Environmental Research Division
West Coast Regional CoastWatch Site
NOTICE: You may soon notice a change (in appearance only) to these Internet web pages as we upgrade and improve our site in the coming weeks. The data products themselves will of course remain unchanged. Thank you.
At the ERD, scientists are working to expand the application of satellite remote sensing to understand how distribution and fluctuations in abundance of marine life relate to oceanographic changes in the marine environment.
The lab is the west coast regional site for the NOAA CoastWatch program, which provides rapid dissemination of satellite observation data to governmental, academic, commercial, and public users. The Center uses the satellite imagery along with other ocean data to monitor the ocean environment and study unusual ocean circulation or warming patterns and how these patterns affect the movement and distribution of fish and other marine animals.
The popular monthly El Niño Watch notices and other ocean color data are used to understand and remotely monitor marine biological and physical trends such as ocean productivity as well as coastal sediment transport and ocean front and current patterns.