Federal and academic marine scientists in the Northeast have combined resources in a new effort to understand how the large marine ecosystem off the northeastern U.S. functions. UMCES is partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and several leading marine research institutions to launch the Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region - a multi-year research collaborative that brings together more than 200 ocean scientists in an effort to better understand the complexities of North Atlantic region.
The Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region" (CINAR) brings together academic scientists and ocean management agencies to conduct and coordinate cutting-edge research,” says Horn Point Laboratory Director and CINAR researcher Dr. Michael Roman. “By linking NOAA managers and academic scientists, CINAR is helping develop programs and policies that will lead to sustainable and beneficial management of the U.S. Northeast continental shelf ecosystem.”
In addition to NOAA and UMCES, academic partners include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Rutgers University, the University of Maine, and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
Working closely with NOAA scientists, CINAR researchers will strive to:
- Develop new approaches for monitoring ecosystem health and forecast ecosystem change;
- Improve the integration and availability of ocean observations across different spatial scales;
- Distinguish human impacts to marine resources from those created by natural changes in climate;
- Research the linkages of climate change and ecosystem health to fish and fisheries productivity and pollution;
- Examine expected increases in socioeconomic benefits accrued from a better understanding of the effects of climate change.
Although still in its infancy, the institute partners are already working on several projects. Among them are efforts to apply advanced technologies to the next generation of fishery stock surveys, to understand whether there is a link between marine mammal health and risk of entanglement in fishing gear, to better predict the occurrence and intensity of harmful algal blooms (red tides) in Northeast coastal waters, and to test and evaluate new forms of fishery management.
