Contact: Matt Stout 11/10/98MEDIA ADVISORY OCEAN COMMUNITY CONFERENCE TO EXAMINE OCEAN'S INFLUENCE ON OUR ECONOMY, CLIMATE, COASTAL DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE
In celebration of 1998, the Year of the Ocean, more than 1000 participants are expected to attend this year's Marine Technology Society's annual conference. Leading scientists and scholars will examine the role the ocean plays in many aspects of our lives. The conference will be held from Nov. 16 through 19 at the Baltimore Convention Center.
NOAA Administrator Dr. D. James Baker is this year's conference chair; Dr. W. Stanley Wilson, NOAA's deputy chief scientist, is the conference vice chair.
Topics that will be discussed at the conference morning plenary sessions include:
EXPLORATION IN THE SEA: THE OCEAN AS A FRONTIER
ECONOMICS: THE OCEAN AND BUSINESS
THE COASTAL OCEAN: BALANCING COMPETING USES
THE GLOBAL OCEAN: INFLUENCING WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Each afternoon there will be "track" sessions from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. The tracks, or technical topics, include applied ocean sciences; ocean measurements systems, marine resources; ocean and coastal engineering; data processing and management; communications; maritime commerce and charting; vehicles, platforms, and advanced technology; marine policy, and education. The present count is 311 individual 20-minute papers and two 60-minute panel sessions.
NOAA plans to host an open house (open to the public) on two of its coastal vessels, the 90 ft. RUDE and the 65 ft. BAY HYDROGRAPHER. Both ships employ the latest hydrographic technologies for nautical charting and surveying. The Coast Guard plans to have an open house on one of its newest buoy tenders, the JAMES RANKIN, featuring the latest in-station keeping and positioning techniques. The Environmental Protection Agency will provide the PETER ANDERSON, an environmental research platform. The conference planners also expect visits by Army Corps of Engineers and Navy vessels.