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Publication Details

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Scientific Assessment of Hypoxia in U.S. Coastal Waters

Author(s): Committee on Environment and Natural Resources

NCCOS Center: CSCOR

Name of Publisher: Interagency Working Group on Harmful Algal Blooms, Hypoxia, and Human Health of the Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology. Office of Science and Technology Policy

Place of Publication: Washington, DC

Publication Type: NOAA Special Reports

Date of Publication: 2010

Reference Information:

Extent of Work: 154 pp.

Keywords: HABHRCA; hypoxia; IWG-4H; scientific assessment; coastal waters; dissolved oxygen; nutrients

Abstract: This report, "Scientific Assessment of Hypoxia in U.S. Coastal Waters" assesses the problem of hypoxia (or low dissolved oxygen) in our Nation's coastal ocean and estuarine waters. It also describes recent advances made by Federal agencies to improve scientific understanding of hypoxia and our ability to manage and, ultimately, prevent these events. In December 2004, Congress reauthorized the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (HABHRCA) by passing the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Amendments Act of 2004. The reauthorization of HABHRCA acknowledged that hypoxia is one of the most scientifically complex and economically damaging coastal issues challenging our ability to safeguard the health of our Nation's coastal ecosystems. This document was prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Harmful Algal Blooms, Hypoxia, and Human Health, which was chartered through the Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology of the National Science and Technology Council and the Interagency Committee on Ocean Science and Resource Management Integration. This report complements and expands upon water quality-related priorities identified in Charting the Course for Ocean Science in the United States for the Next Decade: An Ocean Research Priorities Plan and Implementation Strategy, by the Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology. It draws from the direct contributions of Federal agencies as well as previous reports and planning efforts that involved numerous experts and stakeholders from Federal, state, and local governments, academia, industry, and nongovernmental organizations. The Nation's coastal waters are vital to our quality of life, our culture, and the economy. Therefore, it is imperative that we move forward to better understand and prevent hypoxia events, which threaten all of our coasts. This report is an effort to assess the extent of efforts to understand and lessen hypoxia events and to identify opportunities for charting a way forward.

Availability: Available from the NCCOS Publications Explorer at http://www2.coastalscience.noaa.gov/publications/

Related Attachment: Download file (.pdf)


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