EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR · Earth System Monitor) which allows users to visualize, subset, and extract from PFEL’s tra- ... wind and temperature data relevant to oceano-graphic research.

U.S. DEPARTMENTOF COMMERCE

National Oceanicand AtmosphericAdministration

Vol. 10, No. 1 ● September 1999

EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

A guide toNOAA's data and

informationservices

INSIDE

3News briefs

6Global Ocean

Observing Systemnext steps

8Oregon’s Dynamic

Estuary ManagementInformation System

12Quick action neededfor world’s declining

coral reefs

14Advanced Weather

Interactive ProcessingSystem installed

15Data products and

services

Live Access Server visualizes, subsets andextracts oceanographic data

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▲ Figure 1. The frontpage to PFEL’s Live Access server provides informationabout each dataset available to the user, and will take the user to the LAS withthe chosen dataset and selected map (static or java).

Lynn DeWitt and Roy MendelssohnPacific Fisheries Environmental LaboratoryNOAA/NMFS

The Pacific Fisheries Environmental Labora-tory (PFEL) is a component of the National Ma-rine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries ScienceCenter specializing in analyzing the effects ofenvironmental variability on fisheries. Due to itsoriginal co-location at, and continuing coopera-tion with the Navy’s Fleet Numerical Meteorol-ogy and Oceanography Center (FNMOC), PFELhas a wide variety of oceanographic and atmo-spheric datasets which are relevant to many areasof fisheries science, marine resource manage-ment, and climate change in the ocean.

For many years, PFEL has supplied extractsfrom these datasets to users around the world,and has also developed a number of derivedproducts from these datasets, such as the Bakunupwelling index. Thesehave been used in manyareas of research. In thepast, PFEL’s data wereonly available by mail-ings of standard prod-ucts or by specialrequest, and in recentyears distribution overthe internet has in-creased. PFEL has imple-mented a version ofPMEL’s Live AccessServer (March 1999Earth System Monitor)which allows users tovisualize, subset, andextract from PFEL’s tra-ditional data products,as well as some new andimproved products, overthe Internet.

Analyzing the effects of environmental variability on fisheries

Pacific FisheriesEnvironmental GroupNOAA/NMFS1352 Lighthouse AvenuePacific Grove, California93950-2097E-Mail: [email protected]

What differentiates PFEL’s version of the LASfrom other implementations is the wide varietyof datasets available, allowing the researcher toaccess at one location a wide variety of pressure,wind and temperature data relevant to oceano-graphic research. At the present time, the follow-ing datasets can be accessed through the LAS:

Monthly Mean Products on 1-Degree Grid1. Sea surface temperature and anomaly fromGlobal Telecommunications System (GTS) obser-vations (Jan. 1997 to present)2. FNMOC sea level pressure (Nov. 1996 topresent)3. FNMOC surface winds (winds, wind stress andcurl, July 1998 to present)4. FNMOC geopotential height at 500 mb (July1998 to present).

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2 September 1999EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

The Earth System Monitor (ISSN 1068-2678) is published quarterly by the NOAAEnvironmental Information Services office.Questions, comments, or suggestions forarticles, as well as requests for subscrip-tions and changes of address, should bedirected to the Editor, Roger Torstenson.

The mailing address for the EarthSystem Monitor is:

National Oceanographic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS E/OC1SSMC3, 4th Floor1315 East-West HighwaySilver Spring, MD 20910-3282

EDITORR. Torstenson

Telephone: 301-713-3281 ext.107Fax: 301-713-3302

E-mail: [email protected]

DISCLAIMERMention in the Earth System Monitor ofcommercial companies or commercialproducts does not constitute an endorse-ment or recommendation by the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administrationor the U.S. Department of Commerce.Use for publicity or advertising purposes ofinformation published in the Earth SystemMonitor concerning proprietary productsor the tests of such products is notauthorized.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCEWilliam M. Daley, Secretary

National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration

D. James Baker,Under Secretary and Administrator

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Live Access Server, from page 1

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▲ Figures 2. (a) At top, the Java Map page of the LAS for the subsurface data. Subsur-face data in the North Pacific for February 1999 at 100m depth is selected. (b) Below isthe image plotted to screen from the selections above.

Subsurface Data1. Monthly Climatologies (1-degreegrid) from WODB982. Monthly 5-degree averages at 33standard depths from MEDS/NODC3. 10°C and 14°C monthly mean iso-therm depths from MEDS/NODC

Derived Products at Standard Locations(15 locations off the west coast ofNorth America)

1. Monthly Upwelling Index (1946-present) calculated from FNMOC Pres-sure Fields2. Derived Monthly Air/Ocean Indices(1946-present) calculated from FNMOCPressure Fields3. Daily Upwelling Indices (1967-present) calculated from FNMOC Pres-sure Fields4. 6-Hourly Upwelling Indices (1967-present) calculated from FNMOC Pres-sure Fields

3September 1999 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

News briefsU.S. Geological Survey assistsSouth Pacific island nation The United States Geological Survey(USGS) is providing land resource man-agement assistance to the FederatedStates of Micronesia, an island chain inthe South Pacific Ocean. These islandsexperienced severe drought conditionsduring the El Niño winter of 1998, andgeologists are investigating enhancedmethods for land and natural resourcemanagement during times of extremeclimatic conditions. The USGS has ob-tained climatological data from the Na-tional Climatic Data Center’s new ClimateData Online (CDO) system to assist in thisproject. Meteorological data from threeSouth Pacific cooperative climate stationsin an electronic format were obtained fora 40-50 year period, to better ascertainthe climatic trends of the region.

Daily temperature/precipitationcovering 1951-1990 The National Climatic Data Center(NCDC), Natural Resources ConservationService (NRCS), and the Climate Diagnos-tic Center (CDC) are co-sponsoring aproject to produce a serially completedata set of daily temperatures and precipi-tation for the United States. The data setcovers the period 1951-1990. The sourcefile is the NCDC archive of data from co-operative and National Weather Servicesites. The NRCS has completed work onstations west of the Mississippi River andwill begin analysis of data for stations inthe eastern half of the country. NCDC isrevising its software to operate on a UNIXplatform and query the Oracle databaseto identify and inventory sites to be in-cluded in the project.

Antarctic Mapping AdvisoryGroup

The Antarctic Mapping AdvisoryGroup (AMAG) convened to discuss dataprocessing, distribution, and preliminaryresearch findings from the RADARSATAntarctic Mapping Project (RAMP). Stafffrom the National Snow and Ice DataCenter participated in the AMAG meet-ing. Comparative images of the AntarcticPeninsula were presented, which werederived from RADARSAT synthetic aper-ture radar and Advanced Very High Reso-lution Radiometers, showing the advan-tage of procuring both types of imageryto optimize research efforts.

