PANAMA CITY — A regional nonprofit group with a mission to increase forecast observations in the Gulf of Mexico is seeking new board members to help carry on its decade-long effort.
The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association (GCOOS-RA) establishes reporting and forecasting stations in the oceans, similar to those monitored on land by the National Weather Service.
“We take in data from 1,900 centers around the Gulf of Mexico,” said executive director Barbara Kirkpatrick. “That sounds like a lot, but the Gulf of Mexico is very big. Our goal and mission is to get observations in the ocean as regular” as possible.
Kirkpatrick said measuring conditions in the Gulf can help with a variety of things, including safer transport for the maritime industry, quicker location of distressed boaters, better forecasts for algal blooms like red tide as well as hurricane intensity, and better prediction of pollution areas in the event of an oil spill.
“It has a lot of implications,” Kirkpatrick said. “Whether it be buoys, people out on boats making observations, satellites ... we use a whole variety of tools.”
The organization, which has members from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, is seeking nominations to replace five board members, who will help guide the group’s priorities and direction in the coming years. It is comprised of industry leaders, marine scientists, resource managers, non-governmental organizations and stakeholders who gather data and share timely information about the Gulf.
Board members serve three year terms in a non-salaried position, and candidates must be a member or affiliated with a member organization.
“We really want to make sure that GCOOS-RA represents all interested parties — whether that’s private- sector industry members, federal, state or local government representatives, or members of the academic and education and outreach communities,” said Alyssa Dausman, science adviser at the U.S. Geological Survey and chairwoman of the membership committee. “So we encourage interested partners from all of these areas to apply and help us continue to grow the GCOOS-RA.”
Get Involved
Nominations for the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association should be emailed to Alyssa Dausmanat adausman@usgs.gov and Susan Martin at susan.martin@gcoos.org before 5 p.m. CST on Feb. 18.