Message from CICOR Director, Robert Weller



	Enlarge Image Robert Weller, CICOR Director (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
	Enlarge Image Weller has led a nearly two-decade effort to develop sensor packages that can precisely measure meteorological data in the open ocean. (Photo by Sean Whelan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

The Cooperative Institute for Climate and Ocean Research (CICOR) at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is committed to forging collaborations that engage the expertise and facilities of WHOI in research that advances NOAA’s missions. Thus, CICOR helps enlist WHOI resources—the vibrant, cutting-edge research of WHOI scientists, the technical skills of its engineers, and its ships and submersibles that provide access to the sea—in scientific studies that NOAA is keenly interested in: the ocean’s role in climate and climate variability and the dynamic oceanographic, geological, and biological processes that occur in the coastal ocean and that underlie the functioning of marine ecosystems.

Since its inception in 2001, CICOR has supported more than 110 research projects and outreach activities, bringing the 7-year budget to more than $32.6 million. CICOR maintains its commitment to education and outreach by supporting one to two post doctoral scholars, one to two WHOI/MIT Joint Program Students and three Summer Student Fellows per year. These students and post docs all work directly on topics related to NOAA’s goals.

In 2006 CICOR established two Associate Directorships within the organization to foster communication and collaboration between NOAA and local scientists and engineers in the areas of coastal and ecosystems research and their relationship to climate. The first leaders to take on these responsibilities are Dr. Kenneth Brink (Physical Oceanography) and Dr. Jesús Pineda (Biology).

One role of the NOAA Cooperative Institutes is to engage the academic and private research communities in working with NOAA to develop plans for research and coordinated efforts. To this end CICOR has helped fund and organize OceanSITES efforts for the international Ocean Time-Series group that promotes collaboration and long-term ocean observations. In 2006 CICOR also co-sponsored the annual QARTOD (Quality Assurance and Real Time Oceanographic Data) meeting with the NOAA office of National Ocean Services (NOS). QARTOD is a continuing multi-agency effort formed to address the quality assurance and quality control issues of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) community. CICOR continues to support these activities in their upcoming Spring 2008 meetings.

CICOR links NOAA’s priorities to the vibrant and cutting edge science that WHOI scientists engage in and acts as a catalyst for collaboration.

Last updated: May 21, 2009