Angiosperm seeds are the major source of human calories, generating a pressing need to understand the underlying processes governing seed growth and development. They are composed of the two fertilization products, embryo and endosperm surrounded by the maternally derived seed coat. The successful interaction of all three seed components is a requirement for seeds to complete their development and to produce viable embryos that are competent to establish a new sporophytic generation. Here, we review recent reports investigating signal exchange between embryo and endosperm, focusing in particular on the transport of metabolites and small RNAs between both fertilization products.

: The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of JSAF with a focus on understanding the environmental capabilities, constraints, and datasets used in JSAF. This first section describes JSAF and how it is used in training. The second section briefly describes the environmental capabilities and datasets used, for the atmosphere, ocean and underwater acoustics. In the last section, a list of references that point to more comprehensive and in-depth detail on JSAF is provided.

MOVES Research & Education Systems Seminar: Presentation; Session 4: Collaborative NWDC/NPS MS Moderator: Curtis Blais; Modeling and Simulating Environmental Effects; speakers: Peter Guest, Paul Frederickson & Tom Murphree

: The EM propagation model currently used in JSAF is FFACTR which is a part of the Engineers Refractive Index Prediction System (EREPS) Tactical Decision Aid (TDA) developed by what is now SPAWARS SSC San Diego in 1988. This model is no longer supported by SPAWARS or any other group and has been replaced; it is obsolete. This model is able to represent some realistic features including: (1) decrease in signal strength (increase in propagation loss) with range, (2) more interference lobes for higher elevation and higher frequency transmitters, and (3) increased surface ranges for evaporation and surface ducts, and also with greater K-Factors. However the following deficiencies were noted: 1. Duct Strength (M value change) had no effect on the JSAF predictions. 2. The JSAF interference lobes caused by interaction between direct and surface-reflected radiation did not have the correct spacing..3. The effects of surface ducts were not realistically modeled. In reality, ducts create complex signal strength patterns and at the surface typically show skip and hop bands of increased and decreased signal strength. The JSAF predictions were unrealistically smooth and showed no skip patterns. 4. The far range ( 30 km) JSAF predictions appeared to have too strong signals and very simplified flat patterns. It appears that the JSAF EM model was not designed for these regions. 5. The standalone version used in this had no consideration for geographic location for predicting duct effects. Other versions do allow duct features to vary strongly over the Earth s surface. 6. The varying leakage of radiation above ducts was not captured by the JSAF predictions. 7. The radar hole that is usually present just above duct tops was not seen in the JSAF predictions. It is clear that there are considerable and significant weaknesses in the JSAF EM propagation prediction model which result in unrealistic range predictions, particularly in situations when ducting is present.

: Incorporating the Navy s Advanced Propagation Model (APM) into JSAF would greatly improve the EM range prediction accuracy, particularly for situations with strong refractive effects such as commonly occur in the Mideast and other locations. Many, but not all of the various physical effects on EM transmissions are already included in the APM model and therefore would not require development by NWDC. Because APM is the official OAML EM propagation model for the Navy, there will be continuous improvements and it will not stagnate. Incorporating these improvements into JSAF should be relatively straightforward because most of them will be internal to the program and not require any extra changes to the JSAF sockets that allow input and output of data between APM and the rest of JSAF. Including some of the physical effects, besides refraction, would require significant costs to NWDC in terms of programming effort. They would also contribute more complexity to the user interface. A later report will analyze the associated costs and benefits to various modeling improvements and compare these with the cost/benefits of enhancing the environmental inputs. This analysis will serve as an aid to decision makers who will determine which features should be the focus of JSAF developments now and in the future.

: In previous reports, the authors suggested several potential changes that would improve the realism and accuracy of JSAF range predictions for radar, communications and jamming systems. This report analyzes the estimated benefits and costs of implementing these and other potential changes to JSAF. This information is intended to be used a guide to help JSAF developers and managers prioritize which potential changes would provide the most benefits to JSAF users given limited budgets.