GODAR review meeting The National Oceonographic DataCenter/World Data Center-A for Ocean-ography in Silver Spring, Maryland,hosted the Global Oceanogaphic DataArchaeology and Rescue (GODAR) Inter-national Review Meeting, July 12-15.GODAR's mission is to locate (archaeol-ogy) and rescue (digitize) oceanographicdata which are at risk of being lost due tomedia decay or neglect; identify prioritiesand ways of assisting Member States ofthe Intergovernmental OceanographicCommission (IOC) in oceanographic dataarchaeology and rescue operations; andestablish implementation plans for datarescue operations and recommend pos-sible sources of funding based on agreedupon priorities.

The meeting was intended to reviewthe progress to date of the GODARproject and to furnish guidance for futureGODAR activities. Of note during thereview was a move to include data otherthan the original, physical oceanographicscope of GODAR including chemicaloceanographic and fisheries data. In thecoming years, the IOC can be expectedto begin focusing on archaeology andrescue of marine geological and geo-physical data as part of a broader GODAReffort.

BioData Working GroupThe third meeting of the NOAA

BioData Working Group was held viavideoconference on July 27. NGDC’s JohnKineman gave a presentation of biologicaldata activities at NGDC, followed by pre-sentations from Dave Anderson and ChrisElvidge. The Working Group is composedof representatives from all the line officesand is investigating the needs for datamanagement for NOAA biological data inresponse to a request made by NESDIS(National Environmental Satellite Dataand Information Service) Deputy AssistantAdministrator Dr. Susan Zevin. Dr. Zevin’smemo states that the National Environ-mental Data Access and Archive Systemproposed by NESDIS ”must include plansfor the widely distributed sources of smallbiological data sets, as well as the highvolume, large array remote sensing datawhich will define our storage needs.”

Lake Erie water level historynoted A full-page article written by reporterGareth W. Dodd appeared in the August1999 edition of U.S. Water News, entitled”Evidence shows Lake Erie flood createdNiagara Falls—ancient Lake Erie flood aboon to newlyweds.” The article summa-rizes results of a paper presented by TroyL. Holcombe of NGDC and CIRES/Univer-sity of Colorado, at the 1999 meeting ofthe International Association of GreatLakes Research, held in Cleveland, Ohio.Co-authors are Lisa Taylor of NGDC, PeterVincent and David Redid of NOAA's GreatLakes Environmental Research Laboratory,John Warren of the Canadian Hydro-graphic Service, and C.E. Herdendorf ofOhio State University.

The study, growing out of a compila-tion of new bathymetry for Lake Erie,found prehistoric shoreline features on thelakefloor, which can only be explained bylow water levels in the lake five to tenthousand years before the present. Lowwater levels during this time, when upperGreat Lakes drainage bypassed Lake Erieand the climate was warmer and drier, arepostulated to have resulted in a closedbasin. The study also speculates that wa-ter levels rose quickly once upper GreatLakes water was diverted into Lake Erie viathe Detroit/Saint Clair River about 5400years ago.

NGDC hazards informationfeatured

The online version of the NGDCNatural Hazards Data Resources Directorywas featured in the May 1999 issue of theMultidisciplinary Center for EarthquakeEngineering Research (MCEER) Informa-tion Service News. The MCEER Informa-tion Service News is a monthlypublication sent to hundreds of research-ers and practitioners around the world.The Natural Hazards Data Resources Di-rectory is a resource for the disaster andnatural hazard management communityas well as the general public. It includesdescriptions of over 250 organizationsthat provide data and information ongeological hazards, meteorological haz-ards, and societal response. The descrip-tions, contact information, e-mailaddresses, and web links for all of theseorganizations were updated during thelast year. The Directory was also releasedas a WebBook for ease of reading andchapter-based searching.


Live Access Server, from page 2The GTS data contain 1-degree

means, number of observations,anomalies and climatologies by month.The FNMOC surface winds are not cal-culated from the pressure fields butinstead are from FNMOC’s 1-degreewind model. Besides the wind compo-nents, estimates of the stress compo-nents as well as wind stress curl areavailable, which are mean values calcu-lated from each six-hourly field. Thesubsurface climatologies were calcu-lated from the World Ocean Database98 (see http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/OC5/indwod98.html), while the averages arefrom the monthly MEDS/NODC compi-lation. The isotherm depths are inter-polated from the temperature fields.The other datasets are PFEL’s traditionalupwelling indices at 15 locations offthe coast of North America, plus a se-ries of Air/Ocean flow indices calcu-lated from FNMOC’s pressure fields.

Information about PFEL’s LAS, aswell as plots of the current month’sdata, can be obtained from ourhomepage at http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/whats_new/las_whats_new.htmlbut to actually access the LAS you mustas a first time user register at PFEL’sdata gate (http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/data_gate/pfeg_data_avenue.html ) orlogin at the same URL if previouslyregistered. The registration and login ismainly for PFEL to track the usage of itsdata services, and at registration werequest information about expecteduses of our data products. This helps uskeep a record of the impact our dataservices are having.

Once logged in, you can access thefront-end of our LAS (Figure 1) at:

http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/data_for_users/las.html

This allows the user to obtain informa-tion about the datasets, choose a staticor java version of the map to select anarea of extract, and access the LAS di-rectly for the variable chosen. Once inthe LAS (Figure 2a shows the java mapfor the subsurface data), a new datasetcan be selected by selecting the “DataSet” button. Custom subsets of the datamay be requested in the following for-mats: Plotted image (GIF), spreadsheet,NetCDF file, Tab-delimited file,Comma-delimited file, and GenericASCII file (3- and 4-dimensional data

▲ Figure 3. The “View” page for the subsurface data. This shows the wide variety ofgeometries possible to use in subsetting the data.

▲ Figures 4. (a) At top, the Java Map page for the surface wind data. Wind stress vec-tors plotted on wind stress curl for the North Pacific in February 1999 has been selected.(b) Below is the image plotted to the screen from the selection.


can only be downloaded). Subsets forplots and downloads may be obtainedin various geometries by selecting the“View” button such as latitude-longi-tude, time series, profiles along latitudeor longitude lines, and time series alonglatitude or longitude lines (the viewselection for the subsurface data (Figure3) shows the myriad of ways that thedata can be subsetted).

