OTN First Annual Conference: Homing in on Halifax

Homing in on Halifax, the OTN First Annual Conference, was held at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, June 4-6, 2008. The conference was centered around meetings of the OTN Regional Network Operations Board and the OTN Management Board. Meetings of the OTN Data Management Committee, the OTN Deployment Committee, and OTN Canada also took place at this event.

Participants came from Portugal, France, Morocco, Spain, South Africa, Australia, and Japan, and from Hawaii to Maine in the United States and British Columbia to Newfoundland in Canada.

The keynote speaker at the welcoming address was Rear Admiral Richard D. West, U.S. Navy (Retired), who served as the President/CEO of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education from August 2002 until December 2007. Mr. West discussed U.S. Ocean Policy and implimentation of the national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).

OTN Global Scientific Director Dr. Ron O'Dor led the plenary session, during which delegates from 12 of OTN's 14 ocean regions gave presentations on their region's activities. The unrepresented regions were the SE Pacific and the SW Atlantic.

Dr. Keith Alverson, Head of Ocean Observations and Services of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and Director of the GOOS project, represented OTN Global and spoke about GOOS and OTN's role in GOOS.

During the conference Dr. Sara Iverson, Dalhousie University, was appointed to lead OTN Canada.

Additional details of the conference, including participant presentations, are available to OTN members by logging on to the OTN member site.

Story by Susan Dufault, OTN Headquarters