[Coral-List] SEAKEYS Project Terminated

[Ulf Erlingsson]

The important issue is of course not WHO is doing the data collection, but THAT it gets done. I would think the best strategy would be to identify the importance of the various data collected, and of continuous series, and then try to figure out how best to carry out the measurements, and how to fund them. 

Ulf Erlingsson, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Lindorm, Inc.



On 2012-03-06, at 12:40, Sarah Frias-Torres wrote:

> 
> It seems the coral reefs have no voice and no CEOs to demand a bailout. 
> Is there anything the scientific community can do to reverse this decision ?
> 
> Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D. Schmidt Ocean Institute Postdoctoral FellowOcean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) 1420 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, Florida 34949 USA Tel (772) 467-1600http://www.teamorca.orghttp://independent.academia.edu/SarahFriasTorres
> 
> 
>> From: jim.hendee at noaa.gov
>> Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2012 11:43:43 -0500
>> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> Subject: [Coral-List] SEAKEYS Project Terminated
>> 
>> This sad bit of news comes from a recent SECOORA (Southeast Coastal Ocean
>> Observing Regional Association) bulletin.  The station referred to that
>> AOML will maintain is located on the Molasses Reef lighthouse.
>> 
>> 
>> *SEAKEYS Assets Removed from Water*
>> 
>> 
>> **
>> 
>> The SEAKEYS network has been operational for over 20 years and provides a
>> long time series of observations in the Florida Keys. The program provides
>> a framework for long-term monitoring and research along the 220 mile
>> Florida coral reef tract and in Florida Bay at a geographical scale
>> encompassing the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS).
>> Compounding the problem of limited funding, the instruments are primarily
>> on a series of stationary platforms (lighthouses, towers), the structural
>> integrity of which has now becoming questionable due to age. The US Coast
>> Guard do not have plans to repair the lighthouses but intend to sell. It is
>> anticipated that non-profit entities will purchase these for their
>> historical value.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> To address the future of SEAKEYS and its infrastructure and funding, the
>> Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) held a meeting at the Keys Marine
>> Lab in November 2011. The user community was invited and included
>> representatives from many areas of NOAA (Florida Keys National Marine
>> Sanctuary; National Weather Service; Atlantic Oceanographic and
>> Meteorological Laboratory; Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory),
>> the National Park Service, the Ocean Reef and Gun Club, and FIO. The
>> NOAA/National Data Buoy Center, Coast Guard, FL Fish and Wildlife Research
>> Institute, and representatives from Audubon, the dive and fishing
>> communities, and staff from a local legislative office were unable to
>> attend, but some sent letters of support. Following the meeting other
>> funding sources were sought but were not successfully identified.
>> 
>> 
>> At the end of 2011, due to a lack of financial support, FIO made the
>> difficult decision to terminate the SEAKEYS program, and are withdrawing
>> all FIO assets from the water. NOAA/AOML, with assistance from NOAA/FKNMS,
>> has agreed to take over maintenance of one station (FIO is loaning an
>> instrument to NOAA/AOML for this purpose); NOAA/GLERL are investigating the
>> possibility of maintaining a second station; and a limited subset of
>> meteorological sensors will be visited every two years by NOAA/NDBC, with
>> no maintenance support between visits.
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
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