Data and Reports

Explore our library of NCCOS Technical Memos and various data sets. Filter by the type of publication, research category, region or contact. To access data and reports predating 2017, please visit the Legacy Publications Explorer.

An Analysis of Chemical Contaminants in Sediments and Fish from Cocos Lagoon, Guam

As part of the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) jurisdictional priority gathering, local agencies in Guam identified Cocos Lagoon as an area potentially impacted by land-based sources of pollution. The US Coast Guard operated a Long Range Navigation (LORAN) station on Cocos Island at the southern end of Cocos ...

An Aquaculture Opportunity Area Atlas for the Southern California Bight

Presidential Executive Order 13921 (E.O.), Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth (May 7, 2020), called for the expansion of sustainable seafood production in the U.S. to ensure food security; provide environmentally safe and sustainable seafood; support American workers; establish coordinated, predictable, and transparent federal action; and remove unnecessary regulatory ...

An Aquaculture Opportunity Area Atlas for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Presidential Executive Order 13921 (E.O.), Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth (May 7, 2020), called for the expansion of sustainable seafood production in the U.S. to ensure food security; provide environmentally safe and sustainable seafood; support American workers; establish coordinated, predictable, and transparent federal action; and remove unnecessary regulatory ...

An assessment of chemical contaminants detected in passive water samplers deployed in the St. Thomas east end reserves (STEER)

This report is the second in a series from a project to assess land-based sources of pollution (LBSP) and effects in the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER) in St. Thomas, USVI, and is the result of a collaborative effort between NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, the USVI ...

An assessment of chemical contaminants in the marine sediments of southwest Puerto Rico

This report is the first product from a collaborative effort to implement an 'ecosystem approach' to assess coral reef health. Through the concurrent development and analysis of data on chemical contaminants, reef biogeography, coral pathogens, biomarkers and land use, cause and effect linkages between stressors and coral condition can be ...

An Assessment of Chemical Contaminants in the Waters Around Cocos Island, Guam Using Polyethylene Passive Water Samplers

This report summarizes the results from a research project involving NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) along with local partners and with funding from NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), to characterize dissolved concentrations of chemical contamiants in the water column around Cocos Island in Cocos Lagoon, Guam ...

An assessment of chemical contaminants, toxicity and benthic infauna in sediments from the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER)

This report contains a chemical and biological characterization of sediments from the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER) in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The STEER Management Plan (published in 2011) identified chemical contaminants and habitat loss as high or very high threats and called for a characterization of ...

An assessment of contaminant body burdens in the coral (Porites astreoides) and Queen conch (Strombus gigas) from the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER)

As part of the joint effort between the US Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources and the NOAA Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science (NCCOS), to conduct a Reserves-wide impact assessment of land-based sources of pollution and effects in the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER), contaminant body ...

An Assessment of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Chesapeake Bay, MD and Charleston Harbor, SC

NOAA’s National Status and Trends (NS&T) Mussel Watch Program conducted regional pilot studies to assess the magnitude and distribution of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) in shellfish and sediment from different coastal zones. In 2015, oyster and surficial sediment samples from study areas in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, and Charleston ...

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 aquatic organisms, and threatened and endangered species. Broad categories of ...

An assessment of nutrients, sedimentation, and total suspended solids (TSS) in the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER)

This is the fifth report from a project to assess land-based sources of pollution (LSBPs) and their effects, and to characterize the biological community with the St. Thomas East End Reserves (Steer) in St. Thomas, USVI. Here we summarize the results of nearly two years of monthly monitoring for nutrients, ...

An Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in Sediments and Bivalves of the U.S. Coastal Zone

This report, which represents the first national assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the U.S. coastal zone, shows that they are widely distributed. PBDE concentrations in both sediment and bivalve tissue correlate with human population density along the U.S. coastline. The national and watershed perspectives given in this report ...

An Assessment of Tributyltin and Metals in Sediment Cores From the St. Thomas East End Reserves

This is the sixth report in a series from a project to assess land-based sources of pollution (LBSP) and their effects, and to characterize the biological community within the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER) in St. Thomas, USVI. Here we summarize the results of a study to assess the ...

An assessment of two decades of contaminant monitoring in the nation's coastal zone

Information found in this report covers the years 1986 through 2005. Mussel Watch began monitoring a suite of trace metals and organic contaminants such as DDT, PCBs and PAHs. Through time additional chemicals were added, and today approximately 140 analytes are monitored. The Mussel Watch Program is the longest running ...

An Earth's Future Special Collection: Impacts of the coastal dynamics of sea level rise on low-gradient coastal landscapes

Rising sea level represents a significant threat to coastal communities and ecosystems, including altered habitats and increased vulnerability to coastal storms and recurrent inundation. This threat is exemplified in the northern Gulf of Mexico, where low topography, marshes, and a prevalence of tropical storms have resulted in extensive coastal impacts ...

An ecological characterization of the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, U.S. Virgin Islands

The diverse ecosystem within [the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, U.S. Virgin Islands] includes a large mangrove forest, a submarine canyon, coral reefs, seagrass beds, coastal forests, and many other natural and developed landscape elements. ... A comprehensive spatial inventory of these ecosystems is required for ...

An ecological characterization of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region: Oceanographic, biogeographic, and contaminants assessment

This ecological characterization represents the continuation of an ongoing partnership between the National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) and the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA). The purpose of this collaboration is to apply a biogeographical approach to the management of marine resources ...

An Economic Analysis of Shipping Costs Related to Potential Measures to Manage the Co-Occurrence of Maritime Vessel Traffic and Whales in the Channel Islands Region

This report provides findings from an analysis and evaluation of the economic effects of potential measures to manage the co-occurrence of shipping traffic and whales in the Channel Islands region off the coast of California. These potential management measures are part of one of two different approaches developed by members ...

An ecosystem services assessment using bioextraction technologies for removal of nitrogen and other substances in Long Island Sound and the Great Bay/Piscataqua Region Estuaries

A State-Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Nutrient Innovations Task Group concluded in a 2009 report (State -- EPA Nutrient Innovations Task Group, 2009) that 'continuing the status quo at the national, state, and local levels and relying upon our current practices and control strategies will not support a positive public health ...

An evaluation of marine mammal surveys to support Washington State's Marine Spatial Planning process

The objective of this report is to identify and evaluate existing datasets related to the distribution of marine mammals along the Northwest coast of the United States which can support Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) by the State of Washington. In this report, we consider the degree to which existing datasets ...

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