Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Hot Items

Recent Publication Shows Black Carbon is a Major Factor in Climate Change

Recent Publication Shows Black Carbon is a Major Factor in Climate Change

It’s worse than we thought – According to the study recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, black carbon ranks as the second-largest human contributor to climate change, exerting twice as much impact as previously believed. Sarah Doherty, a research scientist with the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) at the University of Washington, is one of four lead authors on the four-year assessment done by an international panel of scientists. Black carbon (also known as soot) has a complex role in the climate. Dark particles in the air work to shade the Earth’s surface while warming the atmosphere. Soot that settles on snow and ice darkens the surface to absorb more sunlight and increase melting. Its particles also influence cloud formation in ways that can have either a cooling or warming impact.

Background: In 2009, Doherty and a team of 31 international scientists set out to make careful estimates of all black carbon sources using data from monitoring stations around the world. According to the analysis, soot is second only to carbon dioxide in the amount of heat it traps in the atmosphere. The new estimate of black carbon’s heat-trapping power is about twice that made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007.

Significance: If black carbon is responsible for trapping so much heat, then reducing soot may be an effective way to slow down the planet’s warming. Black carbon washes out of the atmosphere quickly so reducing soot emissions would lead to a fast fall in the concentration of black carbon (carbon dioxide, by contrast, lingers in the atmosphere for centuries). While soot’s haze can block sunlight and cool the atmosphere, the report found that some sources – especially the burning of coal and diesel fuel – produce a lot of warming with very little compensation cooling, so researchers suggest that reducing these sources should be the top priority in efforts to fight global warming. This work supports NOAA’s goal to improve understanding of the changing climate system and its impacts.

Contact: Sarah Doherty, JISAO Research Scientist

Summary

According to the study recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, black carbon ranks as the second-largest human contributor to climate change, exerting twice as much impact as previously believed. 

Recent Publication Shows Black Carbon is a Major Factor in Climate Change Read More »

New Integrated Ecosystem Assessments Completed by NGI Ecosystem Team

New Integrated Ecosystem Assessments Completed by NGI Ecosystem Team

Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) researchers are implementing an overall Ecosystem Approach to Management (EAM) effort, and with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NGI’s Ecosystem Team has just completed Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEAs) for four northern Gulf of Mexico estuaries: Galveston Bay, Texas; Barataria Basin, Louisiana; Mississippi Sound in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; and Perdido Bay, Florida. The four estuaries selected represented a variety of northern Gulf of Mexico estuarine ecosystems over a narrow range of latitude, and offered ample opportunities for contrast and comparison in the assessments.

Background:  This work was performed with funding from the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the Northern Gulf Institute, and involved a multi-institution, interdisciplinary team including the Northern Gulf Institute academic partners and the Environmental Protection Agency.  The overall goal of this effort is to contribute toward the NOAA goal of an Ecosystem Approach to Management and bringing Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) concepts to systems and regions throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. The work fits within the Northern Gulf Institute’s themes, specifically: Ecosystem-based management; Geospatial data/information and visualization in environmental science; and Climate change and climate variability effects on regional ecosystems.

Significance:  Ecosystem management is similar to management of other natural resources – using a systems approach is advocated across a spectrum of resource types – air, land, water, and biota – and across the globe. A systems approach to resources management is defined as managing resources holistically — with the knowledge that the human ecosystem includes a variety of components that interact with each other through processes, behaviors, and feedback mechanisms which must be elucidated in order to describe the effects of external forces and internal actions.  It was determined that human-related processes dominated all four of the estuaries involved.  Ecosystem stresses include increased fishing pressures, urban/coastal development, boat traffic, nutrients from runoff, and increased pollution. The results and models created by the Team can be used to evaluate strategies for environmentally and economically-sustainable development and use.


Contact:  Dr. William McAnally, Mississippi State University, is the contact for the IEA project.  

