2023 Excellence in Partnering Award

The National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) is pleased to announce that the Atlantic Deepwater Ecosystem Observatory Network (ADEON) is the 2023 recipient of the NOPP Excellence in Partnering Award. The award was presented at the 2024 Ocean Sciences Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Excellence in Partnering Award is given annually to a NOPP project that best exemplifies the NOPP’s objective of developing a successful network of partnerships to advance the ocean sciences. ADEON was conceived by Dr. Kyle Becker of the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Dr. Rebecca Green at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and Dr. Jason Gedamke at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). ADEON was led by Dr. Jennifer Miksis-Olds of the University of New Hampshire (UNH). 

Sponsors, conveners and members of the ADEON team at the NOPP Excellence in Partnering Award Ceremony (L-R): sponsor agency representative Yoko Furukawa (BOEM); team members Thomas Butkiewicz (UNH), Jennifer Miksis-Olds (UNH), Anthony Lyons (UNH), Joseph Warren (Stony Brook University), Kevin Heaney (Applied Ocean Sciences (AOS)), Bruce Martin (JASCO), and Elliott Hazen (NOAA); sponsor agency representative Kyle Becker (ONR); and convener Alan Leonardi (NOPP). 

The ADEON program acquired long term measurements of the natural and human factors that describe the ecology and soundscape of the Mid- South-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. Acoustic information was combined with contextual data from space-based remote sensing, hydrographic sensors, and mobile platforms to fully comprehend how human, biologic, and natural abiotic components create the soundscape and influence regional ecosystem dynamics. 

Project highlights:

  • Standardized data products to be comparable with national and international acoustic programs 
  • Provides baseline measurements informing ecosystem-based management and a mechanistic understanding of cumulative impacts on marine resources
  • Development of visualization tools to explore the ADEON data supports future data use beyond project completion
  • Developed Artist at Sea program
ADEON lander sitting on the seabed. This screenshot was taken by J. Miksis-Olds from the ROV Jason (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)) control van. 

Team members of ADEON consisted of 10 institutional partners including AOS, BOEM, Florida Atlantic University, JASCO Applied Sciences, OASIS, Inc., NOAA, ONR, Stony Brook University, TNO, and the UNH. Additional partnerships that evolved during the duration of the project include the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI, NOAA), UC Santa Cruz through the Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystems and Climate, Ocean Tagging Network, artist Lindsay Olson (Columbia College Chicago), artist Wendy Klemperer (UNH), DEEP SEARCH (a concurrent NOPP project), Rockefeller University, commercial fisherman, and University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS).

Support for the NOPP project was provided by BOEM, ONR, and NOAA. 

Learn more about ADEON on UNH’s project website.