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Pacific Northwest Marine Ecosystems
An ecosystem is defined by the physical space and the biology, including plants and animals, that live in that space. Different land ecosystems include forested mountains, grassy plains and dry deserts; marine ecosystems are just as diverse. In the Pacific Northwest, marine ecosystems range from the open ocean that is dominated by basin-wide forces, the coastal ocean that is influenced by seasonal upwelling events, and estuaries and bays that have both salt and freshwater flowing through them. All of these different marine ecosystems allow for a great diversity of habitats, which are necessary to support the many life stages of marine animals that call the Pacific Northwest home.
The dynamics of the coastal ocean in the Pacific Northwest are controlled and influenced by several regional- and large-scale factors that produce highly productive coastal and estuarine environments. The interaction of coastal currents with the contours of the ocean bottom and freshwater inputs from sources like the Columbia River and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, seasonal upwelling favorable winds that fuel phytoplankton blooms, and the south-flowing branch of the North Pacific Current, which moves water from Asia to North America, to form the California Current System, are some of the regional factors. Some of the important large-scale factors that shape our ecosystems are the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which affects salmon survival in the ocean, and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which affects both ocean and weather conditions every 2-7 years.
The Role of Ocean Observing in Ecosystem Assessment
The waters of the Pacific Northwest, its coast and estuaries, support a wide range of vital activities and are critically important to the societal and ecological health of the region. They modify and moderate regional weather, are a reservoir for bountiful natural resources, provide a rich environment for aquaculture activities, and are the source of cultural identity to many residents. In order to maintain, monitor, and protect the long-term sustainability and health of this marine ecosystem – including its habitats, functions and abundant resources – there must be a concerted and systematic approach to understanding and managing the complexities of the system.
Roles that ocean observing systems fill is making sustained or more frequent observations of biological, chemical, and physical ocean characteristics using a whole suite of technologies, including buoys, gliders, satellites, and boats. The greater number of observations over time and space allow us a better understanding that we may not have otherwise of the interactions and processes that are occurring hourly, daily, and annually. With the information we gather from observatories, we will have a more rapid detection and timely prediction of a broad spectrum of ocean and atmospheric conditions, especially of changes in those conditions that impact society.
Ecosystem Assessment and NANOOS
Ecosystem Assessment is identified as a high priority for NANOOS by our users and stakeholders. As such, NANOOS is dedicated to contributing information that contributes to understanding, monitoring, and managing such ecosystem topics as coastal and estuarine water quality, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), coastal and estuarine hypoxia, ocean acidification, and characterizing the physical, chemical, and biological properties of our waters.
Currently, NANOOS provides time-series and real-time observations and data products used by resource managers, environmental quality and ecology agencies, and local resource divisions to evaluate and in some cases forecast these priority ecosystem issues. NANOOS is also presently engaged with the Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) community in Oregon and Washington to provide data products that will support decision-making efforts in the region.
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Ecosystem Assessment Special Topics
Coastal & Marine Spatial Planning
Ocean Acidification
Coastal and Estuarine Hypoxia
Water Quality for Shellfish Growers
Related NANOOS Products
Center for Coastal Margin Observation & Prediction (CMOP)
Near real-time data, forecasts, and climatological maps of physical and biogeochemical parameters in the Columbia River estuary, near plume, and coastal margins of Oregon and Washington.
Product Page
High-Frequency (HF) Radar Surface Currents
Observations of daily averaged ocean surface current speed and direction for the Oregon coast.
Product Page | View in NVS
NANOOS Visualization System (NVS)
The NANOOS Visualization System (NVS) provides easy access to forecast and observation data across a wide range of assets such as buoys, shore and land stations, high-frequency radar, and satellites.
Product Page
OSU Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) Surface Fields
Forecast map of water temperature and surface currents for the Oregon and SW Washington Coast.
Product Page | View in NVS
Puget Sound Networked Profiling Buoy
Data from a profiling buoy located at Point Wells (north of Seattle). The sensor package measures a depth profile of oceanographic variables every hour from the sea surface to the sea bed.
Product Page | View in NVS
Puget Sound ORCA
Oceanic Remote Chemical Analyzer (ORCA) measures physical, chemical, and biological water characteristics in Hood Canal.
Product Page | View in NVS
Puget Sound Princeton Ocean Model
Hindcast model output of surface elevation, wind stresses, and 3D currents, salinity, and temperature of Puget Sound and part of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The files are available in netCDF, through an openDAP server, or as KML.
Product Page
Puget Sound Regional Synthesis Model (PRISM) Cruise Data
Over ten years of processed PRISM cruise data starting in December 1998 to most recently processed from numerous Puget Sound locations. Data types include fluorescence, salinity, density, water temperature, transmissivity, and oxygen.
View in NVS
Water Quality Data for Shellfish Growers
Real-time Water Quality Data for Shellfish Growers. A pilot project between NANOOS and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.
Product Page
NANOOS members involved in this effort include:
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