View the full Ecosystem Assessment Management Report.

Summary

NGI researchers are implementing an overall Ecosystem Approach to Management effort, and with support from NOAA, NGI’s Ecosystem Team has just completed Integrated Ecosystem Assessments for four (4) northern Gulf of Mexico estuaries.

New Integrated Ecosystem Assessments Completed by NGI Ecosystem Team Read More »

Fishers and Scientists Collaborate on Emerging Ocean Forecast Products

Fishers and Scientists Collaborate on Emerging Ocean Forecast Products

Fishers and Scientists Collaborate on Emerging Ocean Forecast Products

Scientists at Oregon State University (OSU) are combining the experiential knowledge of Oregon fishers with data from remote sensing satellites and ocean forecast models to create and evaluate new products based on forecasts of subsurface velocities. These velocities have been identified by the fishers as the top priority for new information needed to improve the safety and efficiency of fishing operations such as gear deployment and recovery.  

Background: The Cooperative Institute for Oceanographic Satellite Studies (CIOSS) has supported the development of three-day forecasts of coastal ocean surface and subsurface currents, temperatures and salinities off Oregon and Northern California. The coastal ocean forecast model is optimally constrained by sea surface temperature (SST) fields (from NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites), satellite-altimeter sea surface heights and surface-currents from high-frequency coastal RADARs. Data-products have been created from SST forecast fields for the tuna fishing community since 2008. These are disseminated by the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS), a regional association of NOAA’s Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®), through the NANOOS Visualization System (NVS). The NVS integrates information from diverse providers to deliver a comprehensive view of the Pacific Northwest marine environment. Building on this background, CIOSS and the OSU Marine Resource Management (MRM) program are now bringing together scientists and a wider variety of fishers to create new NVS products, using the previously untapped information in forecasts of subsurface currents.

Significance: Incorporating the practical experience of the fishers in designing better decision-making ocean forecast tools will increase the economic, social, and environmental resilience of coastal communities. Use of the fishers’ knowledge also provides a more direct roadmap for the evolution of NOAA’s environmental modeling activities, helping to protect life, property, and marine resources. This work supports NOAA’s Mission Goals: Weather-Ready Nation, Science and Technology, and Improved Capacity to Make Scientifically Informed Environmental Decisions.

Contact InformationFlaxen Conway, OSU MRM Program Director.

Summary

Scientists at the Cooperative Institute for Oceanographic Satellite Studies (CIOSS) and Oregon State University (OSU) are combining the experiential knowledge of Oregon fishers with data from remote sensing satellites and ocean forecast models to create and evaluate new products based on forecasts of subsurface velocities.

Fishers and Scientists Collaborate on Emerging Ocean Forecast Products Read More »

Spillover Effects of Environmental Regulation for Sea Turtle Protection in the Hawaii Longline Swordfish Fishery

Spillover Effects of Environmental Regulation for Sea Turtle Protection in the Hawaii Longline Swordfish Fishery

Researchers at the University of Hawaii’s Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) examined “spillover effects” and “market transfer effects” resulting from fishing regulations instituted to protect endangered/threatened sea turtles.  Swordfish and sea turtles co-occur in the North Pacific which enables spillover effects: when one fishery reduces activity on a resource, foreign fleet activity changes in ways that have adverse effects on the protected species.  This study provides an empirical model to estimate spillover effects in terms of the change in sea turtle interactions associated with production displacement between U.S. and non-U.S. fleets.  The study demonstrates strong spillover effects, resulting in more sea turtle interactions when Hawaii swordfish production declines.

 Background: The Hawaii-based longline swordfish fishery was closed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 2001 after a Federal court ordered reduction in incidental sea turtle bycatch.  The fishery reopened in 2004 after incorporating measures including a hard cap on annual turtle interactions.  In 2011, the NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office requested PIFSC’s assistance with the analysis of potential market transfer effects after regulation of Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery, in support of Endangered Species Act consultations on the Hawaii-based longline fishery biological opinion (BiOp).  Our study shows that if certain fishing regulations are removed, Hawaii swordfish production might increase and induce positive spillover effects of fewer turtle interactions.  The study was used as a supportive document for the January 2012 BiOp on the continued operation of the Hawaii-based longline fishery.

