National Monitoring Network for U.S. Coastal Waters and Tributaries ("Network")

Partners

The goal of the Network is to provide information about the health of our oceans and coastal ecosystems and inland influences on coastal waters for improved resource management.

The Network was designed by the Council and more than 80 stakeholders in response to a recommendation by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy in 2004 in “An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century".

The Network integrates biological, chemical, and physical features and links uplands to the coastal ocean. It is, in reality, comprised of a “network of networks” and represents an integrated, multidisciplinary, and multi-organizational approach that leverages diverse sources of data and information; augments existing monitoring programs; and links observational capabilities. These networks include federal agencies, the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), and regional associations representing a broad community of users, including coastal and inland states, tribes, researchers, and non-governmental organizations.

Key Network design features:

• clear linkages with management issues—including nutrient enrichment, oxygen depletion, toxic contaminants, and beaches—that are important to a broad community of users
• Involvement of IOOS and regional associations for monitoring offshore compartments and coastal management
• a linked data network
• inclusion of monitoring to meet diverse objectives (including fixed and probabilistic designs); and
• provisions for data comparability, management, and access.

Network refinements in 2008:

• nutrient parameters and detection limits;
• additional contaminants;
• inclusion of coastal wetlands and atmospheric contributions; and
• ancillary data needed for biological assessments. (Read the complete summary...)

Since 2007, Network concepts have been piloted and implemented in San Francisco Bay, Lake Michigan, and Delaware Estuary.  Gap analyses and new monitoring have been funded by USGS in the three areas in support of the Ocean Research Priorities Plan, as well as through partnerships with local, state, regional, and federal organizations. The activities are coordinated with key organizations and IOOS regional associations, including the Delaware River Basin Commission;  and Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (MACOORA); Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS); and the San Francisco Estuary Institute and Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CenCOOS).

• Network Design Report - (Revised, 2008)
• Network Refinement Summary Report - (February 2008)
  • Nutrients
  • Contaminants
  • Wetlands
  • Biology
  • Atmospheric Deposition
  • Analytes
• Network Design Features (2008)
• Poster - Note: These are large files (May 2008)
  • 4x3 feet (15 MB PDF) | 4x8 feet (15 MB PDF)
• Brochures - Note: Some of these files are large (pdf)
  • A National Water Quality Monitoring Network for U.S. Coastal Waters and
    their Tributaries - A Network of the U.S. Ocean Action Plan (545 kb .pdf) (2008)
• Network Overview (2.3 MB) - (Powerpoint presentation, August 2007)
• Letter from CEQ to ACWI on Network (January 2007)
• Council Resolution to ACWI on Network (February 2005)
• Charge to Network Work Groups (January 2005)
• Proposal for a National Monitoring Network (2005)
• Frequently Asked Questions (2005)

• Introduction
• Gap analyses in the Pilot Areas: A National Summary (2008)
• San Francisco Bay
• Lake Michigan
• Delaware Estuary
• Integrated assessments in other areas of the U.S.
• South Atlantic Gulf and Tennessee (2010)
• Narragansett Bay (2010)

• Network Steering Committee Members
• Interagency Work Group
• Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)
  • Regional IOOS Component
• Regional Associations
• Related Links

• Workshop At a Glance (April 2010)
• Workshop summary of actions, issues, and contacts (April 2010)
• Presentations
• Agenda
• Workshop Announcement
• Presenter Biographies