Great Lakes Observing System formed to improve data coordination Ann Arbor, MI -- A non-profit corporation has been established in Michigan to formally initiate the Great Lakes Observing System Regional Association (GLOS-RA), one of 11 regional nodes of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). A 12-member GLOS Board of Directors has been elected and will hold its inaugural meeting June 19-20, 2006, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Biographies of the board members are attached. As the lone freshwater component of IOOS, GLOS is paving the way for improved water management and data exchange across the international Great Lakes region. In order to pursue ecosystem forecasting and indicator development for the Great Lakes, comprehensive data collection, compilation and management is sorely needed. GLOS is filling this niche by providing coordinated access to various physical, chemical and biological data sets and developing new products to support research, management and user communities. GLOS will provide critical real-time data for multiple users, including resource managers, researchers, educators, homeland security interests, the commercial shipping industry and the recreational boating community, among others. A GLOS Steering Committee, made up of 30 key stakeholders, has been instrumental over the last two years in developing a business plan for the GLOS-RA, designing an appropriate governance structure, developing bylaws and compiling short-term priorities for GLOS implementation. GLOS is initially focusing on data coordination within some of the busier and more highly populated interconnecting waterways. Planning is currently underway for a binational 3-dimensional hydrodynamic model for the St. Clair River - Lake St. Clair - Detroit River system. This modeling initiative is a critical element in implementation of a real-time monitoring network for the waterway, which is needed by municipal, county, state/provincial and federal interests to protect drinking water supplies for southeast Michigan and southwestern Ontario. The coordinated 3-D model will be developed in 2007-08, contingent upon receipt of federal funding under IOOS appropriations. GLOS partnered with the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments to conduct a two-day technical workshop in March 2006 to define the functional requirements and detailed modeling specification desired by affected stakeholders. On the education and outreach front, GLOS is teaming with the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network and the newly established Great Lakes Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence to do comprehensive user needs assessments, outreach planning and curriculum development. Other current GLOS activities include advocating for upgrades and additions to the National Data Buoy Center network and improvements to nearshore marine forecasts generated by the National Weather Service. The Great Lakes Commission, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has been leading initial development of GLOS, with funding through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Coastal Services Center. For more information, visit www.glos.us. Contact: Christine Manninen GLOS Secretariat Great Lakes Commission Ann Arbor, Mich. Phone (734) 971-9135 ext. 112
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FINAL_PR_annualmeeting_20060619.pdf
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