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National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (CCMA)

Weekly Report – February 13, 2008

Understanding Local Impacts of Mercury Improved by One-NOAA Partnership Establishing Monitoring Station
On January 18, scientists from NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory completed final upgrades and installation of ambient air mercury monitoring equipment at a permanent site within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, near Pascagoula, MS.  The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science provided partial funding for vital infrastructure support and state-of-the-art monitoring equipment.  The station will collect continuous measurements of mercury, carbon monoxide, ozone, and nitrogen.  Long-term measurements provide essential information needed to better quantify atmospheric loadings to local watersheds, discern natural versus anthropogenic sources of mercury, and elucidate source-receptor relationships from known or suspected emission sources.  For more information, contact Russell Callender at (301) 713-3028 x162 or Russell.Callender@noaa.gov, or Winston Luke at (301) 713-0971 or Winston.Luke@noaa.gov.
Significance: The mercury monitoring station at the Grand Bay NERR constitutes one of the first such stations in an emerging multi-agency national mercury network. The collected data will facilitate a more thorough evaluation of NOAA’s mercury models.  These models are key to establishing clear linkages between atmospheric processes (emission, atmospheric chemistry, deposition) and aquatic and biochemical processes that govern the incorporation and migration of mercury through the food web.

Multi-Agency Meeting to Assess Ocean Color Requirements
A Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) scientist represented NOAA in a workshop to determine a strategy for assessing foreign ocean color sensors so that they can provide critical backup for MODIS-Aqua and SeaWiFS sensors.  The meeting was held on January 29 – 31 at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to unite U.S. users of the Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) on the Indian Oceansat and Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) of the European Space Agency (ESA).  The meeting participants included NASA, Navy, and universities (Rutgers, Louisiana State University, and Oregon State University).  A draft strategy will be developed and results will guide NOAA and NASA discussions and planning with ESA and the Indian Space Research Organization.  For more information, contact Rick Stumpf at (301) 713-3028 x173 or Richard.Stumpf@noaa.gov.