Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: Rosanna Torres, President, Census Latino Employee Organization (CLEO)

Abstract: Ms Torres will discuss how CLEO as an affinity group:

• Improves capital and human value at the Census Bureau
• Promotes awareness of diversity and inclusion strategies
• Shares ideas outside of their business units

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: Elizabeth Fly, NOAA Climate Program Office; U.S. Global Change Research Program

Abstract: Understanding what factors affect the distribution of a species helps us better understand its life history and potential impacts from external forces such as climate change, habitat destruction, and the introduction of invasive species. The closely-related marine mussels Mytilus edulis, M. trossulus, and M. galloprovincialis provide an ideal study system for the effects of a changing environment on the biogeography of a species. These three species form a biogeographic replacement series with respect to temperature, as one species replaces another as climate varies with latitude. We examined several of the mechanisms potentially constraining the distribution of these species and developed mechanistic species distribution models to predict their biogeographic ranges.

Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series

Remote access via webinar will be available. ]]> Fri 10 May 2013 12:35:00 EDT http://www.lib.noaa.gov/about/news/brownbagseminars.html#may162013b Agricultural wetland restorations achieve diverse native wetland plant communities but differ from undisturbed wetlands

Date: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 12:30pm EDT

Speaker: Metthea Yepsen, NOAA Restoration Center, NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation

Abstract: Ideally, restoration is the process of returning an ecosystem to a pre-disturbance state. In practice, specific functions and services are targeted in a restoration because it is too complex to attempt a complete ecosystem restoration. As part of a multi-investigator project to assess the effectiveness of USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service wetland restoration measures, we compared plant community composition in 47 sites in the USA Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina. Fifteen sites represented natural, unmanaged, wetlands from two hydrogeomorphic classes (depressions and flats; hereafter "natural" sites), 16 were farmed ditched and drained former wetlands ("prior-converted" sites), and 17 were restored depressional wetlands ("restored" sites). Findings indicated that restored wetlands had developed diverse native wetland plant communities but thus far differ from that of natural wetlands, raising questions about both the goals of ecosystem restoration and our ability to restore ecosystems back to pre-disturbance conditions.

Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Friday, May 17, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: Stephanie Showalter Otts, J.D., Director, National Sea Grant Law Center

Abstract: This presentation will provide an overview of the newly launched Sustainable Working Waterfronts Toolkit - a web-based information portal that contains a wealth of information about the historical and current use of waterfront space, the economic value of working waterfronts, and legal, policy, and financing tools that can be used to preserve, enhance, and protect these valuable areas. The Toolkit was developed by a subcommittee of the National Working Waterfront Network (NWWN) with the generous financial support of the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Please join us to learn more about the Toolkit, the NWWN, and working waterfront initiatives around the country.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: Liz Davenport, Senior Program Analyst, National Ocean Service, Management and Budget

Abstract: Have you been asked recently how your program achieved evidence of progress related to NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP) for FY 2011 and FY 2012? Did you identify noteworthy achievements and remaining challenges? Have you examined performance measures and milestones and other performance data and assessed their effectiveness in validating the evidence of progress?

Between now and February 2014, NOAA will amend the NGSP as required by GPRA MA for all Federal agencies. Knowing what you, your program, office, and leadership envision as "success" and how that advances priorities for NGSP Goal and Enterprise Objectives is critically important, particularly right now. This training (Part 1 and Part 2) can help you focus limited program and administrative resources for more meaningful results. Where are changes needed to improve strategy, budget, and/or performance? Are there ways to better focus limited program and performance management resources for more meaningful results? Part 1 is the foundation for Part 2, a primer followed by a toolkit, that together give you key principles and tools aligned with DOC/NOAA and OMB/Congressional requirements but adaptable to changing circumstances, the new norm. Between the summary slides and detailed appendices, these tools will stimulate thinking and may help detect what can be improved.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Monday, April 29, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: Liz Davenport, Senior Program Analyst, National Ocean Service, Management and Budget

Abstract: Have you been asked recently how your program achieved evidence of progress related to NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP) for FY 2011 and FY 2012? Did you identify noteworthy achievements and remaining challenges? Have you examined performance measures and milestones and other performance data and assessed their effectiveness in validating the evidence of progress?

