Center For Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA): Coral Reefs

CCMA's Biogeography Team works to map the benthic habitats of all coral reefs within U.S. waters, and is also working to assess reef fish ecologies on the reefs. The Biogeography Team has also mapped essential fish habitats of the U.S. Caribbean and provided color aerial photographs of nearshore waters of Puerto Rico and the USVI. The Remote Sensing Team is also participating in coral reef research. It has produced an atlas of remotely sensed images of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands reef systems. In addition, the Chemical Impacts Team is analyzing sediment samples from these Hawaiian atolls to determine their overall health status.

Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR): Coral Reefs

CSCOR has developed a robust coral reef research program to address the impact of stressors that affect the Nation's coral reef ecosystems. In order fulfill its mission, CSCOR sponsors multi-disciplinary studies that provide timely and high-quality scientific results that can be used to develop management strategies to restore and protect coral reef ecosystems. The program seeks to define and understand causes and effects of reef degradation on a regional scale.

NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS): Coral Reefs

NCCOS is working to understand the threats to coral reefs ecosystems and to evaluate possible solutions by developing tools to effectively manage the uses of these ecosystems. NCCOS data and models help coastal managers predict the impacts of alternative management decisions about marine protected areas, fishing regulations, recreation use, pollutants, and coastal development. NCCOS also performs inventories, maps, and monitors coral reef ecosystems using computer and remote sensing technologies that inexpensively map coral reef ecosystems with increased speed and accuracy. Using these emerging technologies, NCCOS leads federal efforts to map U.S. coral reefs by 2010. Currently, NCCOS administers the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative and the National Coral Reef Institute to examine threats to coral reefs including overfishing, sedimentation, urban runoff, eutrophication, algae blooms and introduced species.

Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Fagatele Bay is the smallest and most remote of all the national marine sanctuaries. It encompasses only 163 acres (.25 sq. mi.) on Tutuila, the largest island of America Samoa. It is the only true tropical coral reef in the National Marine Sanctuaries Program.

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

The Florida Key archipelago is known world wide for its extensive offshore coral reefs.

Flower Garden National Marine Sanctuary

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, located 68.35 km off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, harbors the northernmost coral reefs in the United States and serves as a regional reservoir of shallow water Caribbean reef fishes and invertebrates.

Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary

Designated a national marine sanctuary in 1981, Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is located off the coast of Georgia. Gray's Reef comprises one of the largest sandstone reefs in the southeastern United States.

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve was created on December 4, 2000 by Executive Order 13178. The Executive Order was amended on January 18, 2001 by Executive Order 13196 making the establishment of the Reserve complete. On June 15, 2006, President Bush signed a proclamation that created the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, later re-named the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is the single largest conservation area under the U.S. flag, and at the time of establishment the largest marine conservation area in the world. It encompasses 137,792 square miles of the Pacific Ocean - an area larger than all the country's national parks combined.

The Coral Reef Conservation Program

The Coral Reef Conservation Program was established by the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 to help protect important reef ecosystems. The Program brings together expertise from many NOAA offices for a multidisciplinary approach to managing and understanding coral reef ecosystems. This approach includes coral reef mapping, monitoring, research, training, management, outreach and education to provide information and tools that help solve key coral reef management issues.

NOAA National Marine Protected Areas Center

The National Marine Protected Areas Center focuses on forging partnerships and serving as a resource for information about the nation's MPAs. The MPA Center is housed within NOAA and works closely with the Department of the Interior and other federal agencies, states, commonwealths, territories, and tribes to achieve this goal. The MPA Center includes a Training and Technical Assistance Institute and a Science Institute, and supports the MPA Federal Advisory Committee.

Abandoned Vessels Program

Abandoned vessels pose a significant threat to the NOAA Trust resources through physical destruction of coral habitats and dispersion of toxic chemicals and gear. The Damage Assessment Center (DAC) is addressing this issue by creating a comprehensive database of abandoned vessels that could potentially threaten coral ecosystems in U.S. waters.

NOAA's Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (DARP)

DARP has responsibilities related to assessing and restoring coastal and marine resources injured by oil spills, hazardous substance releases, and vessel groundings. Visit the restoration section of the DARP library for restoration plans associated with incidents.

Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R)

OR&R conducts projects to help understand and reduce the impact of abandoned vessels on coral reef ecosystems and to help local managers prevent and minimize impacts from hazardous material and oil releases. OR&R also conducts damage assessment and restoration of coral reef ecosystems following vessel groundings and accidental releases of hazardous materials.

