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Workshop Report Finds National Water Quality Monitoring and IOOS Linkages Would Facilitate Cost Effectiveness in Preserving and Enhancing Water Quality. A report on the NOAA-supported workshop, Linking Elements of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) with the Planned National Water Quality Monitoring Network (NWQMN), now available online and in hard copy, describes how a linked system would facilitate cost effectiveness through integration of upland and coastal monitoring. Data and information products resulting from linkages between IOOS and the NWQMN could be utilized by a variety of agencies and organizations to preserve and enhance water quality conditions in U.S. watersheds and coastal waters. After examining existing water quality management issues and programs, workshop participants found that effective future management would require a centralized, integrative effort; and coastal states, territories, tribes and federal agencies would all be involved in administering it. They also recommended the Delaware Bay ecosystem for a NWQMN pilot project, as a number of research and management efforts are underway, it supports a number of human uses, and it has a large forested upper watershed, undeveloped estuarine wetlands, and a variety of aquatic, marine and upland species. NOAA and the New Jersey Marine Science Consortium hosted the workshop on September 19-21, 2005, with multiple participating partners. For more information, please contact Jawed Hameedi at (301) 713-3028 ext.170 or Jawed.Hameedi@noaa.gov. (CCMA)
Ecological Characterization of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Region to Support Future Marine Monitoring, Research and Management Efforts. The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) has published An Ecological Characterization of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Region, a scientific report that will support future monitoring and scientific studies, the development of educational material, and spatially explicit management decisions. The report provides data, models, maps and analyses on the distribution of marine flora, fauna, contaminants, and physical oceanography in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and in the broader Gulf of Maine region. This NCCOS study is the result of a three-year collaboration with the National Marine Sanctuary Program to increase scientific knowledge and understanding of marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Maine. NCCOS researchers used data from previous scientific studies, in addition to conducting new surveys, giving them a wider range of data for analysis than most traditional biogeography studies yield. The report is available online at http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/stellwagen/, and hard copies will also available within the next month or two. For more information, please contact Tim Battista at (301) 713-3028 ext.171 or Tim.Battista@noaa.gov. [03M00032] (CCMA)