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Projects
A Management Tool to Reduce Sea Turtle Bycatch in ...
Along with our partners, we developed a geographic information system (GIS) tool to help coastal managers work toward reducing the bycatch of sea turtles in U.S. fisheries in the Atlantic ...
An Assessment of Fisheries Species to Inform Time-...
Environmental windows or moratoria are used by federal and state regulators in resource management to temporarily reduce adverse environmental impacts associated with coastal development. Seasonal restrictions on construction activities can ...
Assessing Social Values Relative to Offshore Wind ...
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM’s) Office of Renewable Energy Programs oversees development of offshore renewable energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). BOEM identified wind energy areas ...
Assessing the Ecological Function of Shipwrecks, A...
Increased calls for enhancing ocean habitats through artificial reefs and proposals for increasing offshore energy development require science to understand the impact and habitat value of these artificial structures on ...
Bioeffects Program Reports: South Atlantic Region
The Bioeffects program is a nationwide program of environmental assessment designed to describe the current status of environmental quality in our nation's estuarine and coastal areas. Field studies examine the ...
Climate Change Impacts on Intertidal Zone Populati...
The intertidal zone, which lies between the high and low tide marks on the shores of the world’s oceans, is a sensitive indicator of the effects of climate variability and ...
Coastal Ecological Assessments and Indicator Devel...
We work in partnership with other federal agencies and coastal states to conduct assessments of ecological condition and potential stressor impacts throughout our nation’s estuaries, coastal-ocean waters, and NOAA protected ...
Considerations and Tradeoffs of UAS-based Coastal ...
NCCOS researcher tests Unoccupied Aerial System at Swan Island in the Chesapeake Bay, August 2021. Credit: NOAA. Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) provide a low-cost approach to collecting high-resolution aerial imagery, ...
EcoGIS: Tools for Ecosystem-based Fisheries Manage...
The EcoGIS project was launched to determine how geographic information systems (GIS) technology, marine data, and custom analysis tools could be leveraged to promote fishery management strategies based on the ...
Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise in North Caro...
We are developing mapping and modeling tools to provide the North Carolina coastal management community the most up to date research on the effect of sea level rise and storminess ...
News
New Study Examines the Role of Roots and Below Gro...
Dunes help protect communities from storms, and vegetation helps stabilize dunes by reducing wind and water erosion and by trapping and accumulating new sediment. While the importance of aboveground plant ...
Aerial Drone Guidelines for Marsh Monitoring Publi...
NCCOS researcher tests Uncrewed Aircraft System at Swan Island, in Chesapeake Bay, August 2021. Credit: NOAA. NCCOS and partners have published guidance on using aerial drones to detect changes in ...
NCCOS Awards $11 Million for Research to Enhance C...
Motorists crossing a flooded street in a low-lying Norfolk neighborhood called Colonial Place, which floods at every high tide. Credit: Chesapeake Bay Program/Will Parson NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean ...
Study Calculates Area Covered by Natural vs Artifi...
Figure 1: Underwater images of artificial reefs (A, B) and natural reefs (C, D) on the southeast US continental shelf. (A) Artificial reef created by a ship. (B) Artificial reef ...
Optimal Survey Designs for Use of Uncrewed Aircraf...
An uncrewed aircraft system takes flight to capture aerial imagery of a coastal wetland. Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) are often used in scientific observations of land- and seascapes, taking photographs ...
Valor in the Atlantic 2022: Diving into North Caro...
The bow of LV-71 Diamond Shoals Light Ship. Credit: Tane Casserley, NOAA. NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), North Carolina’s Office of State ...
Cape Lookout National Seashore Environmental Quali...
NCCOS scientist collects samples at Cape Lookout National Seashore adjacent to the abandoned town of Portsmouth, North Carolina. Credit: NOAA. NCCOS scientists have released a final report assessing the environmental ...
Thin Layer Sediment Placement Boosts Marsh Growth
A new NCCOS study shows that spreading a thin layer of sediment on low-lying marshes promotes vegetation growth that builds elevation. The technique may be an effective way to restore ...
Beach Width Provides Greatest Protection Against F...
Dune erosion, or scarping, caused by Hurricane Matthew along Shackleford Banks, North Carolina. Credit: Laura Moore. Beaches and sand dunes are critical to protecting coastal communities from storm surge, but ...
Artificial Reef Design and Siting in US Missing Ec...
NCCOS scientists and their partners have outlined a way to make ecological criteria part of the artificial reef planning process in the United States. Planning processes for artificial reefs differ ...
