H.R. 7896 — NOAA Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Research Act

This section directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the NOAA Administrator, to establish a global ocean monitoring and observing research program to provide high-quality ocean environmental data supporting NOAA's mission of monitoring the global environment to protect lives and property from extreme weather and natural phenomena. The program must carry out specified activities, including (1) developing sustained in-situ ocean monitoring systems such as the global One-Argo system; (2) supporting basic and applied research via public-private partnerships to advance ocean observation technologies; (3) improving data findability, accessibility, interoperability, quality, usability, and reusability to collect baseline measurements, enhance public understanding, and meet research needs; (4) conducting interdisciplinary earth-system research on ocean heat content, Arctic changes, ocean carbon and biogeochemistry, and other topics; (5) coordinating with federal agencies, states, academics, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and international bodies such as the Global Ocean Observing System; (6) accelerating technologies for forecasting hurricane intensity, atmospheric rivers, and extreme weather; (7) increasing use of autonomous systems to fill observational gaps; (8) integrating artificial intelligence and cloud technologies; and (9) developing best practices for community interactions to foster competition. Within one year of enactment, the Administrator must develop a framework for prioritized activities and progress metrics, consulting data users, and implement an annual review process assessing system quality and efficiency. The program may provide competitive, merit-based financial assistance via contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements to academic institutions, cooperatives, private entities, and others. This section defines "artificial intelligence" as provided in 15 U.S.C. 9401, including machine learning, neural networks, and natural language processing.