Choosing the view to be a 2-di-mensional latitude-longitude view,selecting February 1999 as the month,100m depth, North Pacific as the pre-defined region and selecting “Plottedimage” (Figure 2a) produces a new win-dow with a color map showing the 5-degree mean temperatures (Figure 2b).If desired the data can be downloadedby making a different selection fromthe drop-down menu where “Plot im-age (GIF)” is now selected.

The surface wind data allows theplotting of the wind stress vectors onthe wind stress curl (Figure 4a showsthe Java Map page selecting the NorthPacific for February 1999 and Figure 4bshows the resulting graphic), but todownload the wind stress vectors, eachcomponent must be done separately.Because the 15 standard locations forthe upwelling indices and the Air/Ocean flow indices are not truly on agrid, they can only be accessed in the“Static Map” mode. An error results ifaccess is tried through the “Java Map”mode. Monthly, daily and six-hourlyupwelling indices are available, and canbe subsetted on a combination of loca-tion and time. The “Air/Ocean Indices”are various measures of monthly aver-age transport and also can be subsettedon a combination of location and timefor the 15 standard locations. These are

the traditional PFEL products that untila few years ago were only available ingraphic form by mail, or on tape byspecial request. Selecting 36°N as thelocation and January 1967 - January1999 as the time selection (Figure 5a)produces a time series plot of the six-hourly upwelling index (Figure 5b). Forany given geometry selected from the“View” button, subsets of the data canbe selected by clicking on the “Zoom”button. For example, in “Time Series”mode, the “Zoom” button will bring upa screen for subsetting in time the se-lected series.

The datasets used in the LAS areupdated monthly, with most of thedatasets being updated by the first weekof the month. We hope in the future toboth improve and expand our cover-age. Comments and suggestions onhow our services can be improved arealways welcome. ■

▲ Figures 5. (a) At top, the Static Map page for the six-hourly upwelling index. The index at 36 N for Jan. 1967 - Jan. 1999 has beenselected. (b) Below is the time series plot produced by the selected extract as well as a map of the location of the time series.


Global Ocean Observing System next stepsArgo to provide real-time profile measurements

Office of the Deputy Chief Scientist, NOAAHCHB, Rm 522414th and Constitution Avenue, NWWashington, D.C. 20230E-Mail: [email protected]

W. Stanley Wilson and Danica R. StarksOffice of the Deputy Chief ScientistNOAA

In oceanography today we havethe capability—both scientific andtechnical—to consider implementingan operational observing system for theglobal ocean.

We have satellite systems, eitherflying or in development, to globallyobserve sea levels, surface winds, andsurface temperature. We have a varietyof in situ systems to observe upper-ocean temperature, salinity, and cur-rents, but neither in sufficient quantityto cover an ocean basin nor of suffi-cient duration to address decadal timescales. We have the communicationscapability to collect these observationsin near real-time, but most is done wellafter the fact. We have the models andthe computing capability to utilizethese data.

We are at a point in time when wecan put it all together, collecting satel-lite and in situ observations; assimilat-ing them into models; estimating theoceanic temperature, salinity, and cur-rent structure; producing forecasts forthe ocean; and initializing atmosphericmodels—globally, in near real-time,and long-term. This is key to under-standing the circulation of the ocean,what drives it, and how the ocean andatmosphere interact as a coupled sys-tem, as well as producing climate fore-casts which of necessity involve thecoupled ocean-atmosphere system.This will also provide the context foraddressing chemical and biologicalvariability in the ocean such as is asso-ciated with phytoplankton productivityand fisheries applications.

We have, in effect, put it all to-gether for the Equatorial Pacific wherereal-time ocean observations are fed

into climate models to produce ElNiño-based seasonal atmospheric fore-casts. The next logical steps are to buildon this operational system by extend-ing coverage to span the entire NorthPacific and North Atlantic, where thereis significant thermal variability atdecadal time scales associated with thePacific Decadal Oscillation and theNorth Atlantic Oscillation, respectively.The critical missing element is the in-situ observing system; we only havepiecemeal coverage of those basins atpresent.

To address this need, a new pro-gram called Argohas been intro-duced. Argo is theresult of over twodecades of devel-opment and utili-zation of floattechnology spon-sored by the Na-tional ScienceFoundation andthe Office of Na-val Research. Oneof the major Ad-ministration ini-tiativesannounced at theNational OceanConference wasan expandedocean monitoringsystem, this com-prised of profilingautonomousfloats; that willhelp us getstarted. Argo willprovide real-time,basin-wide mea-surements oftemperature andsalinity profiles,and will estimatecurrent velocitiesat depth. Thesedata will be usedwith existingsatellite and

other in situ ocean observations andweather analyses to produce weathermaps of the upper ocean. The seasonalpatterns of ocean anomalies in thesemaps are key to understanding andpredicting the climate phenomena thataffect U.S. interests at home andabroad.

This proposed array will consist of3,000 floats to be deployed globally,spaced about 300 kilometers (186miles) apart. When deployed at thesurface, each float (Figure 1) will sink toa typical depth of 2,000 meters. Afterdrifting with the ocean current at that

▲ Figure 1. Schematic of an Argo float.


depth for ten days, it will rise to thesurface, measuring the temperature andsalinity of the layers through which itrises. On the surface, the float will radioits data and position to an orbitingsatellite before returning to depth andcontinuing another cycle. Floats willcontinue cycling throughout their de-sign life of four to five years.

Satellites will relay the data theyreceive from Argo floats to land-basedreceiving stations (Figure 2). Fromthere, the data will go to a number ofscientific teams around the world, whowill carry out initial quality control.They will then make the data availablefor operational forecast centers andscientists in near real time, via the Glo-bal Telecommunications System. Alldata will be openly available, withoutproprietary restrictions.

Argo floats will be deployed from avariety of ships and aircraft. Hundredsof commercial vessels that ply tradingroutes across the globe can deployfloats, just as they now make meteoro-logical observations and drop instru-ments that give a single ocean profile.The remotest regions of the ocean canbe seeded by air. The great advantage ofthe floats is that, after deployment,they will continue to operate unat-tended. Once fully implemented, Argowill constitute an oceanic equivalent ofthe worldwide network of balloon-borne radiosondes. Just as the radio-sondes contribute to accurate three tofive day weather forecasts, Argo willcontribute to accurate climate predic-tions.