Coastal Services Center (CSC)

CSC serves the Nation's state and local coastal resource management programs. CSC specializes in geographic information systems (GIS), training, remote sensing, and data and information, and works with coastal resource management programs to resolve site-specific issues, some of which pertain to coral reef areas.

International Program Office (IPO)

IPO conducts a suite of projects designed to help promote coral reef ecosystem conservation and improved management for global coral reef areas. These projects include the International Coral Reef Grants Program, development of socioeconomic monitoring protocols for coral reef managers, development of an MPA effectiveness guidebook, and support of other international efforts such as Reef Check and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.

National Geodetic Survey (NGS)

NGS manages the National Spatial Reference System, which provides fundamental control for mapping coral and other coastal features. NGS provides consultation and advice on use of the Global Positioning System and remote sensing technologies for coral mapping activities.

Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

OCS produces nautical charts for U.S. waters including its possessions and territories. Coral reefs are noted on these charts to help promote safe navigation and protect coral reef resources.

Pacific Services Center (PSC)

The NOAA Pacific Services Center, a component of CSC, develops and delivers coastal management information and services to the State of Hawai'i, Territories of American Samoa and Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and is able to respond to the unique cultures, customs, and needs of the Pacific Islands. In conjunction with OCRM, CSC also manages the Coral Reef Management Fellowship, a program that places highly qualified recent graduates with resource management agencies in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in an effort to build management capacity in the islands.

NOS Education Discovery Kits: Corals

Designed for educators and students at the high school level, these Discovery Kits are written in easy-to-read, non-technical language, and focus on the themes of oceans, coasts, and charting and navigation. In the coral reef subject, you will find three sections devoted to learning about coral reefs: an online tutorial, an educational roadmap to resources, and formal lesson plans.

Office of Ocean Exploration (OE)

The mission of OE is to lead NOAA ocean discovery by searching, investigation, and documenting unknown and poorly known areas of the ocean. OE conducts interdisciplinary exploration in order to advance and disseminate knowledge of the ocean environment and its physical, chemical, biological, and historical resources.

Ecosystem Assessment Division (EAD)

EAD works with partners such as our science centers and regional offices, Regional Fishery Management Councils, and state and territory governments, to develop and apply interdisciplinary approaches to studying, monitoring, and managing integrated marine and estuarine systems. A major element of EAD responsibilities is managing NMFS involvement in the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. This includes: Managing NMFS-wide research, mapping, monitoring, and protection of U.S. coral reef resources; Identifying cold-water coral resources and developing conservation measures to reduce adverse bottom fishing impacts; Characterizing fish habitats within watershed and coastal systems; Developing strategies to mitigate the impact of international trade on coral reef species; and Developing new initiatives to address the impacts of marine debris and invasive species in marine habitats

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Reauthorized

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, Public Law 109-479 (MSRA), provides NOAA additional science and management authorities related to deep-sea coral communities. The MSRA directs the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with appropriate Regional Fishery Management Councils, and in coordination with other Federal agencies and educational institutions, to establish a Deep-Sea Coral Research and Technology Program. MSRA also authorizes Councils to designate zones to protect Deep-Sea corals from damage caused by fishing gear under FMP discretionary provisions.

Coral Reef and Biodiversity Conservation

Describes the programs and policies surrounding some of the nation's most precious natural resources, one of the most important of which are coral reefs. Despite their abundance, coral reefs world wide have experienced widespread declines in coral species abundance and live coral coverage worldwide over the last two decades.

PIFSC Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED)

The mission of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division at the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center is to ensure long-term viability of coral reef ecosystems in the Hawaiian Archipelago and other U.S.-related islands in the Pacific Ocean. CRED staff conduct activities in the following categories: Ecological Assessment, Marine Debris Removal, Oceanography, Habitat Mapping, and Applied Research.

Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC)

The CFMC is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is unique in being the only council that does not include one of the fifty states of the Union and in sharing fish stocks with many Caribbean nations. The Caribbean Fishery Management Council is responsible for the creation of management plans for fishery resources in the waters off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council

The Gulf of Mexico Management Council is one of eight regional Fishery Management Councils, which were established, by the Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1976 (now called the Magnuson-Stevens Fshery Conservation and Management Act). The Council prepares fishery plans that are designed to manage fishery resources from where state waters end out to the 200-mile limit of the Gulf of Mexico.

Office of Law Enforcement (OLE)

OLE is responsible for the enforcement of laws and regulations affecting coral reef resources arising from Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act as well as enforcement in NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries. OLE is also responsible for enforcement in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of provisions of the CITES and other international resource related crimes investigated under the authority of the Lacey Act.

