Research and Monitoring Program Resources
Updated: February 17, 2010
Federal
 National
Status and Trends Program
Since 1984, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program has monitored,
on a national scale, spatial and temporal trends of chemical
contamination and biological
responses to that contamination. Temporal
trends are being monitored through the Mussel Watch
project that analyzes mussels and oysters collected annually
at about 200 of those sites. Spatial
trends have been described on a national scale from
chemical concentrations measured in surface sediments
collected by both the Mussel Watch and Benthic Surveillance
Projects from 240 sites distributed throughout the coastal
and estuarine United States.
The Benthic Surveillance Project has, in addition, measured
chemical concentrations in fish livers and performed
histological analyses of fish for evidence of biological
responses to chemical contamination. The raw
data from these projects are available. They have
been interpreted to indicate that chemical contamination,
while universal in an absolute sense, is at high levels
near centers of human population. Even in those areas,
actual biological responses to chemical contamination
are usually limited the extreme contamination found in "hot
spots" of limited spatial extent. Temporal trends in
chemical contamination are beginning to be evident from
the Mussel Watch project and, when trends exist, they
are predominantly in the direction of decreasing concentrations.
- Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment Program
The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program
(EMAP) home page contains information about the program,
data and metadata files, as well as related publications.
 Integrated Ocean
Observing System
The Integrated Ocean Observing
System (IOOS®)
is a federal, regional, and private-sector partnership working
to generate and disseminate continuous data on U.S. coastal
waters, Great Lakes, and oceans. By collecting and
bringing data together in a way that ensures the information
can be used with other data sets, IOOS will make a broader
suite of data available to scientists, allowing them to develop
a more complete characterization of our oceans and coasts.
Regional Associations (RAs) and Regional Coastal Ocean
Observing Systems (RCOOSs) provide a vital and vast network
to identify and address regional priorities, expand the coverage
of the existing the U.S. IOOS, and ensure that the system
develops based on a strong customer focus and connection. Each
of the eleven RCOOSs (see below) is comprised of many,
smaller observing systems, as well as a regional management
structure responsible for collaboration and coordination
within the region.
 Alaska Ocean
Observing System
The Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) is intended to
(1) Serve as the Alaska regional node for a national network
of observing systems; (2) Systematically deliver both real-time
information and long-term trends about Alaska’s ocean
conditions and marine life; (3) Provide to the public Internet
access to cost-free data and information on coastal conditions;
and (4) Supply tailored products to meet the needs of mariners,
scientists, industry, resource managers, educators, and
other users of marine resources. The AOOS will provide
a centralized location for:
- Data and information products from platforms such as
buoys, providing wind and current speed and direction,
wave height, sea temperature and salinity, and more;
- Enhancements to existing NOAA weather buoy data for
specialized local needs;
- Processed satellite data providing Alaska-wide information
on sea-surface temperature, ocean color (chlorophyll)
and wind;
- Geographically comprehensive surface current data
from high frequency radar; and
- Data about fish, birds and marine mammals, the environmental
effects of human activities, and any other information
that can be used with the physical data to predict future
changes to the ocean ecosystem.
 Caribbean Island Coastal Ocean Observing System
The Caribbean Island Coastal Ocean Observing System (CarICOOS)
brings together coastal ocean data and forecasts
from a variety of sources including satellites, ocean instruments
and numerical models to give the user an integrated view
of past, present and forecasted ocean conditions in the U.S.
Caribbean region (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and
the island of Navassa). Data are provided online by a number
of organizations including NOAA, NASA, ONR, Universities,
and others.
 Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System
The Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System
(CeNCOOS) was established
in 2004. The
geographic extent of CeNCOOS includes from Point Conception
north to the California-Oregon border and from the
coastline out to 200 nautical miles (the seaward extent of
the Exclusive Economic Zone). CeNCOOS includes bays and estuaries
in this region. CeNCOOS collaborates closely with the Southern
California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS),
and State agencies supporting coastal management activities.