The oceanographic community ismoving in this direction working viathe Global Climate and the GlobalOcean Observing Systems (GCOS/GOOS), of which this is a component.Two complementary international pro-grams will help rationalize, design, andimplement a system to collect suchbasin-scale in situ observations: theClimate Variability and PredictabilityProgram (CLIVAR) and the GlobalOcean Data Assimilation Experiment(GODAE). CLIVAR is focused more onunderstanding the role of the ocean inclimate and GODAE more on demon-strating practical benefits.

Argo will contribute greatly to thework of such organization as CLIVARand GODAE. In 1999, the World Me-

teorological Organization Congress andthe Assembly of the IntergovernmentalOceanographic Commission both ac-cepted Argo as an important contribu-tion to global ocean observingactivities. Argo will require substantialinternational collaboration.

The Administration is proposing toprovide one-third of the array over athree-year period at a total cost of $12million. NOAA is soliciting partner-ships with Japan, Europe, Canada, Aus-tralia, and others. No nation can affordto cover the ocean on its own. ■

▲ Figure 2. This diagram shows the Argo float cycle, with communications andposition reporting by satellite.


Oregon's Dynamic Estuary ManagementInformation System

Providing geo-spatial information for estuaries and their watersheds

Tanya C. Haddad,NOAA Coastal Management FellowOregon Ocean-Coastal ProgramDepartment of Land Conservation andDevelopment

The physical setting of estuariesand the wide array of human activitiesthey attract pose some unique coastalmanagement challenges. Analyseswhich tackle these challenges oftenrequire a wide array of geo-spatial datato resolve. Many branches of NOAA,and a variety of other federal and stateagencies with jurisdiction in thecoastal zone generate geo-spatial datarelevant to such analyses, but often infile formats, scales and geographic pro-jections which render them unusable tothe lay-public or even sister agencieswithout considerable effort.

This article details a programthrough which the Oregon OceanCoastal Management Program (OCMP)works to make a variety of federal,state, and other geo-spatial data widelyavailable in common format to inter-ested public users who are often stake-holders in estuarine and coastalmanagement issues. The project aims toprovide a central information depot fortraditional and digital information re-lating to estuaries in Oregon in order tofocus attention on frequently ignoredestuarine systems and facilitate use ofthe best available information in stateand local estuarine resource manage-ment decisions, non-regulatory conser-vation and restoration efforts, science,and education.

IntroductionOregon’s system for managing its

22 major estuaries and their estuarineshorelands has a history of successfully

reducing use conflicts. It is based onestuary-specific resource inventoriesthat form the foundation of estuarinemanagement plans, which in turn dic-tate the types of development that canoccur in specific areas. Unfortunately,the mapped habitat data upon whichthese use-decisions are based areincreasingly dated: a situation which ifleft unaddressed, implies that the effec-tiveness of the resource managementsystem will decline. To prevent thiseventuality, the Oregon OCMP initiateda project in 1996 to define and launch acoast-wide estuary GIS that would becentered on each of the 22 major Or-egon estuaries. The effort was furthermotivated by fragmentation of infor-mation related to Oregon estuaries thathad evolved since estuary managementplans were developed in the 1980’s.Important resource information was

housed in a variety of federal and stateagency and county offices locatedaround the state, and newly availableinformation was not sufficiently inte-grated into decision-making processes.An estuary-centered GIS had the poten-tial to integrate the array of digital datagenerated by ssorted local, state, fed-eral, private and non-profit entitieswith emerging new estuarine informa-tion, and to subsequently share thisinformation amongst the various po-tential users and decision makers.

Pilot projectA two-year pilot effort was under-

taken to fully develop the DynamicEstuary Management Information Sys-tem (DEMIS) for Oregon estuaries. Inmid-1996 OCMP successfully applied tohost a NOAA Coastal Management Fel-low to implement the pilot phase of the

▲ Figure 1. Pre-configured Arcview Project Files are available on the DEMIS pilot CD-ROM which group related data themes into "issue modules" and display them with easilyinterpreted legends and map colors.

Oregon Ocean Coastal ProgramDepartment of Land Conservation andDevelopment800 NE Oregon Street, #18Portland, Oregon 97232E-mail: [email protected]


DEMIS project.The pilot was centered in the Coos

Bay estuary and watershed, and ex-plored a variety of management anddata-related issues. The intent was tocreate a framework for data collection,storage, and use that was:a) transferable to local users such ascitizen-based watershed councils,b) flexible and specific enough to ad-dress particular local managementneeds,c) based on an information systemstructure that would remain compatiblewhen expanded along the coast.

The main products of the piloteffort included data management pro-cesses and standards for an estuary GIS,a compact disc (Table 1) with over 140accumulated data layers which had

been geographically standardized andclipped to the Coos Bay estuary's wa-tershed boundaries, and an informa-tional internet web site. The CD-ROMincludes both shapefiles and ArcInfoExport (e00) files (Figure 1), as well asuser-friendly ArcExplorer and ArcViewproject files which integrate relateddatasets into easily interpreted “issuemodules”. It was envisioned that whilethe initial data collections in the estu-ary would be published on CD, anyadditional data layers developed forthe region would be shared via an ex-panded version of the web site.

Phase 2: expansion estuariesBuilding on the pilot effort, a sec-

ond phase of DEMIS was begun in late1998 to expand the system to other

Oregon estuaries. OCMP was onceagain successful in obtaining a NOAACoastal Management Fellow for carry-ing out this expansion. Phase 2 will:a) refine the framework, capacity andstandards developed by the DEMIS-Coos Bay pilot,b) focus data collection on layers (Fig-ure 2) deemed pertinent to estuarinewetland restoration, andc) inventory and analyze potential es-tuarine wetland restoration sites foreach DEMIS estuary.

Phase 2 began by selecting priorityestuaries for the DEMIS based on anumber of management-related estuarycharacteristics, including:

▲ Figure 2. The DEMIS logo shows the focus on data layers that are pertinent to estuarine wetland restoration.

—continued on page 10


a) the geographic distribution of estuar-ies in the DEMIS up and down the Or-egon coast,B) the physical variability amongstselected estuaries,c) the Oregon Estuary Planning classifi-cation of the estuary,d) connectivity to Core Salmon Resto-ration Initiative (CSRI) streams andAquatic Diversity Areas (ADA's).e) presence of Oregon Department ofFish and Wildlife salmon index sites,f) progress of the local watershed coun-cil in the watershed assessment process,andg) the presence or absence of any exist-ing GIS efforts relating to the estuary.

