Cover • Table of Contents • Introduction • Background • Investigation 1 • Investigation 2
Glossary • Teacher Resources • Curriculum Evaluation • Credits
NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries
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"Today, marine sanctuaries are places in the sea, as elusive as a sea breeze, as tangible as a singing whale. They are beautiful, or priceless, or rare bargains, or long-term assets, or fun, or all of these and more. Above all, sanctuaries are now and with care will continue to be 'special places.' Each of us can have the pleasure of defining what that means." --Dr. Sylvia Earle What Are Marine
Sanctuaries? Sanctuaries harbor a dazzling array of algae, plants, and animals. These protected waters provide a secure habitat for species close to extinction; and they protect historically significant shipwrecks and archaeological sites. They serve as natural classrooms for students of all ages and as living laboratories for scientists.  Sanctuaries are cherished recreational spots for diving, wilderness hiking, and sport-fishing. They also support valuable commercial industries such as marine transportation, fishing, and kelp harvesting. The perpetual challenge of managing these areas is maintaining the critical balance between environmental protection and economic growth. Sanctuaries For All Trying to meet these needs leaves many unanswered questions. How large does a sanctuary need to be in order to protect the ecosystems that lie within? How much pressure can an ecosystem sustain from activities bordering its boundaries? How many fish can we take while ensuring a healthy population for the long term? National marine sanctuaries represent our riches as a nation. They are treasures that belong to every citizen, and to every generation of citizens to come. We have the right to enjoy them and--just as importantly--the responsibility to sustain them for the long-term. Sanctuary Management On a local level, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council was established by Federal law to assure continued public participation in the management of the Sanctuary. Since its establishment in March 1994, the Council has played a vital role in the decisions affecting the Sanctuary along the central California Coast. The Council's nineteen voting members represent a variety of local user groups, as well as the general public, plus seven local, state and federal governmental jurisdictions. In addition, the respective managers for the four California National Marine Sanctuaries (Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary) and the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve sit as non-voting members. Dedicated Council members have laid a strong foundation for the Sanctuary's structure, policies, and procedures. Sanctuary goals to promote research, education and resource protection are a major focus for the Council, and members work diligently to promote public stewardship. The Council has proven to be a powerful voice for the general public, responding to citizen concerns, ideas and needs. The Council provides a public forum for its constituents, working to enhance communications and provide a conduit for bringing the concerns of user groups and stakeholders to the attention of Sanctuary managers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Headquarters in Washington, D.C. |
Putting monitoring research into perspective
requires understanding three important goals of the
research projects: Site
Characterization Site characterizations provide managers with
information that helps them make effective
decisions when it comes to determining human
activities in protected areas; setting agendas for
research, monitoring, education, outreach, and
enforcement programs; and using the most
appropriate methods to restore an area, should that
be necessary. Site characterizations are detailed reports that
contain information on an area's biological and
physical environments, cultural history, and human
use patterns. They chronicle the history of
discovery and use, the record of scientific
investigations, the pressures being placed on
natural and cultural resources, and the nature of
attempts to protect the resources. Properly done,
they are complete sources of current information
for an area of particular interest. When conducting site characterizations, there
are a number of ways scientists document the
presence and abundance of species relative to the
environment's physical factors. One method is
conducting vertical and horizontal transects. Vertical transects in the sea are useful to
define the ocean's layering system of physical and
biological parts. Imagine dropping a line from one
point in the water column down to another. Physical
factors are then observed and recorded at various
points along this line, or transect. Increments
along the transect are usually evenly spaced, and
when combined with similar transects in other
locations, may reveal changes taking place due to
water currents, upwelling, and other phenomena. Horizontal transects are conducted similarly.
These are most often used along the seafloor or at
a particular depth. For instance, a horizontal
transect at a depth of 600 meters might look for
distribution Given the constraints of time and money, these
techniques provide researchers with methods to
construct models of an ecosystem while only
studying small portions of it. The models help us
understand how an ecosystem functions. They may
describe the flow of energy through a system or
they may allow us to predict the effects of natural
or human-caused events on an ecosystem. Monitoring Physical factors such as temperature and
salinity measured as baseline data can form the
foundation of a monitoring program. So can the
presence or absence of a species, or age groups of
a single species or entire groups of species.
Habitats can be monitored to observe changes in
structure, such as physical disturbance. In a
monitoring project, observations are made or
samples are taken--like "snapshots" of the
habitat--on a regular basis, at various intervals
depending on the type of information needed.