: The goals of this workforce study are to (1) produce a more complete description of the present state of the ocean science, technology, and operations (OSTO) workforce; (2) anticipate future developments and predict the evolution of this workforce; and (3) characterize the educational programs that will be needed to respond to expected workforce changes. Initially, the project will focus on the workforce required to support current and planned ocean observing systems (OOS) efforts; it will then expand to include related sectors of the economy such as telecommunications, hydrographic surveying, the oil and gas industry and others. Four objectives have been defined to meet the goals of this project: (1) Characterize the current workforce which supports ocean observing systems. (2) Characterize the current workforce which supports other OSTO arenas which require knowledge and skill sets similar to the OOS occupations. (3) Identify the types of information required to monitor the evolution of the OSTO workforce over the next two decades, identify the most probable future workforce scenarios, and design initial workforce prediction systems. (4) Identify education and training objectives and practices that effectively address current and anticipated OSTO workforce needs.

There has been rapid growth in recent years in operational oceanographic activities, especially in association with the growth in ocean observing systems. At the same time, the attention given by the public to ocean issues has greatly increased. These factors along with the increasing complexity and multidisciplinary nature of oceanography suggest that the need for certification of oceanographic professionals may also be increasing (e.g., in association with coastal development, natural disasters, ocean pollution, declining fish stocks). Certification is a way to recognize that an individual has demonstrated professional competence and integrity in an occupational field.

Abstract The ocean attracts and inspires thousands of students every year to pursue degrees in science, engineering, and technology. Yet with all the attention paid to the oceans, students often lack the information needed to make wise decisions about choosing an ocean-related career. The California Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence1 (California COSEE) and the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center are responding to this problem by developing a user-friendly interactive website on ocean careers (www.oceancareers.com). About the MATE Center The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center, headquartered at Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, California, is funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) and has been in existence since 1997. The MATE Center is a national network of community colleges, high schools, universities, research institutions, marine industries, professional societies, and working professionals. The mission of the MATE Center is to improve marine technical education and in this way help to prepare the nation's future workforce for ocean-related occupations. California COSEE is funded by the Directorate of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation and its partners include MARE, at the Lawrence Hall of Science on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, California Sea Grant, and the MATE Center at Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, California. Introduction California COSEE1 and the MATE Center believe that one of the greatest services we can offer students and workers is to provide access to good information about ocean careers and employment opportunities so they can make informed choices concerning their education, career, and future. It is estimated that over twenty percent of our national economy is based on ocean-related activities and that one in six jobs are ocean-related (1). Yet with all the attention paid to the oceans it is hard to direct students to make wise decisions about their choice in careers and skills needed to seek gainful and fulfilling employment. There are a variety of reasons this: Current trends in research and industry are not necessary reflected in how educational programs are structured. Inrecent years, progress in ocean research has increasingly occurred at the intersections of traditional marine disciplines. Comprehensive large-scale studies in areas such as marine fisheries and El Niño have required multidisciplinary approaches, with technology playing a key role. Projects such as NEPTUNE, LEO-15, and the Integrated Ocean Observing System depend heavily on technology. Recent trends in technology in support of science include the increased use of: remote sensing, computer processing power, microelectronics, and biotechnology. These technologies are also widely used in industry. However, this multidisciplinary, technologybased approach is not reflected in the majority of our educational programs. The bottom line is that the evolution of undergraduate programs tends to be much slower than trends in research and industry. Therefore, students who specialize in any one subject to the exclusion of others or who do not have some level of technical skill and knowledge may have a problem finding a job (2). The ability of our workforce to remain internationally competitive is reliant on people who understand the technology behind the science.

