On June 3, the White House announced the release of the National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy, which will expand and use biodiversity information to help protect and conserve marine and Great Lakes ecosystems and maximize their benefits to people. This strategy aims to understand and restore life of the oceans and Great Lakes, which provide food, clean air and water, climate regulation, and cultural identity.

Andrea Vander Woude, NOAA GLERL’s Integrated Physical and Ecological Modeling and Forecasting Branch Chief, was on the team that developed the strategy and will continue to be involved and provide services to the Great Lakes. 

This work will advance standards and best practices for interoperable, widely accessible biodiversity data; integrating satellite data products with in situ observations of ocean biodiversity to understand the distribution and abundance of organisms and the integrity of ecosystems; and expanding collection of ocean biodiversity information across all realms, including the coasts, deep sea, and the Great Lakes.