NOPP Partnership Forums
NOPP Partnership Forums are a newly established component of NOPP focused on facilitating partnerships in ocean science, research, and education that address pressing ocean science topics and priorities. Partnership forums, convened individually or in conjunction with scientific conferences, are in-person meetings between Federal agencies, academia, and the private sector including industries, NGOs and philanthropic organizations. Keep scrolling to learn more about previously convened NOPP Partnership Forums.
Quick Links
- 2024 MTS Ocean Biodiversity TechSurge
- 2024 NOPP Hurricane Coastal Impacts Forum Series
- mCDR FTAC Listening Sessions
- NOPP Technological Innovation to Map, Explore, and Characterize the US EEZ Forum
- NOPP Ocean Life Forum
2024 MTS Ocean Biodiversity TechSurge
NOPP co-organized the Ocean Biodiversity TechSurge Conference held in Baltimore, MD October 1-2, 2024. This was a Partnership Forum of firsts: the first time NOPP has partnered with the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and it was the first MTS TechSurge focused on the topic of ocean biodiversity.
A follow on event from the 2023 NOPP Ocean Life Forum and 2024 Summit on Ocean Biodiversity, this TechSurge convened over 70 representatives from federal government, tribal communities, academia, nonprofit organizations, industry, and venture capital. The discussions were designed to strategize how to form multi-sector partnerships and implement United States ocean biodiversity technologies and knowledge, such as are highlighted in the National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy. The keynote speakers were Nicole LeBoeuf, Assistant Administrator of NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS), and Julie Pullen, Partner and Chief Scientist at Propeller. Topics included the value of biodiversity, aggregating demand for development and conservation, financial tools to scale biodiversity conservation, as well as technology and data innovations for biodiversity monitoring, reporting, verification, forecasting and integration.
Thank you to the planning committee and production team for bringing this community together, and to the speakers and participants for the engaging discussions.
2024 NOPP Hurricane Coastal Impacts Forum Series
NOPP hosted a series of talks for the public to learn about the contributions and activities by 9 teams on the NOPP Hurricane Coastal Impacts (NHCI) project. The goal of the project is to enable better understanding and predictive ability of hurricane impacts in order to better prepare coastal communities for extreme weather events. The project teams have worked together to produce research-grade forecasts and quantitative evaluation of performance during the hurricane seasons of 2022-2024.
Leveraging the preexisting NOAA Coastal Ocean Modeling Seminar Series, the NHCI Forum Series was held in 5 virtual sessions in June and July of 2024. Each session consisted of two presentations followed by a Q&A session. Recordings of the sessions can be viewed here and the report can be found here.
June 18th, 2024
Title: Overview of the NOPP Hurricane Coastal Impacts Project
Presenter: Reginald Beach (Office of Naval Research)
Title: Real-time tropical cyclone prediction with COAMPS-TC in support of NHCI
Presenters: Jon Moskaitis (Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, CA), Jim Doyle (Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, CA)
June 25th, 2024
Title: Coastal Elevation Models and Land Surface Variables for Forecasting Hurricane Impacts
Presenter: Dean Gesch (U.S. Geological Survey)
Title: Real-time and Observed Measurements of Hurricane-Induced Hydrodynamics and Flooding
Presenters: Jenna Brown (U.S. Geological Survey), Isabel Houghton (Sofar Ocean)
July 9th, 2024
Title: Buoy observations of wave spectra in hurricanes
Presenters: Jim Thomson (Applied Physics Lab/Univ. of Washington), Isabel Houghton (Sofar Ocean), Jacob Davis (Applied Physics Lab/Univ. of Washington)
Title: Offshore wave observations using air-deployable Directional Wave Spectra Drifters (DWSBDs & A-DWSDs)
Presenter: Martha Schönau (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
July 16th, 2024
Title: Forecasting Hurricane Impacts on US coasts
Presenter: Ap van Dongeren (Deltares, Netherlands)
Title: Remote Sensing of Hurricane Impacts From Space
Presenters: Roland Romeiser (University of Miami), Steven Beninati (University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
July 23rd, 2024
Title: Predicting Coastal Impacts from Tropical Cyclones using the ADCIRC Prediction System
Presenter: Rick Luettich (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Title: Forecasting Hurricane Hazards and Impacts on US East Coasts and Gulf of Mexico
Presenters: Maitane Olabarrieta (University of Florida), Arthriya Subgranon (University of Florida)
mCDR FTAC Listening Sessions
With the help of NOPP, The White House National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Fast-Track Action Committee (MCDR–FTAC) hosted a series of listening sessions to inform the public on the development of a federal government research plan regarding marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) research in the United States. The listening sessions gave interested parties an opportunity to provide input. Each session was organized around three themes: 1) Permitting, regulatory, and other standards and policies, 2) Developing a comprehensive federal MCDR research program, and 3) Mechanisms to enable public awareness and engagement.
