Coast Survey adds aids to navigation and bathymetry to Oregon Inlet, North Carolina

Coast Survey added Aids to Navigation and bathymetry to the Band 5 (or harbor scale) ENCs covering Oregon Inlet, the third busiest waterway in North Carolina. Its location in the middle of the Outer Banks, and the existence of a treacherous bar crossing at the entrance, also makes Oregon Inlet an important location for U.S Coast Guard (USCG) search and rescue efforts. The U.S. Life Saving Service (a predecessor organization of the USCG) first established a Life Saving Station in 1883. In 1862 U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (a predecessor organization of Coast Survey) first surveyed the inlet. For decades, the chart has not shown critical information like bathymetry collected routinely by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Aids to Navigation maintained by the USCG because our chart update cycle would not permit doing so in a timely manner. Advances in our ability to make these updates will give mariners better information to make this challenging transit. This project was initiated by a request from the USCG and USACE. For more infomration contact Kyle.Ward@noaa.gov, SE Navigation Manager or Daniel.Morrow@noaa.gov Marine Chart Division (MCD).

NOAA improves coastal resilience tools for U.S. Pacific Islands vulnerable to natural disasters

As part of NOAA’s coastal resilience efforts, the National Ocean Service (NOS) is developing better tools to define changes in water level related to tropical cyclones and other weather related conditions. This work is part of the global effort to develop disaster risk assessment tools and practical technical applications to reduce and mitigate coastal countries’ vulnerability to natural disasters. On March 10-13, Coast Survey Development Lab’s (CSDL) Jack Riley and Sergey Vinogradov, participated in the 2020 Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana (PRiMO) conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. This conference is the premier venue for community leaders interested in the protection of Pacific Island communities from natural hazards. They also attended a number of stakeholder engagement and user requirements meetings to inform the Pacific end-user community on the status of VDatum and storm surge models, including the new operational global (Extratropical Surge and Tide Operational Forecast System (ESTOFS) scheduled for this fall, and the enhancements planned for the next two years. To learn more about this initiative check out the blog or contact Sergey.Vinogradov@noaa.gov or Jack.Riley@noaa.gov.

Coast Survey employees discuss communication styles

Julia Wallace and Vanessa Miller, Atlantic Hydrographic Branch (AHB), put together a thought-provoking D&I activity on March 10. Colleagues took a quiz to determine their communication style and then broke into smaller sub-groups to present ideas on how each group would spend a Morale-Welfare and Recreation fund. This led to interesting discussions on conflict, collaboration, similarities, and differences among AHB coworkers and how this might impact day-to-day interactions. For more information contact Cmdr. Meghan McGovern at AHB.Chief@noaa.gov.

Webinars, resources, and tips to help navigate COVID-19

The Work Life Branch and the Workplace Violence Prevention and Response Office are partnering to provide monthly resources such as webinars and tips as we all learn to navigate this stressful time.

The first collection of webinars will be a two-part series titled “From Chaos to Calm”
Using Mindfulness to Combat Anxiety: Thursday, April 2
Acceptance in Adversity: Tuesday, April 7
In addition, here are some Work Life Tips and Resources to help you navigate COVID-19 (Use “noaa” as screen name and password to access.)

Family Resources
For those juggling childcare and/or children attending school virtually, EverFi, (a trusted NOAA contractor), has shared additional NOAA-specific resources, via the Family Portal, which provides direct access to over 100 interactive game-based lessons.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Resources
Visit here for information and tools on dealing with stress.

As a reminder, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a confidential and free benefit available to you or your eligible family members. Contact EAP directly 24/7 at 1-800-222-0364 or for the hearing impaired, TTY 1-800-262-7848. The consultants and specialists are experts in understanding the difficulty of living with uncertainty; helping with the anxiety and other emotions that may arise due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19); and finding concrete resources to support you. You can learn more about EAP at www.FOH4YOU.com.