Products
Maps, Tools & Applications
North Carolina has some of the best conditions to support offshore wind energy in the Southeast U.S. Three wind energy areas (WEA) identified by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are being evaluated for potential commercial wind energy development: Wilmington-West and Wilmington-East near Cape Fear, and Kitty Hawk near the North Carolina-Virginia border.
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Deep-sea corals provide important habitats for many marine species, including commercial fish. This data will be used to target areas for deep-sea coral surveys and to develop a predictive model to identify where deep-sea corals are likely to occur. The information will help coastal managers conserve these fragile ecosystems.
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NCCOS developed the Algal Bloom Monitoring System to routinely deliver near real-time products for use in locating, monitoring and quantifying algal blooms in coastal and lake regions of the US. This application delivers a suite of bloom detection products in the form of geographic based images. At this time products are available for selected regions. New products are being evaluated, and new regions are being considered; as they are proven useful, they will be made available through this system.
Data & Publications
A Decade of Water Level Changes along the New River Estuary in North Carolina, USA
From 2008-2018, our program evaluated coastal marsh resilience to changes in inundation along the New River Estuary in Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) near Jacksonville, NC. To properly contextualize marsh parameters and processes across a range of tidal influence, ...
An Assessment of Fisheries Species to Inform Time-of-Year Restrictions for North Carolina and South Carolina
Environmental windows or moratoria are used by federal and state regulators in resource management to temporarily reduce adverse environmental impacts associated with coastal development. Moratoria are seasonal restrictions on construction activities to protect migrations of fish, sensitive life stages of ...
An integrated assessment of habitat quality of national estuarine research reserves in the southeastern United States
Multiple indicators of water quality, sediment quality, and biological condition were used to assess the status of ecological condition of National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) sites in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia relative to a suite of corresponding ...
Benthic habitat mapping and assessment in the Wilmington-East Wind Energy Call Area: final report
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for oversight and management of the development of energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). In 2012, BOEM identified three Wind Energy Call Areas and later defined Wind Energy Areas ...
Biological, chemical, and physical data from the Phytoplankton Monitoring Network from 13 Sep 2001 to 7 Mar 2013 (NODC Accession 0117942)
The Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN) is a part of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). The PMN was created as an outreach program to connect volunteers and professional scientists in the monitoring of marine phytoplankton and harmful algal ...
Coastal North Carolina Activity Book
An activity book designed to introduce elementary school children to the animal and plant life and ecology of coastal North Carolina ...
Cruise Report: Spring 2006 Survey of Ecological Conditions of the U.S. Middle Atlantic Bight, NOAA Ship Nancy Foster NF-06-06-NCCOS
This cruise report is a summary of a field survey conducted in coastal-ocean waters of the Mid-Atlantic Bight from Nags Head, North Carolina to Cape Cod, Massachusetts and from approximately 1 nautical mile (nm) of shore seaward to the shelf ...
Cruise report: Spring 2007 survey of ecological conditions along the continental shelf off Florida from Anclote Key to West Palm Beach, NOAA ship Nancy Foster Cruise NF-07-08-NCCOS (May 15 - May 28, 2007)
This cruise report is a summary of a field survey conducted in coastal-ocean waters off Florida from Anclote Key to West Palm Beach and from approximately 1 nautical mile (nm) offshore seaward to the shelf break (100 m). The survey ...
Drones in the Coastal Zone: Report of a Regional Workshop for the US Southeast and Caribbean
This report summarizes outcomes from a series of virtual workshops for researchers and managers in the southeast US and US Caribbean entitled Drones in the Coastal Zone ...
Ecological condition of coastal ocean and estuarine waters of the U.S. South Atlantic Bight: 2000-2004
This document provides an assessment of ecological condition in coastal ocean and estuarine waters of the U.S. South Atlantic Bight from Cape Henry, Virginia, through the southern end of the Indian River Lagoon along the east coast of Florida. Data ...
General Pages
Cyanobacteria Algal Bloom from Satellite in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, NC
Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring SystemImages last updated: 09/20/2022 Click the next and previous arrows to view the most recent 13 usable images from the last 14 days. (You may need ...
NOAA Internship Opportunities
Geospatial Investigations of Coastal and Great Lak...
Seeking students with geospatial modeling, computer vision, and/or machine learning capabilities to join a group of exciting, innovative scientists mapping seafloor communities. Projects include: 1) advancing applications of Structure from ...
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About NCCOS
NCCOS delivers ecosystem science solutions for stewardship of the nation’s ocean and coastal resources to sustain thriving coastal communities and economies.
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