In addition to attending and providing public comment during the listening sessions, participants were also encouraged to submit input to the Federal Register Notice (Responses due by end of 04/23/2024) to inform the development of an implementation plan to advance a key recommendation of the Ocean Climate Action Plan (OCAP) regarding mCDR research.
Region shown here is the Mississippi Delta in the Southeastern US. This image was captured by the VIIRS instrument aboard the NOAA-20 satellite on December 18, 2023. Source: https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/.
The sessions were as follows:
Theme 1: Permitting, regulatory, and other standards and policies. The FTAC sought feedback on how the U.S. government intends to apply relevant domestic and international frameworks to regulating MCDR research, including field tests in the ocean.
Speakers: John Mimikakis (OSTP) and Betsy Valente (EPA)
March 19th, 2024 12:30 – 2:30PM EDT
Theme 2: Comprehensive Federal MCDR research program. The FTAC sought feedback on a Federal research program that will accelerate the development of the knowledge needed to understand the effectiveness and safety of MCDR approaches.
Speakers: Greg Frost (NOAA), Scott Doney (University of Virginia), Alicia Karspeck ([C] Worthy), Débora Iglesias-Rodriguez (University of California at Santa Barbara), and Adam Subhas (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute)
March 26th, 2024 12:30 – 2:30PM EDT
Theme 3: Mechanisms to enable public awareness and public-private cooperation. The FTAC sought feedback on how to enable public engagement in MCDR research and how to promote cooperation between the Federal government and non-Federal parties on MCDR research, including field tests.
Speakers: Sarah Leung (CEQ) and John Mimikakis (OSTP)
April 9th, 2024 12:30 – 2:30PM EDT
NOPP Technological Innovation to Map, Explore, and Characterize the US EEZ Forum
Participants and speakers at OCEANS 23 for the 2023 NOPP Technological Innovation to Map, Explore, and Characterize the US EEZ Forum.
The 2023 NOPP Technological Innovation to Map, Explore, and Characterize the United States EEZ Forum was held at the OCEANS 23 conference in Biloxi, MS on September 26, 2023. Deerin Babb-Brott (OSTP) gave a White House Administration overview followed by Steve Thur (NOAA)’s agency overview from a NOAA perspective on the topic. Alan Leonardi (NOPP Office) then moderated a panel discussion between Rodney Cluck (BOEM), Isabel Houghton (Sofar Ocean), Hailey Bathurst (Sea Ahead), and Jeremy Weirich (NOAA), before opening up to audience questions and input.
The forum discussion emphasized the critical importance of collaborative partnerships, technological innovation, and sustained funding in advancing ocean exploration and mapping efforts. Furthermore, it highlighted the role of public-private collaborations in leveraging industry expertise and resources to achieve common goals while addressing challenges such as data standardization, funding timelines, and environmental stewardship. The 2023 NOPP Technological Innovation to Map, Explore, and Characterize the United States EEZ Forum Report can be found here.
Thank you to the NOAA NOMEC Council for co-hosting this forum with the NOPP Office, and to all the speakers for their contributions and participation.
NOPP Ocean Life Forum
NOPP’s inaugural Partnership Forum, the 2023 NOPP Ocean Life Forum, was held at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, MD on August 9 and 10th, 2023. The Forum brought together 57 leaders and experts from the Federal government, Indigenous communities, academia, non-profit, and philanthropic organizations to identify the most pressing priorities for advancing marine biodiversity science and stewardship at the national scale. It featured a series of plenary events, including a Fireside Chat with Dr. Ellen Stofan, Smithsonian Institution Under Secretary for Science and Research, and Dr. Sarah Kapnick, NOAA Chief Scientist, followed by working sessions and breakouts focused on identifying foundational elements to strengthen and sustain national scale ocean biodiversity coordination. The 2023 NOPP Ocean Life Forum Report can be found here.
Thank you to our co-sponsors, Smithsonian Institution, IOOS Association, and NOAA.