NOAA recently awarded six multi-year, interdisciplinary grants with anticipated funding of approximately $6.5 million over five years.
These new grants are part of the Coastal Hypoxia Research Program (CHRP) that builds on NOAA's long-term investment in understanding and predicting the causes and consequences of the large seasonal hypoxic zone over the Louisiana continental shelf. The purpose of the CHRP program, is to support research efforts on hypoxia in other regions, as mandated by the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act and its 2004 reauthorization.
Twenty-seven scientists at 15 institutions will investigate hypoxia impacts in a range of systems including Narragansett Bay, Albemarle Estuary, Puget Sound, Delaware Coastal Bays, and Atlantic Coast Estuaries. Research efforts will focus on development of predictive models, determination of estuary susceptibility to nutrient loading, retrospective analyses and assessing the impact of hypoxia on key living resources. This research will provide resource managers with new tools, techniques and information for making informed decisions and assessing alternative management strategies that have broad relevance nation-wide.