- Success Stories, Uncategorized
- Environmental Resource Assessment & Management
Celebrating 40 Years of Monitoring Coastal Health
Since 1986, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Mussel Watch Program has been monitoring and documenting chemical contaminants in coastal waters using bivalves. Used for their ability to filter water and retain contaminants within their tissues, bivalves help quantify the presence of chemical contaminants within the waters in which they reside. The Mussel Watch Program has used this information to establish long-term baseline contaminant levels and track trends over the past 40 years.
Upon its inception, the program started with monitoring approximately 145 sites. Within these 40 years, the Mussel Watch Program built a network of regional and local partners, which has enabled the program to grow, expanding to additional collection sites to 425 in the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf of America, and the Great Lakes. The program originally focused on legacy contaminants like DDT and PCBs and has increased the screening list to over 600 contaminants, including PFAS – forever chemicals found in items such as fire retardants, food wrappers, nonstick cookware, and other everyday items.
Through our contract with NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, CSS has supported this effort for many years, providing administrative, logistical, on-the-ground collection support, and writing technical reports summarizing their findings following the completion of the contaminant analysis for each region.
CSS employee owners are responsible for devising the yearly collection schedule, organizing missions, establishing local partnerships, and shipping materials to each site. This is a massive undertaking that requires strategic planning and organization – one that has ensured the Mussel Watch Program continued to operate efficiently and effectively.
Learn more about NOAA’s National Mussel Watch Program and the contributions of CSS employee owners.
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Developing a Database for Ecosystem Service Models
CSS scientists have been major developers and contributors to the online U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s EcoService Models Library (ESML) database since its inception in 2012. The ESML database contains detailed but concise descriptions of ecosystem service models to facilitate the selection of models by ecosystem scientists for a variety of management and research applications. The…
Atmospheric Processing System Support
The NOAA Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) is an operational retrieval algorithm that NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services has been using since 2002. This system generates near real-time atmospheric profiles of temperature, water vapour, and trace gases, as well as Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) needed for weather forecasting. CSS Remote Sensing…
Developing a Stream Assessment Protocol
CSS has been a significant contributor to the development and implementation of the Oregon Stream Function Assessment Method (SFAM) for more than 10 years. SFAM is a key component of the Oregon Stream Mitigation Program administered by the Oregon Department of State Lands. The mitigation program is designed to address damage to aquatic resources caused…