Current and Upcoming Workshops

Emerging Contaminants (April 2009) in collaboration with:
California Ocean Protection Council (OPC)
National Water Research Institute (NWRI)
University of California Irvine, Urban Water Research Center (UWRC)
San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI)
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)

The Workshop will help delineate processes that California should employ to:

1. Identify which contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) are of sufficient concern to be incorporated into routine aquatic monitoring programs.
2. Standardize the measurement processes and techniques that will be used for monitoring priority CECs. 
3. Determine thresholds of ecological and human health concern for interpreting CEC monitoring data.

Workshop Report - This report summarizes the findings of the workshop, including the need to incorporate CECs into routine aquatic monitoring programs, measurement techniques for monitoring CECs, and thresholds of ecological and human health concern for interpreting CEC monitoring data.

Invasive Species Risk Assessment (November 6-7, 2008)
The California Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Management Plan (the Plan), signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in January 2008, identifies actions to develop and maintain programs that ensure both the monitoring of existing aquatic invasive species and the early detection of new aquatic invasive species in California. One of the top five priorities of the Plan is to conduct a statewide risk assessment of important recognized species introduction pathways that have not yet been investigated in a systematic manner. The California Ocean Protection Council identified assessment of the relative risks of these vectors as a priority for research and contracted the California Ocean Science Trust (OST) to facilitate scientifically robust examinations of the vectors and their relative risk. The first objective of the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Vector Risk Assessment project is to compile information and prepare a report for each vector that addresses the significance of these vectors and how they vary based on geography, life forms, and control points, both geographic and operational, in activities that result in AIS introductions. The second objective is to take the results and recommendations of these risk assessment reports and integrate them into a meta-study. This meta-study will compare characteristics of the different vectors and evaluate their relative risks. In order for the vector risk assessments to be effectively compiled, data collection and reporting must be consistent across teams. As such, the OST held a workshop for the teams to collaborate and determine a common set of terms, methodology, and scope for the studies.
Purpose:

• For the vector teams to gain a better understanding of the project objectives of the OPC and the State.
• Develop a set of common terms and approaches across the 3 teams and 6 studies such that the OST can synthesize the data and trends to evaluate the relative risk of the 6 vectors in order to help the State prioritize action. This requires a common approach to literature review, surveys, internet sampling, and risk assessment.
• Network among the teams.

 Outcome:
Discussions during the workshop included the project goals and objectives presented by Abe Doherty of the OPC, the format and content of the final report, data sharing, project scope, definitions, and methods. Specifically, the teams were able to come to agreement on:

• A list of common terms to be used in the risk assessment reports.
• A refined the report outline with clarified existing components and a methods section.
• An outline of how ‘risk’ will be expressed for the purposes of the project.

Harmful Algal Blooms (April 2-3, 2008)

• To assess the feasibility of creating an integrated HAB alert network in California the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP), and the California Ocean Science Trust sponsored a workshop involving regional experts. The organizing committee intended the workshop to be the first in a series aimed at creating an integrated and coordinated HAB alert network in California. A Harmful Algal Blooms Fact Sheet is available from NOAA: http://www.cop.noaa.gov/stressors/extremeevents/hab/features/ca_pn_050807.html 

Purpose:

• Facilitate information exchange among the California HAB community. The workshop was intended to identify the HAB-related research and monitoring programs in the State, including the focus, type, and extent of each program, such as the geographical regions studied, the temporal dynamics, the HAB species examined, and the multidisciplinary aspects.
• Identify the major impediments to synchronizing these data sets and integrating HAB programs into a coordinated statewide HAB alert network. There were two main classes of potential impediments evaluated: (1) compatibility of methods used to collect the data, and (2) challenges in combining data into a common data set.
• Identify the research priorities and next steps necessary to forming a coordinated statewide HAB monitoring and alert network and improving predictive capabilities for California.

Outcome:
There was widespread agreement among the participants that the development of an integrated statewide HAB alert network would be of value to both researchers and end user communities. The participants further determined that the impediments identified at the workshop were primarily organizational and motivational, rather than technical. Based on this conclusion, the workshop participants agreed that the following next steps should be implemented:

• The workshop participants should formalize their interaction by electing a steering committee and facilitator that would organize the group, implement the recommendations from the workshop, and centralize information from all groups in the State.
• A summary of the workshop and recommendations should be communicated to the OPC to gauge their interest in having a coordinated network and potentially funding the initial steps of developing the network.
• Initiate interaction tools, such as an e-mail list server, a website, and a summary of existing programs.
• Develop study plans and seek funding for an interlaboratory intercalibration study of toxin detection and species identification methods.
• Conduct a regional data pilot study building on one of the programs with a regional mission, such as the SCCOOS HAB pier program or the MERHAB Cal-PREeMPT program.

Workshop Report

Coastal States Organization and the Ocean Science Trust Workshop on Making Use of Ocean Observing: Applications to Marine Protected Areas and Water Quality (September 25-26, 2007)
Purpose:

• Convene managers and ocean observing experts to determine the requirements for a coastal ocean observing system that would meet the needs of both water quality and marine protected area (MPA) managers in California.
• Develop a model for a high-level design of an observing system for water quality and MPA monitoring and to overlay those needs to develop a single system that could meet both needs.

Outcome:

• Workshop attendees participated in working groups focused on how ocean observing can address water quality issues and assist with MPA monitoring. 
• Participants discussed how managers make decisions and what data they need to outline the requirements for ocean observing information products.
• The workshop’s primary recommendation was to retain consulting services to work with the Regional Associations and the State to create a cohesive vision for ocean observing systems that meet managers’ needs in California.
• Participants recommended that work should expand beyond the water quality and MPA topic areas to include other key areas such as harmful algal blooms, sediment transfer, ocean energy, and maritime safety.
• The goal of the project should be to articulate a vision that meets managers’ needs; is acceptable to and deemed feasible by the scientific and observation community; and is understandable by high-level decision makers.

Workshop Report
Information on the national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) program and history can be found at the Ocean.US website: www.ocean.us
Information about the two Regional Associations which cover the California coastline, including governance structure, products, data, and activities, can be found at:

• Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System: www.cencoos.org
• Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System: www.sccoos.org