USGS Scientist to participate in 26th Session of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Assembly

On June 28, Mark Fornwall, Manager USGS OBIS-USA, will participate as a member of the U.S. delegation to the Twenty-sixth Session of Assembly of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). As chair of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) ad hoc Steering Group, he is needed to participate in consideration of the Group’s recommendations adopted this past March to integrate the OBIS project office within the IOC’s International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) program. Dr. Fornwall manages OBIS-USA, the US component to the international OBIS effort. OBIS serves as the global focal point for the management and integration of marine biogeographic. The OBIS data schema (extension of Darwin Core) is an international standard for sharing and integrating marine biological data (e.g. presence-absence-abundance). OBIS-USA and partners are building a national data resource that will help to address important ocean science and societal issues (climate change, minerals and energy, ecosystems, hazards, health, coastal marine spatial planning are a few examples). USGS; Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE); U.S. Navy; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and National Science Foundation (NSF) are key contributors and have supported the program with both data and funding.