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NOV. 12, 2024 — Over the past year, the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) and the Coastal Response Research Center at the University of New Hampshire partnered with Louisiana Sea Grant to launch a series of resources to assist communities following natural disasters.
OR&R Weekly Report
The Office of Response and Restoration publishes this weekly round-up of news and information of interest to our partners, stakeholders, and team members. Click to subscribe
NOV. 12, 2024 — Staff from the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) Assessment and Restoration Division and Emergency Response Division attended the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) North America annual conference in Fort Worth, Texas from October 20–24, 2024. Attended by more than 1,500 scientists, the conference included 1,088 presentations—21 of which were co-authored by NOAA scientists—across 184 scientific sessions.
NOV. 12, 2024 — The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) welcomed four interns from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES): Jalynn Aaron and Kayla Brown, both majoring in psychology, and Mikaela Blackwood and Amari Dupree, both majoring in biology. From this November 2024 through April 2025, interns will remotely support OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division with work on natural resource damage assessment and restoration.
December 2021
DECEMBER 13, 2021 — On November 17, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program (MDP) hosted a virtual Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Marine Debris Emergency Response workshop. The CNMI experiences a high number of storms and is located in an area referred to as “Typhoon Alley,” making it especially important for the region to be prepared.
DECEMBER 13, 2021 ─ On December 1, 2021, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a report on the United States’ contributions to global ocean plastic waste.
DECEMBER 13, 2021 — OR&R staff are participating in a training to improve their training and instruction skills. While the training team spends a great deal of time educating others, very rarely do they have the opportunity to be the students themselves.
DECEMBER 6, 2021 — OR&R’s Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) program released a new set of ESI data and maps for two critical links in the Great Lakes region. Work was completed in July 2021 to refresh outdated ESI mapping data for the St. Marys and St.
DECEMBER 6, 2021 ─ On Nov. 15 and 16 the Marine Debris Program (MDP) hosted a two-part seminar titled, "Working with Restaurants to Reduce Plastic: A NOAA Seminar on Challenges & Successes." The seminar featured presentations and a panel discussion with current and past Marine Debris Program grantees who shared their challenges and lessons learned around how to approach restaurants, how to work with them on plastic reduction, and how to maintain long-term relationships and momentum with the restaurant industry.
DECEMBER 6, 2021 — Several OR&R staff members participated in the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Pacific States-British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force, held virtually on November 17. Composed of representatives from the key spill response agencies in Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia, the Oil Spill Task Force collects and shares data on oil spills, coordinates oil spill prevention projects, and promotes regulatory safeguards.
November 2021
NOVEMBER 22, 2021 — OR&R biologist Nicolle Rutherford was among the authors of a paper recently accepted for publication: “Meta-analysis of salt marsh vegetation impacts and recovery: a synthesis following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.”
NOVEMBER 22, 2021 -─ On November 10, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program (MDP) coordinated and presented at the virtual bi-annual California Ocean Litter Strategy (CA OLS) webinar. The webinar brought together over 45 partners across the state and included a diverse set of sectors including state agencies, nonprofits, private sector, and academia.
NOVEMBER 22, 2021 ─ So, what is marine snow? Can we even see it? Possibly, but in reality, marine snow are extremely small particles that float slowly from the surface of a body of water to the floor, found both in bodies of fresh and salt water. On November 18, Dr. Uta Passow, an expert on this subject, presented on this as part of the OR&R You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know Lecture Series.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ On November 9, led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Interior, 15 federal agencies and non-governmental partners commemorated a decade of accomplishments under the Urban Waters Federal Partnership while pledging their recommitment to this partnership. Twenty partnership locations across the country are advancing economic, public health, environmental, and social benefits by enhancing community connections to water.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ Recently, the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator for Alaska had the opportunity to accompany U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) members to an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) equipment demonstration. Attendees included personnel from USCG Sector Anchorage, Marine Safety Unit Valdez, University of Alaska-Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center, and Alaska Department of Transportation.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 — In September of this year, the Washington State Department of Ecology hosted a workshop, Marine Mammal Management in Oil Spill Response, and we wrote about the presentations given by two recently retired scientists from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, Gary Shigenaka and Dr. Alan Mearns.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ On November 8 and 9, the OR&R Director Scott Lundgren, Marine Debris Program Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator Andrew Mason, Marine Debris Monitoring Coordinator Hillary Burgess, and California Sea Grant Extension Fellow Tanya Torres presented at the virtual 2021 Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan (ORMDAP) update workshop. A prerecorded address to the marine debris community was also provided by Oregon's 1st District Representative Suzanne Bonomici.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ On November 10, OR&R representatives presented on the potential threats of oil pollution and marine debris during the Rice's Whale Recovery Plan Workshop. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is developing a recovery plan for Rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei) listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2019.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ On November 3, a team of NOAA scientists from the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), and NOAA Fisheries participated in an industry-led oil spill exercise. The scenario for the exercise, a deep-water well loss of control with a discharge significantly larger than that of Deepwater Horizon, provided an opportunity for the OR&R team to consider the processes associated with and potential environmental effects of using subsea dispersant injection (SSDI) as a response method.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ The Seventh International Marine Debris Conference (7IMDC) will be held September 18-23, 2022, in Busan, South Korea. The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will be official co-hosts for this event, with NOAA’s Marine Debris Program providing in-kind support in planning and executing the conference.
