Setting a New Course for U.S. Coastal Ocean Science
Phase 1: Inventory of Federal Programs
Executive Summary
Setting A New Course for U.S. Coastal Ocean Science--Final Report
of the Subcommittee on U.S. Coastal Ocean Science is the product of
nearly four years of effort by the interagency Subcommittee on U.S. Coastal
Ocean Science (SUSCOS) of the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences
of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology.
This structure was a predecessor to the National Science and Technology
Council's Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR). "Phase
I: Inventory of Federal Programs" reflects Federal efforts from 1991 through
1993 in coastal ocean science and, along with "Phase II: The Strategic Framework,"
makes recommendations for developing future Federal coordination of programs.
Because of the relevance of this Final Report to the current deliberations
of CENR, it is presented here.
The U.S. coastal ocean and its resources are essential to the Nation's
environmental quality and to its economic well-being. Yet the coastal ocean
is increasingly under pressure, brought on by population growth, that threatens
its ability to support the Nation's economic agenda. A coordinated and integrated
Federal coastal science program to assist coastal resource managers in making
critical and timely decisions is essential to restore and sustain the environmental
health of these coastal waters and the sustainable use of coastal resources.
The U.S. coastal ocean extends from shore to the 200 nautical mile limit
of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and includes estuaries, embayments, and
the Great Lakes. The coastal ocean is 70 percent larger than the land area
of the U.S. Coastal counties cover only 14 percent of the U.S. land area (excluding
Alaska) but contain over half the Nation's population and contribute at least
one-third of the Nation's gross national product. The U.S. coastal ocean is
also a region of immense economic, ecological, and environmental value and
is home to a rich diversity of animal and plant life that support recreational
and commercial fisheries and attract coastal tourism. The U.S. has the world's
largest EEZ.
The U.S. coast is rapidly changing. Since 1960 the coastal population
has increased by 32 million and, if the trend continues, will increase by
another 15 million in the next 20 years. In addition to the impact of a large
population on the natural environment, the residents and the homes, industry,
and infrastructure necessary to accommodate them will be subject to significant
risks from natural disasters, as vividly illustrated by Hurricanes Andrew
and Iniki in 1992. Wise decisions that result in environmentally sound and
sustainable growth will require a better understanding of the coastal ocean
than is now available.
This report highlights critical national concerns for the U.S. coastal
ocean, inventories Federal support of science to resolve those concerns, and
identifies areas of emphasis for future scientific efforts. The inventory
of science activities is the first step towards developing a U.S. Coastal
Ocean Science Strategy for the Federal government. This strategy is needed
to ensure that the Nation has an adequate scientific basis for coastal policy
and management.
The U.S. Coastal Ocean Challenge
The productivity and natural beauty of the U.S. coastal ocean are already
jeopardized in many areas by the unprecedented stresses being placed on this
environment. Rapid, often unplanned growth in the coastal zone has created
serious pollution problems and habitat loss while increasing the demand for
resources and services. Given the high density of the coastal population and
the high demand for coastal property, local communities often look to the
coastal ocean to relieve their resource and disposal needs. The long list
of national concerns is exemplified by:
Decreased Coastal Ocean Water Quality: One-third of our shellfish
beds are closed; medical wastes and sewage close beaches and waters for
use; toxic algal blooms close fisheries and shutdown tourism. Habitat
Losses: Loss of wetlands, erosion of shorelines, and pollution of habitats
reduce ecologically productive areas. Depletion of Fisheries:
43 percent of our fisheries are overexploited; a $5 billion trade imbalance
in fisheries products results in lost jobs. Moratoria on development
of offshore oil and gas reserves have been put in place due to a lack
of environmental information. Billions of dollars in coastal
storm damage have resulted from increased development and investment
near the coast.
Addressing these urgent issues requires improved policy and management
at many levels. Yet to be effective, these policies must be based on the highest
quality scientific information. Better environmental assessments and predictions
are needed to support coastal industries, plan for growth, and protect environmental
quality. Without improved assessment and predictions, policy makers and managers
will lack the timely information needed to manage fisheries, control pollution,
protect residents from violent storms, and preserve the beauty and productivity
of coastal ecosystems. Improved assessments and predictions are not possible
without an improved understanding of the web of environmental processes that
characterize this dynamic region.
The Inventory Matrix
To establish the scope of agency research programs and to identify research
gaps and new approaches, it was first necessary to inventory ongoing efforts
sponsored by the Federal government. In order to develop an inventory, a U.S.
Coastal Ocean Science Inventory Matrix was constructed that relates categories
of scientific effort, environmental regimes of the coastal ocean, and national
concerns.
The first component of the matrix categorizes five national concerns
for the U.S. coastal ocean: Environmental Quality, Coastal Habitat Conservation,
Conservation and Use of Living Marine Resources, Utilization of Nonliving
Coastal Resources, and Protection of Life and Property. A sixth national
concern, National Defense, was identified during review of this framework.
Many of the National Defense issues are thus discussed within the five other
national concerns.
The second component of the matrix recognizes four distinct environmental
regimes in which these national concerns are manifested: Ocean Margins,
Estuaries, Great Lakes, and Shorelines.
The final component of the matrix organizes the host of geophysical,
oceanographic, meteorological, chemical, and biological processes in three
principal science categories. These categories are: Physical Processes,
Biogeochemical Cycles, and Biological Interactions.
This U.S. Coastal Ocean Science Inventory Matrix provides the basis for
evaluating the relationships among issues, environments, and science.
Inventory of Federal Programs
The inventory revealed that 8 agencies were conducting at least 38 programs
in the U.S. coastal ocean. In FY 1991-1993, the direct expenditures were estimated
to be $228 million, $218 million, and $227 million, respectively. The four
agencies expending the most dollars in this area were Department of Interior,
Department of Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency, and the National
Science Foundation, which cumulatively account for about 95 percent of the
funding.