 Great Lakes Observing System
The Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) is an effort dedicated
to providing wide internet access to real-time and historic
data on the hydrology, biology, chemistry, geology and cultural
resources of the Great Lakes region; which includes the coastal
zone within the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, the interconnecting
waterways and the St. Lawrence River. The GLOS is intended
to gather and integrate chemical, biologic and hydrologic
data, and monitor lake conditions and trends over time. Current
GLOS projects include:
- Huron to Erie Corridor Hydrodynamic
Modeling;
- Marine Observation Buoys;
- HarborView, Online Data Viewers; and
- Great Lakes Modeling and Assessment Center (GLMAC)
 Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System
The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS)
provides timely information about the environment of the
United States portion of the Gulf of Mexico from Florida
to Texas. Data and products of various types include remotely-sensed
data from satellites, high frequency radar units, and occasionally
aircraft as well as in situ observations from ships, buoys,
drill and production platforms, fixed towers, autonomous
underwater vehicles, and moorings. Some products will be
openly available via GCOOS while others will be produced
by private sector entities and offered for sale (this is
the situation for meteorological products). At the present
time most observations and products made from them are supported
by the private sector for their needs or by federal, state,
or local governments to meet their legislated mandates.
GCOOS is building a data portal which will allow stakeholders
easy access to real time data streams; data searches maybe
carried out by the stakeholders or by their computers.
 Mid-Atlantic
Region Coastal Observing System
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARCOOS)
deploys and operates
the Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System, a complex array
of hardware—gliders, radar, buoys—and software—models
and data bases. MARCOOS products support priority regional
themes that include maritime safety and natural resource
decision-making and provide critical input to
efforts on coastal inundation and on water quality.
The Mid-Atlantic observing system:
- Links existing regional coastal weather networks to
evolving regional forecasting capabilities to provide an
improved ensemble of weather forecasts;
- Operates the existing Mid-Atlantic HF Radar Network
and leveraging Coast Guard drifters that are linked to
statistical and dynamical models to providean ensemble
of regional nowcasts and forecasts of 2-D surface currents;
and
- Operates the existing satellite receivers and leverages
the Navy investment in a regional glider capability linked
to the dynamical models in order to provide an ensemble
of 3-D circulation, temperature and salinity nowcasts and
forecasts.
The outcome is the generation and dissemination of real-time
data, nowcasts and forecasts of the ocean extending from
Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras. It is a joint effort, comprising
30 Principal Investigators from 20 academic, governmental
and private institutions across the region.
 Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing
Systems
The Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing
Systems (NERACOOS) spans coastal waters from the Canadian
Maritime Provinces to the New York Bight. Its mission is
to make available information to those who use these waters,
including weather and ocean data to fishers and commercial
shippers determining if conditions are safe for passage
and to emergency managers issuing storm warnings. Efforts
are advancing to use these data for water quality monitoring,
harmful algal bloom predictions and warnings, and coastal
flooding and erosion forecasting systems.
 Northwest
Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems
The Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing
Systems (NANOOS) is the IOOS Regional Association in the
Pacific Northwest, primarily Washington and Oregon. NANOOS
has strong ties with the observing programs in Alaska and
British Columbia through our common purpose and the occasional
overlap of data and products. NANOOS
plans to provide the following services:
- Discovery Service for Data Service Registration and
Lookup;
- Metadata Repository for Cataloging Data Types and
Formats;
- Data Provider Services for sensor observation data
or modeling data;
- Data Aggregator Services that integrate sensor observations
or modeling data;
- Portal Data Application Services for viewing Data
on graphs or maps; and
- Portal User Application Services as Decision Support.
 Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System
The Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) region
is defined as the Commonwealth and Territories of the United
States in the Pacific and the Freely Associated States in
the Pacific:
- American Samoa
- the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- the Federated States of Micronesia
- Guam
- Hawai‘i
- the Republic of the Marshall Islands
- the Republic of Palau
- Wake Island
- Johnston Atoll
- Howland and Baker Island
- Palmyra Island
- Jarvis Island
The capabilities of the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing
System are being demonstrated through the Hawai‘i Ocean
Observing System (HiOOS)
pilot project that focuses on the main Hawaiian Islands.
 Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association
The Southeast Coastal Ocean
Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) is to be designed
and operated to provide data, information and products on
marine and estuarine systems for
the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and
Florida. Information will be provided to users in a common
manner and according to sound scientific practice. SECOORA
will include the infrastructure and expertise required for
this system. The purpose of SECOORA is to:
- represent the interests of those that use, depend on,
study and manage coastal environments and their resources
in the southeast region;
- be a legal entity that provides a fiscal agent with
final responsibility for acceptance and expenditure of
funds according to the rules of grantors of the funds,
insurability, and the ability to enter into enforceable
contracts;
- represent a partnership or consortium of data providers
and users from state and federal agencies, private industry,
non-governmental institutions and academia;
- provide a means by which the Regional Association
and the public at large benefit from and contribute to
the development and sustained operation of an integrated
ocean observing system for the open ocean (to the EEZ boundary)
and the regional estuaries; and
- ensure continued and routine flow of data and information
and the evolution of SECOORA to adapt to the needs of the
user groups and the timely incorporation of new technologies
and understanding based on these needs.
 Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System
The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System
(SCCOOS)
brings together coastal observations in the Southern
California Bight to provide information necessary to address
issues in climate change, ecosystem preservation and management,
coastal water quality, maritime operations, coastal
hazards and national security. Currently available products include:
- Automated Shore Stations;
- Bathymetry;
- Harmful Algae & Red Tides;
- Manual Shore Stations;
- Meteorological Observations;
- Moorings;
- Plume Tracking;
- Ports & Harbors;
- ROMS Model Output;
- Satellite Imagery;
- Ship Tracking (AIS);
- Ships & Gliders;
- Shoreline Water Quality;
- Surface Current Mapping;
- Wave Conditions (CDIP); and
- Winds & Rainfall Forecasts.
State
- Chesapeake
Bay Data Hub
This online data center, maintained by the Chesapeake
Bay Program, offers water quality data, biological data,
and GIS files dealing with the Chesapeake Bay area.
-
 Chesapeake
Bay Tributary Water Quality Monitoring Project
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Spatial
Analysis Laboratory (UMBC-SAL), in conjunction with Cybergroup,
Inc., developed an Internet-mapping program to serve
water quality monitoring data for the Maryland Department
of Natural Resources, Resource Assessment Service (MDDNR).
The primary objective of this project is to design an
intuitive internet-based graphical user interface (GUI)
for an environmental Structured Query Language (SQL)
database that will assist state agencies, universities,
researchers, and the general public to find and to use
considerable amounts of water quality, living resources,
and toxics data.
- Southern
California Coastal Water Research Project
This web site provides data from a coordinated regional
monitoring survey for the Southern California Bight conducted
in both 1994 and 1998. These surveys, referred to as
the Southern California Bight Pilot Project, included
measurement of chemistry, toxicity, benthic infauna,
and fish assemblages at 261 sites between Point Conception
and the Mexican border.
-
State
of Washington Marine Water Quality Monitoring Data
This site includes salinity, temperature, density, dissolved
oxygen, light transmission, and pH data for Grays Harbor,
Willapa Bay, and the greater Puget Sound area beginning
in 1973.
- State
of Washington River and Stream Water Quality Monitoring
Monitored attributes include temperature, pH, conductivity,
dissolved oxygen, turbidity, total suspended solids,
fecal coliform bacteria, ammonia-N, nitrate+nitrite-N,
total nitrogen, total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus,
and at most stations, discharge. Dissolved metals are
monitored bi-monthly at a few stations. Summary provisional
data from the most recently completed water years (October
through September) are available online.
Other
The San Francisco Bay Institute offers data on conventional
water quality parameters, sediment
quality characteristics, trace
elements, sediment
bioassays, trace
organics, bivalve
condition and survival, and aquatic
bioassays.
|
