Themes and Activities

Public Engagement and Outreach

Overview: Our public outreach plan will use a multi-faceted approach to engage with the public on current efforts to map the seafloor which have considerable impacts on their local communities, especially in terms of coastal living and marine recreation. Our outreach will also extend to the professional community by engaging natural resource managers who want to use mapping data to inform key decisions ranging from coastal resiliency to fisheries management. Co-PI Cheryl Hapke is the chair of the Florida Coastal Mapping Program (FCMaP) and COMIT’s efforts in this realm will be done in collaboration with FCMaP’s mission which is to facilitate the collection of high-resolution Florida coastal seafloor data, from the shore to continental shelf, by 2028. 

Proposed activities:

  • Create a network of coastal stakeholders, and especially NOAA staff to expand access to mapping tools
  • Develop a sequence of learning experiences and tools to support community comprehension of hydrographic services
  • Trial crowed-sourced/trusted community bathymetry data collection in partnership with UNH/JHC-CCOM
  • Facilitate and develop public engagement opportunities, starting with a quarterly newsletter and webinar series

Current Happenings: