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.

Support for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments of NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserves System (NERRS), Volume II: Assessment of Ecological Condition and Stressor Impacts in Subtidal Waters of the North Carolina NERRS

A study was conducted to assess the status of ecological condition and potential human-health risks in subtidal estuarine waters throughout the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) (Currituck Sound, Rachel Carson, Masonboro Island, and Zeke's Island). Field work was conducted in September 2006 and incorporated multiple indicators of ...

Support for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments of NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS): Assessment of Ecological Condition and Stressor Impacts in Subtidal Waters of the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve

A study was conducted in June 2009 to assess the current status of ecological condition and potential human-health risks throughout subtidal estuarine waters of the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (SINERR) along the coast of Georgia. Samples were collected for multiple indicators of ecosystem condition, including water quality (dissolved ...

Suppression of the 2010 Alexandrium fundyense bloom by changes in physical, biological, and chemical properties of the Gulf of Maine

For the period 2005–2009, the abundance of resting cysts in bottom sediments from the preceding autumn was a first-order predictor of the overall severity of spring–summer blooms of Alexandrium fundyense in the western Gulf of Maine and southern New England. Cyst abundance off mid-coast Maine was significantly higher in autumn ...

Survey and impact assessment of derelict fish traps in St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Since 2001, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) has been working with federal and territorial partners to characterize, monitor, and assess the status of the marine environment across the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). At the request of the St. Thomas Fisherman’s Association (STFA) and NOAA Marine Debris Program, ...

Suspended sediment projections in Apalachicola Bay in response to altered river flow and sediment loads under climate change and sea level rise

Suspended sediments, or total suspended solids (TSS), are an important factor for oyster habitat. While high concentrations of suspended sediments can cause a reduction of oyster density, some level of suspended sediment is required to supply oysters with necessary nutrients. In this study, characteristics of TSS variations in response to ...

Symbiodinium diversity in the coral host Agaricia lamarcki (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) between shallow and mesophotic reefs in the Northern Caribbean (20-70 m)

This study investigated differences in Symbiodinium diversity in the scleractinian coral species Agaricia lamarcki between shallow (20–25 m) and mesophotic (50–70 m) depths in the Northern Caribbean. Corals were sampled in each of four shallow sites (20–25 m; n = 18) and three mesophotic sites (50–70 m; n = 18) ...

Synopsis of Researcher Meeting: Bottlenose Dolphin Health & Risk Assessment Project February 22-24, 2005

A meeting was convened on February 22-24, 2005 in Charleston, South Carolina to bring together researchers collaborating on the Bottlenose Dolphin Health and Risk Assessment (HERA) Project to review and discuss preliminary health-related findings from captured dolphins during 2003 and 2004 in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL and Charleston ...

Synthesis in estuarine and coastal ecological research: What is it, why is it important and how do we teach it?

During the last two decades, there has been growing interest in the integration of existing ideas and data to produce new synthetic models and hypotheses leading to discovery and advancement in estuarine and coastal science. This essay offers an integrated definition of what is meant by synthesis research and discusses ...

Synthesis of Education Programs, Scholarship, Loan, and Internship Opportunities Available to Assist In Increasing The Number of Minorities Working in Fisheries and Marine Sciences

The information in the following report was gathered from web-based searches, email communication with colleagues, and phone conversations. This material was gathered to assist guidance counselors, teachers, and minority students potentially interested in marine science or science education of the available opportunities for education and training, and provide information on ...

Synthesis of Marine Ecosystem Monitoring Activities for the United States Virgin Islands: 1990-2009

This report provides a synthesis of marine monitoring activities that have taken place in the nearshore waters of the U.S. Virgin Islands between 1990 and the end of 2009. Summary metadata are provided that describe the monitoring programs, their implementing agency, the ecosystem components that are measured together with maps ...

Synthesis of summer flounder habitat parameters

This document first presents an overview of the economic importance and current status of summer flounder (Chapter l). It then summarizes our present state of knowledge of summer flounder distribution, life history patterns and stock identification (Chapter 2). This is followed by a synopsis of habitat requirements during each life ...

Temporal and Spatial Aspects of Bottlenose Dolphin Occurrence in Coastal and Estuarine Waters near Charleston, South Carolina

The spatial and temporal occurrence of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the coastal and estuarine waters near Charleston, SC were evaluated. Sighting and photographic data from photo-identification (ID), remote biopsy, capture-release and radio-tracking studies, conducted from 1994 through 2003, were analyzed in order to further delineate residence patterns of ...

Temporal responses of coastal hypoxia to nutrient loading and physical controls

The incidence and intensity of hypoxic waters in coastal aquatic ecosystems has been expanding in recent decades coincident with eutrophication of the coastal zone. Worldwide, there is strong interest in reducing the size and duration of hypoxia in coastal waters, because hypoxia causes negative effects for many organisms and ecosystem ...

Temporal Trends in Reef Fish Assemblages inside Virgin Islands National Park and around St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1988-2006

This report is a result of long-term fish monitoring studies supported by the National Park Service (NPS) at the Virgin Islands National Park since 1988 and is now a joint NPS and NOAA collaboration. Reef fish monitoring data collected from 1988 to 2006 within Virgin Islands National Park (VINP) and ...

Terrain-driven unstructured mesh development through semi-automatic vertical feature extraction

A semi-automated vertical feature terrain extraction algorithm is described and applied to a two-dimensional, depth-integrated, shallow water equation inundation model. The extracted features describe what are commonly sub-mesh scale elevation details (ridge and valleys), which may be ignored in standard practice because adequate mesh resolution cannot be afforded. The extraction ...

Texas Coastal Hypoxia Linked to Brazos River Discharge as Revealed by Oxygen Isotopes

Hypoxic conditions in the coastal waters off Texas (USA) were observed since the late 1970s, but little is known about the causes of stratification that contribute to hypoxia formation. Typically, this hypoxia is attributed to downcoast (southwestward) advection of waters from the Mississippi–Atchafalaya River system. Here, we present evidence for ...

The black coral fauna (Cnidaria: Antipatharia) of Bermuda with new records

The black coral fauna of Bermudan waters is poorly known, in large part due to the logistical challenges of surveying deep-water (>50 m) environments where most species occur. In 2016, the Nekton Expedition sought to survey the deep-water biodiversity around Bermuda using manned submersibles and mixed-gas technical SCUBA. A total ...

The competing impacts of climate change and nutrient reductions on dissolved oxygen in Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay region is projected to experience changes in temperature, sea level, and precipitation as a result of climate change. This research uses an estuarine-watershed hydrodynamic–biogeochemical modeling system along with projected mid-21st-century changes in temperature, freshwater flow, and sea level rise to explore the impact climate change may have ...

The Continuing Effects of Multiple Stressors in Saginaw Bay

In 2007 the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR) awarded a grant to NOAA GLERL and a team of partners to study the ongoing effects of multiple stressors on the Saginaw Bay ecosystem. This supplemental issue of the Journal of Great Lakes Research provides an updated picture on ...

The contribution of inorganic and organic nutrients to the growth of a North American isolate of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate, Dinophysis acuminata

Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) is a globally significant human health syndrome most commonly caused by dinoflagellates of the genus Dinophysis. While ecosystem studies suggest that blooms of this mixotrophic dinoflagellate can be promoted by excessive nitrogen (N) loading, it is unclear whether these effects are direct (nutrient stimulation of Dinophysis) ...

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