An Invitation to the Second Workshop

Group picture taken at the Qartod 2 meeting.

List of registrants html csv

Introduction

Advances towards an Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) have accelerated efforts to provide concurrent real time data quality information to a widely disparate user community.

The first workshop for the Quality Assurance of Real-Time Ocean Data (QARTOD - I) for the coastal ocean observing community was hosted by the National Data Buoy Center from Dec 3 to Dec 5, 2003 at the Stennis Space Center. Over 80 participants from Federal and State governments, academia, and industry attended the workshop with the main goal of establishing some general standards for real-time data quality assurance and control (QA/QC) in preparation for their participation in the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). Particular emphasis was placed upon the coastal ocean from estuaries to the shelf break or EEZ. Requirements of both the scientific community and operational users of IOOS data were considered.

A final report for QARTOD-I is available on line at this link.

QARTOD – II

QARTOD – II brings together those with an interest in the QA/QC of oceanographic observations, with a focus on observations of currents and waves. It will be hosted by the National Ocean Service (NOS) Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) in Norfolk, Virginia from 28 February to 02 March, 2005. Meeting preparation will be directed by a convening board comprised of individuals representing a variety of maritime interests.

Location

The meeting will be held on the waterfront in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. On February 28, the plenary sessions will be held at the Nauticus theater in the National Maritime Center and home to the Battleship Wisconsin. On March 1^st and 2^nd (days two and three), sessions will be held at the nearby Sheraton Hotel also on the waterfront where most of you will be staying. Nauticus and the Sheraton are approximately a 10 to 15 minute walk apart along the Elizabeth River through Town Point Park.

Abstracts

Participants wishing to provide a presentation are requested to submit abstracts by 11 February 2005. Length should be less than 500 words. Please use the following form:

Title of Presentation

Your name and your colleagues

Your institution and your colleagues

Extended abstracts from presenters will be included in the final workshop report.

Agenda

The agenda is being developed now. The following link has the latest version http://qartod.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/Qartod2Agenda

Hotels

A block of 50 rooms has been reserved at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel and are available on a first come, first served basis until 10 February. Participants must make their own reservations before 10 February by contacting the Sheraton at (757) 622-6664 or (888)627-8042, and mentioning the “QARTOD/NOAA” meeting. Other hotels in the downtown area are listed at Norfolk Visitors Bureau.

Flights

Flights should be arranged to Norfolk International (ORF). Norfolk International is a 20 to 30 minute cab ride to the Sheraton. An alternative is the Newport News – Williamsburg Airport on the Peninsula .

Website

Material for the meeting will be located at http://qartod.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/Qartod2

Local Coordinators and point of contact

Local coordinators are Mark Bushnell  (NOAA/NOS/CO-OPS/FOD) and Larry Atkinson (Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University). Primary contact is Gabriel Franke (franke@ccpo.odu.edu) who will provide staff support for the workshop.