In yet another display of the inexorable interdependence of Earth’s ecosystems, a bad summer for Midwestern farmland has turned out to be a good one for life in the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium have found that this summer’s hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico – the oxygen-devoid area [...]
2012 Gulf Hypoxia in Brief Mid-summer forecast: 1,197 to 6,213 square miles June survey result: 295 square miles Mid-summer survey result: 2,889 Mid-Summer Survey Results Results of an annual mid-summer hypoxic zone survey by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium found the fourth smallest dead zone on record in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The LUMCON-led team [...]
Ecological forecasts help resource managers better understand their management options, the likely effects of their decisions, and consequences of their actions. In the Chesapeake Bay, deep portions provide more habitats for fish, shellfish and crabs. However, during the summer, deeper waters are too dark for plants to grow and create oxygen by photosynthesis so oxygen [...]
On July 6th, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced the closure of recreational mussel harvesting for over 120 miles of Oregon Coast from Tillamook Head south to Heceta Head due to elevated levels of paralytic shellfish toxins (PST). The closure includes mussels found on the [...]
In 1996, President Bill Clinton commissioned the National Science and Technology Council to create an award celebrating emerging researchers in the fields of science and technology at the outset of their careers. The result was the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The PECASE award is given annually to a group of researchers [...]
The importance of the Gulf of Mexico to the US economy is significant. The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science has invested over $66M in public funds for research into harmful algal blooms, nutrient over-enrichment contributions to hypoxia, ecological effects of sea level rise (EESLR), and coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico since 1990. [...]
Forecasts are a part of our everyday lives. Weather forecasts help businesses make plans. Economic forecasts help individuals and businesses navigate the uncertainties of the financial world. Similarly, ecological forecasts allow people to answer the “what if” questions in coastal management. Why do we need this? Because our coasts and oceans are constantly changing! Just [...]
On July 17-21, 2011, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science program managers and sponsored scientists hosted sessions on translating scientific results for use by decision makers at the 2011 Coastal Zone Conference in Chicago, Illinois. NCCOS’s strategy of sponsoring quality science useful to coastal managers was on display at three sessions: Integrated modeling of Great [...]