Research Activities Panel Meeting Summary February 9, 2001

 
 
Research Activity Panel Meeting Summary
Chris Harrold, Monterey Bay Aquarium, RAP Chair
FEBRUARY 2001 RAP MEETING 

Host: National Marine Fisheries Service, Santa Cruz Lab
Friday, February 9, 2001 9am-12pm
Attendance: 14 RAP members, 4 guests

This is the first meeting with Chris Harrold as Chair and Jeff Paduan as Vice Chair.  

• Andrew DeVogelaere presented Greg Cailliet with a wine glass and Rick Starr with a plaque to show appreciation for their RAP service. Greg Cailliet "Officially" passed the RAP Chair gavel to Chris Harrold.

PRESENTATIONS

Current status and plans for the Santa Cruz NMFS Lab (Churchill Grimes)

• Churchill summarized the current happenings at the new lab. The new building is still a work in progress, with lots of details to be finalized. The new MPA Science Center is also located in the building. The purpose of lab is to provide science used by others for policy. The research areas of the lab include Salmon (85% of budget) and groundfish, with the focus on the differences of salmon in CA versus farther north. Churchill presented research highlights on habitat studies and salmon otolith microchemstry. Habitat research includes developing new technologies such as, high-resolution laser optical seafloor imaging (it can pick out invertebrates the size of a quarter). Other habitat research includes fishing impacts on benthic habitat. The labs otolith research includes determining the river origin of fish, growth histories of individual fish, and discriminating between hatchery and wild fish
• Web site for more information: http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/tib/index.htm

Demonstrating an observing/modeling system for Monterey Bay Circulation (Leslie Rosenfeld)

• Leslie summarized ICON (Innovative Coastal Ocean Observing Network) project. The project includes measurements from HF radar for surface currents, ship cruises, and from satellites for SST, acoustic tomography, and mooring data all put into a model. The project objective of ICON is to characterize mesoscale filaments (upwelling) and eddies (circles of water offshore). Leslie focused the rest of her talk on a one-week period, describing how the ocean system responded in many parameters to a period of wind relaxation and strong wind. The domain for the ICON model is just south of Half Moon Bay to a spot a ways down on the Big Sur coast. The conclusion is that there is an abundance of short temporal and spatial scale variability; what you do to set the boundaries of the model is key to getting realistic mesoscale features; high atmospheric forcing is also necessary for developing realistic features; the model captures the essence, but not the details of this variability. Extensive assimilation would be necessary for point forecasts, and even then may not be possible; while an extensive suite of instrumentation is useful for model development and validation, a smaller set of measurements bay be adequate for constraining real time model predictions for many applications.
• For more information on SCOPE (Simulations of Coastal Ocean Physics and Ecosystems) see http://www.mbari.org/bog/NOPP

	
DISCUSSION

Historical Ecology of Wetlands (Kerstin Wasson)

• Kerstin explained the new project in Elkhorn Slough, reconstructing the historical ecology. They are mapping habitats on GIS from different times in history, and then correlating them with historical events. The idea is to motivate conservation and guide restoration work. Their information sources include: 1854 Coastal Survey maps, USGS maps from the early 1900's, and aerial photographs starting in the 1930's.

Summary of the SAC meeting/Management Plan Update (Chris Harrold/Andrew DeVogelaere)

• The RAP decided that, at the next meeting, they want a discussion of what the research issues are. They would also like to know step by step what the Management Plan Update process is.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Pt. Pinos Update (Chris Harrold)

• There was a press conference yesterday. The research project will be lead by Tenera Corporation.

	
2001 Conservation Public Forum Series (Chris Harrold)

• Saving our Seas: Three Public Forums, Conservation Visions for the New Millennium.
• The Saving Our Seas forum series will bring together influential scientists for dialogue and discussion of issues vital to the health of the oceans in the new millennium. We hope these sessions will raise awareness of ocean issues and their role in our lives and offer participants tools they can use to make a difference to the health of oceans and marine life.
• This series is presented by Friends of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation and California Sea Grant Program. It is hosted by Julie Packard, Executive Director, Monterey Bay Aquarium and facilitated by Dr. Brock Bernstein, President, National Fisheries Conservation Center.

National Sanctuaries Research Meeting (Andrew DeVogelaere)

• Andrew explained the purpose of the relatively new National Center for Coastal Ocean Studies (NCCOS)

MBNMS Science Plan Revision (Andrew DeVogelaere)

• Andrew extended the time to comment for two weeks because the RAP wanted more time.

RAP History (Andrew DeVogelaere/Jennifer Makowka)

• The RAP history is now available for viewing at:
• http://montereybay.nos.noaa.gov/research/RAP history/rap_history.html

Topics people would want to see on future RAP agendas

• Desalination: RAP may want to outline issues after a summary presentation. Deborah Johnston has EIR's of past projects, and the Cannery Row Market Place had a comprehensive study.