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National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (CCMA)

Weekly Report – January 9, 2008

Federal Agency Collaboration to Characterize Coral Reef Ecosystem Will Result in Development of Regulatory Biocriteria for Water Quality in the U.S. Caribbean
A team of scientists from the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assist EPA's development of biocriteria for evaluating the condition of Caribbean corals. EPA's goal is to develop acceptable thresholds of biological condition for corals that exist in water bodies subjected to varying levels of stress in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. These thresholds will be used as a tool for regulating uses of coastal waters under the Clean Water Act by comparing coral metrics across study areas and geographic regions, and relating the measures to water quality and human influences. During the week-long cruise from December 1-8, 2007, CCMA scientists trained their EPA counterparts in conducting visual reef fish surveys, compared benthic assessment methods, and provided information on characterizing contaminants in coral reef ecosystems. For more information, please contact Mark Monaco at (301) 713-3028 x134 or Mark.Monaco@noaa.gov .

Assessment of Sediment Contamination off the Central California Coast Provides Information for Management Planning
The Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment released a report in December on the magnitude and extent of sediment contamination for central California that provides an in-depth characterization of chemical contamination and distribution patterns for this part of the California continental shelf, and identifies contaminant fate and transport routes to deep ocean canyons. The report, titled Distribution of Persistent Organic Contaminants in Canyons and on the Continental Shelf off Central California , presents important baseline data to support sustained management of local marine resources and improve understanding of contaminant sources. Researchers collected sediment samples between 2002 and 2004 to determine where and how severely the sediments are contaminated by toxic chemicals, including metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and other persistent chlorinated pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The study is a collaborative effort with United States Geological Survey and academic partners to identify how biological community patterns respond to contamination and sediment transport dynamics. The report is available online at http://www.ccma.nos.noaa.gov/publications/TechMemoNCCOS58.pdf. For more information, contact Ian Hartwell at (301) 713-3028 x137 or Ian.Hartwell@noaa.gov