Richard W. Spinrad, Ph.D.

Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & NOAA Administrator

Title: Facing Climate Change

Abstract: In the wake of unprecedented environmental challenges the imperative to address climate change has never been more urgent. However, climate action is both the challenge of our time and a profound opportunity to transform our communities and industries to be more resilient, equitable, and sustainable. We can support climate action with state of the art science and sources of actionable climate data, information, and services that empower people around the world to make informed decisions in the face of growing weather and climate risks for a Climate-Ready Globe.

Dr. Spinrad will provide examples of how the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is supporting climate action to provide context for how a Federal agency in the United States is facing climate change. This includes developing and providing multi-hazard early warning systems and collaborating with international partners to build capacity to use and interpret related information. Particular focus will be placed on ocean-based climate solutions and accelerating growth of an information-based blue economy that supports healthy and sustainable ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. Recognizing that to do this we must be connected and equitable, Dr. Spinrad will discuss how NOAA is leveraging public-private partnerships to accelerate growth in the climate economy and creating opportunities for inclusion, innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration.

Meghan Cronin, Ph.D.

Oceanographer, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Co-Chair, Observing Air-Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS), an endorsed programme of the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development

Title : The Big Ocean and Atmosphere Meetup

ABSTRACT: We live on a water world with over 70% of the Earth covered by Oceans. At the Big Meetup, the ocean and atmosphere interact and exchange heat, moisture, momentum, gas, and particles. The air-sea fluxes from this meetup modulate weather and climate and enable the ocean drawdown of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. In turn, these air-sea fluxes act as forces on the ocean’s physical and living environment, without which the ocean would essentially be static, dark, and dead. The Observing Air-Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS) is a new United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development programme working to develop a practical, integrated approach for observing air-sea interactions globally for improved Earth system (including ecosystem) forecasts, CO2 uptake assessments, and for providing invaluable surface ocean information for resource managers and decision makers. Working across disciplines, and across the world, and drawing from more than 40 OceanObs’19 community white papers, OASIS calls for improved in situ observations, satellites, and models. In this talk I will focus on the first Grand Idea of OASIS – Creation of a globally distributed network of mobile air-sea interaction observing platforms built around an expanded array of fixed stations that provide long-term time series in key regions. From the coastal regions, where new offshore energy depends critically upon the state of the oceanic and atmospheric boundary layers, to the broad expanse of the Southern Ocean that acts as a sink for CO2, to the El Niño source regions in the tropics, new technologies are transforming observations in the Big Ocean and Atmosphere Meetup.