Page 31: of Marine Technology Magazine (September 2010)

About the Author

Zdenka Willis, Director US IOOS

Program, NOAA. www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 31 federal initiatives such as the

National Science Foundation’s

Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) and the National Water

Quality Monitoring Network (NWQMN) for U.S. coastal waters and their tributaries, to enable the

United States to make more effective use of existing resources, new knowl- edge, and advances in technology.

The challenge facing all of us in the ocean observing business is the abili- ty to sustain these observations and continue coordinating each of these efforts.

The recent release of the National

Ocean Policy and structure to sup- port the holistic focus on ocean observing along our Oceans, Coasts and Great Lakes, gives me hope that we will be able to realize the poten- tial of a fully functioning US IOOS.