Between now and February 2014, NOAA will amend the NGSP as required by GPRA MA for all Federal agencies. Knowing what you, your program, office, and leadership envision as "success" and how that advances priorities for NGSP Goal and Enterprise Objectives is critically important, particularly right now. This training (Part 1 and Part 2) can help you focus limited program and administrative resources for more meaningful results. Where are changes needed to improve strategy, budget, and/or performance? Are there ways to better focus limited program and performance management resources for more meaningful results? Part 1 is the foundation for Part 2, a primer followed by a toolkit, that together give you key principles and tools aligned with DOC/NOAA and OMB/Congressional requirements but adaptable to changing circumstances, the new norm. Between the summary slides and detailed appendices, these tools will stimulate thinking and may help detect what can be improved.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speakers: Richard Mannix, International Section of NOAA's Office of General Counsel and Allison Reed, International Affairs Specialist, NOAA Office of International Affairs

Abstract: Richard Mannix from the International Section of NOAA's Office of General Counsel and Allison Reed from NOAA's Office of International Affairs will provide an update on efforts within the international community to authorize and regulate legitimate scientific research into the use of ocean fertilization techniques as a climate mitigation measure. Their focus will be on recent developments at the London Convention and London Protocol and the movement there toward creation of mechanisms for the assessment and regulation of specific proposals to undertake, at a minimum, more advanced research in these techniques. Ms. Reed and Mr. Mannix will also discuss a growing interest among some of the Parties to the London Convention and Protocol to go a step further and to develop a broader regime to regulate other "marine geoengineering" activities as well. In addition, they will touch upon the recent unauthorized attempt to fertilize the ocean off the coast of British Columbia and the reaction of the international community to that effort. Ms. Reed will provide an overview of the process, discuss the position the U.S. has taken, and describe the progress which has been made by the Contracting Parties. Mr. Mannix will set the subject within the context of international law and discuss the relationship between the London Convention/Protocol and customary international law, as chiefly codified in the Law of the Sea Convention, and he will highlight some ethical and governance concerns.

Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office

Remote access via webinar will be available. ]]> Fri 26 April 2013 14:27:00 EDT http://www.lib.noaa.gov/about/news/brownbagseminars.html#may012013 NOAA's Habitat Blueprint - A new approach to Improving fisheries, marine life, and coastal community resiliency through habitat conservation

Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 2:00pm EDT

Speakers: Helen McMillan, NOAA Habitat Blueprint National Coordinator (Office of Habitat Conservation, NMFS)

Abstract: NOAA's Habitat Blueprint was created in 2011 to promote a more collaborative and integrated cross-NOAA approach to addressing NOAA's habitat conversation mandates and to demonstrate the many positive impacts and benefits that NOAA's habitat protection and restoration activities provide. This presentation will provide an overview of the three major components of the Blueprint - establishing Habitat Focus Areas, enhancing Habitat Science, and strengthening Habitat Policy and Legislation - and report on progress that has been made over the last two years. You will learn what a FAST is, how taking a place-based approach to addressing habitat conservation issues is creating new and exciting collaboration opportunities among NOAA Line Offices, how the Blueprint is connected to other related efforts such as the new NOAA Habitat Conservation Team and NOAA's Sentinel Site Program, and who to talk to if you want to learn more about getting involved in this growing NOAA initiative.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Friday, May 3, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: David Mattila, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Abstract: The IWC is the only global, intergovernmental organization dealing with all conservation and management issues related to large whales. With a membership of 88 countries the IWC provides a forum for governments from many different regions of the world to discuss issues relating to the conservation and management of whales. Through its scientific and management expertise, the US has made significant contributions to these efforts, including the understanding and mitigation of ship strikes, acoustic and other harassment, pollutants and disease, and entanglement (bycatch).

