During the month of October, the NOPP Office provided support to the Interagency Working Group on Facilities and Infrastructure (IWG-FI) as they continued to focus on fleet status and modernization. We also spent time with the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships (IWG-OP) to continue to develop partnership opportunities and assist fledgling projects with organization and outreach.
The NOPP Office also facilitated a meeting for the Biodiversity Ad Hoc Group, a sub-group of the IWG-OP. The Biodiversity Ad Hoc Group’s current topics of interest include Marine BON, deep-sea corals, and OBIS-ENV-DATA.
2015 Excellence in Partnering Award: This accolade is presented each year to research teams that best demonstrate the partnerships objectives of the NOPP. Selection criteria include the project’s commitment to partnering, the success of the partnership effort, and the impact of the partnership on knowledge and stewardship of our ocean. This year’s selection for the Excellence in Partnering Award goes to the Atlantic Canyons: Pathways to the Abyss project, a multi-year effort led by BOEM to explore the canyon regions of the Mid-Atlantic continental margin. The study revealed many new findings, including an historically important shipwreck, enormous deep-sea coral communities, and vast methane-seep ecosystems. Click here to watch the story of this deserving project and explore its exciting discoveries and stunning HD video. The award ceremony for members of the project teams will be held at the 2016 Ocean Sciences Meeting in New Orleans in February 2016, along with a screening of the 23 minute video and introduction by its producer, Art Howard.
The NOPP displayed its exhibit and engaged with members of the marine technology community about its activities at the OCEANS ’15 conference, hosted by the Marine Technology Society and the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society from October 20th through October 22nd in National Harbor, Maryland.
The NOPP Office also welcomes a new team member, Caitlin Adams, as Program Coordinator. Please visit the office staff section of our website to meet Caitlin!
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