Report of the
U.S. GLOBEC Georges Bank SI Meeting
at the
AGU/ASLO Ocean Science Meeting
in San Antonio, Texas

The meeting was held in the San Antonio, Texas Convention Center between 1430 and 1630 on 23 January 2000. The objectives of the meeting were I) to discuss the creation of post-field work data workshops targeted on specific issues of common interest, and II) to review the Phase IV Request for Proposal (RFP) development and structure.

I. DATA WORKSHOPS

A number of data workshops were suggested during the course of the afternoon's discussion. In addition to tentative titles, leaders of the workshop were identified who will prepare a workshop prospectus and decide on the venue. Following is a list of the topics and leaders; it is important to emphasize that this is not an exclusive list. The hope is that other topics and groups of investigators will be identified during the coming months, and that the process of data synthesis and integration will become a dominant activity as we proceed into Phase IV of the Program.

It was agreed that the workshops will be announced via the Program web site and be open to all U.S. GLOBEC Georges Bank Study investigators. The leaders should also invite investigators they believe will be particularly helpful in the discussions. The Program Service Office will provide some funding for organizational and travel costs of the workshops.

  1. Vital rates Goal: To work toward integration of the vital rates measurements into the population dynamics and biological/physical modeling efforts.

  2. NAO/Georges Bank climate connection and decadal variability Goal: To consider the impact of climatic variability on decadal scales, especially the NAO, on the biological and physical dynamics of the Georges Bank ecosystem. Leaders: C. Greene, C. Hannah Time: June, 2000 Site: Denmark ASLO Meeting

  3. Broad-scale data coordination Goal: To lay the groundwork for integration among all Broad-scale data sets, including distribution and abundance of target species and physical oceanographic analyses, and between Broad-scale and Process oriented data. The compilation of the data sets will allow selection of topics for later focus. The eventual goal will be to integrate all these data into models.

  4. Scotian Shelf Cross-overs Goal: To conduct a census of crossover events 1995 - 1999, to focus on the 1999 field year, and to determine their impacts on the biological and physical dynamics on the Bank. First meeting will integrate physical data (which are available now) and whatever biological data are available by the time of the meeting.

  5. Cross-frontal exchange Goal: To integrate data from the major field experiments examining the tidal mixing fronts on the northern flank (including drifter and dye studies) and southern flank (moorings), with a focus on 1999 data sets.

  6. Slope Water Interaction Goal: Integrate various types of data (VPR, SeaSoar, remote sensing, moored array, drifters) that examine Georges Bank - slope water interactions, especially across the shelf-break front, using data collected during 1995 - 1999. The sea surface temperature records for these years may allow identification of critical periods for focused study.

  7. A Kriging Workshop Goal: To explore the theoretical foundation of kriging with presentations by experts (A. Solow and others) and provide opportunity for hands-on exploration using individual data sets.

  8. GLOBEC contribution towards development of an LTER for GoM/GB Goal: To consider how best to use limited LTER funds to ensure coordination among ongoing and planned field studies, including NOAA/NMFS resource surveys, NOPP/GOMOOS, NOPP/FleetLink, Cooperative Research efforts by the Northeast Consortium, Gulf of Maine Aquarium, and NEFMC. Possible coordination with the NSF Biocomplexity initiative and Canadian GLOBEC efforts was discussed but considered less likely, due to differences in timing. Leaders: L. Incze, D. Mountain, P. Wiebe, P. Smith Time: March (for preliminary planning meeting) Site: TBD

II. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

The RFP, tentatively titled: "INTEGRATION AND SYNTHESIS PROJECT OF THE U.S. GLOBEC NORTHWEST ATLANTIC PROGRAM: The impact of oceanographic and climate related processes on the population dynamics of plankton and fish on Georges Bank" is in an initial draft form.

RFP preparation: The draft RFP will be distributed to EXCO for review shortly and a revised version will be prepared and distributed to all Georges Bank Study science investigators for review and comment. EXCO will review suggested changes and the product of this review will be submitted to the U.S. GLOBEC National Steering Committee in time for their review and approval at the April 2000 meeting to be held at NCAR in Colorado. A final draft will be forwarded to the NSF and NOAA Program Managers.

Timeline: It is expected that the RFP will be released during August to October, 2000. The proposal deadline is anticipated for December 15th, 2000, with funding beginning about June, 2001. Funding would be available from FY2002 - 2004, and three-year awards would be possible.

Dollar amount: The funding level for synthesis and integration during Phase IV has not been discussed.

International participants: The exclusion of non-US investigators from Phase IV activities as a result of new policies of NSF and NOAA was seen as a serious problem. Successful synthesis of Georges Bank Study results will require the full participation of scientific investigators who have played an important role throughout the Study. This problem will be discussed further with the Program Managers.

This Report was prepared by Peter Wiebe and Ann Bucklin.

Last modified: February 3, 2000