IOOS data is helping the west coast shellfish industry mitigate the effects of ocean acidification
Marine and Great Lake ecosystems are dynamic and complex. These threedimensional fluid systems function through the complex chemical, geological and biological interactions and processes that change over time and space. Water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen content, sea and lake levels, upwellings, storms and drought conditions all affect water quality and ecosystem health.
Hypoxia (areas of low oxygen levels) and outbreaks of harmful algal blooms (HABs) are occurring in more areas, at greater frequencies. Pollutants, pathogens and other contaminants threaten public beaches, shellfish stocks and drinking water supplies. Many fish stocks are in decline due to fishing pressure, loss of spawning and other habitats,
and changes in water temperature and chemistry. Climate change will alter how these ecosystems function in ways that are not currently observable or predictable because of the limited availability of long-term environmental data sets.
Observations on oceanic habitats (i.e., benthic and water-column habitats), nutrient fluxes, upwelling areas, freshwater plumes, discharges, runoff, erosion, inundation, contaminants, and plankton are needed for ecosystem-based management.
The National Water Quality Monitoring Network (NWQMN) provides information about the health of our oceans and coastal ecosystems, as well as inland influences on coastal waters for improved resource management. U.S. IOOS partners, EPA, USGS, and NOAA, co-lead this effort with participation from other federal agencies. Each year, government agencies, industry, academia, and private organizations devote significant time, energy, and money to monitor, protect, manage, and restore water resources and watersheds. However, differences in project design, methods, data analysis, and data management have often made it difficult for monitoring information and results to be shared and used by all. The restoration and protection of water quality is dependent upon detailed, understandable, and easily accessible data and information, which will be provided through the full implementation of U.S. IOOS.
Since 2007, the NWQMN has piloted and implemented concepts in San Francisco Bay, the Delaware River Estuary, and the Great Lakes in coordination with the CeNCOOS, MARACOOS and GLOS regional associations. The projects have demonstrated the added value of real-time monitoring with sensors and autonomous underwater vehicles alongside more traditional monitoring. More on the National Water Quality Monitoring Network.
In May 2010, IOOS and seven interagency partners co-sponsored a workshop on the development of an operational Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (Marine BON). A Steering Committee of nine academic scientists developed the agenda; workshop participants included 35 invited scientists spanning a breadth of expertise, and multiple federal agency representatives.
As part of its report, the workshop participants developed a set of recommendations that support implementation of the National Ocean Policy. They are to:
Federal partners are discussing the potential for implementation of recommendation #7 as a next step -- to initiate a demonstration of marine BON in one or more key habitats.
IOOS is contributing to the planning phase -- led by the Smithsonian Institution -- of a collaborative network of marine sites designed to make long-term ecological observations. MarineGEO is envisioned as a global‐scale network of ecological observatories dedicated to understanding changes associated with natural and anthropogenic forcing that occur at local, regional and global scales. MarineGEO will address critical knowledge gaps that currently limit the capacity of the science community to forecast change, and the policy community to plan for change. These needs will be met through standardized, long‐term measurements and experiments at spatial and temporal scales appropriate for oceans.