Researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science recently evaluated techniques to design robust marine bird surveys to support offshore wind energy sites that are in the same location as sensitive bird migratory pathways. Spinning turbine blades can kill birds outright or divert them from their natural routes which disrupt their fairly inflexible behavior. [...]
The leading world venue for showcasing the latest research on oceans, coasts and lakes is the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography Aquatic Sciences Meeting. The research programs sponsored by the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) offer management solutions for harmful algae, hypoxia and regional ecosystem-scale research. At the 2013 [...]
The U.S. benefits from a wealth of resources and activities that depend on healthy coastal habitats. However, these habitats are being degraded by extensive hardening of shorelines due to climate-driven sea level rise, increasing shoreline development, land use changes in coastal watersheds, pollution, and invasions of non-native species. In the Mid-Atlantic region alone, coastal development [...]
Though no longer an uncommon occurrence each summer, a streak of red tide hit local waters as early as last week, a premature showing from the algal bloom that officials say is likely responsible for a fish kill in an Aquebogue creek. A spokesman with the Department of Environmental Conservation stated on Thursday that on [...]
Ecological forecasts help resource managers better understand their management options, the likely effects of their decisions, and consequences of their actions. In the Chesapeake Bay, deep portions provide more habitats for fish, shellfish and crabs. However, during the summer, deeper waters are too dark for plants to grow and create oxygen by photosynthesis so oxygen [...]
Underwater acoustics for mapping the water column Underwater acoustics (ie. fisheries sonars) uses sound to detect and map the presence of fish and other organisms in the water column. An acoustic signal or ping is sent into the water column from an transducer. The strength of the return signal is measured and is correlated to [...]
In June 2011, a House of Representatives subcommittee on energy and environment unveiled a bill to reauthorize research on hypoxic “dead zones” and harmful algal blooms (HABs). During a hearing on the legislation, lawmakers listened to officials from NOAA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, experts on the Chesapeake Bay, and a scientist from the [...]
In April 2011 scientists from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project issued an outlook for a moderate regional bloom of the toxic alga, Alexandrium fundyense, that can cause ‘red tides’ in the spring and summer of this year, threatening the New England shellfish industry. However, there are signs [...]