This presentation will focus in particular on significant progress in the understanding and mitigation of large whale entanglement made by a US initiative through the IWC. David Mattila, an expert on large whale entanglement response from NOAA-HIHWNMS, will present the projects and initiatives he has forwarded while on detail to the IWC.

Approximately 308,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die from entanglement in manmade materials every year. Based on a series of workshops hosted by the US (2010 & 2011), the member countries of the IWC agreed that:

1. Any species of whale can become entangled anywhere in the world's oceans where it coexists with high risk materials (i.e. rope and net).
2. The frequency of such events are grossly under-reported.
3. This is a severe animal welfare, conservation, human safety and economic concern.

The two highest, consensus recommendations made by the workshops, and subsequently endorsed by the member nations were:

• Building international capacity to understand and respond to entanglements where they occur around the world, and
• Work toward prevention, as it is the only real solution.

To carry out these recommendations, the US detailed David Mattila to the IWC. The first objective of Mr. Mattila's work at the IWC was to gather the directors of all of the world's entanglement response programs in order to reach a consensus on disentanglement "best practices", and a strategy and curriculum for capacity building. This is now the only marine animal rescue effort which has reached such international consensus on standards and protocols. Arising from that success, seminars, trainings and apprenticeships have been conducted for over 20 countries and more than 500 trainees from around the world, teaching all aspects of the science and management of the entanglement issue.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speakers: Steve Gill, NOAA COOPs; and Drew Gronewold, NOAA GLERL

Abstract: Record low water levels were at NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) Center for Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) monitoring stations throughout the upper Great Lakes starting in December of 2012. Given the range of Great Lakes water level measurements, the fact that Lake Michigan-Huron reached "all-time" lows has significant implications for the region. Impacts include excessive receding of coastlines, reduced navigability of shipping channels, and diminished hydroelectric power capacity. NOAA CO-OPS, in partnership with NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), are part of a regional collaboration of federal agencies focusing on understanding Great Lakes water level dynamics. NOAA's monitoring infrastructure, including the CO-OPS monitoring stations, and modeling capabilities provide critical support of that collaboration.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: Laura Onofri

Abstract: In this presentation, Dr. Laura Onofri will begin by discussing how markets work, and how environmental economists analyze non-market issues. Then, Dr. Onofri will present the results of her work on coastal tourism, published recently with Dr. Paulo Nunes in Ecological Economics. In this study, the authors examine issues of coastal tourism, and describe their worldwide analysis of domestic and international coastal tourism flows. After building a worldwide dataset including natural and economic coastal environments, the authors design an integrated-model that estimates the demand for coastal destinations. Dr. Onofri will share with us the results of this analysis, which show that there are two differentiated touristic demand segments, denoting different preferences for coastal tourism. She will then discuss these results from a tourism and conservation policy perspective.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speakers: Roger McManus, IUCN SSC Senior Counsel; and Kent Carpenter, Old Dominion University

Abstract: Dr. Kent Carpenter and Roger McManus will review the IUCN Global Marine Species Assessment progress in conducting a review of 20,000 marine species under the standards of the IUCN Red List, with particular focus on the assessments conducted and planned for the Gulf of Mexico in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. They will summarize current efforts to provide tools for examining extinction risk and conservation status of marine species based on existing and potential threats. This project is a partnership with the Harte Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University -Corpus Christi. These tools are based on species data accumulated for the Red List assessments, including distributional data and spatial planning capacity, data on experts in Gulf species, and information on past and current recovery and conservation plans.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speakers: Michael E. McCormick and Robert C. Murtha, Murtech, Inc

Abstract: Two floating systems have been created for the diverse goals of the production of potable-water and the protection of shorelines. The basic ideas of leading to these systems is that products or services other than the production of electricity can effectively be supplied by exploiting the energy of ocean waves. The two systems discussed are designed to take advantage of the phenomenon of wave diffraction focusing. That is, by designing the floating systems to radiate waves that destructively interfere with the incident waves, wave energy is re-supplied to the zone of interference. As a result, the systems in question receive more wave energy than is in an incident wave crest having a width equal to the breadth of the body.