Periodic reports of data compare snapshots against
each other and against the baseline data. This
information helps resource managers evaluate trends
(systematic changes over time) or perturbations
(sudden changes). Although the causes of these
changes may not be apparent as a result of
monitoring, they alert managers and suggest ways of
studying, in closer detail, the causes of
change. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a
powerful new tool that allows resource managers to
get a "visual" representation, overtime, of how
resources relate to each other, and to humans. Here
is a hypothetical example of how GIS can be
utilized. Monitoring data tell us that over the
past five years, the number of coastal recreational
areas has increased. During that same period, there
was a reduction in the number of active seabird
nesting sites. This became apparent when looking at
the same two GIS overlays in 1995 and then again in
2000. One might infer that the increased human
activity is disturbing the seabirds as they nest.
In an actual example, sanctuary researchers would
closely assess the situation, and if needed,
recommend further regulations. The first activity
in this guide will also demonstrate the power of
this new cutting edge tool known as GIS. For more
information:http://sustainableseas.noaa.gov/missions/channel2/background/gis.html
In order to understand any natural environment and
make wise decisions that lead to its protection,
sanctuary managers need several critical pieces of
information. These include knowing what is there
(the "parts" of an ecosystem such as the algae,
plants, animals, water temperature, and so on), the
ecosystem's condition in the past--or at least its
condition now--and enough understanding of how the
ecosystem works to predict future conditions given
certain variables. These are all elements of what
sanctuary managers call "site characterizations."
Check out MBNMS's site characterization at
http://montereybay.nos.noaa.gov/sitechar/main.html
Monitoring programs are designed to detect changes
spatially and over time--changes in physical
conditions, changes in distribution or abundance of
organisms, or changes caused by human actions and
natural events.
Assessing Research
Tools
Deepwater
Jelly (Photo Kevin Baskoff)
National Geographic and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have recently
launched a deep sea exploration called "Sustainable
Seas Expeditions." In addition to supporting
sanctuary site characterization and monitoring
needs, the five-year Sustainable Seas Expeditions
project and the newly developed submersible
technology offer the scientific community a chance
to evaluate the use of the new one-person sub.
Nuytco Research Ltd. developed the lightweight
DeepWorker submersible (900 kilograms, or 2,000
pounds) to operate almost as easily as remotely
operated vehicles (ROVs), which are unmanned,
underwater robots often used at these depths. As
Nuytco founder Phil Nuytten puts it, the concept
was to "take the ROV operator out of the control
shack and put him in the ROV." With the potential
of new discoveries beckoning and a new national
commitment to assess and understand our ocean
planet, the Sustainable Seas Expeditions promise
new knowledge and new ways to gather knowledge over
the next five years. For more information check out
the SSE website: http://sustainableseas.noaa.gov
& and the National Geographic website:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/seas/ax/fs/section_fs.html?equipment:deepworker
DeepWorker
2000 Specifications Communication systems include a
modified Imaginex sonar, which allows
standard scanning and ultra-high
resolution for short range. Ocean sounds
are recorded with a directional
hydrophone. Video cameras allow the pilot
to record the dive. VHF and thru-water
communications allow contact with surface
support personnel. Deepworker's
Tools For more information on Deepworker see:
http://sustainableseas.noaa.gov/aboutsse/technology/equipment/deepworker.html
An Ocean Explorer's
Dream
Weight in air: 1,300 kilograms (1.3
tons)
Operating depth: 600 meters (2,000
feet)
Payload: 114 kilograms (250 pounds),
including pilot
Life Support: 100 hours
Speed: 3 knots
Crew: 1 pilot
DeepWorker 2000 is a one-person submersible about
the size of a small car. This remarkable vehicle
can dive to a depth of 600 meters (2,000 feet) and
provide life-sustaining oxygen for its pilot for up
to 100 hours (in an emergency--normal operations
rarely exceed 12 hours). Without tethers or
connecting lines to its support ship, DeepWorker
gives its pilot amazing mobility and the gift of
time--a precious commodity for humans in the
underwater environment.
Because DeepWorker is a directly operated
vehicle--or DOV--it moves independently of its
surface support ship. The sub is driven by a
trained pilot who may be a scientist, a technician,
an explorer, or even a journalist, teacher, or
poet. The sub's simple, yet sophisticated
technology means that the pilot and the passenger
are combined--one person can pilot the craft and
still carry out observations and scientific
experiments. Eliminating the second occupant from
the sub reduces its weight, complexity, and the
expense of operation.
In addition to DeepWorker's design and life support
systems, the sub also uses specialized equipment to
document marine life, habitat characteristics, and
to monitor physical factors such as temperature,
the amount of light penetrating the sea, and water
quality. Equipment for collecting this data
includes:
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Last modified on: Jan 15,
2000