Variability of Temperature and Salinity in the Middle Atlantic Bight and Gulf of Maine

Monitoring of the waters of the Middle Atlantic Bight and Gulf of Maine has been conducted by the MARMAP Ships of Opportunity Program since the early 1970's. Presented in this atlas are portrayals of the temporal and spatial patterns of surface and bottom temperature and surface salinity for these areas during the period 1978-1990. These patterns are shown in the form of time-space diagrams for single-year and multiyear (base period) time frames. Each base period figure shows thirteen-year (1978-1990) mean conditions, sample variance in the form of standard deviations of the measured values, and data locations. Each single-year figure displays annual conditions, sampling locations, and departures of annual conditions from the thirteen-year means, expressed as algebraic anomalies and standardized anomalies. (PDF file contains 112 pages.)

Oceanographic, meteorological, satellite and aircraft observations for project Little Window 2: May 1971

ENGLISH: In May 1971, a joint united states - Mexican experiment, Project Little Window 2, (LW-2) involving data collected by satellite, aircraft and ship sensors was made in the southern part of the Gulf of California. LW-2 was planned as an improved and enlarged version of LW-l (conducted the previous year; Stevenson and Miller, 1971) with field work scheduled to be made within a 200 by 200 km square region in the Gulf of California. The purposes of the new field study were to determine through coordinated measurements from ships, aircraft and satellites, the utility of weather satellites to measure surface temperature features of the ocean from space and specifically to evaluate the high resolution infrared sensors aboard N~ 1, ITOS 1 and NIMBUS 4 and to estimate the magnitude of the atmospheric correction factors needed to bring the data from the spacecraft sensors into agreement with surface measurements. Due to technical problems during LW-2, however, useful data could not be obtained from ITOS 1 and NIMBUS 4 so satellite information from only NOAA-1 was available for comparison. In addition, a new purpose was added, i.e., to determine the feasibility of using an Automatic picture Transmission (APT) receiver on shore and at sea to obtain good quality infrared data for the local region. SPANISH: En mayo 1971, los Estados Unidos y México realizaron un experimento en conjunto, Proyecto Little Window 2 (LW-2), en el que se incluyen datos obtenidos mediante captadores de satélites, aviones y barcos en la parte meridional del Golfo de California. Se planeó LW-2 para mejorar y ampliar el proyecto de LW-l (conducido el año anterior; Stevenson y Miller, 1971), realizándose el trabajo experimental en una región de 200 por 200 km cuadrados, en el Golfo de California. El objeto de este nuevo estudio experimental fue determinar mediante reconocimientos coordinados de barcos, aviones y satélites la conveniencia de los satélites meteorológicos para averiguar las características de la temperatura superficial del océano desde el espacio, y especialmente, evaluar los captadores infrarrojos de alta resolución a bordo de NOAA 1, ITOS 1 Y NIMBUS 4, y estimar la magnitud de los factores de corrección atmosféricos necesarios para corregir los datos de los captadores espaciales para que concuerden con los registros de la superficie. Sin embargo, debido a problemas técnicos durante LW-2, no fue posible obtener datos adecuados de ITOS 1 y NIMBUS 4, as1 que solo se pudo disponer de la información de NOAA 1 para hacer las comparaciones. Además se quiso determinar la posibilidad de usar un receptor de Trasmisión Automático de Fotografias (APT) en el mar para obtener datos infarojos de buena calidad en la región local. (PDF contains 525 pages.)

Looking for safe harbor in a crowded sea: Coastal space use conflict and marine renewable energy development

Technological advances in the marine renewable energy industry and increased clarity about the leasing and licensing process are fostering development proposals in both state and federal waters. The ocean is becoming more industrialized and competition among all marine space users is developing (Buck et al. 2004). More spatial competition can lead to conflict between ocean users themselves, and to tensions that spill over to include other stakeholders and the general public (McGrath 2004). Such conflict can wind up in litigation, which is costly and takes agency time and financial resources away from other priorities. As proposals for marine renewable energy developments are evaluated, too often decision-makers lack the tools and information to properly account for the cumulative effects and the tradeoffs associated with alternative human uses of the ocean. This paper highlights the nature of marine space conflicts associated with marine renewable energy literature highlights key issues for the growth of the marine renewable energy sector in the United States. (PDF contains 4 pages)

Variation in bacterial populations in time and space

Obtaining a reliable estimate of the bacterial population is one of the main problems facing the bacterial ecologist. The author discusses the various methods available and concludes that the observed variability in bacterial populations depends on the sampling interval used.

In search of climate effects on Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) stock off the U.S. Atlantic coast with Bayesian state-space biomass dynamic models

Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) production dynamics along the U.S. Atlantic coast are regulated by fishing and winter water temperature. Stakeholders for this resource have recommended investigating the effects of climate covariates in assessment models. This study used state-space biomass dynamic models without (model 1) and with (model 2) the minimum winter estuarine temperature (MWET) to examine MWET effects on Atlantic Croaker population dynamics during 1972–2008. In model 2, MWET was introduced into the intrinsic rate of population increase (r). For both models, a prior probability distribution (prior) was constructed for r or a scaling parameter (r0); imputs were the fishery removals, and fall biomass indices developed by using data from the Multispecies Bottom Trawl Survey of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Coastal Trawl Survey of the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program. Model sensitivity runs incorporated a uniform (0.01,1.5) prior for r or r0 and bycatch data from the shrimp-trawl fishery. All model variants produced similar results and therefore supported the conclusion of low risk of overfishing for the Atlantic Croaker stock in the 2000s. However, the data statistically supported only model 1 and its configuration that included the shrimp-trawl fishery bycatch. The process errors of these models showed slightly positive and significant correlations with MWET, indicating that warmer winters would enhance Atlantic Croaker biomass production. Inconclusive, somewhat conflicting results indicate that biomass dynamic models should not integrate MWET, pending, perhaps, accumulation of longer time series of the variables controlling the production dynamics of Atlantic Croaker, preferably including winter-induced estimates of Atlantic Croaker kills.

Remote sensing of the oceans from space with special reference to marine resources

A number of ocean science fields have profitted, either directly or indirectly from satellite remote sensing, including physical, biological and geological oceanography. User oriented applications include fishing, shipping, offshore drilling and mining, coastal engineering and coastal hydrology. Following a brief account of the technology involved, areas in oceanography benefitting from satellite information are detailed. Examples are given of satellite data applications to marine resources.