Office of Science and Technology

Office of Science and Technology is responsible for coordination of coral reef science.

Office of Sustainable Fisheries

Office of Sustainable Fisheries is responsible for coordination and oversight of Fishery Management Plans. This includes evaluating and approving Fishery Management Plans related to coral reef ecosystems and fisheries (e.g., Lobsters, conch, etc); and evaluating the status of coral reef fisheries.

Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO)

PIRO is responsible for management of coral reef fisheries in Federal waters of Hawai'i and the Central & Western Pacific, as well as essential fish habitat (EFH), and coral reef ecosystem protected species. The office conducts habitat characterization as well as EFH and Endangered Species Act consultations. The office also coordinates with Regional Fishery Management Councils and the local State and Territory agencies and conducts coral reef habitat mitigation and restoration work as well as outreach and education.

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, headquartered in Charleston, S.C., is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit of the Atlantic off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and east Florida to Key West.

Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC)

SEFSC is responsible for monitoring and research support for coral reef ecosystems in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Caribbean. These responsibilities include habitat mapping and characterization, coral reef fish and fisheries monitoring, research, and stock assessment, as well as monitoring and research on ESA candidate species, including corals and fishes. The SEFSC also conducts research on evaluation of protected areas, coral reef restoration, the impacts of fishing on coral habitats, coral ecology and disease, and socioeconomics. In addition, the SEFSC provides scientific support for coral reef fishery management plans.

Southeast Regional Office (SER)

SER is responsible for management of coral reef fisheries in Federal waters around Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Caribbean, as well as essential fish habitat (EFH), and coral reef ecosystem protected species. The office conducts habitat characterization as well as EFH and Endangered Species Act consultations. The office also coordinates with Regional Fishery Management Councils and the local State and Territory agencies and conducts coral reef restoration activities; and outreach and education.

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is the policy-making organization for the management of fisheries around the Territory of American Samoa, Territory of Guam, State of Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and US Pacific island possessions--an area of nearly 1.5 million square miles. The main task of the Council is to protect fishery resources while maintaining opportunities for domestic fishing at sustainable levels of effort and yield. To accomplish this, the Council monitors fisheries within its region and prepares and modifies fishery management plans as needed.

Remote Sensing and Coral Reefs: A Curriculum for 4th - 6th Grade Students

Satellites have revolutionized communication, entertainment, and scientific monitoring. It becomes increasingly relevant for our 21st-century students to learn about these objects that hover around our planet. Satellite monitoring of the environment around coral reefs offers invaluable information to those working to preserve these unique ecosystems. Coral Reef. The lessons in this unit are designed to be taught in sequence, however, many of the activities are suited to teaching in isolation. This science unit is appropriate for grades four through six. Some concepts tend to be abstract, so depending on students' ability and background knowledge, this unit might be more suitable in a gifted and talented setting.

Coral Paleoclimatology

Created to provide information on coral paleoclimatology. The site is designed to inform scientific and general audiences about some of the important questions of modern climate variability and the uses of corals to understand past climate.

Paleo Slide Set: Coral Paleoclimatology

This slide set discusses the future implications of climate variability through the use of color photos of undersea coral, coral drilling and an accompanying text. Also included are graphic representations that discuss high-resolution paleoclimatic proxy data from corals.

Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD)

The Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database (CoRTAD) was developed by the National Oceanographic Data Center in partnership with the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. The CoRTAD development was funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the database uses Pathfinder SSTs to quantify thermal stress patterns on the world's coral reefs since 1985. The CoRTAD contains a collection of sea surface temperature (SST) and related thermal stress metrics, developed specifically for coral reef ecosystem applications but relevant to other ecosystems as well. The CoRTAD contains global, approximately 4 km resolution SST data on a weekly time scale from 1985 through 2005.

NOAA Library Catalog (NOAALINC) - Holdings of the NOAA libraries

This is the electronic catalog for the NOAA Central Library in Silver Spring, Maryland. It also included records from the three NOAA regional libraries and twenty four other NOAA libraries around the country. To search for the coral reef records, please type in 'coral' or 'coral reef' or 'coral reefs' or 'CoRIS'.

NOAA Photo Library - Coral Kingdom

This site provides access to photographs of the coral reefs throughout the world from the NOAA Central Library Photo Library.

NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW)

Coral Reef Watch brings together the expertise of ORA with OAR/ AOML and NMFS/ PIFSC to support monitoring efforts through satellite and in situ monitoring. CRW provides satellite-based monitoring techniques that augment ground-truthing information provided by the Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) monitoring stations and will continue to support the generation of new retrospective data sets at CREWS monitoring sites and other protected areas, including National Marine Sanctuaries.

