Panetta Announces NOAA Federal Grant for the University of California, Santa Cruz

SALINAS, CA – Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) announced that the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) will receive a federal grant totaling $414,885 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The funds will be used to quantify the impact of three regional Integrated Ocean Observing Systems (IOOS), namely the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS), the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) and Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS). This project will look at each of these regional associations and its impact on the analysis and forecast systems that assess the health of our ocean.

"The health of the Pacific Ocean directly impacts fisheries, tourism, and research institutions on the central coast of California," said Congressman Panetta. "Through UCSC's work to monitor and forecast changes to the health of our ocean, our communities will be better prepared to face increasing ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, and the continued threat of ocean acidification."