- Many monitored marshes across the Southeast are not keeping pace with current sea level rise rates.
- Living shoreline projects are showing promising results, with some sites experiencing increased marsh elevation gain.
- Regional collaboration is helping standardize monitoring approaches, improve data accessibility, and identify research priorities.
- Understanding marsh transition zones and the impacts of episodic events remains an important area for future research.
Updates from U.S. IOOS and the IOOS Association
The second day began with updates from representatives of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Program Office and the IOOS Association. Presentations highlighted FY26 accomplishments, federal funding updates, congressional outreach efforts, and priorities for FY27.
Speakers discussed leadership transitions within the IOOS Program Office, implementation of Inflation Reduction Act-funded initiatives, regional successes, and ongoing advocacy efforts to support ocean observing programs. Participants also discussed the importance of building relationships with policymakers and communicating the value of ocean observations to decision-makers at both the state and federal levels.
Water Level Observations Supporting Community Resilience
A panel focused on water level observations and coastal flooding brought together researchers and community practitioners working to improve resilience planning throughout the Southeast.
Cotie Alsbrooks (SECOORA) provided an overview of the expanding Southeast Water Level Network and ongoing efforts to improve decision-support tools, evaluate sensor performance, and strengthen partnerships with communities experiencing recurrent flooding.
Additional presentations explored community-driven resilience planning and localized flood monitoring efforts:
- Meredith Hovis (University of North Carolina Wilmington) discussed lessons learned from community engagement and flood resilience planning in Wilmington, North Carolina, emphasizing trauma-informed engagement and co-production of knowledge.
- Miyuki Hino (University of North Carolina) presented research demonstrating how localized water level sensors and cameras can better capture the impacts of chronic coastal flooding than traditional tide gauges alone.
- Lynn Davis (Town of Belhaven) shared Belhaven’s experience addressing both storm-related and nuisance flooding through planning, education, infrastructure improvements, and community partnerships.
Several common themes emerged during the discussion:
- Community trust is foundational to successful resilience planning.
- Information must be timely, relevant, and easy to access for residents and decision-makers.
- Localized observations are essential for understanding flooding impacts at the neighborhood scale.
- Standardization of water level data and integration with forecasting systems remain important priorities.
Practical Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Ocean Science and Resilience
One of the most highly attended sessions focused on the rapidly evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in ocean science and coastal resilience.
Greg Dusek (Dusek Coastal Science & Consulting), Kelly Knee (Tetra Tech), and Taylor Shropshire (Fathom Science) explored current and emerging applications of AI across ocean observing systems, forecasting, data management, and decision support. Speakers emphasized that while generative AI has attracted significant attention, many of the most impactful applications today involve machine learning techniques that improve data processing, quality control, forecasting, and information discovery.
Key discussion points included:
- AI can accelerate repetitive workflows such as quality control, metadata generation, data formatting, and imagery analysis.
- AI has the potential to improve access to ocean observing data by allowing users to interact with datasets through natural language interfaces.
- Machine learning approaches are increasingly being used to supplement environmental forecasting and identify patterns in large observational datasets.
- Human expertise remains essential for validating outputs and ensuring scientific rigor.
- The ocean community must continue developing ethical frameworks, transparency standards, and best practices for AI implementation.
- Improving data accessibility and usability may represent one of the most valuable near-term opportunities for AI adoption within SECOORA and the broader IOOS enterprise.
Participants also discussed how AI could help improve user access to SECOORA products and data services through conversational interfaces and more intuitive discovery tools.
Lightning Talks Highlight Emerging Research and Applications
The afternoon lightning talk session showcased a diverse range of projects from across the Southeast region. Presenters represented universities, state agencies, nonprofits, and private-sector organizations, highlighting topics ranging from coastal observations and workforce development to ecosystem monitoring and community engagement.
Speakers included Frank Lopez (North Carolina Sea Grant), Natalie Cohen (University of Georgia), Mike Parsons (Florida Gulf Coast University), Joy Young (FACT Network), Eric Montie (University of South Carolina Beaufort), Sheri Schwartz (Tetra Tech), Claire McGrath (SECOORA), and Catherine Edwards (UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography).
Beach and Dune Restoration, Renourishment, and Coastal Adaptation
The final panel of the meeting focused on the observations, data, and science needed to support beach nourishment, dune restoration, and coastal adaptation efforts throughout the Southeast.
Panelists included Patrick Barrineau (Coastal Science & Engineering), Christy Swann (RCOAST), Reide Corbett (Coastal Studies Institute), and Chase Davis (Coastal Protection Engineering).
Discussion centered on the physical and human factors driving coastal change, including sea level rise, storms, sediment transport, infrastructure development, and policy decisions. Panelists highlighted the growing need for improved observations and monitoring systems to support coastal management decisions.
Key takeaways included:
- Long-term observations provide critical information for evaluating the effectiveness and return on investment of adaptation projects.
- Expanded nearshore monitoring and higher-resolution bathymetric data are needed to better understand coastal change processes.
- Cameras, water level observations, remote sensing, and emerging technologies can help improve assessments of shoreline change and storm impacts.
- Community priorities should help guide future observing investments and adaptation strategies.
- Strong partnerships among academia, government agencies, industry, and local communities are essential for successful coastal resilience efforts.
- Communicating risk and demonstrating the economic value of adaptation measures remain major challenges for coastal decision-makers.
The discussion concluded with a reminder that while coastal observations require investment, they provide valuable information that can help communities make more informed decisions and reduce long-term costs associated with coastal hazards and disasters.