 Significance:  This research supports NOAA’s strategic goal to protect, restore, and manage the use of costal and ocean resources.  In November 2012, NMFS implemented the incidental take statement of the 2012 BiOp and increased the number of incidental interactions allowed between the Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery and leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles, from 16 to 26 and from 17 to 34, respectively. 

Contact: Hing Ling Chan, JIMAR, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Figure 1. Conceptual Diagram of Spillover Effects Between Fisheries

Figure 2. U.S. Swordfish Production vs. Other Countries’ Production in the North Pacific Ocean, 1991-2009

Figure 3. Estimation Results if Hawaii Shallow-set Longline Fishery Increases to Historical High of 5,500 Sets

Summary

Researchers at the University of Hawaii’s Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR) and NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) examined “spillover effects” and “market transfer effects” resulting from fishing regulations instituted to protect endangered/threatened sea turtles.

Spillover Effects of Environmental Regulation for Sea Turtle Protection in the Hawaii Longline Swordfish Fishery Read More »

CIMRS Seafloor Research Recently Featured in Oceanography and Nature Geoscience

CIMRS Seafloor Research Recently Featured in Oceanography and Nature Geoscience

Researchers at the Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies (CIMRS), colleagues from NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, and other university researchers recently published three articles in Oceanography in a Special Issue on Oceanic Spreading Center Processes, providing foundational overviews on seafloor research technologies and deep-sea volcanic eruptions.  In June 2012, two CIMRS first-authored articles were published in Nature Geoscience discussing specific findings related to the submarine volcanic eruption in April 2011 at Axial Seamount in the NE Pacific.

Background: In a Special Issue on Oceanic Spreading Center Processes of the journal Oceanography, the following papers were recently published:

–       “Hydroacoustic Monitoring of Oceanic Spreading Centers, Past, Present and Future” identifies technological needs for more effective ways to monitor mid-ocean ridge seismic events in real time.

–       “Hydrothermal Discharge During Submarine Eruptions: the Importance of Detection, Response, and New Technology” discusses improved methods to detect hydrothermal discharge during submarine eruptions. This has enabled a better understanding of “event plumes,” which are sudden, brief releases of immense volumes of hot hydrothermal fluids, often associated with mid-ocean ridge eruptions. 

–       “Volcanic Eruptions in the Deep Sea” examines the mechanisms of submarine volcanic eruptions and reviews the primary developments achieved in eruption detection, response speed, and observational detail since the first discovery of a deep submarine eruption at a mid-ocean ridge 25 years ago.

In the journal Nature Geoscience, Dziak et al discuss seismic precursors of the April 2011 eruption at Axial Seamount and opportunities for improved forecast technology with the forthcoming cabled observatory; Chadwick et al discuss the long-term record of inflation and deflation at the volcano that suggest the next eruption could be as early as 2018.  

Significance: Comprehensive research on mid-ocean ridge volcanism has provided new technologies for studying our oceans and improved understanding of submarine volcanic eruptions, which are important events in Earth’s cycle of magma generation and crustal construction.  This work supports NOAA’s goal of systematically studying the structure and behavior of the ocean and related ecosystems.

Contact Information: Michael Banks, CIMRS Director. 

Summary

Researchers at the Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies (CIMRS), colleagues from NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, and other university researchers recently published three articles in Oceanography in a Special Issue on Oceanic Spreading Center Processes, providing foundational overviews on seafloor research technologies and deep-sea volcanic eruptions.

CIMRS Seafloor Research Recently Featured in Oceanography and Nature Geoscience Read More »