The system designed for potable-water production is an articulated hinged-barge system, called the Articulated Wave Energy Conversion System, or AWECS. The relative motions of the three barges comprising the system energize high-pressure water pumps positioned over the connecting hinges. These pumps supply the pressurized water to a reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination system. Research efforts leading to a prototype to be deployed this year include smallscale wave tank test and a nine year full-scale study of the articulated barge system. The 40-meter long prototype is designed to supply approximately 100,000 gallons-per-day in a near-shore wave climate having an average wave height of 1m and an average wave period of 6.5s. The deployment site is off the Delaware coast, north of the Indian River Inlet.

The shore protection system is called the Antenna Buoy (AB). The design is to take advantage of the diffraction focusing to attract wave energy. The wave energy incident upon the AB causes both axial and angular motions of the body. Because of the geometry, a significant portion of the captured energy is dissipated by viscous-pressure losses in the alternating wakes of the body. The primary geometric features causing the dissipation are vertical fins (radiating out from a vertical circular-cylindrical float) and a horizontal circular bottom plate. In full-scale tank tests, the body was found to reduce the transmission coefficient by up to 40%. Arrays of the AB will have three 2013 deployments in the Chesapeake Bay.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: John Dunne, NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

Abstract: A fundamental aspect of greenhouse-gas-induced warming is a global-scale increase in absolute humidity. Under continued warming, this response has been shown to pose increasingly severe limitations on human activity in tropical and midlatitudes during peak months of heat stress. One heat-stress metric with broad occupational health applications is wetbulb globe temperature. We combine wet-bulb globe temperatures from global climate historical reanalysis and Earth System Model (ESM2M) projections with industrial and military guidelines for an acclimated individual’s occupational capacity to safely perform sustained labour under environmental heat stress (labor capacity) - here defined as a global population-weighted metric temporally fixed at the 2010 distribution. We estimate that environmental heat stress has reduced labor capacity to 90% in peak months over the past few decades. ESM2M projects labor capacity reduction to 80% in peak months by 2050. Under the highest scenario considered (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5), ESM2M projects labor capacity reduction to less than 40% by 2200 in peak months, with most tropical and mid-latitudes experiencing extreme climatological heat stress. Uncertainties and caveats associated with these projections include climate sensitivity, climate warming patterns, CO2 emissions, future population distributions, and technological and societal change.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: Dr. Sandra Byrne, Social Scientist, Baldrige National Quality Program, NIST

Abstract: What you will discover are the questions about seven critical aspects of managing and performing as an organization:

• Leadership
• Strategic planning
• Customer focus
• Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management
• Workforce focus
• Operations focus
• Results

You can self assess your program by answering questions in these 7 focus areas that work together as a unique, integrated, systems-focused performance management framework. Answering the questions helps you:

• align your resources;
• identify strengths and opportunities for improvement;
• improve communication, productivity, and effectiveness; and
• achieve your strategic goals.

As a result,

• You deliver ever-improving value to your customers and stakeholders, which contributes to organizational sustainability.
• You improve your organization's overall effectiveness and capability.
• Your organization improves and learns.
• Your workforce members learn and grow.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: William Mott, Executive Director, The Ocean Project; and Douglas Meyer, Bernuth and Williamson

Abstract: An update on the major findings from The Ocean Project's ongoing public opinion and strategic communications research initiative, America and the Ocean, including how those findings have been distributed and are now being applied, especially by zoos, aquariums and museums in experimental efforts aimed at inspiring visitors to do more to help conserve the ocean.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: Sarah Kapnick, NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