The overall intent was to expandthe DEMIS system in such a way as tomaximize the contribution that theprogram made to the state's totalknowledge base, while maintaining adiversity in physical location and estua-rine characteristics. Estuaries with con-nectivity to CSRI stream and ADA'swere considered a high priority, as werethose where a local watershed councilwas advanced in the watershed assess-ment process and might be well-posi-tioned to make immediate use of theDEMIS products. Estuaries with a po-tential to maximize corridors of benefi-cial salmonid habitat were given ahigher ranking. Finally, estuaries withsubstantial non-DEMIS GIS programs(such as the Columbia River andTillamook Bay estuaries) were essen-tially not considered.

As a result of these priorities, fourDEMIS expansion estuaries and theirassociated watersheds were chosen forPhase 2: the Nehalem River, Siletz Bay,Siuslaw River, and Coquille River. Datacollection and potential estuarine wet-land restoration inventories are ex-pected to be complete for these systemsby late 2000.

Envisioning restoration possibilitiesAn additional goal of DEMIS-Phase

2 is to demonstrate how the analyticalcapabilities of a GIS can be used to syn-thesize these data into viable commu-nity action plans. The focus onidentification of potential estuarinewetland restoration areas was intro-duced as a priority for the Phase 2 ex-pansion of the DEMIS program because

the issue of loss of estuarine wetlandhabitat is a resource management con-cern common to all the Oregon estuar-ies, and because baseline GIS layerscollected for this purpose also constituean excellent starting GIS base fromwhich to launch other estuary-relatedanalyses. In addition, with the 1998and 1999 listings of several coastal Or-egon salmonid populations as threat-ened under the Endangered Species Act,an inventory of areas with ecologicalpotential for estuarine habitat restora-tion is seen as a valuable starting pointfor non-regulatory restoration initia-tives.

An inventory of potential wetlandrestoration sites within each DEMISestuary will be created by combinig thedigital data assembled by DEMIS withsite visits and extensive review of aerialphotos and county cadastral maps foreach DEMIS estuary. The inventory willbe made available to watershed coun-cils, and managers/decision makers atall levels. No attempt will be made toprioritize the sites identified in eachinventory. Instead, an attempt will bemade to make the database associatedwith the inventory as management-comprehensive as possible, incorporat-ing as many ecological and social siteparameters as can realististically be as-sembled in order to create a tool thatcan be readily queried to created actionplans based on the specific priorities ofthe user-group in question.

Groups that utilize the DEMIS-based inventory for selecting and pri-oritizing restoration sites may use theinventory to construct watershed "vi-sions" of the alternative landscape out-comes of their actions. It is hoped thatthe proliferation of such tools will fa-cilitate more informed decision-makingregarding non-regulatory estuarine wet-land restoration efforts in both the pub-lic and private/non-profit sectors, andthat as a result increases in estuarinewetland acreage will occur in such away as to maximize both social andecological benefits.

Targeting users: working with localgroups

An integral aspect of the DEMISprogram is working with citizen-basedwatershed councils, Native Americantribes, and other groups relevant to

Table 1. Geo-Spatial data theme typescollected on the DEMIS pilot CD-ROM

BiologyHabitat maps by species groups, wildlifedistribution, fish occurrences etc.

Environmental QualityData layers having to do with environmen-tal quality such as mapped CERCLA and TRIsites, dredge material disposal sites, mitiga-tion sites, and locations of permitted waste-water outfalls.

GeomorphologyVarious soil and geologic data layers.

HydrologyAny layers concerned with the various hy-drologic features of the estuary and thesurrounding watershed: Aquifers, rivers,streams, lakes, sub-basins, wetland invento-ries, etc.

InfrastructureLayers depicting the locations of majorinfrastructure: highways, roads.railroads,dams, culverts etc.

Miscellaneous CoversData layers which do not easily fit into anyof the other more specific categories.Quad grids, basemap footprints, Oregonstate outline, etc.

PoliticalBoundaries that exist in the estuary forvarious political or legal reasons. Urbangrowth boundaries, zoning, estuary man-agement unit designations, congressionaldistricts, oyster lease locations etc.

PopulationVarious census data layers regarding popu-lation distribution, density etc.

TerrainDEMs, shaded relief images etc.

VegetationAssorted vegetation coverage maps includ-ing a Landsat TM image.

Oregon's DEMIS, from page 9


each of the selected priority estuaries toassure that the products that emergefrom the effort meet local needs in ad-dition to conforming to the technicalstandards desired by the state. The localwatershed council structure in particu-lar is a valuable connection for the pro-gram to make. These citizen-basedvolunteer groups are the footprint ofthe Oregon Plan for Salmon and Water-sheds, a Governor’s initiative to encour-age grassroots non-regulatoryrestoration efforts in response to thesalmon crisis, and are in place with thespecific goal of sustaining natural re-source and watershed protection andenhancement within a watershed.

The estuary-focus of the dEMISprogram complements the councils'watershed assessment process well, asthe importance of estuarine systems isoften somewhat under-emphasized inthose assessments. In addition, thetechnical skill-level of watershed coun-cil members is also an importantbenchmark against which to gauge the“usability” of DEMIS products. Withthis is mind, DEMIS expansion “scope”meetings have been held with groupsin the Coos, Coquille, and Nehalemestuarine watersheds, in order to deter-mine the local community’s priorityissues relative to overall DEMIS goals.At each meeting, specific local issueswere framed in terms of the GIS analy-ses that might be done to address them.Through this process, a list of estuary-specific priority data layers was ob-tained which were than pursued forinclusion in the DEMIS. Data collectionand standardization has commenced inthe Coquille and Nehalem estuariesfollowing the framework and standardslaid out in the DEMIS-Coos Bay pilotproject.

DEMIS on the WebFinally, an expanded DEMIS web

site has been developed to reflect thecoast-wide nature of the DEMIS projectobjectives, and to enhance accessibilityfor the public (Figure 3). A deliberateeffort was made to ensure that the“look and feel” of the entire site is com-patible with the organizational layoutof the pilot DEMIS CD-ROM, and al-lowances were made for logical, parallelnavigation paths to the data and

metadata collection for any Oregonestuary in Phase 2 and beyond. Thisdesign is meant to ensure ease-of-usefor DEMIS users who regularly naviga-tion both the web site and the CD-ROM products. The site is also intendedto act as a portal to dispersed internetinformation about private, non-profit,local, state, and federal estuary-relatedprojects in both DEMIS and non-DEMISestuaries, and establishes an on-linelibrary to accommodate non-GIS infor-mation regarding Oregon estuaries.

