NCCOS conducts its research and produces place-based integrated assessments of resources and stressors affecting them in places and habitats of importance to NOAA and NOS. These areas are National Marine Sanctuaries, estuaries, National Estuarine Research Reserves, coral reef ecosystems, and coastal oceans.
The coastal ocean provides the physical linkage among the other coastal ecosystems. It helps determine many of the physical, chemical and biological properties of these ecosystems such as temperature, salinity, and productivity. The coastal ocean is a major zone of production and harvest of fisheries species. Learn more.
Coral reefs are complex and diverse ecosystems that support many valued marine species. Although tropical, they can be found as far North as North Carolina in U.S. waters. The special conditions under which they exist makes them vulnerable to environmental changes and human activities. They provide a sensitive indicator of our stewardship of the coastal ocean. Learn more.
Estuaries lie at the boundary between the land and the coastal ocean. They are among the most productive ecosystems on earth and they are the home to many important fisheries species for some part of their lives. Many are located in urbanized or rapidly developing areas. Learn more.
The NERRS estuaries are "living laboratories" in which scientists can
conduct research, and educators can communicate research results. NCCOS' research focuses on determining
the health status of the reserves, modeling the structure and function of estuarine
ecosystem components, and identifying the effects of management actions on estuarine
habitats.
Learn
more.
The National Marine Sanctuary Program serves as a trustee for 14 clearly bounded systems in which environmental education, ecosystem monitoring, and evaluation of the effects of natural and human stressors are conducted. We help to design the research strategy that puts NOAA’s management on the best scientific basis. Learn more.