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Data and Reports Explorer

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.

Responses of the coastal phytoplankton community to tropical cyclones revealed by high-frequency imaging flow cytometry

To investigate the response of a subtropical coastal phytoplankton community to tropical cyclones, we utilized high temporal resolution (hours) data from the Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB) deployed in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2010, four tropical cyclones (two during June–July and two during September) struck the area. Passage of the cyclones ...

RESTORE Research: Evaluation of Gulf of Mexico oceanographic observation networks, impact assessment on ecosystem management and recommendations: Simulated Current Velocity, Temperature, Salinity, and Elevation from Hydrodynamic Modeling for 2015 (NCEI Accession 0194303)

This dataset is based on archives from the University of Miami’s high-resolution (1/50 degrees, 1.8km) configuration of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM-HYCOM 1/50) for the year of 2015. The GoM-HYCOM 1/50 used realistic river forcing parameterization with daily river discharge obtained from the ...

Rethinking the river

The Mississippi River and its delta and plume provide insights into research-informed approaches to managing river-dominated coastal zones ...

Retrospective Analysis of Midsummer Hypoxic Area and Volume in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, 1985-2011

Robust estimates of hypoxic extent (both area and volume) are important for assessing the impacts of low dissolved oxygen on aquatic ecosystems at large spatial scales. Such estimates are also important for calibrating models linking hypoxia to causal factors, such as nutrient loading and stratification, and for informing management decisions ...

Risks of ocean acidification in the California Current food web and fisheries: ecosystem model projections

The benefits and ecosystem services that humans derive from the oceans are threatened by numerous global change stressors, one of which is ocean acidification. Here, we describe the effects of ocean acidification on an upwelling system that already experiences inherently low pH conditions, the California Current. We used an end-to-end ...

Salish Sea Activity Book

An activity book designed to introduce elementary school children to the animal, plant life and ecology of the Salish Sea ...

Science Plan for the Southeast Deep Coral Initiative (SEDCI): 2016-2019

In 2009, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched the Deep-Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) following the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The goal of the DSCRTP is to provide scientific information needed to manage, conserve and protect deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems ...

Science-Based Restoration Monitoring of Coastal Habitats, Volume One: A Framework for Monitoring Plans Under the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law 160-457)

This guidance manual provides technical assistance, outlines necessary steps, and provides useful tools for the development and implementation of sound scientific monitoring of coastal restoration efforts and offers a means to detect early warnings that the restoration is on track or not, to gauge how well a restoration site is ...

Science-Based Restoration Monitoring of Coastal Habitats, Volume Two: Tools for Monitoring Coastal Habitats

This guidance manual provides  technical assistance and useful tools for the development and implementation of sound scientific monitoring of coastal restoration efforts. It also provides detailed information of the habitats, an inventory of coastal restoration monitoring program, a review of monitoring techniques manuals and quality control/quality assurance documents, an overview of governmental acts affiliated ...

Scientific Frontiers in the Management of Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are subjected globally to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors that often act synergistically. Today, reversing ongoing and future coral reef degradation presents significant challenges and countering this negative trend will take considerable efforts and investments. Scientific knowledge can inform and guide the requisite decision-making process and ...

SEADESC I Report: 2012 Pulley Ridge Cruise, August 14–25, 2012, R/V Walton Smith and UNCW Superphantom ROV

The University of Miami’s R/V Walton Smith Cruise No. WS1213 was conducted from August 14 to 25, 2012 on Pulley Ridge, a mesophotic reef in the Gulf of Mexico off southwestern Florida. This cruise was funded in part by the NOAA-NOS-NCCOS grant titled ‘Connectivity of the Pulley Ridge - South ...

Seafood Prices Reveal Impacts of a Major Ecological Disturbance

Coastal hypoxia (dissolved oxygen ? 2 mg/L) is a growing problem worldwide that threatens marine ecosystem services, but little is known about economic effects on fisheries. Here, we provide evidence that hypoxia causes economic impacts on a major fishery. Ecological studies of hypoxia and marine fauna suggest multiple mechanisms through ...

Seasonal and interannual oxygen variability on the Washington and Oregon continental shelves

The coastal waters of the northern portion of the California Current System experience a seasonal decline in oxygen concentrations and hypoxia over the summer upwelling season that results in negative impacts on habitat for many organisms. Using a regional model extending from 43°N to 50°N, with an oxygen component developed ...

Seasonal Cross-Shelf Flow Structure, Upwelling Relaxation, and the Alongshelf Pressure Gradient in the Northern California Current System

Moored observations are used to investigate the seasonal change in vertical structure of the cross-shelf circulation at a midshelf location in the northern California Current System. A streamwise–normal coordinate system is employed to eliminate meander- and eddy-induced biases in the cross-shelf flow that are unaccounted for with an alternative, commonly ...

Seasonal dynamics of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella at Redondo Beach, California, examined by quantitative PCR

The presence of neurotoxic species within the genus Alexandrium along the U.S. coastline has raised concern of potential poisoning through the consumption of contaminated seafood. Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) detected in shellfish provide evidence that these harmful events have increased in frequency and severity along the California coast during the ...

Sediment dynamics and their potential influence on insular-slope mesophotic coral ecosystems

Although sediment dynamics exert a fundamental control on the character and distribution of reefs, data on sediment dynamics in mesophotic systems are scarce. In this study, sediment traps and benthic photo-transects were used to document spatial and temporal patterns of suspended-sediment and bed-load dynamics at two geomorphically distinct mesophotic coral ...

Sediment Flux Modeling: Calibration and application for coastal systems

Benthic–pelagic coupling in shallow estuarine and coastal environments is an important mode of particle and solute exchange and can influence lag times in the recovery of eutrophic ecosystems. Links between the water column and sediments are mediated by particulate organic matter (POM) deposition to the sediment and its subsequent decomposition ...

Sediment quality benchmarks for assessing oil-related impacts to the deep-sea benthos

Paired sediment contaminant and benthic infaunal data from prior studies following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico were analyzed using logistic regression models (LRMs) to derive sediment quality benchmarks for assessing risks of oil‐related impacts to the deep‐sea benthos. Sediment total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ...

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

Contact Tim.Battista@noaa.gov for digital PDF copy. The purpose of this Atlas is to provide detailed maps depicting the GIS benthic habitat data produced, and outline the benthic habitat classification scheme and protocols used to map American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Thirty-four distinct benthic habitat ...

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 ...