Currently DEMIS web users mayview the metadata for all the layersassembled for the targeted estuaries,download individual data layers of in-terest as zipped ESRI shape files, or or-der the CD-ROM produced in theDEMIS pilot effort. It is likely that asthe DEMIS program and its site con-tinue to grow, the program will takeadvantage of on-line mapping tech-nologies to further simplify user accessto data. The DEMIS web site is acces-sible from within the web site of its

parent agency, the Department of LandConservation and Development at:http://www.lcd.state.or.us/coast/demis/core.htm

About the NOAA Coastal Services CenterCoastal Management FellowshipThis was established in 1996 to provide profes-sional on-the-job education and training op-portunities for post-graduate students incoastal resource management and policy andto provide specific technical assistance for statecoastal resource management programs. Theprogram matches recently graduated master's,professional, and doctoral degree studentswith state hosts around the U.S. in state coastalzone management programs. For two years,the recipients will work on substantive state-level coastal resource management issues thatpertain to federal management policies andregulations. The recipients are designatedNOAA CSC Coastal Management Fellows. Allstates with federally approved coastal zonemanagement programs, and states developingsuch programs for approval, are eligible toapply for this program through the NOAACSC. See the following website.http://www.csc.noaa.gov/cms/fellows.html ■

▲ Figure 3. The Coast-wide DEMIS portal features easily interpreted graphics and high-lights watershed council boundaries and estuaries where data collection is ongoing.


James D. Thomas and Richard E.DodgeNational Coral Reef InstituteNova Southeastern University

Quick action needed for world's declining coral reefsResults of the International Conference on Scientific Aspects of Coral Reef

Assessment, Monitoring, and Restoration

More than 480 coral reef scien-tists, resource managers, techni-cians, and conservationists camefrom 34 countries, Guam, PuertoRico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands tothe recent International Conferenceon Scientific Aspects of Coral ReefAssessment, Monitoring, and Resto-ration in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

It was a unique opportunity forboth scientists and resource manag-ers to meet together on a globalscale to:a) discuss current aspects of reefassessment, monitoring, and resto-rationb) identify common concernsc) identify ways to work togethermore effectively

Despite the diversity of interestsamong participants, six majorthemes emerged from the Confer-ence:1. Persuasive evidence exists forsystemic declines in corals and reefcommunities worldwide.2. Reef systems are already showingdistinct and measurable responsesto global stresses, and it is probablethat they will do so at an accelerat-ing rate in the future.3. Any attempts to protect theworld’s remaining healthy reefsfrom further degradation must in-clude quick and decisive action at avariety of spatial scales, rangingfrom local to global.4. Meso- and large-scale, time-de-pendent, integrated risk assessmentand risk management protocols areneeded which operate through a

cooperative research-centered model.5. A global network of coral reef marineprotected areas (MPA) can ensure the long-term survival of high value communities,but an increased emphasis on scientificprotocols to site and monitor effectivenessof MPA is urgently needed.6. The science of coral reef restoration-rehabilitation is in its formative stages andhas promise for expediting reef recovery.The development of reef restoration intoan effective management tool will requireapproaches that encompass hypothesis-based measures of efficacy and outcomeassessment.

In addition to these outcomes, a vari-ety of emerging and new scientific tech-niques and approaches to address theabove problem areas were identified byexperts at the conference.

Overview of coral reefs and conferencerationale

Not just corals and fish live in coralreefs. The level of biodiversity in coral reefsis so great that they are often referred to asthe Rain Forests of the Ocean. While theroles of coral reefs in nature are impressive,they also make a multi-billion dollar im-pact in the world’s tourist economies. Insome cases this aspect constitutes a largepercentage of smaller local economies.Coral reefs provide critical habitat for nu-merous fish and shellfish species in addi-tion to their recreational and commercialvalue.

Globally, it appears that coral reefs areexperiencing large-scale ecological andphysical changes. Both the amplitude andfrequency of these events have no recenthistorical equivalents. Scientists and man-agers alike recognize that new and innova-tive programs are needed to understandand interpret theses changes so steps canbe implemented to effectively promotemore precise research and managementprograms. This Conference provided impe-tus toward those goals.

Globally, at least four major systemvariables are “out of range” from past geo-logical levels and are continuing to in-crease rapidly. Even if current inputs are

stabilized, these trends will continue atleast for decades longer. These globalsystems are: a) atmospheric CO2 concentration b) carbon cycle flux rates c) nitrogen cycle flux rates d) human population increasesAdditionally, global temperature willlikely join this list within a few de-cades; also, entirely new, bioreactiveenvironmental components have beenintroduced and globally distributed(e.g., artificial biocides, endocrine dis-rupters).

The urgency to act in some capac-ity to protect reefs despite the level ofknowledge of system process and re-sponse can lead to the scientist’s di-lemma: “Starting from a false premisecannot result in a correct conclusion,no matter how flawless the logic.”Thus, two possible assumptions foractions pertaining to coral reefs couldbe the “firefighting” approach or the“triage” approach (Table 1). If the triageapproach is adopted, then a triage clas-sification scheme is needed (Table 2).

Additional priorities need to beevaluated (Table 3). Assessment, moni-toring, and restoration issues are keyconcerns when considering coral reefs.These were also the three centralthemes of the conference.

BackgroundThe conference was organized by

the National Coral Reef Institute(NCRI), established in 1998. Based atNova Southeastern University’sOceanographic Center near Ft. Lauder-dale, Florida, NCRI's primary objectiveis the protection and preservation ofcoral reefs through basic and appliedresearch on coral reef assessment,monitoring, and restoration programscoupled with specific training and edu-cation.

Held April 14-16, 1999, the scien-tific program of the Conference in-cluded four plenary speakers, onekeynote speaker, eight special and 10

National Coral Reef InstituteNSU Oceanographic Center8000 N. Ocean DriveDania Beach, Florida 33004E-mail: [email protected] — continued on page 16


Assumption #1: “Fire-Fighting” Approach

“Fire-fighting:” Coping at an individual level with smallnumbers of casualties (coral reefs) under conditions of lim-ited resources. Resources expended with little comprehen-sive assessment of overall reef value/risk.

Assume: 1. Stable, favorable global environment 2. Adequate funding and personnel resources 3. Response action is to address problems as they arise in

order of perceived seriousness

If this assumption is wrong, risk is loss of all or most ofsystem.

Procedure: 1. Programs implemented in data-scarce environment 2. Resource expended with little or no definable outcome

measurement 3. Value lies in the process itself, not the outcome

Assumption #2: “Triage” Approach

“Triage:” Coping with large numbers of casualties (coral reefs)simultaneously under conditions of limited, resources (fund-ing). Resources expended via a comprehensive assessment ofreef value/risk.

