PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT SITE, AND THE CONTENT DOES NOT REFLECT THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION.

NCCOS Project: Kachemak Bay Ecological Assessment

Kachemak Bay, in Cook Inlet Alaska, is a rich, diverse marine ecosystem and contains all of the estuarine and coastal habitat types found in the Gulf of Alaska. However, the bay has experienced significant long-term and recent environmental and ecological changes. Our ecological assessment and related products brings together diverse information to give numerous stakeholder … Read more

NCCOS Project: Mapping Habitat Change in Saipan Lagoon, CNMI

In 2004, shallow-water benthic habitats were mapped in Saipan Lagoon, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Since then, habitats in the lagoon have likely changed because of coral bleaching events and recent typhoons. Local resource managers requested an updated map to help better understand these habitat changes and to help inform their monitoring and management … Read more

NCCOS Assessment: Underwater Video and Photographs for Ground Validation and Accuracy Assessment of Benthic Habitat Maps of Saipan Lagoon, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 2016-07-28 to 2016-08-09

Underwater video and photographs were acquired between 28 July 2016 and 9 August 2016 at nearly 600 sites throughout the lagoon to document the presence and percent-cover of benthic substrate and cover types. Two sets of independent data were collected, one for Ground Validation (n = 292) and the other for Accuracy Assessment (n = … Read more

NCCOS Long-term Monitoring Project: Regional Ecological Assessments and National Benthic Inventory

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) works 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 areas; carry out studies to determine environmental impacts of specific pollution events or natural disasters; and perform additional … Read more

NCCOS National Status and Trends Special Study: Assessing Land Based Sources of Pollution in Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, from 2013-08-27 to 2013-08-30

This tabular dataset is the result of field sampling of coral tissues (Pocillopora damicornis) and subsequent laboratory chemical analysis for pollutant levels. The pollutants analyzed included trace elements (Al, Ar, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, Se, Ag, Sn, Zn), PAHs, PCBs, pesticides (chlordanes, DDT, HCH), and organotins. For a complete description of … Read more

Gap Analysis of Marine Ecosystem Data for the Department of Interior, National Park Service Inventory & Monitoring Program

The Gap Analysis of Marine Ecosystem Data project is a review of available geospatial data which can assist in marine natural resource management for eight park units. The project includes the collection of geospatial information and its incorporation in a single consistent geodatabase format. In addition to the collection of geospatial information and mapping portal … Read more

Environmental Conditions in Northern Gulf of Mexico Coastal Waters Following Hurricane Katrina

The results from this study represent a snapshot of ecological condition in coastal waters of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne-Mississippi Sound two months after the passing of Hurricane Katrina. The comparison of ecological indicators before and after the hurricane suggests considerable stability of these systems with respect to short-term ecological impacts. While some storm-related changes … Read more

Shallow-Water Benthic Habitats of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Manual

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service (NOS) initiated a coral reef research program in 1999 to map, assess, inventory, and monitor U.S. coral reef ecosystems (Monaco et al. 2001). These activities were implemented in response to requirements outlined in the Mapping Implementation Plan developed by the Mapping and Information Synthesis Working … Read more

Working with video to improve deep-sea habitat characterization

Videos collected from ROVs empower people to explore the ocean from any location. Beyond the immediate value of revealing the mysteries of the deep ocean, video footage provides a rich data source that contributes to our fundamental understanding of the physical, biological, and chemical properties of explored ocean areas. NOAA’s Office of Exploration and Research … Read more