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The NCCOS Project Explorer provides a snapshot of our official, discrete lines of research.Filter by research category, region, and/or contact.
A 2015 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Chesapeake Bay and Charleston Harbor
NCCOS scientist deploying caged oysters at a Severn River site in Chesapeake Bay. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program has monitored the nation’s coastal waters ...
A 2015–2016 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Gulf of Maine
One of the Gulf of Maine mussel beds sampled by the Mussel Watch team. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program has monitored the nation’s coastal ...
A 2017 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Gulf of Mexico
Mussel Watch team preparing to load supplies on NOAA small boat for sampling. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program has monitored the nation’s coastal waters ...
A 2018 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Southern California Bight
Mussel Watch Program collaborators from the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) collecting Mytilus mussels. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program has monitored the ...
A 2019 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Pacific Northwest
Mussel Watch Program site WBNA (Willapa Bay Nahcotta) in southern Washington. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program has monitored the nation’s coastal waters for chemical ...
A 2020 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Southeast Atlantic
Mussel Watch team members break apart clumps of oysters from Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, to prepare samples for analysis. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program ...
A 2021 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Mid-Atlantic
Mussel Watch collaborators collecting mussels from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program has monitored the nation’s coastal waters for chemical contaminants since ...
A 2022 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Great Lakes
Mussel Watch team processing Dressenid mussel samples in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program has monitored the nation’s coastal waters for chemical ...
A 2023 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Gulf of Mexico
Mussel Watch team collecting oyster samples from Tampa Bay, Florida. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program has monitored the nation’s coastal waters for chemical contaminants ...
A 2024 Assessment of Metals, Legacy Contaminants, and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Pacific West Coast, Alaska, and Hawaii
Mussel Watch team collecting oyster samples from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Credit: NOAA. The Mussel Watch Program has monitored the nation’s coastal waters for chemical contaminants ...
A Baseline Chemical Contaminants Study of Marine Sediments in Nu’uuli Pala Lagoon, American Samoa
We are assessing the scope and extent of land-based sources of chemical contaminants in the marine sediments of Nu’uuli Pala Lagoon in American Samoa. Currently, ...
A Chemical Contaminant Characterization of Waters Surrounding Cocos Island, Guam, using Polyethylene Devices
We are assessing the scope and extent of land-based sources of chemical contaminants in the marine waters surrounding Cocos Island, Guam. Previous NCCOS studies identified ...
A Cost-benefit Analysis of Green-gray Infrastructure for Sea Level Rise Adaptation in the Pacific Northwest, Incorporating Externalities and Ecosystem Co-benefits
Locations of the two estuaries, Grays River and Coos Bay, that are the focus of this project. Credit: Oregon State University. We are evaluating the ...
A Geospatial Assessment of U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Essential Fish Habitat in Relation to Offshore Sand Features
Offshore sand resources, e.g., sand shoals, are increasingly being used for beach renourishment, barrier island restoration, and other uses to enhance resiliency of shorelines. However, ...
A Global Review of Protected Species Interactions with Marine Aquaculture
As marine aquaculture expands to the open ocean in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone, there is increased concern about how protected species may be ...
A Management Tool to Reduce Sea Turtle Bycatch in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico Fisheries
Along with our partners, we developed a geographic information system (GIS) tool to help coastal managers work toward reducing the bycatch of sea turtles in ...
A Marine Biogeographic Assessment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
We conducted a biogeographic assessment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the second largest marine protected area in the world. The effort was the most comprehensive ...
A Mechanism Based Intervention for Brevetoxin Induced Oxidative Stress
The Florida manatee inhabits environments in which blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, frequently occur. K. brevis produces brevetoxins, that result in fish kills, ...
A Multidisciplinary, Integrative Approach to Valuing Ecosystem Services from Natural Infrastructure
We are estimating the economic value from natural and nature-based infrastructure investments to stabilize coastline. Using hazard risks along the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast, we ...
A Novel Approach to Destroying Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' in Drinking Water
Scientists designed and implemented patented NBOT technology for destroying PFAS in this laboratory mesocosm. Credit: NOAA. Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, we have ...
A Pilot Assessment of Fish Habitat in Choptank River Tidal Waters
Fish and shellfish populations depend on healthy habitats. To help understand and manage these habitats in the Chesapeake Bay, we will develop a GIS-based analytical ...
About NCCOS
NCCOS delivers ecosystem science solutions for stewardship of the nation’s ocean and coastal resources to sustain thriving coastal communities and economies.
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