Assume: 1. Deteriorating environment 2. Limited funding and personnel resources 3. Response action is to concentrate resources on saving the

as-yet-undamaged, the particularly valuable, the hardy,and the salvageable

If this assumption is wrong, risk is unnecessary sacrifice ofsome marginal parts of the existing system.

Procedure: 1. Assess risk of injury 2. Assess vulnerability to injury 3. Assess value(s)

Table 2. Coral Reef Triage Classification Scheme

Table 3. Priorities Involved

Assessment Monitoring Restoration

Coral Reef Triage Classification Scheme for Screening and Characterizing Reefs

1. Likely to recover with relatively minimal attention (Priority Level 1)2. Eventual full recovery possible with extensive/prompt treatment (Priority Level 2)3. Death or permanent disability probable (Priority Level 3)

1. Environmental characterization (risk, present and future)

2. Coral Community characterization by:

a) Vulnerabilityb) Value(s)c) Time trajectories

3. Community condition

4. Classification (triage category)

1. Provides the time dimension of assessment

2. Tests/refines classification and process models

3. Tests effectiveness of intervention techniques

1. Classify via triage model and reallocate resources

2. Improve scientific basis

Table 1. Two Possible Assumptions for Actions


A high-tech, interactive weathercomputer and communications systemhas been installed in 152 National Oce-anic and Atmospheric Administrationsites across the country, completing adecade-long effort to revamp weatherservices and significantly improveweather forecasting, Deputy Secretaryof Commerce Robert Mallett an-nounced.

“Today we celebrate the beginningof modernized operations for NOAA’sNational Weather Service,” said DeputySecretary Mallett. “The installation ofAdvanced Weather Interactive Process-ing System (AWIPS) units is a milestonein the revolution of weather services forour country.

AWIPS provides significant im-provements in weather- and flood-re-lated services. The system gives NWSforecasters access to other tools devel-oped and installed under the modern-ization program such as satelliteimagery, Doppler radar data, automatedweather observations and computer-generated numerical forecasts, all atone workstation.

“The modernization process we’vebeen engaged in for the past decade isnot just a Weather Service success story,but a NOAA success story,” said NOAAAdministrator D. James Baker. “ManyNOAA scientists have contributed re-search and development expertise tothe systems the Weather Service uses,and NOAA’s satellite and data manage-ment branches are critical elements inthe weather services provided to thenation.”

“Our vision is to be America’s no-surprise weather service and we are wellon our way,” said National WeatherService Director John J. Kelly Jr.

Kelly cited examples demonstratingthe modernization program’s success:AWIPS and Doppler radar helped fore-casters in Norman, Okla., detect torna-does and rapidly issue severe weatherwarnings that alerted people to thedeadly tornado outbreak in May andhelped save lives; and in July 1998, theadvanced graphic display capabilities ofAWIPS helped forecasters in Salt LakeCity see heavy rains in Zion National

Park. A timely flash-flood warning re-sulted and at least 40 hikers avoided aflooding canyon.

For an investment that costs eachAmerican about $4 per year, the NWSissues more than 734,000 weather fore-casts and 850,000 river and flood fore-casts, in addition to between 45,000and 50,000 potentially life-saving se-vere weather warnings annually. Statis-tics show overall improvements inforecast accuracy and in the timelinessof severe weather and flood warnings.

“We take great satisfaction in hav-ing reached this important milestone inthe AWIPS program,” said Len Pomata,Litton vice president and president ofPRC, the primary AWIPS contractor.“But we are most proud to be an inte-gral part of this important national

program and look forward to continu-ing to work with the Weather Service toconstantly improve the life-saving ca-pabilities of the AWIPS system.”

The AWIPS program has twice beenrecognized: in June, AWIPS earned aComputerworld/Smithsonian Award forusing technology in an innovative wayto benefit society, and in 1997 AWIPSearned a “Best of What’s New” awardfrom Popular Science magazine.

More information about AWIPS isavailable on the Internet at:http://www.nws.noaa.gov/modernize/success.htm.

—Barry Reichenbaugh NOAA/NWS

1325 East-West HwySilver Spring, Maryland 20910

[email protected] ■

Advanced Weather Interactive Processing Systeminstalled: NOAA looks to the future

▲ Figure 1. A tornado's destructive swath is visible in this aerial view over Oklahoma,courtesy of the National Climatic Data Center.


Data productsand services

CONTACT POINTS

National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)828-271-4800

Fax: 828-271-4876E-mail: Climate Services - [email protected] Satellite Services -

[email protected]: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/

National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC)303-497-6419

Fax: 303-497-6513E-mail: [email protected]

WWW: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/

National Oceanographic Data Center(NODC)

301-713-3277Fax: 301-713-3302

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov

NOAA Environmental Services Data Directory

301-713-0572(Gerry Barton)

Fax: 301-713-1249E-mail: [email protected]

WWW: http://www.esdim.noaa.gov/#data-products

NOAA Central LibraryReference Services:

301-713-2600Fax: 301-713-4599

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.lib.noaa.gov/

Climate Data On-Line systemThe National Climatic Data Center

(NCDC) has placed its new Climate DataOn-Line (CDO) system into full on-lineoperational mode containing 100gigabytes of climate in-situ data, stored inan Oracle relational data base. Web usersmay now place orders through the sys-tem via the On-line Store, pay for thedata with a credit card, and receive thedata via ftp, all without any manual inter-vention by customer service personnel. The CDO system now includes sixfull periods of record data sets: coopera-tive summary of day, first order summaryof day, monthly summary, hourly precipi-tation, 15-minute precipitation, andmonthly climatic data for the world. Datacan be selected by various combinationsof country, state, climate division, county,station, year, month, and day. The systemis also used to process various applica-tions requested off-line, such as the coop-erative extremes tabulation. NCDC willadvertise the system's availability togradually increase system load. The nextdata sets being prepared for On-line ac-cess are U.S./global surface hourly andU.S./global upper air.Contact: NCDC

Hurricane precipitation dataDr. Libby Johns of the Atlantic

Oceanographic and Meteorological Labo-ratory was supplied daily precipitationdata by the National Climatic Data Centerfor cooperative locations in Florida Cli-mate Divisions 4, 5, 6, and 7 via NCDC'sanonymous ftp site. Dr. Johns intends touse the data in her research regardingprecipitation expectations with land-fall-ing hurricanes in the South Florida area.Contact: NCDC

