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Selected News Items - October 25, 2006
Algorithm Improves Accuracy of Ocean Color Data for Monitoring Water Quality; May Inform Future Water Quality Management in Northeast: Ocean color data from satellites have been successfully used by scientists for measuring and monitoring water quality indicators. However, the accuracy of such measurements can be reduced in the presence of air pollution and dust, which are especially persistent along the U.S. Northeast. Scientists from the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) have developed an algorithm to correct for pollution and dust effects in data from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor. Improved means of monitoring water quality via ocean color may assist Northeast coastal and ocean managers in designing and implementing water quality management strategies. CCMA scientists are also collaborating with scientists from the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service to evaluate the transferability of the algorithm to data to be derived from NOAA satellites, including the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. For more information, contact Varis Ransi at (301) 713 3028 x142 or varis.ransi@noaa.gov.
Changes in Seagrass Distribution Can Help in Assessing the Success of Coastal Management in Puerto Rico: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and Special Projects Office scientists have published a spatial analysis of changes in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Vieques Sound, east of Puerto Rico, and provided recommendations for future monitoring. SAV provides important habitat and food functions, for a wide variety of fish, invertebrates and birds, and changes in SAV can have impacts on the species that depend on it. The analysis, published in the Bulletin of Marine Science, identifies specific areas of seagrass expansion and decline from 1985 to 2000 and discusses possible causes. Landsat image pairs, NOAA benthic habitat maps, and other data from the Summit-to-Sea project were used to identify significant changes in SAV, and link these to satellite-derived depth, characteristics of coastal watersheds on Vieques, and recent hurricane paths. The publication is available as a Portable Document Format file from http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/bms, and a summary of the Summit-to-Sea characterization of coastal watersheds is available at http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coralreef/summit_sea.html. For additional information, contact Aurelie Shapiro at (301) 713-3028 x189 or Aurelie.Shapiro@noaa.gov.
Biogeographic Data to Support Sanctuary Management Plan Revision: NCCOS scientists recently teamed with the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary aboard the NOAA ship NANCY FOSTER to initiate the first component of a comprehensive biogeographic assessment. This work will provide critical information to sanctuary management in the form of spatially quantified data on the abundance and distribution of a number of resident taxa including fish and coral species. The information will find immediate use in supporting the Sanctuary’s congressionally mandated management plan revision process by enabling the evaluation of target species status (e.g. abundance of marbled grouper and extent of coral bleaching), and assisting with the design of relevant management strategies to be implemented in response to public scoping comments. For more information, please visit the project website at http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/ecosystems/sanctuaries/fgb_nms.html, or contact Chris Caldow at (301) 713-3028 x164 or Chris.Caldow@noaa.gov.