• Strong problem solving skills
• Experience with metadata formats (FGDC, ISO, SensorML, ncML, EML, WaterML, etc…)
• Experience with data management, scientific workflow, provenance and metadata generation tools (metavist, vis-trails, morpho, kepler, etc…)
• Experience coordinating and homogenizing group submissions, especially in a scientific context
• Scripting/programming experience (python, perl, R, matlab, java, etc…)
• Experience with spatial data formats (shape files, Postgres/PostGIS, geotiffs, arcgrid, etc…)
• Interest in the biological and physical science domains
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Self motivated, independent, and flexible

Compensation is 55K – 75k DOE. Health care plan and annual $1200 Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution. Five weeks paid leave annually.

Axiom Organizational Profile
Axiom is a technology and informatics firm located in Anchorage, Alaska dedicated to providing data management and informatics support to the scientific sector. Axiom has a full-spectrum client base that spans from local nonprofit organizations to state, federal, and international agencies. We manage diverse multidisciplinary spatial and temporal data sets and develop technologies which assist users in accessing and visualizing these resources. We specialize in the development of advanced and functional data management systems, intuitive web-based data portals, and scalable solutions for organizing and analyzing large amounts of complex heterogeneous data.

In addition to developing elegant and robust tools for users, Axiom also focuses on interoperability systems which allow global networks of computers to communicate and better leverage the vast amounts of data available to modern users. Axiom aims to foster transparency and communication with our clients about design requirements and development progress by adhering to user driven software development techniques. Axiom staff are continually researching and employing new technologies to extend the capabilities of digital information and analysis systems.

How To Apply
In order to respond to this post, please submit resume/CV and three references to Rob Bochenek (rob@axiomalaska.com). If you have questions regarding this position please call Rob at 907-230-0304.

This position closes on May 17th, 2012

The 400-pound yellow buoy transmits real-time information about wave height, and direction, as well as sea surface temperature. It is also equipped with a light that flashes five times in a 20-second cycle (five flashes 2 seconds apart, followed by a 12-second pause).

An unknown event set the buoy free in October, but could have involved fishing net or other floating debris.  Fortunately, the buoy’s signal continued to transmit, allowing Kachemak Bay Research Reserve Manager Terry Thompson to track it down by boat.  When found, the buoy was traveling North at almost 2.5 knots driven by the tides. “Tracking a very small buoy gives you a sense of the tremendous currents and varying sea-state in lower Cook Inlet” commented Thompson.

The fishing community, one of the primary users of the buoy, has been excited to have it back in the water.  “That is the first thing I check in the morning,” said Bob Howard, a retired charter operator and Homer resident.  “It is very very important to people.  Anyone who fishes within 30 miles of the area is interested in that buoy.  We can look at winds, but judging waves from wind involves speculation. Real time wave height is the key information.”

Reestablishing the buoy exemplifies collaboration among the Alaska ocean observing community. The buoy is part of the national Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was built by a Dutch company, and returned to the Netherlands by barge this spring for recalibration. Once back in Alaska, staff from the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve helped prep and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s research vessel redeployed the buoy.  AOOS is the owner and manager of the buoy.

“It’s a key component of AOOS’ initiative to improve ocean monitoring in Cook Inlet to meet the needs of the inlet’s many users, including commercial and recreational fishermen, shipping, resource managers, and the oil and gas industry and oil spill responders, said Molly McCammon, Executive Director of AOOS, the owner and manager of the buoy.

Information from the buoy will be used to assist a wide array of marine operations. Cook Inlet receives high vessel traffic, as 95% of Alaska’s goods arrive by barge through the inlet on the way to the Port of Anchorage.  Additionally, an active sport fishing fleet departing from Homer and Anchor Point has desired a buoy for many years. Circulation patterns are complicated in the inlet, which also experiences high winds, seasonal sea ice, and tides up to 36 feet in places.

AOOS would like to extend sincere thanks to Terry Thompson and Angie Doroff from the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, Kris Holderied and Dominic Hondolero from NOAA’s Kasitsna Bay Lab, and Captain Mark Hottman for a smooth deployment.

