NSF Convergence Accelerator Track E: Equipping Underserved Communities with Ocean Intelligence Platforms

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The goal of this project is to create ocean-observing buoy systems for indigenous communities in three regions through co-developed Community Research Implementation & Stewardship Plans. The buoy systems will be deployed in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and the Pacific Islands and will provide wave data and other sensor-based insights, with the specific tools and resources identified through co-creation with the communities that will use and maintain them. The co-development process is supported through engagement with three U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Regional Associations (Alaska Ocean Observing System, Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems, and Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System), all with long-standing, trusted relationships with Indigenous and coastal communities forged over decades of collaboration. The work will serve the needs of underserved communities, providing data that will help them adapt to the changing ocean environment and allowing them to identify the resources and insights they need most. The project is taking advantage of two main innovations, one in engineering and one in co-development of locally stewarded systems to sustain the blue economy in the context of each community’s specific needs. The project includes collaboration with Sofar Ocean Technologies which will provide an existing buoy technology – designed to be affordable and convenient – that includes measures of waves, sea surface temperature, turbidity, and water level as well as integrated solar power, satellite data connectivity, and modular sensor payload capabilities that allow expansion. Outreach specialists, local liaisons, and local partners will engage communities to assess coastal ocean data needs that these assets can meet, and work with the communities to determine the tools to best present those data for effective decision making and monitoring of resources. The team expects to contribute to an increasing body of methodologies for co design and democratization of ocean observing data, which then can be extended to other ocean observing systems worldwide. The project will also create new repositories of hyper-local wave and temperature data that can be used by ocean modelers, coastal planners, and wave scientists for model optimization, adaptation, planning, and large-scale scientific research. The initial focus is on Indigenous communities in remote areas, whose lives, livelihoods, and cultures depend on sustainable use of ocean resources. However, the project has national and global scalability because it is piloted in three very different regions with diverse environmental conditions and varied ocean uses, providing an opportunity for comprehensive field testing of efforts that can be applied to other locations. The project will give communities access to information and insights to empower their own blue economy goals, while creating a system for stewarding these valuable data and observation resources through local ownership.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.