NOVEMBER 8, 2021 ─ On November 1, 2021, the 84-foot fishing vessel Laura ran aground and capsized at Sitkalidak Island, near Kodiak, Alaska. The four-person crew abandoned ship and made it safely ashore and were rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. But one member of the crew, Grace, the vessel’s puppy, was washed overboard and presumed lost.
NOVEMBER 8, 2021 ─ On Nov. 2, the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology hosted a panel discussion on Environmental Justice (EJ). The discussion provided an excellent introduction to the topic of environmental justice and OR&R staff who joined improved their understanding of the importance of the role our own work can play in perpetuating environmental injustices.
NOVEMBER 8, 2021 ─ Our new interactive Story Map puts real data from the Refugio Beach oil spill at your fingertips.
NOVEMBER 8, 2021 ─ On November 2, Marine Debris Program (MDP) team member Shanelle Naone provided information on marine debris messaging and communications to students participating in an MDP-funded grant program.
October 2021
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ What is marine snow? It is definitely not something strap on your boots and board to go ski, it is a little deeper than that, actually way deeper. In fact, look to the oceans, marine snow is mostly an organic matter that is falling from higher layers of the water column to lower layers and eventually settling on the sea floors.
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ NOAA scientists from OR&R’s Office of Response and the Fisheries Restoration Center are in Southern California working with our state and federal co-trustees to initiate a Natural Resource Damage Assessment for the Huntington Beach oil spill (Pipeline P00547) that occurred in early October 2021.
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ Every year on the third Thursday in October, participants around the world practice earthquake safety during The Great Shakeout. On October 21st, OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held two offerings of a virtual earthquake drill to take part in this event along with more than 15.9 million global participants.
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ On October 27, Katie Morgan joined the NOAA Marine Debris Program MDP) as the new Regional Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic. As Regional Coordinator, Katie will represent the MDP in the region, and work with agencies, NGO, industry, and academia on a variety of projects and initiatives to identify, research, prevent, assess, and remove marine debris.
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ As the temperatures start to cool and snow starts to fall, the Great Lakes region begins to warm up to the idea of winter recreational activities. Ice fishing, racing snow mobiles, enjoying the city view from half a mile offshore on a thick slab of ice are all examples of outdoor enjoyments local residents look forward to after the new year.
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ On October 21, the Marine Debris Program released the Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan 2010-2020 Accomplishments Report. The Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan was the first community-based marine debris action plan in the nation.
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ Wind Farms. Why do we not see more of them on our coastlines? There is an obvious push to go green, use sustainable technologies for power, and for good reason but at what cost?
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ On October 18, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the opening of its annual art contest. Students in grades K-8 from the United States and U.S. territories can submit their artwork now through December 10.
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ On October 13, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Education Specialist, Alexandria Brake, led a workshop at the North American Association of Environmental Education’s 2021 Virtual Conference titled “Litter Lessons: Project-Based Marine Debris Education Using Citizen Science.”
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ On October 8, 2021 NOAA and our co-trustee partners released a Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan to guide assessment activities related to releases of oil and other contaminants at the ITC Tank Fire site in Deer Park, Texas.