Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaborative Final Report

This report presents the results of the Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaborative (GoMRC), a year-long project funded by NASA. The GoMRC project was organized around end user outreach activities, a science applications team, and a team for information technology (IT) development. Key outcomes are summarized below for each of these areas. End User Outreach; Successfully engaged federal and state end users in project planning and feedback; With end user input, defined needs and system functional requirements; Conducted demonstration to End User Advisory Committee on July 9, 2007 and presented at Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) meeting of Habitat Identification committee; Conducted significant engagement of other end user groups, such as the National Estuary Programs (NEP), in the Fall of 2007; Established partnership with SERVIR and Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System (HABSOS) programs and initiated plan to extend HABs monitoring and prediction capabilities to the southern Gulf; Established a science and technology working group with Mexican institutions centered in the State of Veracruz. Key team members include the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS), the Ecological Institute (INECOL) a unit of the National Council for science and technology (CONACYT), the Veracruz Aquarium (NOAA’s first international Coastal Ecology Learningmore » Center) and the State of Veracruz. The Mexican Navy (critical to coastal studies in the Southern Gulf) and other national and regional entities have also been engaged; and Training on use of SERVIR portal planned for Fall 2007 in Veracruz, Mexico Science Applications; Worked with regional scientists to produce conceptual models of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) ecosystems; Built a logical framework and tool for ontological modeling of SAV and HABs; Created online guidance for SAV restoration planning; Created model runs which link potential future land use trends, runoff and SAV viability; Analyzed SAV cover change at five other bays in the Gulf of Mexico to demonstrate extensibility of the analytical tools; and Initiated development of a conceptual model for understanding the causes and effects of HABs in the Gulf of Mexico IT Tool Development; Established a website with the GoMRC web-based tools at www.gomrc.org; Completed development of an ArcGIS-based decision support tool for SAV restoration prioritization decisions, and demonstrated its use in Mobile Bay; Developed a web-based application, called Conceptual Model Explorer (CME), that enables non-GIS users to employ the prioritization model for SAV restoration; Created CME tool enabling scientists to view existing, and create new, ecosystem conceptual models which can be used to document cause-effect relationships within coastal ecosystems, and offer guidance on management solutions; Adapted the science-driven advanced web search engine, Noesis, to focus on an initial set of coastal and marine resource issues, including SAV and HABs; Incorporated map visualization tools with initial data layers related to coastal wetlands and SAVs; and Supported development of a SERVIR portal for data management and visualization in the southern Gulf of Mexico, as well as training of end users in Mexican Gulf States.« less