4.2 Links with Mission Goals and Programs

The strategies for each NOAA Mission Goal for achieving their objectives are identified in the NOAA's FY 2006 – FY 2011 strategic plan, "New Priorities for the 21 st Century – NOAA's Strategic Plan". The SOCD-relevant strategies are provided below. The SOCD-relevant research objectives of each NOAA Mission Goal, as listed in the NOAA's five-year (2005 – 2009) research plan (January, 2005), " Research in NOAA: Toward Understanding and Predicting Earth's Environment", are also listed below to demonstrate the alignment of SOCD science and technology efforts and plans with NOAA objectives. Existing and planned linkages with NOAA Mission Goal programs and activities are also described.

4.2.1 Ecosystems

The overarching objective of the Ecosystems Mission Goal is to protect, restore, and manage use of coastal and ocean resources through an ecosystem approach to management. The Ecosystem Mission Goal strategies include:

Engage and collaborate with our partners to achieve regional objectives by delineating regional ecosystems, promoting partnerships at the ecosystem level, and implementing cooperative strategies to improve regional ecosystem health.
Manage uses of ecosystems by applying scientifically sound observations, assessments, and research findings to ensure the sustainable use of resources and to balance competing uses of coastal and marine ecosystems.
Improve resource management by advancing our understanding of ecosystems through better simulation and predictive models. Build and advance the capabilities of an ecological component of the NOAA global environmental observing system to monitor, assess, and predict national and regional ecosystem health, as well as to gather information consistent with established social and economic indicators.
Develop coordinated regional and national outreach and education efforts to improve public understanding and involvement in stewardship of coastal and marine ecosystems.
Engage in technological and scientific exchange with our domestic and international partners to protect, restore, and manage marine resources within and beyond the Nation's borders.

The following SOCD-relevant research priorities have been defined by the Ecosystem Mission Goal.

Integrated Earth observing system and data management system
- Define the time and space scales needed to capture the fundamental physical and biological drivers that are required for ecosystem forecasts and natural resource assessments.
- Measure the natural scales of variability regarding physical- biological coupling, food web dynamics and ecosystem production in selected ecosystems.
- Design and develop a comprehensive coral reef ecosystem monitoring program (Coral Reef Early Warning System).
- Define observational needs to assess the impact of management decisions on fisheries and coastal and Great Lakes resources and habitat quality.
- Develop and test new chemical and biological sensors for coastal and Great Lakes observing systems.
- Develop parameters and indices of eutrophication, water quality, HABs, and contaminants (including pharmaceuticals and steroids) in coastal and marine ecosystems; provide trends in contaminant concentrations; and identify new anthropogenic contaminants.
Assessments and forecasts of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Develop forecasts for the ecological effects of varying weather patterns and extreme physical events.
- Define the primary forcing factors and time and space scales that cause HABs and anoxia for selected coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes regions.
- Define the primary forcing factors and time and space scales that affect water quality and quantity for selected coastal and Great Lakes regions.
- Define the primary forcing factors and time and space scales that affect fish recruitment and fisheries production for selected coastal and Great Lakes regions.
- Evaluate pelagic bycatch reduction technology and innovative TED Technology
- Conduct environmental impact studies to establish baseline information for citing of commercial aquaculture activities.
- Study aquatic biodiversity and how anthropogenic stresses, extreme environmental events, and climate influence population dynamics of coastal and marine ecosystems.
Scenario development to support specific management actions and decisions
- Research to improve our understanding of the factors affecting threatened species and the potential success of alternative remediation/management strategies.
- Map habitat types (existing and restorable) and identify key habitat functions; evaluate the function / health of habitat.
- Define and evaluate the value and economic/ecological costs/benefits of aquaculture for specific species in specific regions.
- Create models coupling physical oceanography variability and biological effects on productivity, fish recruitment, and distribution.
- Develop the next generation of multi-species fisheries and food web production models.
- Develop environmentally sound production technologies for marine species.
- Develop a NOAA-wide research plan for shallow coral ecosystems.
Capacity building and effective knowledge transfer
- Expand extension and education approaches to provide scientific information in advance of actions and regulations and to assist NOAA in fostering increased understanding and partnerships among fishers, conservation and environmental groups, coastal use community, and scientists.
- Provide cost-benefit forecasts and risk analyses of management decisions and human use of coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems.

Return to top

Ecosystem Program Links

Habitat: To be established.
Corals: SOCD has extensive links with the Coral Reef Conservation Program, leading NESDIS's participation in this matrixed program and leading the program's Coral Reef Watch effort that monitors and assesses, amongst other factors, coral reef bleaching conditions through the use of satellite sea surface temperature data. Efforts are underway to incorporate satellite ocean surface wind, ocean color, sea- surface height, and insolation data to refine assessments. SOCD also is a major component in the developing Coral Reef Ecosystem Integrated Observing System (CREIOS), which is being planned as a component of the national IOOS.
Coastal and Marine Resource Management: Specific links currently being refined. SOCD shares two billets with the NOS Coastal Services Center, supporting coastal zone management efforts.
Protected Species: Specific linkages to be established. Sea surface temperature and ocean color (chlorophyll) products are provided to facilitate monitoring and avoidance of protected species, such as loggerhead and leatherback turtles, through reduced by-catch associated with swordfish and tuna fishing in the Pacific and mackerel fishing in the Atlantic. The application of satellite data to this issue is focused on efforts at the Central Pacific CoastWatch node.
Fisheries Management: Specific linkages to be established. Sea-surface temperatures (SST) and sea-surface heights (SSH) provide the basis for CoastWatch's El Niño Watch that provides a current assessment of upwelling conditions along the West Coast of the U.S. The National Marine Fisheries Service has written the use of this specific operational oceanography product as guidance for designating whether El Nino conditions exist along the west coast of the US and the resulting imposition of restricted fishing areas.
Aquaculture: To be established.
Enforcement: Specific links to be established. SOCD provides satellite enforcement products to the U.S. Coast Guard and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. SAR products for vessel location and ice edge are provided under the NESDIS Alaska SAR Demonstration. SAR imagery provides information on the fleet distribution and whether these observers are well distributed throughout the fleet, as well as for issues of safety. Sea-surface temperature operational products are supplied weekly to U.S. Coast Guard, First District, Fisheries Intelligence Branch, in the Atlantic in support of enforcement operations.
Ecosystem observation systems: To be established.
Ecosystem research: To be established.

Return to the SOCD Road Map Index >>