CMGL GRIIDC Team Attends Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference in Mobile Alabama For the second year in a row, Harte Research Institute scientists, students and staff attended the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Sciences Conference. The conference, held from January 26th to 29th in Mobile, Alabama, brought international researchers together to share new scientific results related to the impacts of petroleum pollution and stressors on marine and coastal ecosystems. Plenary and scientific sessions facilitated interdisciplinary discussions to promote the goal of the conference: collaboration, integration and synthesis of results from post-spill investment in science. The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), housed by the Harte Research Institute, had a major presence at this year’s conference. The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), housed by the Harte Research Institute, had a major presence at this year’s conference. The week kicked-off with the session “Data Management and Informatics Supporting Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science”, chaired by 3 members of the GRIIDC Advisory Committee, including Harte Research Institute’s Dr. Fabio Moretzsohn, and one NOAA partner. During this session Felimon Gayanilo, the GRIIDC Systems Architect, offered attendees insight into attitudes towards data sharing through his presentation “Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative Dataset Lifecycle: Early Lessons”. To promote data sharing and display new features of the GRIIDC data management system (DMS), the GRIIDC staff managed a help-desk style display booth throughout the conference. Interactive displays and outreach materials at the booth generated discussion among researchers and GRIIDC staff regarding challenges and opportunities for data sharing. Additionally, GRIIDC staff supported scientists by helping participants register for GRIIDC DMS accounts and, once registered, helping researchers identify and submit datasets to the GRIIDC DMS. On the final day of the conference, the GRIIDC hosted an Advisory Committee meeting. Attendees included GoMRI Research Board Members, GoMRI Research Consortia data managers and GoMRI funded researchers. The meeting, led by GRIIDC’s director Dr. Jim Gibeaut, provided participants with updates about the current status of the DMS and outlined plans for future development. Discussion topics regarding future requirements of the DMS focused on interoperability with other systems, database meta-analysis, enabling future data synthesis and data-sharing. GRIIDC is responsible for developing a data management system to store data generated through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI). By attending this conference GRIIDC was able to discuss and promote data management with researchers to help ensure a data and information legacy that promotes continual scientific discovery and public awareness of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Additional highlights of Harte Research Institute’s presence at the conference include: Dr. Paul Montagna presented the poster: “Monitoring Deep-sea Benthos in Response to the Deepwater Horizon Blowout in the Gulf of Mexico”. His PhD student Travis Washburn gave the oral presentation “Linking Deep Sea Ecosystems to Human Well-Being”. Dr. Fabio Moretzsohn presented two posters at the meeting: “Better Access to Gulf Researchers, Resources and Biodiversity Information for Improved Disaster Preparedness” and “Building Capacity and Decision Support for Risk Assessment and Marine Biodiversity Conservation in the Gulf of Mexico”. His research assistant Maria Rodriquez presented the poster “Key indicator species, Rangia cuneata, in the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve: a preliminary assessment of abundance and distribution” Dr. Carlota Santos from the HRI Socio-economic research group gave the oral presentation “Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (GecoServ): a one-stop shop for Ecosystem Services Valuation Literature”. Dr. David Yoskowitz organized and co-chaired the session “Socio-economic Analysis of Ecosystem Change: From Baselines to Catastrophic Events”. At a subsequent session Dr. Yoksowitz gave the oral presentation “Resilience of Ecosystem Services and Coastal Communities”.