Abstract A major goal of the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center is the creation of appropriate guidelines, assessments, curricula, and programs to provide students and workers with the knowledge and skills they need to excel in marine technology careers. About the MATE Center The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center, headquartered at Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, California, is funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) and has been in existence since 1997. The MATE Center is a national network of community colleges, high schools, universities, research institutions, marine industries, professional societies, and working professionals. The mission of the MATE Center is to improve marine technical education and in this way help to prepare the nation's future workforce for ocean-related occupations. Introduction The process of developing a competent marine workforce that is well prepared for employment requires collaborating with a wide range of people and organizations. One of the major tasks of the MATE Center is to identify and define marine technical occupations, and the abilities that men and women need in order to perform well in these occupations. The major product that results from this work is a set of occupational knowledge and skill guidelines (KSGs) for technical marine occupations. These guidelines describe what workers need to know and be able to do in order to perform their jobs well. The KSGs are different for each occupation. The KSGs developed by the MATE Center include those for marine technicians, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technicians, hydrographic survey technicians, aquarists, and aquaculture technicians. The KSGs in their entirety can be found at: http://www.marinetech.org/marineworkforce The KSGs have been used to identify requirements, or competencies, that are common to two or more occupations. These competencies have then been grouped into educational subject areas in order to facilitate the efficient development of educational materials and programs that are based on occupational requirements. The competency areas developed so far include: safety and seamanship, computer systems, data processing, technical writing, oceanography, meteorology, marine biology, navigation, hydraulic equipment, electronics, surveying, submersibles, math and statistics, interpersonal relations, water quality, small boat operations, physics, instrumentation, machining and fabrication, fluid dynamics, propulsion systems, and geographic information systems (GIS). The competencies are a critical link between the workplace and the classroom, since they connect job requirements to educational subject areas. The competencies are the basis for the development of instructional materials, starting with assessments based on the competencies, and instructional modules based on the assessments. Assessments and modules are under development for a number of the competency areas listed above. The instructional materials are the foundation for MATE Center courses, student internships, and faculty development workshops, described in the MATE Center papers that follow in this publication. A key element of all of these products is that they are based on KSGs that have been identified and validated by practicing marine technicians through workshops and surveys conducted by MATE Center staff. Educators then implement the KSGs, by way of the competencies, as they develop the MATE Center's instructional materials, courses, and educational and career management programs.

In summer-fall 2002, the coastal northeast Pacific (NEP) was characterized by anomalously cool, fresh waters extending from Vancouver Island to southern California, increased equatorward transport in the California Current System (CCS), and higher surface productivity in the northern CCS. The evolution of large scale atmosphere-ocean anomalies in the NEP from winter 2001-02 through fall 2002 contributed to these coastal anomalies by setting up wind stress anomalies that led to: 1) anomalous transport of subarctic waters into the North Pacific Current (NPC); 2) enhanced eastward flow in the NPC; 3) anomalously strong upwelling in the CCS; and 4) enhanced equatorward transport in the CCS.

From late 1995 through early 2001, three major interannual climate events occurred in the tropical Pacific; the 199597 La Nina (LN), 1997-98 El Nino (EN), and 1998-2001 LN. We analyze atmospheric and upper oceanic anomalies in the northeast Pacific (NEP) during these events, and compare them to anomalies both elsewhere in the north and tropical Pacific, and to typical EN and LN anomaly patterns. The atmospheric and oceanic anomalies varied strongly on intraseasonal and interannual scales. During the 1995-97 LN and 1997-98 EN, the Northeast Pacific was dominated by negative SLP and cyclonic wind anomalies, and by upper ocean temperature and sea surface height (SSH) anomalies. The latter were positive along the North American west coast and in the NEP thermal anomaly pool (between Hawaii, Vancouver Island, and Baja California), and negative in the central north Pacific. This atmospheric/oceanic anomaly pattern is typical of EN. An eastward shift in the atmospheric teleconnection from east Asia created EN-like anomalies in the NEP during the 1995-97 LN, well before the 1997-98 EN had begun. The persistence of negative sea-level pressure (SLP) and cyclonic wind anomalies in the NEP during the 1997-98 EN intensified pre-existing upper oceanic anomalies. Atmospheric anomalies were shifted eastward during late 1996-early 1998, leading to a similar onshore shift of oceanic anomalies. This produced exceptionally strong positive upper ocean temperature and SSH anomalies along the west coast during the 1997-98 EN, and explains the unusual coastal occurrences of several species of large pelagic warm-water fishes. The growth and eastward shift of these pre-existing anomalies does not appear to have been linked to tropical Pacific EN anomalies until late 1997, when a clear atmospheric teleconnection between the two regions developed. Prior to this, remote atmospheric impacts on the NEP were primarily from east Asia. As the 19982001 LN developed, NEP anomalies began reversing toward the typical LN pattern. This led to predominantly negative SLP and cyclonic wind anomalies in the NEP, and upper ocean temperature and SSH anomalies that were mainly negative along the west coast and positive in the central north Pacific. The persistence of these anomalies into mid-2001, and a number of concurrent biological changes in the NEP, suggest that a decadal climate shift may have occurred in late 1998.During 1995-2001, NEP oceanic anomalies tracked the overlying atmospheric anomalies, as indicated by the maintenance of a characteristic spatial relationship between these anomalies. In particular, wind stress curl and SSH anomalies in the NEP maintained an inverse relationship that strengthened and shifted eastward toward the west coast during late 1996-early 1998. This consistent relationship indicates that anomalous Ekman transport driven by regional atmospheric forcing was an important contributor to temperature and SSH anomalies in the NEP and CCS during the 1997-98 EN. Other studies have shown that coastal propagations originating from the tropical Pacific also may have contributed to coastal NEP anomalies during this EN. Our results indicate that at least some of this coastal anomaly signal may have been generated by regional atmospheric forcing within the NEP. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

