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Projects Explorer

The NCCOS Project Explorer provides a snapshot of our official, discrete lines of research.
Filter by research category, region, and/or contact.

Evaluating Risk of Tidal Marsh Inundation and Monetizing Services to Prioritize Management Actions

Atlantic Ocean, Coastal Change, Coastal Change, Delaware, Delaware Bay, Economics, Ecosystem Services Valuation, Georgia, Other Topics, Pennsylvania, Sea Level Rise, sea level rise, Social Science, social science, South Carolina, Sponsored Research, trevor.meckley@noaa.gov, U.S. States and Territories, Waterbodies
We are identifying the coastal wetlands in Georgia, South Carolina, and Delaware Bay that are most vulnerable to sea-level rise and quantifying the value of ...
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Evaluating Socioeconomic Indicators of Coastal Communities for Increased Understanding of Aquaculture Siting

Amy.Freitag@noaa.gov, Assessing Human Use, Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience, Coastal Aquaculture Siting and Sustainability, Ecosystem Services Valuation, Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico), Marine Spatial Ecology, Social Science, Waterbodies
The project team will analyze socioeconomic data in and around working waterfronts in the Gulf of Mexico along with common natural coastal hazards to define ...
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Evaluating the Beneficial Use of Sediment in a Microtidal Salt Marsh

Carbon Sequestration, Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Change, Habitat Mapping, jenny.davis@noaa.gov, Molly.Bost@noaa.gov, Restoration, Sea Level Rise
Salt marshes are rapidly deteriorating due to sea-level rise. The Deal Island beneficial use project, implemented in 2024, demonstrates one potential strategy for increasing the ...
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Evaluating the Effects of Nitrogen Form and Concentration on Toxin Phenotypes of Microcystis

felix.martinez@noaa.gov, Great Lakes, Harmful Algal Bloom Detection and Forecasting, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, Waterbodies
Recurring cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) dominated by Microcystis in the western basin of Lake Erie, and increasingly in water bodies worldwide, produce the toxin ...
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Evaluating the Efficacy of Island Restoration and Enhancement for Coastal Protection

Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Change, jenny.davis@noaa.gov, Maryland, Molly.Bost@noaa.gov, Natural and Nature-based Features, Restoration, Sea Level Rise, U.S. States and Territories, Waterbodies
We are assessing how the effort to restore the footprint of Swan Island in Chesapeake Bay with dunes and dredged sediments is affecting ecosystems that ...
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Evaluating the Performance of Nature-Based Solutions

Atlantic Ocean, brandon.puckett@noaa.gov, Coastal Change, Ecological and Biogeographic Assessments, Great Lakes, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico), Habitat Mapping, Harmful Algal Bloom Detection and Forecasting, jenny.davis@noaa.gov, Marine Spatial Ecology, Maryland, National Mussel Watch, Natural and Nature-based Features, North Carolina, Pacific Ocean, Restoration, Sea Level Rise, South Carolina, Texas, U.S. States and Territories, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment, Water Quality
We are evaluating the performance  of nature-based solutions that incorporate a range of coastal habitat types. We will examine project sites five or more years ...
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Evaluation of Coral Reef Restoration Success at Mission: Iconic Reefs Using Photogrammetry

Coastal Change, Coral, Florida, Habitat Mapping, Marine Spatial Ecology, Natural and Nature-based Features, Regional Ecosystem Science, Restoration, shay.viehman@noaa.gov, tim.battista@noaa.gov, U.S. States and Territories
Mission: Iconic Reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) is the largest coral restoration project in the U.S. to date. NCCOS is working ...
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Evaluation of Mitigation Strategies for Harmful Algal Blooms in the West Coast Dungeness Crab Fishery

brittany.king@noaa.gov, California, domoic acid, Economics, felix.martinez@noaa.gov, harmful algal bloom, Harmful Algal Bloom Detection and Forecasting, Oregon, Other Topics, Pacific Ocean, PCMHAB, pseudo-nitzschia, Sponsored Research, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, U.S. States and Territories, Washington, Waterbodies
We will assess the potential economic benefits of mitigation strategies for harmful algal blooms in the Dungeness crab fishery along the U.S. West Coast. Why ...
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Evaluation of Offshore Hybrid Artificial Reef System for Shoreline Stabilization, Village of Key Biscayne

Coastal Change, Florida, Natural and Nature-based Features, Other Topics, Sea Level Rise, Sponsored Research, trevor.meckley@noaa.gov, U.S. States and Territories, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment
Coastal communities are increasingly at risk of flooding and associated erosion threatening homes, economies, and ways of life. We are evaluating the viability of using ...
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Evidence on the Use of Built Structures for Coral Reef-Related Applications

