The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded $1,754,295 to the University of Connecticut to support a Long Island Sound coastal observing system. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The grant will support the previously created Long Island Sound Integrated Coastal Observing System. The central goal of LISICOS is to establish and sustain a network of instruments and models to monitor Long Island Sound and provide state-of-the-art science advice to users, managers and citizens. The project will combine observations with studies to improve simulations of management strategies’ impact on ecosystem restoration.

“This project aims to increase understanding of the response of coastal ecosystems to stressors that affect water and habitat quality, as well as economically valuable resources,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “This grant allows the University of Connecticut to manage its coastal resources while actively supporting efforts that reinforce NOAA’s and the Bush Administration’s commitment to the environment.”

The grant supports the developing global earth observation system being spearheaded by the U.S. By connecting many thousands of individual technological resources already demonstrating outstanding value in the U.S. and around the globe, the emerging system will, over the next decade, revolutionize our understanding of earth and how it works. Connecting the individual pieces will make 21st century technology as interrelated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects -- and provide the sound science on which sound decision-making must be built.

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA’s goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 34 years.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.