The buoy is the first of at least four that are considered key to implementing the National Waves Plan in Alaska. In 2012 AOOS is also implementing other components of an ocean observing system in Cook Inlet, including a new weather station at the McNeil River bear viewing site, monthly oceanographic surveys in Kachemak Bay, and enhanced wind forecasts.

Portal name

Umbrella organization(s)

Browse data and information on these topics

Video introduction to ArcticData

• CAFF  Conservation of Arctic Flora & Fauna
• PAME  Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment
• Arctic Council

• Biodiversity, boundaries, human dimensions, protected areas, shipping, topography

• Atmosphere, data management, education and outreach, human dimensions, hydrology and terrestrial cryosphere, interdisciplinary studies, ocean and sea ice, terrestrial ecosystems, supporting datasets

• Atmosphere, biological classification, biosphere, cryosphere, human dimensions, land surface, oceans, paleoclimate, solid earth, spectral/engineering, sun-earth interactions, terrestrial hydrosphere
• Data centers: locations, instruments/sensors, platforms/sources, projects

Pacific Arctic Group Data Portal Arctic Portal

• Arctic boundary lines, Arctic coastal dynamics, Arctic organizations, Arctic sea ice, ASTI, EEZ, energy portlet (sunken nuclear submarines), fire information, fishing, megaprojects, ports, potential oil & gas fields, sailing routes, the three Arctic poles, UArctic members, weather in the Arctic, webcams around the Arctic

• Catalog of northern Alaska research activities
• Designed for regulatory staff at Federal, State and local agencies, scientists within industry, and academic and NGO institutions to find what they need, as well as the public
• Browse projects by keyword, location, organization, principal investigator, theme

• Arctic Council
• Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
• US Arctic Research Commission
• Arctic Research Consortium of the US
• Climate Change Science Program
• Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee
• International Arctic Science Committee
• National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs
• Scientific Committee on Arctic Research
• Scientific Committee on Ocean Research

At AOOS, Nathan is focusing on updating and expanding the Arctic Research Assets Map to include western Alaska and Canada.  His internship is off to a great start, and we are excited to have him on board.

Sound Stories work towards this common vision to educate a broad and diverse audience about the region, conserve the Sound’s resources, and guide people to enjoy the Sound in a sustainable way in the face of increasing use of Prince William Sound. The overriding hope of the Sound Stories is to stitch together a web of people and organizations to honor and protect the Sound’s resources and help Sound users play a role in conservation by sharing the values of the people that live in the Sound.

Visit the Sound Stories Website

AOOS is currently in the process of updating and expanding the Arctic Research Assets Map. The map displays in-situ and transect research and monitoring in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. This year, we are expanding into the Bering Sea with support from the Western Alaska LCC.

Mapped locations help other researchers coordinate. Do you have instruments to add, or information on monitoring transects or other studies?

• View the map
• Add your instruments, transects, or monitoring efforts
• Update mapped information

About the Map

Scientific research activity in Alaska’s Arctic has increased substantially in the last few years. AOOS has responded to a need for a visual inventory of the locations and types of oceanographic information being collected by creating a web-based, interactive map that allows users to display Arctic research information of interest. It is also a first step towards providing greater access to the variety of data collected by numerous parties, including industry.

The Research Asset Map was developed and is maintained by the AOOS Data Team. Thanks to NOAA, the University of Alaska, the University of Washington, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Science Foundation, Conoco Phillips, Shell Oil, and others for contributing information on their instruments.

Research Asset Map features

• User defined display:  Show or hide specific types of assets (moorings, buoys, etc.) or combinations of assets within a user specified time frame
• Instant detail:  Mouse over or select a particular asset to see project information such as asset owner, deployment and recovery dates, depth, location and contact information

Explore the Research Asset Map to display …

• In-place hardware such as acoustic recorders, buoys, ice profilers, meteorological stations, and moorings
• Transects for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), HF radar, planes, and ships
• Asset details such as instrument type, measurements, geospatial locations (lat/long), depth, operation start/end dates, owner and contact information, websites, and funding sources

Need assistance?  Send us an email.

Recent News: Soccer ball washes up on Gulf of AK island (4/19/12)

1) How much debris is there?
The Government of Japan estimates that the tsunami swept roughly 5 million tons of debris into the Pacific Ocean. Of this 5 million tons, they estimate that roughly 70% sank nearshore, leaving 30% or roughly 1.6 – 1.7 million tons of debris floating off the coast. That aligns with previous NOAA data and experience from similar events that shows that the majority of heavier debris is likely to sink in the nearshore area.

