Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) UPDATE
January 10, 2005

The GLOS Business Plan, under development by a regional steering committee for the last 12 months, outlines the goals, objectives and benefits; subsystems and components; product development, evaluation and marketing; data management priorities; an education plan; funding requirements, and a recommended governance approach. A final document will be available for public distribution by Jan. 31. The public can also continue to provide input and identify their data needs via an online survey at www.glc.org/glos/survey/survey.html

GLOS will provide real-time access to a range of physical, chemical and biological Great Lakes data collected by multiple agencies and organizations. It is one of 11 regional nodes of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) being developed to cover the nation's coastal areas.

The GLOS Regional Association will be chartered in 2005 along with adoption of partnership agreements between agencies, organizations and institutions. Continued development of GLOS through 2007 is anticipated through grants provided by the Coastal Services Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Funding to implement major new observing systems is dependent on passage of legislation that would authorize IOOS and open the door to subsequent appropriations.

With the Business Plan for the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) nearing completion, the last in a series of workshops to identify user needs was held Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in Ann Arbor, co-sponsored by the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL) and the International Joint Commission.

This workshop titled The Future of Open Water Observation Technology for Great Lakes Research provided a forum for more than 75 scientists, engineers and resource managers to address emerging needs, prospects for a basinwide network of open water buoys, underwater, autonomous vessels, and recommendations for data transmission and sharing. Proceedings will be available at www.canamglass.org/workshop

Also convened Oct. 26-28 in Detroit was the inaugural Great Lakes Regional Data Exchange (RDX) Conference, co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes Commission and other partners. The goal of the RDX Conference was to promote dialogue toward establishing formal data exchange policies and to coordinate existing efforts.

With attendees from all eight Great Lakes states and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, the event featured more than 45 contributed papers, as well as plenary sessions, training seminars and focus group discussions. The RDX Conference is envisioned as a biennial event, with the next conference tentatively planned for spring 2006 in New York State. Conference proceedings, including a full set of recommendations for Regional Data Exchange for presentation to the Binational Executive Committee, will be available at http://rdx.glc.org/ and on CD by Jan. 31.

In May 2004, by Executive Order, President Bush formed a cabinet-level Great Lakes Interagency Task Force. In turn, the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration was formed to bring together this federal Task Force, the Great Lakes states, local communities, Tribes, regional bodies, and other interests in the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Framework calls for these parties to, within one year, design a strategy to restore and protect the Great Lakes now and into the future.

The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration convened in Chicago on Dec. 3, 2004, as the official launch of this effort where regional leaders voiced their support for a coordinated restoration strategy. GLOS is a high priority of the newly formed Regional Collaboration and will be specifically addressed in recommendations developed by the Indicators and Information Strategy Team, co-chaired by Great Lakes Commission President/CEO Mike Donahue and NOAA-GLERL Director Stephen Brandt. Information about the Collaboration is available at http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/collaboration/

Also picking up steam, is the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), see http://earthobservations.org/. GEOSS was kicked off two years ago at an international summit in Washington. Canadian federal officials are putting the final touches on a plan to spend at least $200 million as Canada's contribution to this global network, which will keep tabs on the Earth's environmental health. Related links: Canadian Group on Earth Observations | U.S. EPA's Role in GEOSS

None of the IOOS authorization bills made it out of committee so this legislation will now be reintroduced this month in the new 109th Congress, in session through 2006. The status of all FY2005 appropriations bills is available at http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app05.html