We introduce the Northern Oscillation Index (NOI), a new index of climate variability based on the difference in sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies at the North Pacific High (NPH) in the northeast Pacific (NEP) and near Darwin, Australia, in a climatologically low SLP region. These two locations are centers of action for the north Pacific Hadley-Walker atmospheric circulation. SLPs at these sites have a strong negative correlation that reflects their roles in this circulation. Global atmospheric circulation anomaly patterns indicate that the NEP is linked to the western tropical Pacific and southeast Asia via atmospheric wave trains associated with fluctuations in this circulation. Thus the NOI represents a wide range of tropical and extratropical climate events impacting the north Pacific on intraseasonal, interannual, and decadal scales. The NOI is roughly the north Pacific equivalent of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), but extends between the tropics and extratropics. Because the NOI is partially based in the NEP, it provides a more direct indication of the mechanisms by which global-scale climate events affect the north Pacific and North America.The NOI is dominated by interannual variations associated with El Nino and La Nina (EN/LN) events. Large positive (negative) index values are usually associated with LN (EN) and negative (positive) upper ocean temperature anomalies in the NEP, particularly along the North American west coast. The NOI and SOI are highly correlated, but are clearly different in several respects. EN/LN variations tend to be represented by larger swings in the NOI. Forty percent of the interannual moderate and strong interannual NOI events are seen by the SOI as events that are either weak or opposite in sign. The NOI appears to be a better index of environmental variability in the NEP than the SOI, and NPH SLP alone, suggesting the NOI is more effective at incorporating the influences of regional and remotely teleconnected climate processes. The NOI contains alternating decadal-scale periods dominated by positive and negative values, suggesting substantial climate shifts on a roughly 14-year 'cycle'.The NOI was predominantly positive prior to 1965, during 1970-1976 and 1984-1991, and since 1998. Negative values predominated in 1965-1970, 1977-1983, and 1991-1998. In the NEP, interannual and decadal-scale negative NOI periods (e.g. EN events) are generally associated with weaker trade winds, weaker coastal upwelling-favorable winds, warmer upper ocean temperatures, lower Pacific Northwest salmon catch, higher Alaska salmon catch, and generally decreased macrozooplankton biomass off southern California. The opposite physical and biological patterns generally occur where the index is positive. Simultaneous correlations of the NOI with north Pacific upper ocean temperature anomalies are greatest during the boreal winter and spring, Lagged correlations, of the winter and spring NOI with subsequent upper ocean temperatures are high for several seasons. The relationships between the NOI and atmospheric and physical and biological oceanic anomalies in the NEP indicate this index is a useful diagnostic of climate change in the NEP, and suggest mechanisms linking variations in the physical environment to marine resources on interannual to decadal climate scales. The NOI time series is available online at: http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.