Once in the ocean, remaining debris began to disperse with ocean currents and weather, generally moving east. In the days after the tsunami, the debris was concentrated enough to be seen by satellites, but by a few weeks later, the debris had spread out to the point that the lower resolution satellite sensors couldn’t detect it.

Since then, NOAA has worked with partners to collect and analyze high resolution satellite imagery of over 300,000 square kilometers of the Pacific looking for debris, with none detected to date. Because that still represents only a small fraction of the area where debris may be, we are also working with fishing fleets, the shipping industry, as well as USCG and NOAA vessels to report in any at-sea sightings of debris (more on that later in the email)

The sightings NOAA has received confirm that debris is not in fields or islands, but scattered over a large area of the North Pacific.

2) When will the debris arrive in Alaska?
Many variables affect where the debris will go and when. Objects that sit low in the water – like lumber or fishing line/nets – will tend to follow currents and move more slowly, while objects that sit high in the water – like empty canisters or Styrofoam floats – will tend to follow winds and move more quickly (this is roughly defined as the “windage of an object).  A new modeling effort that uses past winds and currents to explore the path of more wind-driven debris shows that some of the fastest moving debris objects may have reached the West Coast of North America (including parts of Alaska) in the winter of 2011-2012. The majority of the debris objects in the model scenario remain at-sea, north and east of Hawaii.

These latest model results are attached here.  Because the model uses past winds and currents, it shows where debris may be now, but does not predict where debris will be in the future – It’s a “hindcast” rather than a “forecast” model. NOAA will be updating these model results regularly.

3) What type of debris is out there?
The tsunami impacted an area with varied infrastructure, so what was washed to sea is expected to be a wide range of items – household and consumer goods, construction and industrial materials, fishing and maritime equipment, etc.  The exact composition is unknown, and likely to vary over time and distance as the debris weathers. This makes it difficult to differentiate “tsunami debris” from the debris that unfortunately hits Alaskan (and other) shorelines all the time.

4) Is the debris radioactive?
Consensus of scientists across the agencies NOAA has consulted with is that debris contamination is HIGHLY unlikely. This is based on several reasons, primarily that the debris would have been too far from the Fukushima reactor to have been in contact with radiation, both because the radiation leaks began after debris would have begun moving off the coast, and because the tsunami impact area included areas far from the reactor site. Going along with these data, monitoring stations as close as 30 km away from the reactor site itself have shown that seawater met radiation safety levels for human consumption.

5) What should I do if I see potential tsunami-related debris?
NOAA is asking that people report significant sightings of debris that could be linked to the Japan tsunami to an email address created for the purpose – disasterdebris@noaa.gov, including as accurate a description as possible of what you saw, and where you saw it, as well as the potential linkage to the tsunami. Including a photo of the object, and especially of any identifying or distinguishing marks is very helpful.

NOAA is also looking for partners to participate in establishing monitoring sites, using a standardized protocol for monthly data collection.  This protocol will allow us to compare data collected across the Pacific to detect trends and changes in debris type and quantity.

NOAA is and will be continuing to learn more, and encourages people to stay informed Visit  NOAA’s main marine debris page or a Japanese tsunami-specific.

If you have any specific questions, contact Peter.Murphy@noaa.gov.

(Information courtesy of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, NOAA)

• The state of knowledge on the hydrology and freshwater input into Cook Inlet (based on the collective insights of the group)
• What questions people would like answered
• Opportunities for collaboration

Meeting Summary

Other Resources

• USGS real-time stream gauge data
• Tim Brabets’ report on the environmental setting of the Cook Inlet Basin
• Cook Inlet Keeper report on Cook Inlet Stream Monitoring Network 2008-2010
• Background on the Cook Inlet Keeper monitoring project with a map of 48 sites
• Listing of Cook Inlet models (circulation, wind, and wave models) on AOOS website
• Alaska Experimental Forecast Facility (AEFF) Cook Inlet page
• Bibliography of Cook Inlet biological and physical publications
• Kenai Watershed Forum