[Coral-List] SEAKEYS Project Terminated

[McEachron, Luke]

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission currently hosts a temperature data sharing site for the Florida Keys reef tract. The goal of this site has been to collect and disseminate temperature data from regional agencies. The site also allows agencies to coordinate their temperature sampling to avoid spatial overlap. 

The site is in its infancy and users will have the ability to download temperature data from the site in the next couple of months as we migrate to Arc server 10. 

Most of the temperature data on this site is collected via HOBOs, which have to be manually downloaded in the field, but are easy to buy and maintain. We are engaging regional dive shops to upload the data for us to give a near real time view of water temperature data on the reef tract.

Over time, I expect more parameters will be monitored. While not SEAKEYS, the site is better than nothing going forward. I think we have accounted for everyone collecting water temperature regularly in the Keys, but please let me know if we have missed anyone.

http://ocean.floridamarine.org/FLReefTractTemp/

Luke McEachron

 

-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Steve S
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 9:19 PM
To: Sarah Frias-Torres
Cc: coral list
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] SEAKEYS Project Terminated

Yes! Embrace the media, no matter how localized they are. Everything helps.
Reach out. Make an effort to do so, don't wait for them to come calling.

Traditionally scientists and media don't gel - like oil and water.
Scientists are afraid of the media and the members of the media don't get
it because they don't understand.

I happen to be a "citizen scientist" - I've been doing a long-term research
project with juvenile sea turtles for the last nine years. I am also a
"media" person.

You want to make a change? Do so by reaching out to your local newspapers
and TV stations, I don't care how little they are. If they rebuff you,
don't give up ... keep trying until you get a response.

I've done several stories with Dr. Frias-Torres and she gets it. She
understands.

The scientific community and the media have to coexist. Publishing papers
is great, but it means nothing if the public doesn't know.

Steve S


On Tue, Mar 6, 2012 at 12:40 PM, Sarah Frias-Torres <
sfrias_torres at hotmail.com> 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.
> > _______________________________________________
> > Coral-List mailing list
> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
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