The breakdown of direct funding by national concern showed that Environmental
Quality received 45 percent; Living Resources, 26 percent; Nonliving Resources,
13 percent; Habitat Conservation, 10 percent; and Protection of Life and Property,
6 percent. Most of the research support was directed at the Ocean Margins
(47 percent), with Estuaries receiving 33 percent, the Great Lakes 15 percent,
and Shorelines 5 percent. On the average, 53 percent of the funding was spent
on biological interactions, 31 percent on physical processes, and 16 percent
on biogeochemical cycles.
Development of a National Goal
The inventory revealed yearly Federal support from 1991-1993 of well
over $200 million for U.S. coastal ocean science primarily directed at understanding
individual processes and the development of limited predictive models often
targeted at specific sites or problems. Even with this investment, more than
40 significant research gaps in the coastal ocean science agenda have been
identified by panels of the National Academy of Sciences and workshops of
academic researchers and Federal agency personnel. These gaps exist because
there has been no mechanism for coordination of research or for developing
national priorities. Additionally, research on the coastal ocean conducted
by States, universities, business and industry, and individual investigators
deals with specific topics and issues and is not coordinated with Federal
research or national priorities.
The most important new research efforts in the U.S. coastal ocean will
be those that better define the interdependence of the physical, biological,
and chemical processes, and improve predictability of the entire system. To
bring this about, a new mechanism to coordinate research efforts in the coastal
ocean is necessary.
To guide development of a Federal Coastal Ocean Science Strategy, the
adoption of one fundamental national goal is recommended:
To establish improved predictive capabilities for coastal ocean systems
that link physical processes, biogeochemical cycles, and the interactions
of living marine resources.
The predictive capabilities should allow short- and long-term predictions
of the coastal ocean's important physical, chemical, and biological components
and provide methods for assessing the impacts of both natural and anthropogenic
change.
Achievement of this goal will increase the quality and timeliness of
Federal actions, assist state and local governmental decisions, aid in private-sector
development, and enhance environmental information for national defense. The
capability to predict the impact of the growing coastal population will enhance
efforts to mitigate and reverse environmental degradation while maximizing
economic benefits for the Nation. These capabilities are necessary to achieve
the responsible stewardship and sustainable use of the coastal ocean environment.
The following research topics would be likely candidates for emphasis
in an enhanced Federal scientific program in the coastal ocean:
Biogeochemical Processes. Understanding reaction mechanisms and
quantifying reaction rates are necessary to construct the models to be used
to predict the fate and impact of chemically reactive substances (whether
they are excess nutrients, toxic substances, or other pollutants).
Circulation of the Coastal Ocean. Developing systems to predict
coastal ocean circulation is the foundation for coastal ecosystem modeling.
Coupling of Biological, Physical and Chemical Processes. Developing
the operational capability to assimilate biological and chemical data from
remote and in-situ observation systems into high-resolution computer models
is required to provide simulations of the coastal ocean ecosystem on regional
scales.
Habitat Processes. Developing quantitative methods of assessing
the impacts of habitat alteration is required to provide an improved basis
for impact prediction and habitat restoration.
Population Dynamics and Species Interactions. Understanding the
trophic interactions and dynamics of coastal ecosystems and their linkages
to biogeochemical cycles and circulation is required to help coastal managers,
especially those responsible for fisheries, develop multispecies or ecosystem
strategies.
Sediment Processes. Understanding the mechanics of sedimentation,
the physical coupling of these processes to the circulation processes, and
the role of sediments in biogeochemical cycles is required to assess and
predict the impacts of erosion and deposition on coastal resources.
Storm Effects. Understanding the effects of coastal storms will
lead to an integrated coastal damage prediction system for forecasts, warnings,
and planning for both human and nonhuman elements of the coastal ecosystem.
These areas need to combine state-of-the-art technologies for efficient
management, including remote sensing, automated and manual sampling platforms,
and computer modeling.
A Coordinated Approach to U.S. Coastal Ocean Science
This inventory reports a major Federal investment in U.S. coastal ocean
science. However, it also shows that most of the research is narrowly focused.
Agencies have specialized capabilities to address portions of the national
concerns, reflecting their mission orientations. Presently there is no framework
linking these pieces and filling in major gaps that would lead to the integrated,
comprehensive view of the coastal ocean necessary to provide managers and
policy makers with the information required to promote environmentally sustainable
use of our Nation's coasts. The convergence of defense and civilian needs
for scientific understanding and environmental monitoring will lead to a more
efficient national effort.
This report recommends that the Nation's coastal ocean science efforts
should be better coordinated; mechanisms must be established to set national
priorities and promote cooperation among the Federal departments and agencies.
Such an effort would build upon Federal programs identified and categorized
in this report.
Benefits of Coordinated Federal Science
Benefits from coordinating Federal coastal ocean science and developing
a predictive capability for dealing with the U.S. coastal ocean will be significant
to all agencies with coastal ocean missions, the private sector, the coastal
states and counties, the 112 million residents currently living in our coastal
counties, and the millions more who will be living there in the coming years.
These benefits include:
- Better use of Federal resources
- Development of new, integrated environmental technologies
- Improved understanding of human interactions with coastal ecosystems
- More effective application of science to help solve national concerns
- Stronger partnerships between Federal and academic scientists
- Stronger scientific support of business and industry
- Ability to focus science at the regional and state level
- Ability to manage impacts through predictability
- Improved coastal decision making
Next Steps
As the proposed next steps to achieve the coordination envisioned in
the national goal, "Phase II: The Strategic Framework" is presented as the
second part of this volume.
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