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System Wide Monitoring Program
With over 25 sites that reflect the diverse coastal biogeographic
regions of the Nation, the National Estuarine Research Reserve
System is ideally suited for a long-term trend-monitoring program
to address estuarine management issues. The System Wide Monitoring Program
(SWMP) was created to identify and track short-term variability and
long-term changes in representative estuarine ecosystems and coastal
watersheds.
SWMP is a phased monitoring approach that focuses on
three different ecosystem characteristics:
Abiotic Factors, including atmospheric, water quality (nutrients,
contaminants, etc.) and physical parameters (salinity, tidal range, groundwater,
freshwater inflow, bathymetry, etc.)
Biological Monitoring, including biodiversity habitat and population
characteristics
Watershed and Land Use Classifications, including historic changes in
spatial coverage and assessments of consumptive and non-consumptive uses
The Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve - MD
is working with government agencies in the Bay region to integrate
their SWMP into the bay-wide water quality monitoring effort to
assess shallow water habitats. This integrated effort will provide
managers with information to help characterize water and habitat
conditions and identify specific problem areas throughout the
Bay's tidal waters. Data collected through this effort is available at
www.eyesonthebay.net
usually within one week of collection.
Additional information on the program can be found at these web sites:
http://nerrs.noaa.gov/Monitoring
cdmo.baruch.sc.edu
www.ocrm.nos.noaa.gov/pdf/nerrswmp96-98.pdf
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