On December 5th the Joint Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness and Ocean Policy met in Salem and conducted hearings on several mapping related issues. At the invitation of Co-Chair Rep. Deborah Boone, Dan Cox of the OSU Hinsdale Tsunami Wave Lab and Chris Goldfinger of the Active Tectonics and Seafloor Mapping Lab at OSU testified about tsunami related issues in Oregon. The testimony was an update following a number of hearings that have taken place since the 2004 Sumatra tsunami, and highlighted recent work at OSU and DOGAMI to model tsunami inundation and emergency response in the state. As at previous hearings, the Committee expressed strong support for seafloor mapping as it relates to improved tsunami inundation modeling. The case for mapping is stronger now than previously, as the issues of wave energy and Marine Reserves have become hotter topics in Oregon this year. Both topics were discussed during the hearing and related presentations were made to the committee by other invited speakers. The Committee members present clearly support the continuing initiative to map Oregon’s Territorial Sea.
Following on last year’s initial attempt to begin a comprehensive seafloor mapping program in Oregon, a small group met at the Capital building in Salem on January 25th to begin working on plans for Oregon seafloor mapping in general, as well as plans for the 2009 biennial legislative session. In attendance were Roger Parsons, head of NOAA OCS, Jessica Hamilton, Governors assistant for Natural Resources and convener of the meeting, Cathy Tortorici and Barb Seekins from the NOAA NWFSC Portland office, Waldo Wakefield from NOAA NWFSC Newport, Rick Brown, NOAA, Vicki McConnell head of the State department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI), Bob Collier, OSU COAS, and Chris Goldfinger and Chris Romsos, OSU Seafloor Mapping Lab. On a conference line were David Fox, ODFW, and Dawn Wright, OSU who recorded notes of the meeting. Unable to attend due to icy roads was Rep. Debby Boone, a strong proponent of seafloor mapping in the State legislature, and co-chair of the Joint subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness and Ocean Policy.
The meeting focused on what resources could be brought to bear in a coalition to achieve mapping of Oregon’s Territorial Sea. Roger Parsons discussed NOAA OCS’s role and focus on safety of navigation charting. Oregon does not have a lot of sites designated as high priority for mapping based on the OCS tonnage-based priorities (http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/ocs/hsrp/archive/general/HSRPSpecrpt2007.pdf, http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/staff/NHSP.html), but Roger would like to assist and partner in the project as much as OCS is able. Parsons is running an Interagency Seafloor Mapping Workshop in late February, to which representatives of the three west coast states have been invited. Jessica Hamilton will attend for Oregon. The workshop is primarily to coordinate federal agencies involved in seafloor mapping. There was some discussion of OCS supporting state mapping projects with personnel in order to acquire data that would by IHO compliant and therefore usable by OCS. This has happened to some degree in the past as described by Dave Fox, although the increased costs due to additional QC are significant. Roger suggested similar efforts in the future are possible, and indicated that more substantial assistance may also be possible. He and Rick Brown also agreed to check on availability of portable systems that might be used on ship of opportunity cruises such as one scheduled for the MacArthur II in late April (see “upcoming cruises” below). Bob Collier briefly described the OOI cabled observatory program ($330 Million international program) that will bring significant NSF resources to Oregon for this major project. Seafloor mapping efforts will be required for siting and scientific context for the observatory nodes, and such mapping will likely be carried out by the UNOLS vessel T. G. Thompson operated by University of Washington. Vicki McConnell expressed her agencies continuing interest in nearshore seafloor mapping and coastal LIDAR acquisition. DOGAMI and academic partners are engaged in studies of coastal erosion and tsunami inundation modeling, both of which require high resolution nearshore bathymetry and topography. She continues to support the mapping initiative and noted that the legislature did fund a LIDAR package for coastal mapping that had previously been included in the DOGAMI budget package. The group noted that LIDAR for bathymetric mapping has proven to be a notable failure in the turbid waters of the Pacific Northwest, though it works well in the clear waters of Florida and Lake Tahoe.