Abstract: Understanding snowfall variability is key to understanding water supply in snowmelt-dominated regions. A new high-resolution global climate model CM2.5, developed at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, is used to explore snow variability in the present climate and as a result of doubling atmospheric CO2. Globally in CM2.5 and coarser models, snowfall increases in the high-to-mid latitudes and decreases in the mid-to-low latitudes. However, in mid-to-low latitudes, CM2.5 is unique in that its high resolution allows it to resolve complex mountain systems, leading to a change in sign in snowfall projections over high mountains in comparison to older models. Over the U.S., the future climate experiment exhibits significant reductions in average annual snowfall with the greatest percentages occurring in the south, along the eastern coast, and the Pacific Northwest.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

Speaker: Shannon Dionne, NOAA Office of International Affairs; Cheri McCarty, and Nina Young, NMFS Office of International Affairs

Abstract: The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (also known as CMS or the Bonn Convention) aims to conserve terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale. This presentation will focus on CMS as a whole as well as the three species-specific CMS MOUs to which the United States is signatory: the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (Sharks MOU); the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Cetaceans and their Habitats in the Pacific Island Region (Pacific Cetaceans MOU); and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia (IOSEA).

Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 12:00pm EST

Speaker: Sharon Moen, University of Minnesota Sea Grant

Abstract: To Walter Cronkite he was "the most interesting person I’ve ever interviewed." President Kennedy joked that the only science he knew was because of him. Colorful, sharp thinking, and intensely productive, Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus (1911-1998) was, among other things, the "Father of Sea Grant." Appointed by presidents and advisor to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, his breathtakingly diverse accomplishments include a sculpture that stands in downtown New York, an oceanographic tool that helped win WWII, and a mishap that fueled the Roswell Incident. As Dr. Spilhaus’s unconventional personality and notable contributions to science and the United States prove, you can do anything if you have the gall!

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 12:00pm EST

Speaker: Jim Sullivan, NOAA Office of Marine Sanctuaries

Abstract: The NOAA Sentinel Site Program is a place-based, issue driven approach to management. Sentinel Sites bring to bear the full force of NOAA monitoring, modeling and management to help solve concrete problems that people are facing in local communities. This will be a general overview of the program, the Cooperatives, the accomplishments, and next steps.

NOAA's Sentinel Site Program is an innovative effort built around our National Marine Sanctuaries and National Estuarine Research Reserves. NOAA and our partners are joining forces to tackle specific coastal problems using existing resources, tools, and services to ensure that coastal communities are better prepared for the future.

It's all about synergy. We have many coastal regions around the nation with a lot of NOAA activity in terms of coastal and ecosystem monitoring, measurements, and tools. These regions also host a wealth of complementary federal, state, and local efforts. While all of these tools, resources, and programs are valuable in their own right, tying them together sets the stage to address specific, broader problems faced by coastal communities in each region.

The strength of the program is that it brings together a network of people, expertise, and resources that are tied to a single place with a common need. To date, five regions, called "Sentinel Site Cooperatives," are participating in the program.

The first order of business for NOAA's Sentinel Site Program is to shed light on impacts of climate change, specifically sea level change and coastal inundation. This effort gathers people from many backgrounds and disciplines to develop novel solutions to address real-world local problems, such as how to secure a housing development from rising sea levels or how to best protect a sensitive shoreline habitat.

Remote access via webinar will be available.

Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 12:00pm EST

Speakers: Laurie Ekstrand, Evaluation Consultant, NOAA PPI; and John Baek, NOAA Office of Education

Abstract: In this brown bag, Laurie Ekstrand and John Baek describe how program staff can use logic modelling (graphically illustrating the relationship between a programs’ resources, activities, outputs and outcomes) to support program planning, design and continuous improvement. They will provide examples to illustrate key concepts, common barriers, and misconceptions.

Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee

Remote access via webinar will be available.