Geomagnetic data The Niemegk magnetic observatoryin Niemegk, Germany has sent NGDC, viaInternet, the 1.0 minute and hourly valuedata for the year 1997. The use of theinformation highway has increased thetimeliness and efficiency of receipt ofgeomagnetic data from various placesaround the world. Email is used to notifyreceipt and successful reading of the datafiles. Additionally, the 1997 magneticyearbook was received. This publicationcontains annual and monthly mean dataas well as the three hourly K indices. Thetotal amount of data for this transfer was

14.7 megabytes. This new acquisition ofdata has been placed in the geomagneticarchive and the NGDC Space PhysicsInteractive Data Resource (SPIDR). Thiswill enable the quick access and use ofthe data by the world's scientific commu-nity.Contact: NGDC

Billion dollar weather disasters The U.S. Billion Dollar Weather Di-saster Report for 1980-1999 has beenupdated. The report is accessible fromhttp://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/extremes.html;paper copies are also available. Twoevents have been added -- severe thun-derstorms/hailstorms in Minnesota in May1998 and the tornado outbreak in Okla-homa and Kansas in May 1999. Overall,42 events occurred over the past 20years, with 36 of these during 1988-99.Contact: NCDC

NCDC data used in balloonexpedition A European-based ballooning teamcontacted the National Climatic DataCenter to obtain climatological datawhich will be used in a balloon flight overthe Arctic Ocean. The balloonists' prelimi-nary plans are to depart in late March2000 near the city of Sredne, Russia, andterminate the flight somewhere over theUnited Kingdom in May. The NCDC pro-vided the expedition team with the Glo-bal Upper Air Climatic Atlas (GUACA) CD-ROM. The team will extract the windpatterns at a flight level of 20,000 feetalong with temperature and moisturecharacteristics before determining a finalroute.Contact: NCDC

Prehistoric coral records A report on paleoclimate records ofthe tropical ocean, including coralrecords, is now available. The report istitled "Annual Records of Tropical Sys-tems" (ARTS), and presents recommenda-tions for research. The report also high-lights some recent successes thatcontribute to NOAA goals in assessingpast climate. The NGDC/NOAA Paleocli-matology program supports the ARTSprogram by contributing data manage-ment expertise to ensure that data pro-duced by ARTS are accessible to thebroad scientific community. The reportcan be obtained from the Past GlobalChanges Project Office at http://www.pages.unibe.ch/pages.htmlContact: NGDC

World tour regatta The Norfolk, VA, Chamber of Com-merce requested the National ClimaticData Center publication Local Climatologi-cal Data (LCD) for the period January1995 through May 1999. A global re-gatta, including some of the largest sail-ing ships in the world, will be sailing pastNorfolk to celebrate the 2000 millenium.The race will start in Australia and traveleastward across the South Pacific aroundCape Horn, South America. The regattawill continue northward where the par-ticipants will make their way to New Yorkvia Norfolk. The Chamber is expectingalmost two million visitors for the regatta,and will use the LCDs to determine localclimatological conditions.Contact: NCDC


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Declining coral reefs, from page 12general sessions comprised of 140 oralpresentations, and 130 scientific post-ers. Organizers reported that the confer-ence met its goal of creating a scientificreview and analysis, integrating theglobal body of knowledge available inthe specific areas of coral reef assess-ment, monitoring, and restoration. Indoing so, emerging concepts were iden-tified, and innovative scientific andtechnological approaches were pre-sented.

The keynote speaker for the eventwas Deputy Assistant Secretary forOceans and Atmosphere of the U. S.Department of Commerce, Sally J.Yozell, who gave the Administration’sviews and contributions to coral reefs in“The U.S. Commitment to Coral Reefs,Both Physically and Fiscally.”

She attributed current interest incoral reefs to the work of members ofthe assemblage and thanked them fortheir help. Last year President Clintonsigned an Executive Order establishingboth a federal policy regarding coral reefdegradation and a Coral Reef TaskForce. This task force is composed of 11federal agencies, as well as the gover-nors of the states and territories withresponsibilities for coral reefs. (See theJune issue of Earth System Monitor formore information about the CRTF.)

Ms. Yozell asked for the help andparticipation of everyone present at theconference to share their expertise andrecommendations with the Task Forcein order to reduce human impacts andbetter protect reef ecosystems—and thecommunities and economies that de-pend on them.

AppendixNine organizations co-sponsored the con-

ference, including the International Society forReef Studies; National Ocean Service and theNational Marine Fisheries Science Center, bothsubsidiaries of the Department of Commerce’sNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-tion (NOAA); the Broward County (Florida)Department of Natural Resource Protection; theOcean Research and Education Foundation Inc.;the National Center for Caribbean Coral ReefResearch at the University of Miami’s RosenstielSchool of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences(RSMAS); Florida Sea Grant at the University ofFlorida; the Florida Institute of Oceanography;LAW Engineering & Environmental Services,Inc. The International Center for Living AquaticResources Management (ICLARM)’s ReefBase

endorsed the scientific program of the confer-ence.

The Conference was the brainchild ofNCRI Executive Director (and Dean of NovaSoutheastern University’s Oceanographic Cen-ter) Dr. Richard E. Dodge and NCRI ResearchDirector Dr. James D. Thomas. The effort wassupported by NCRI Research Scientist Dr. DavidS. Gilliam. Dr. Dodge is a noted expert on cor-als and coral reefs, with considerable experiencein the investigation and analysis of the growthrates of reef-building corals, coral reef structure,fossil coral reefs, the ecology of coral reefs,techniques of coral reef damage assessment(including the effects of ship groundings), andoil effects on corals and coral reefs. Dr. Thomasis a noted coral reef ecologist, focusing onbiodiversity issues and taxonomy, but retaininga broad over-arching perspective.

More information about the Con-ference (including text of all abstractsand a Participants List) may be foundon the web at http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ncri/conf99.html. More informationabout the National Coral Reef Institutemay be found at http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ncri/index.html.

ContactsRichard E. Dodge, Ph.D.Executive DirectorE-mail: [email protected]

James Darwin Thomas, Ph.D.Research DirectorE-mail: [email protected]

Carol FretwellCoordinator, Administrative OperationsE-mail: [email protected]

National Coral Reef InstitutePhone: 1-954-262-3617Fax: 1-954-262-4027 ■

EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR · Earth System Monitor) which allows users to visualize, subset, and extract from PFEL’s tra- ... wind and temperature data relevant to oceano-graphic research.

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