Atlantic Ocean, avery.paxton@noaa.gov, Caribbean Sea, Climate Impacts on Ecosystems, Coastal Change, Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico), Marine Spatial Ecology, Natural and Nature-based Features, Pacific Ocean, Regional Ecosystem Science, Restoration, shay.viehman@noaa.gov
Amidst global declines in coral reefs, restoration practitioners and managers are increasingly considering incorporating built structures in restoration. However, information on how built structures have ...
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Examining Coastal Impacts of Caloosahatchee River Discharge — Ecosystem Health and HAB Dynamics on Kimberly’s Reef

Biological Effects of Contaminants and Nutrients, Florida, Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico), Marine Spatial Ecology, Regional Ecosystem Science, sarah.pease@noaa.gov, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, U.S. States and Territories, Water Quality, Waterbodies
With the installation of a new artificial reef off of southwest Florida (Kimberly’s Reef), we are taking advantage of the unique opportunity to study changes ...
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Expanding ISSC Validated Options for Monitoring Diarrhetic Shellfish Poison Toxins

Atlantic Ocean, dinophysis, DSP, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Maine, harmful algal bloom, Harmful Algal Bloom Detection and Forecasting, ISSC, Maine, Other Topics, quay.dortch@noaa.gov, Sponsored Research, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, U.S. States and Territories, Waterbodies
In the U.S., the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) establish methods of toxin analysis to regulate shellfish, and ...
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Expanding the Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research Program for Monitoring of Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning and Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning

Alaska, domoic acid, DSP, Forecasting, harmful algal bloom, Harmful Algal Bloom Detection and Forecasting, maggie.broadwater@noaa.gov, MERHAB, Other Topics, Pacific Ocean, pseudo-nitzschia, shellfish, Sponsored Research, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, U.S. States and Territories, Waterbodies
This project expands existing harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring conducted by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska Environmental Research Laboratory (STAERL) to include testing shellfish for ...
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Expansion of Anatoxin-a Monitoring Methods for Harmful Algal Blooms to Include New and Additional Congeners

Canada, Foreign Countries, Great Lakes, Harmful Algal Bloom Detection and Forecasting, marc.suddleson@noaa.gov, Michigan, New York, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, U.S. States and Territories, Waterbodies
This project will improve monitoring and response to harmful blooms of cyanobacteria by expanding the utility of an existing analytical method for detecting members of ...
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Explaining Acidification and Nutrient Pollution in Texas Estuaries

Coastal Change, elizabeth.turner@noaa.gov, Ocean Acidification, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, Texas, U.S. States and Territories
We are supporting research that will define relationships between estuarine acidification and other stressors (i.e., reduced freshwater inflow, low oxygen, and nutrient loading) in Texas ...
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Exploring and Characterizing the Seafloor of Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

coral gardens, corals, deepwater corals, Ecological and Biogeographic Assessments, laura.kracker@noaa.gov, lophelia pertusa, Marine Spatial Ecology, Pacific Ocean, rockfish, seafloor, seafloor mapping, tim.battista@noaa.gov, Waterbodies
We worked with staff at Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) on three mapping related efforts: 1) developed a map of existing data to plan ...
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Exploring Ecosystem and Community Vulnerability to Surface and Subsurface Flooding with Sea Level Rise and Adaptation Strategies in California

California, Coastal Change, Natural and Nature-based Features, sarah.pease@noaa.gov, Sea Level Rise, U.S. States and Territories, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment
We will identify the roles of natural and nature-based features and conventional infrastructure in controlling coastal flood hazards in the face of sea level rise ...
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Extending Seafloor Mapping Products to Include Habitats Greater Than 20 m Depths in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

barrier reef, chris.taylor@noaa.gov, don.field@noaa.gov, Florida, Habitat Mapping, Marine Spatial Ecology, U.S. States and Territories
We are providing improved seafloor mapping data products for regions of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary deeper than 20 meters. Along with the mapping ...
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Fast Tool to Detect Toxic Shellfish

Alaska, California, Harmful Algal Bloom Detection and Forecasting, john.ramsdell@noaa.gov, Oregon, Pacific Ocean, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, U.S. States and Territories, Washington, Waterbodies, wayne.r.litaker@noaa.gov
The marine food source and livelihood of tribes and communities along the Pacific coast are threatened by Pseudo-nitzschia blooms that produce domoic acid, a potent ...
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Fate and Effects of PFOS and PFOA in Saltmarsh Ecosystems

Biological Effects of Contaminants and Nutrients, paul.pennington@noaa.gov, South Carolina, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, U.S. States and Territories
We are studying widespread industrial chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that contaminate the environment. While we know PFAS are in rivers, we ...
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Field-based Mesocosms: In Situ Deployments for Assessing Impacts of Chemical Spills in Coastal Areas

Biological Effects of Contaminants and Nutrients, Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico), paul.pennington@noaa.gov, pete.key@noaa.gov, Stressor Impacts and Mitigation
We are working to improve our ability to rapidly assess the impacts of oil spills by building on field and laboratory toxicity studies that were ...
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