The Department of Commerce and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration announced $101.5 million in funding across 12 awards to expand equitable service delivery and support the modernization of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Regional Associations.
U.S. IOOS supports ongoing data collection in U.S. ocean, coastal and Great Lakes waters and develops infrastructure and tools to make that data accessible. The funding came from the Inflation Reduction Act.
“Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris’ ambitious climate agenda, we are giving communities, particularly frontline and underserved communities, the tools and information they need to build resilience to devastating weather and climate disasters,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “With this $101.5 million investment, NOAA’s IOOS will be able to improve and deliver critical information and tools to help coastal communities become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.”
The funding will support improved tools for data collection on risks including surface currents, flooding, harmful algal blooms, acidification and warming; training workshops and workforce development for local communities and indigenous groups and more. Most of the grants are for $5 million. But the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) will receive an additional $43.8 million and serve as a coordination point for a national effort by all of the IOOS Regional Associations to build capacity and expertise in support of ecosystem change management and place-based planning, water level and wave observation and monitoring, optimization of product development and delivery and equitable service delivery.
