Welcome Dr. Nathalí Cordero Quirós to SCCOOS! 
We are thrilled to announce Dr. Cordero Quirós joined  SCCOOS as our Oceanographer Data Scientist on November 4th. Dr. Cordero Quirós brings a wealth of expertise to our team, with an impressive career that includes postdoctoral research at CICESE, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, and the Institute of Marine Science. She earned her PhD in Oceanography and Climate Science from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, further cementing her credentials as a leader in her field.  Many of you may already know her from her outstanding work coordinating the US CLIVAR workshop this past September: “Optimizing Ocean Observing Networks for Detecting the Coastal Climate Signal.” 

Please join us in giving Dr. Cordero Quirós a warm welcome—don’t hesitate to reach out and say hello!

OOCA Report Now Available Online
The 2024 Ocean Observing in California (OOCA) Conference Summary Report is now available via the NOAA Institutional Repository. The report is a great resource that includes: conference materials, attendee information, an overview of ongoing and historical ocean observing efforts in California, conclusions and recommendations from the conference, presentation and panel summaries, with links to available materials, pictures, quotes, and much more! This conference, celebration event, and report were made possible by our generous sponsors!

Left to Right - SIO COOL Team wishes us Happy Thanksgiving from the new Scripps Pier Webcam, SCCOOS Automate Shore Station instrument package, located on 4 piers in Southern California (final picture)

The Coastal Ocean Observing Laboratory has been hard at work! On November 26th, a new SeapHOx instrument, developed by SCCOOS PI Todd Martz, was installed at Stearns Wharf. The Self-Calibrating SeapHOx is an autonomous water sampling device that gives us real-time measurements of seawater conditions, including pH, temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen. This instrument is an invaluable addition to the network of SCCOOS Automated Shore Stations (SASS), which can be used to investigate changes in ocean conditions over time as well as detect and assess threats to local communities and ecosystems, such as Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia (OAH) events and Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB).  

Additionally, with support from the SCCOOS Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding, the team has installed a new SeaBird Eco Triplet sensor at Scripps Pier. The state-of-the-art instrument collects real-time chlorophyll and FDOM fluorescence data, enhancing our ability to monitor HABs, eutrophication, and transport of discharge effluent to nearshore waters. This upgrade replaces aging infrastructure and ensures more robust biogeochemical nearshore monitoring capabilities. We plan to install additional sensors with additional BIL and Inflation Reduction Act funding at Santa Monica Pier, Newport Beach Pier, and Stearns Wharf.

CSU Long Beach Sharklab tag local shark populations with acoustic transmitters (left) and track their movements with acoustic receivers (right). Photo credit: @csulbsharklab instagram

Earlier this month, the Shark Lab at CSU Long Beach deployed two new real-time acoustic receiver buoys with support from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. These buoys, now operational off San Onofre and Ventura, are successfully collecting and transmitting: air temperature, near-surface water temperature, and acoustic transmitter detections. Additionally, each buoy is equipped with sensors near the seafloor to measure water temperature, chlorophyll, and dissolved oxygen. These sensors are collecting critical shark detection and environmental data, transmitted in real-time to California lifeguards to enhance beach safety.

Looking ahead, two more buoys have been purchased with SCCOOS IRA funds and are scheduled for deployment off Newport Beach and Manhattan Beach in February 2025.

To streamline data access, an API has been developed for daily transfers from the Innovasea server to the CSULB Shark Lab ERDDAP server. By early 2025, this data will also be accessible via the SCCOOS and CeNCOOS data portal on data.caloos.org, hosted by Axiom Data Science.

This project exemplifies the power of collaboration and innovation in advancing public safety and environmental monitoring.

Pictured above - Southern California MOCI, updated through September 2024. Large positive (red) values indicate warmer ocean conditions and weaker upwelling, which benefits Sardine recruitment. Negative (blue) values represent cooler ocean temperatures and strong upwelling, supporting a wide range of species, including kelp, copepods, krill, fish, and seabirds.

West Coast ocean conditions are highly variable, influenced by climate events such as El Niño/La Niña and marine heatwaves. These changing conditions profoundly influence the marine ecosystem. Monitoring ocean variability helps us understand, manage, and predict ecosystem changes. To address this, California MOCI has been developed to incorporate publicly available data, and it is updated and shared seasonally in the CalOOS data portal and Farallon Institute’s website. Read More on the SCCOOS website.

Left to right: Bioluminescent waves at Scripps Pier - photo credit Erik Jepson; Graph showing the onset of the L. polyedra bloom on Nov.1-5); Image from IFCB showing an abundance of L. polyedra in the sample 

Have you seen the stunning bioluminescent waves this Fall in Southern California? The automated microscopic imaging instrument, called an Imaging Flow Cytobot (IFCB), on the Scripps Pier (A. Barton, and J. Bowman, Simons Foundation funding) is an ocean observing tool that captures thousands of pictures of the phytoplankton in the water samples that flow through it. In early November, the IFCB detected an abundance of L. polyedra; this is a dinoflagellate that can cause red-colored water by day and glowing waves at night in southern California. This bloom is a great example of how ocean observations, whether by instruments or community sightings, can come together to investigate, validate, or give different perspectives of scientific phenomena!

California Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Bulletin is a monthly resource to give the public and resource managers a quick outlook of recent toxic (marine) algal blooms in coastal California from models and aggregate data sets. Reports synthesize model output, near real-time observations, and public health alerts to provide a more complete picture of the regional variability in harmful algal blooms.

The September 2024 California HAB Bulletin are now available. This latest edition includes a comprehensive summary of model outputs, real-time observations, and public health advisories to keep you informed about harmful algal bloom activity along the California coast.

Summary written by Dr. Clarissa Anderson with contributions from SCCOOS, CeNCOOS, HABMAP, CA IFCB Network, NOAA CoastWatch, California Department of Public Health, The Marine Mammal Center, Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute, Marine Mammal Care Center-Los Angeles, California Wildlife Center, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, and SeaWorld.

Recently, SCCOOS started two outreach campaigns, SCCOOS Spotlight and On The Horizon. SCCOOS aims to use these outreach initiatives to share the wealth of knowledge from our subject matter experts, stakeholders, and applications of our observational assets. 

Be sure to sign up for our email listserv to be up-to-date on ocean observing projects and opportunities in Southern California!

First Row, Left to Right: IOOS Fall meeting in Juneau, Alaska; Eastern Pacific Ocean Conference reception; and Dan Rudnick, SCCOOS PI and Executive Chair, and Megan Medina, SCCOOS Deputy Director, present at the US CLIVAR workshop.

Second Row, Left to Right: Clarissa Anderson facilitates the GlobalHAB Science Steering Committee workshop at SIO; Clarissa Anderson and others bring their 'A' game to the US HABS Symposium costume contest in Portland, Maine; NHABON Town Hall at US HABs Symposium; SIO hosts Ocean Resilience Summit at BlueTech Week.

Third Row, Left to Right: SCCOOS and the MISNA members get their costumes on at the Little Dock of Horrors event at AltaSea, where Megan Medina participated on a panel to discuss the challenges and opportunities in blue technology. , SCCOOS tours Marine Exchange of Southern California in San Pedro - Many thanks to Patrick Baranic for his hospitality.

Fourth Row, Left to Right: Ross Timmerman represents SCCOOS at the webCOOS workshop including tours out at the locations of webCOOS stations