Michael Vardaro Selected as OOI Data Manager

Michael Vardaro

Michael Vardaro

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) announces the selection of Michael Vardaro as the new OOI Data Manager.

The OOI Data Manager will work with the Cyberinfrastructure (CI) team on the design, operation and optimization of the data management infrastructure and processes. They will play a key role monitoring and evaluating data quality to create quality controlled data streams for the OOI user community. The Data Manager, housed at Rutgers University, will also manage a team of Data Evaluators.

“We are excited for Mike to be joining our larger team focusing on the delivery of OOI data to the community,” says Scott Glenn, OOI CI Science/User Co-Principal Investigator. “Mike will play a critical role in managing the data flow and quality.  The entire team will benefit from his many years of experience in the OOI.”

Vardaro, currently an Assistant Professor at Oregon State University (OSU), is a deep-sea biogeochemist, specializing in remote sensing, climate variability and change, and surface-to-seafloor connectivity. He has worked with the OOI program for the last four years as an Associate Project Scientist focusing on designing, testing, and deploying the Endurance Array off the coast of Oregon and Washington. Prior to working with the OOI, Vardaro designed and deployed photographic and oceanographic instrumentation in the Gulf of Mexico, Northeastern Pacific, and Southeastern Atlantic oceans to study the links between surface productivity, carbon flux, and deep benthic populations, and how such systems change over time.

“This is an exciting opportunity to help assemble a diverse and successful data analysis team, assess the quality of the huge volume of data that will be delivered by the OOI moorings, gliders, and seafloor instruments, and share that data with marine scientists and the public in order to build a robust user community,” says Vardaro. “I am looking forward to getting back to my roots on the East coast, as a part of the Rutgers marine science community.”

The OOI, a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is planned as a networked infrastructure of science-driven sensor systems to measure the physical, chemical, geological and biological variables in the ocean and seafloor. As a fully integrated observatory, OOI will collect and disseminate data on coastal, regional and global scales. Through a unique cyberinfrastructure, OOI will make ocean observing data available to anyone with an internet connection. Greater knowledge of the ocean’s interrelated systems is vital for increased understanding of their effects on biodiversity, ocean and coastal ecosystems, environmental health, and climate.

For more information on the OOI please visit the OOI Website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.