Speaker: Julie Jakoboski - Oceanographer at MetOcean Solutions (a Division of the Meteorological Service of New Zealand) based in Raglan, New Zealand

Abstract: The Moana Project aims to improve understanding of coastal ocean circulation, connectivity, and marine heatwaves around New Zealand in order to support New Zealand's seafood industry and ocean stakeholders. Partnering with research organisations within New Zealand and overseas and with Whakatōhea iwi, the project is developing an integrated ocean observing and modelling program over a five-year period with the goal of improving New Zealand’s ability to measure, observe and predict the state of their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). One of the five Moana Project workstreams, Te Tiro Moana or “Eyes on the Ocean,” focuses on applying the ‘internet of things’ concept to achieve smart and sustained ocean observing capability within NZ’s oceans. This includes identifying, quality-controlling, and making available existing physical ocean observations and obtaining new in-situ, subsurface ocean observations. With Māori iwi and industry partners, we are accessing and archiving historic data in our open ocean data archive and combining it with new observations to create data products supporting informed decision-making and hydrodynamic modelling. While historical observations provide an estimate of the past ocean state, near real-time observations are needed for improving hydrodynamic ocean forecasts. A new temperature sensor has been developed specifically for use on commercial fishing vessels, requiring no intervention by the vessel crew and delivering subsurface, quality-controlled temperature and pressure measurements in near real-time via a fully automatic data pathway. Within the Moana Project, these measurements are used to detect marine heatwaves, validate ocean models, and for assimilation into a regional, hydrodynamic ocean forecast and hindcast (reanalysis). The resulting products are available free of charge for non-commercial use and provided back to the fishing sector that works closely with the programme to obtain subsurface temperature measurements, supporting New Zealand’s blue economy.

Bio: Dr Julie Jakoboski is an oceanographer at MetOcean Solutions (a Division of the Meteorological Service of New Zealand) based in Raglan, New Zealand, where her focus is on obtaining ocean observations for public use and assimilation into ocean models as part of the Moana Project.

Julie holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Physical Oceanography where she studied ocean circulation around the Galápagos Archipelago using autonomous underwater vehicles (Spray gliders).

Previously, Julie obtained bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and in Physics at Bucknell University and then worked for several years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an instrument mechanical engineer.

As the Team Lead of Te Tiro Moana workstream for the Moana Project, Julie is directing the deployment of Mangōpare temperature and pressure sensors with the goal of obtaining subsurface measurements from New Zealand’s oceans to better inform the public on changing ocean temperatures.