To make informed decisions, coastal resource managers need to understand and communicate the economic value of coastal ecosystem goods and services. We are looking for an intern to conduct a targeted literature review, directly supporting NOAA’s work with coastal communities, and work with NOAA staff to link secondary data to Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) land cover categories. Other tools potentially used include InVEST software models and the GSI Impact Calculator. The selected intern will:
- Search research databases to find valuation studies relevant to selected regions and ecosystems in Oregon, South Carolina, and Florida;
- Assess the relevance and quality of individual studies to ensure that we are using the best available science;
- Build a comprehensive annotated bibliography and a structured dataset to support future training, research, and technical assistance.
This is a great project for students who are planning on graduate school or who want to demonstrate rigorous research capabilities. The intern will need to systematically work through the scientific literature, read critically to identify the strengths and limitations of individual studies, extract key data, and organize the results to inform our work with specific communities.