Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) Workshop

Please visit this website often as updates will be posted on this page as decisions are made.

It is anticipated that the workshop will be free to participants but we will ask each person to register using a form that will soon be posted on this page.

The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP) is hosting a Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) Workshop. This two-day, technical exchange workshop is an opportunity for scientists and resource managers to network; explore research and technologies; share ideas and gain a better understanding on CDOM dynamics in the Lemon Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Estero Bay watersheds.

Recent research has shown that dissolved organic matter in aquatic systems is the largest reservoir for organic carbon in the aquatic environment. Colored DOM (or CDOM) contributes to light absorption, and may also fuel bacterial respiration while carrying large quantities of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous to estuaries, which may contribute to eutrophication. In Charlotte Harbor, Florida, CDOM can account for 13-66% of light attenuation in the water column. Changes in CDOM concentrations in the Peace River seem to be linked to landuse changes. Also, there has been a trend toward higher CDOM concentrations in the Calooshatchee River in recent years. Therefore, understanding the sources, sinks, and processed that affect CDOM is important for aquatic resource management. Numeric water quality targets for chlorophyll a, turbidity and CDOM were recently established for the Lemon Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Estero Bay region. This workshop on colored dissolved organic matter is an imperative first step in the implementation of these water quality targets.

Workshop Goals: The CHNEP wishes to determine the following information at a minimum from this workshop.

You are invited to attend and participate in this scientific forum which offers numerous opportunities to share your ideas; explore research, management and applications and to network with scientists and managers specializing in aquatic resources and CDOM dynamics.

The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program is a partnership of citizens, elected officials, resource managers, and commercial and recreational resource users working to improve the water quality and ecological integrity of the greater Charlotte Harbor watershed. The Program’s partners use a cooperative decision-making process to address diverse resource management concerns in the 4,700 square-mile study that includes all or portions of Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Polk, Hardee and DeSoto counties. Charlotte Harbor was recognized as an “estuary of national significance” and accepted into the National Estuary Program in 1995. The program management plan was completed and approved in 2001, marking the beginning of action to protect and restore the greater Charlotte Harbor watershed.

Please consider becoming a sponsor of the CDOM Workshop. If you are interested in sponsoring the CDOM Workshop, please contact Catherine Corbett in the Program Office at 239/338-2556 ext 241 or email ccorbett@swfrpc.org. To be listed in the promotion and the program that’ll be made available at the workshop, your sponsorship contribution must be received in early May.

While all amounts of support will be appreciated, a business, agency or organization that provides $2,000 or more will be listed as a sponsor of the CDOM Workshop. All entities that provide less than $2,000 will be listed as sponsors of specific activities, such as for refreshment breaks, exhibit area, etc. As a sponsor your name will be included in promotion and documents. Please inform us as soon as possible of your level of sponsorship so that we will have more opportunities to acknowledge your sponsorship in promotional material. Preparation of print material that will be distributed at the workshop will commence in early May, so please consider this timeframe.

Please register: While CHNEP anticipates that a registration fee will not be charged, we do require that participants register by using this online form. Please indicate which days of the workshop you anticipate attending. (The most recent version of the agenda is available by following this link: Agenda.) This information will help ensure that the room is set-up to accommodate the number of people that are anticipated and provide adequate amounts of refreshments. If you register and find you are no longer able to attend, please send an email with "CDOM cancellation -- followed by your name, affiliation" in the subject line.

CHNEP has reserved rooms at the hotel nearest the yacht club. Best Western Waterfront (800/525-1022, 941/639-1165) has discounted the room rate to $85 (+ 11% room tax) if reservations are made by May 11, 2007 (extended from April 28, 2007). When making your room reservation, let them know you are attending Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program's workshop. Information on hotels in the county is maintained by the Charlotte County Convention & Visitor Bureau. For more details about the Best Western Waterfront (300 W Retta Esplanade, Punta Gorda), follow the link "where to stay." Directions to the hotel from I-75 South, take I-75 North and exit 164, make a left on to Highway 17. Stay on 17 for 3 miles. Cross over 41 North and 41 South. After crossing 41 South, make your first right which will be Harvey Street next to City Hall. Go to the stop sign and make a right, hotel is on the left. From I-75 North, take I-75 South to exit 170, Kings Highway. Make a right on to Kings Hwy and take it to 41. Make a left on to 41 South, Cross over the Peace River Bridge and the Hotel is on the right.

Directions to the Isles Yacht Club: The Isles Yacht Club is located at 1780 Marion Avenue (Highway 17) in Punta Gorda. From I-75 Exit 164 travel west approximately 3.5 miles west (pass US 41 and Fisherman's Village) to the traffic light for Jamaica Way and Marion Ave. Turn right and the entrance to the club is on your left.

Call for posters: The deadline to submit a poster is May 16. This call is available as a PDF file.

The CHNEP invites you to submit a poster abstract for a poster session social event in the evening of May 29 at the CDOM Workshop.

Poster Presentations are hereby requested that address the questions listed above or others pertaining to estuarine resource management or research. A 90-minute special poster session and social will be held at the workshop.

Please submit an abstract to the CHNEP office electronically via email (ccorbett@swfrpc.org) or the CHNEP website at (www.chnep.org) by May 16, 2007. Please include the following information in your proposal:

Presentation Title;
Authors’ full names and affiliations with contact information, including telephone and email for the primary contact for the proposal. Denote which author will be making the presentation at the workshop;
Abstract—one page description of the presentation no more than 500 words.
Any special equipment needs.

Abstracts received may be assembled and distributed at the workshop. Program staff will not edit your abstract. Typographical and grammatical errors that occur in the submitted abstract will also appear in any printed distributions.

Call for presentations: The deadline has passed, abstracts are no longer being accepted.

The call for presentations is available as a PDF file. Submission Deadline: March 30, 2007

The CHNEP invites you to submit a proposal to present at the CDOM Workshop. There are two opportunities to present:

Please submit a proposal to the CHNEP office electronically via email (ccorbett@swfrpc.org) or by completing the online form (found at the bottom of this page) by March 30, 2007. Please include the following information in your proposal:

* There is limited availability for oral presentations; thus, this format is not guaranteed to all who request it. A selection committee will determine oral presentations if there are a number of proposals submitted for the same topic.