Social distancing doesn’t have to cause scientific distancing! The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) invites you to join us for our Science Exchange Webinar Series – where we bring science to you.
BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program and associated partners conduct an array of scientific studies that support our science-based decision making. Attend our webinars to learn more about this important research. Our next webinar begins May 28, 2020, with more to come later in the spring.
SPACE IS LIMITED so please REGISTER IN ADVANCE
May 28 at 3:00 pm (EDT)
Do Fish and Sea Turtles Like Sandy Bottoms? Using Ocean Technology to Answer Fishy Questions in Murky Water
Jen Bucatari, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, BOEM
Joseph Iafrate, Naval Undersea Warfare Center
Eric Reyier and Bonnie Ahr, Kennedy Space Center Ecological Program
Sand shoals of the Outer Continental Shelf are an important source of beach-quality sand for coastal restoration projects. BOEM is tasked with ensuring continued access to this resource while protecting marine species associated with shoal habitats. The importance of shoals to large pelagic fish and sea turtles has historically been hard to define due to their high mobility in the open ocean.
In this talk, we will discuss how we paired traditional longline sampling with acoustic telemetry to characterize shark and sportfish distribution over multiple annual cycles. We will also describe the movements of green and loggerhead turtles using satellite telemetry and surveys using an unmanned surface vehicle. Our talk will highlight the applicability of our results to other regional sand shoals and propose directions for future research.
June 3 at 3:00 pm (EDT)
How Crowdsourcing and Open Source Small Satellites are Helping BOEM and NASA Develop the Next Generation of Animal Telemetry
Jacob Levenson, Marine Biologist, Division of Environmental Science, BOEM
Andres Martinez, Program Executive, Advanced Exploration Systems Division, NASA
What do antennas on the International Space Station and BOEM have in common? Join our webinar to learn more about an ambitious initiative to improve how we understand ocean animal movements. Understanding the movements of large marine animals at varying spatial scales is a fundamental need for conservation, management, and research. However, this ability is largely restricted to a small handful of proprietary satellites.
BOEM and partners at NASA are working to accelerate small satellite technology development for the next generation of animal tracking systems. Researchers conducted a crowdsourcing ideation challenge and high-altitude balloon experiment to conceptualize the feasibility of a new telemetry network. Now, the team is moving on to a new phase of a technical demonstration project and will share the latest about plans for the year ahead.