Project Accomplishment Report July 2006
Project Name: The Center for Integrated Marine Technologies (CIMT)
Date Initiated: August 2002 (Current number: NA16OC2936)
Primary Contact: Dr. Gary Griggs Director-Institute of Marine Sciences A317 Earth & Marine Sciences Building University of California, Santa Cruz 1156 High St. Santa Cruz, CA 95064 Phone: 831-459-2464 Email: [email protected]
Project Web Site: http://cimt.ucsc.edu
Brief Project Summary:
The Center for Integrated Marine Technologies’ (CIMT) mission is to create a coastal ocean monitoring program that links new technologies and data across disciplines of marine science to address key questions for the management and conservation of California coastal marine resources. These technologies are being used to investigate the critical linkages among:
Physical forcing mechanisms, The availability of critical nutrients, The distribution, abundance and species composition of phytoplankton and zooplankton, and The distribution, abundance and species composition of top-level consumers including fish, seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles.
This comprehensive interdisciplinary approach will serve as a model for integrated coastal ocean observing systems and establish the scientific basis for the effective monitoring and management of coastal fisheries and protected resources, especially those of the Monterey Bay region of central California.
1 Key Accomplishments: Integrated Ocean Observing System, Regional Association Support: CIMT appreciates the importance of a national IOOS and specifically supports the regional association efforts of the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS). Since 2003 CIMT has endeavored to provide cogent CeNCOOS committee support. At least one CIMT member participated in each of the five CeNCOOS interim committees, we currently have members on the governing council and participants within the working group, and we have split our CIMT coordinator’s time to help accomplish the goals of CeNCOOS.
Fisheries Management: CIMT data sets were identified by the National Marine Fisheries Service for use in generating krill biomass estimates for development of krill fishery regulations. CIMT investigators Croll and Marinovic participated in a workshop to identify feasible means to assess krill abundance. Subsequently, CIMT investigators Croll, Marinovic, Griggs, and Harvey submitted an advisory letter to the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) in conjunction with the Pacific Federation of Fishermen’s Association, Oceana, Sierra Club, the Honorable Leon Panetta, and other non-governmental organizations and fishermen’s group outlining the rationale and need for a prohibition of fishing on krill as a key forage species as a key to ecosystem management. In March 2006 the PFMC designated krill as a “prohibited harvest” species and is currently establishing essential fish habitat for krill.
Fisheries Management: CIMT data in collaboration with the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (TOPP) research on male California sea lions diving behavior has identified foraging hotspots along coastal California that will be used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in spatial analysis of impacts on commercially important fish species through ecosystem-based fisheries management.
Fisheries Management: CIMT data, in collaboration with Moss Landing Marine Labs, on the food habits of California sea lions has been used to model the impacts of pinnipeds on listed Salmon and rockfish stocks for federal management agencies. The Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service are both using this information to better inform management decisions.
Harmful Algal Blooms/NOAA/California Department of Health Services: CIMT developed “rapid-response” remote sensing products in collaboration with Dr. Richard Stumpf (NOAA) using remote sensing for identification of potential harmful algal bloom problems offshore California. This information, as well as population abundance and toxin analysis information on toxic algal species, is provided regularly to the California Department of Health Services.
Water Quality: At the request of the Central Coast Long Term Environmental Assessment Network (CCLEAN) program, CIMT is providing an analysis of the
2 impact of the rivers draining into Monterey Bay on coastal water quality parameters detectable using satellite remote sensing (such as chlorophyll and total suspended solids) for 2002-2006. The end product will be a time-series analysis identifying the spatial and temporal conditions when and where river flow and oceanographic data are correlated. This product will be used to assess the potential impact of river-borne pollutants such as nitrogen or pathogenic bacteria, on the coastal ocean.
Non-point Source Pollution: CIMT has identified urea-nitrogen as a potentially important enhancing factor in the production of domoic acid, produced by the harmful algae Pseudo-nitzschia. In addition to several scientific presentations and publications, CIMT is also working with Central Coast Long Term Environmental Assessment Network (CCLEAN), the California Department of Health Services, and the NOAA Oil Spill Prevention and Response (OPSR) Santa Cruz office to assess the role of non-point source pollution, such as urea, in impacting wildlife via harmful algal events.
Oceanographic Conditions: Working with Yi Chao, of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, CIMT has validated the use of temperature profiles of the water column collecting during dives by instrumented adult male California sea lions. This environmental data will be fed into ocean climate models developed by Yi Chao to predict coastal oceanographic conditions.
Marine Operations/Wind Speed & Direction: CIMT developed a real-time wind model for marine recreational users available on the web http://cimt.jpl.nasa.gov/ . Through the CIMT end user process, wind speed and direction were determined to be important parameters for marine recreationalists. CIMT’s collaborations led by Jet Propulsion Labs and the Naval Postgraduate School, with additional collaborations from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing Marine Labs, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System, and end user feedback helped to refine a wind model product that can be used by marine recreationalist or other users in need of wind speed and direction information with real-time and prediction capabilities.
Current Mapping and Oil Spill Response: CIMT provides an opportunity to extend and enhance the product development capabilities of the basic mapping system, which is under development by the State's Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program (COCMP). The basic products derived from the high frequency radar network are maps of surface ocean currents each hour out to distances ranging from 50 km to 200 km from shore. This observing system capability has been established for the Monterey Bay area within CIMT and it will be expanded and perpetuated with support from California's COCMP to produce continuous maps for the region around central California. CIMT enhancements are supporting real-time spill trajectory mapping for the upcoming
3 NOAA Safe Seas 2006 oil spill exercise taking place August 2006 in the offshore waters between San Francisco and Monterey Bay.
Information Access: CIMT text descriptions and metadata have been provided or entered for several data collection efforts occurring within ocean observing; including COTS, oceanObs (MBNMS/CeNCOOS) www.oceanobs.org, and the SIMoN/MBNMS InfoShare program www.mbnms-simon.org . CIMT will continue to work with CeNCOOS on the development of the regional operations and business plan to fully meet OOS requirements.
Education: CIMT has developed a short video on the ocean observation activities of CIMT. The film is being used as an education tool to introduce CIMT & IOOS activities for end users and is on display daily in the entrance exhibit at Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz, California (November 2005), which is visited by about 55,000 people annually.
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