NOAA's Centers for Coastal Ocean Science conduct research on seagrass habitat-assessing its health, defining its ecosystem function, and determining methods of restoration.

The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) conduct and support research, monitoring, assessment, and technical assistance for managing coastal ecosystems and society's use of them. These activities fit within a framework of five environmental stressors: climate change, extreme natural events, pollution, invasive species, and land and resource use. NCCOS activities are focused in estuaries, coral reefs, national marine sanctuaries, and national estuarine research reserves, as well as other coastal ecosystems.

There are five NCCOS centers, each with research labs. These centers' many research activities are projects to understand the causes and consequences of harmful algal blooms, to predict how climate change may affect our lives, and to determine the complex factors that affect fish habitats.

NCCOS conducts research ranging from the study of biomolecular changes due to coral bleaching, to the causes of shellfish disease, to modelling the effects of climate change on fisheries stock assessment. The research is broad, multi-disciplinary, geographically diverse, and involves many partners. NCCOS's goal is to improve the scientific basis upon which coastal managers make decisions.

Laboratory environments that simulate those in nature are created to analyze the impacts of natural and human factors on marine ecosystems.

Roles of the Centers

The Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR) funds research to help decisionmakers meet the challenges of managing our nation's coastal resources by examining issues in the nation's estuaries, coastal waters, and Great Lakes. CSCOR translates its findings into information for coastal managers, planners, lawmakers, and the public. Its aim is to improve environmental decisions affecting the coastal ocean and its resources.

The Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) monitors, surveys, and assesses coastal environmental quality, habitats, and resource distribution. It manages the National Status and Trends Program, which conducts long-term contaminant monitoring at more than 350 estuarine and coastal sites. Information from the center's monitoring and assessment studies is synthesized and evaluated to determine the impacts of contaminant exposure and changes in coastal habitats on the distribution and abundance of living marine resources. In addition, the center uses remote-sensing technology to evaluate estuarine and coastal environmental problems, track harmful algal blooms and determine coastal habitat changes over time.

The Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research (CCFHR) provides managers with information needed to enhance recreational and commercial fishing and essential fish habitat. CCFHR conducts laboratory and field research on estuarine processes, nearshore and ocean ecosystems' biological productivity, harmful algal blooms, the dynamics of coastal and reef fishery resources, and the effects of human influences on resource productivity.

The Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research (CCEHBR) conducts interdisciplinary research to resolve issues related to coastal ecosystem health, environmental quality, and related public health impacts. Chemical, biomolecular, microbiological, and histological research is conducted to describe, evaluate, and predict the significant factors and outcomes of natural and human influences on marine and estuarine habitats.

Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina, is a state-of-the-art biotechnology facility.

Finally, the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) is a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary center. Scientists from the National Ocean Service, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the University of Charleston, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Medical University of South Carolina are located at HML. HML provides science and biotechnology applications to help sustain, protect, and restore coastal ecosystems, emphasizing links between environmental and human health.