Coral Bleaching HotSpots

Coral bleaching is considered a long term threat to the health of corals. Coral bleaching events have been noted in areas where the sea surface temperature (SST) exceeds the climatological maximum for that region by 1 degree C or more. Observations are given from 1997 to the present. The reports of coral bleaching are collected from an informal network of coral reef researchers and observers.

Sea Surface Temperature Images

The Environmental Products Area of the Products Systems Branch of the Information Processing Division is responsible for a number of Environmental Datasets and Images derived from the NOAA polar orbiting satellites. Among the offerings are sea surface temperature anomaly imagery, sea surface temperature contour charts, coral bleaching hot spot charts, sea surface temperature analyzed fields, and tropical ocean coral bleaching indices

Tropical Ocean Coral Bleaching Indices

The Tropical Ocean Coral Bleaching Indices web page is designed to provide near real time information on thermal stress that induces coral bleaching, for 24 selected reef sites around the globe. For each reef site, the closest 50 km ocean pixel data is extracted and listed on the indices web page. This data includes current DHWs, DHW charts, maximum DHWs, current SST, and maximum SST climatology

Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC)

The CDHC was created in 2002, in response to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force's National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs. Our goal is to provide coastal and ocean managers with scientific understanding and tools to protect healthy coral reef ecosystems and restore degraded ones. The CDHC is a network of field and laboratory scientists, coral reef managers, and agency representatives devoted to understanding coral health and disease. It is extensive, highly collaborative, and completely voluntary.

Coral Health and Monitoring Program (CHAMP)

CHAMP provides continuously monitored oceanographic data and satellite infrared images of coral reef areas to scientists around the world in near real time. Serves as communications link among coral reef researchers worldwide.

Coral Health and Monitoring Program Literature Server

Database of literature on coral health.

Coral-List Listserve

Provides a forum for Internet discussions and announcements among coral health researchers pertaining to coral reef health and monitoring throughout the world.

SEAKEYS Program

The SEAKEYS Program monitors coral reef data at seven Florida sites. It includes meteorological measurements plus in situ measurements of ocean parameters such as salinity, sea temperature, fluorometry and turbidity.

NOAA's Undersea Research Center, University of North Carolina Wilmington (NURC/UNCW)

NURC/UNCW is one of six National Undersea Research Centers that operate under the auspices of NOAA's National Undersea Research Program (NURP). NURC/UNCW at Wilmington conducts undersea research primarily in the southeastern United States, from the North Carolina to Texas concentrating on hydrocarbon exploration and development; reef fish ecology and management of fisheries resources; conservation of the Florida Keys' coral reefs; anthropogenic and natural processes that impact coastal resources (e.g., beach erosion, water quality); and geological and paleoceanographic studies to understand past global environmental (e.g., climate and sea-level) changes.

National Undersea Research Center for the North Atlantic & Great Lakes (NURC-NA&GL)

NURC-NA&GL is one of six undersea centers established by NOAA's Undersea Research Program (NURP) to provide the research community the support needed to work underwater. As part of the University of Connecticut , NURC-NA&GL also contributes to the research enterprise of the institution. NURC-NA&GL supports two types of research. The first is fundamental or basic research that provides the scientific underpinnings for to management needs. This type of work identifies both pattern and process in natural and impacted aquatic systems. The second type of research is directly related to management needs and provides the scientific underpinnings for developing alternatives for management issues. Both types of research endeavors are critical for applying science to the needs of society.

Florida Coast Deep Corals 2005

Unlike shallow water tropical reefs, which are popular vacation venues for millions of tourists annually, deep-water reefs are not visible to the public. Dissemination of information through the media and the education system is therefore vital in order to create empathy for their protection. The data gathered during the Florida Coast Deep Corals 2005 expedition will help provide a strong foundation of information on the deepwater coral ecosystems off the Florida coast as well as foster a significant education/outreach element.

NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program

The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) web site provides news and highlights of the work of the CRCP in addition to basic information about the program and subscription information for NOAA Coral Reef News, a monthly e-newsletter that provides current information on the activities of the program as well as other relevant NOAA programs.

The National Sea Grant College Program

The National Sea Grant College Program conducts peer-reviewed research and extensive education and outreach activities through thirty Sea Grant College Programs in all coastal and Great Lake States. Six Sea Grant Colleges conduct research specifically on coral reef ecosystems including California, Hawai'i, Florida, Texas, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico.