Ocean and Coastal Highlights

Acoustic Sledding to Assess Great Lakes Fish - A new improved hydroacous­tic system (sled) that looks in multiple directions provided the first ever mobile acoustic survey on Lake Superior. The new approach samples a much larger volume of surface water and possibly better detects fish than the traditional method.

The U.S. depends on imports of many critical minerals needed in the manufacturing of high technology products such as cell phones, and in other industry, transportation, and defense applications. As demand increases, BOEM, USGS, and NOAA are coordinating Federal activities related to offshore critical mineral resources.

A USGS study showed that nursery-grown elkhorn coral trans¬planted into Dry Tortugas National Park grew twice as fast as corals planted in other locations in the Florida Keys. The new elkhorn coral colonies planted in the park may act to “genetically rescue” the one remaining genetic strain known to persist in Dry Tortugas National Park.

A collaborative team recently documented and measured one of the largest known corals in the world. The coral colony measured 22.4 m across, 8 m tall, with a circumference of 69 m at the base and was discovered in the waters around the island of Ta’u, Manu’a, within the National Park of American Samoa.

The NPS supported efforts to nominate Kosrae’s Mahkontowe Conservation Area to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, part of a larger effort to protect cultural and natural resources and to develop ecoheritage tourism. New local resting houses support tourists as well as local Kosraean agriforesters and were built using traditional knowledge and resources in the Area.

Scientists can estimate the UnVegetated-Vegetated marsh Ratio or UVVR and use it as an indicator of marsh stability or resilience to future sea-level rise. UVVR can also be used to quantify ecosystem services that marshes provide such as habitat quality, carbon storage, and coastal protection, which are all related to the vegetative cover.

Local communities recognize the value of nature by providing access and knowledge about these environments to urban residents.

In November, the 2020 hurricane season became the most active on record. USGS brings expertise and capabilities to work with partners and emergency managers providing science that reduces risk and improves situational awareness when a storm makes landfall.

DOI and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of the Kingdom of Norway formalized their partnership to strengthen cooperation in offshore mineral, oil and gas, and wind-energy activities.

Chamorro archaeological sites, World War II Japanese defensive sites and ancient limestone forests, home to many diverse species and the most intact anywhere in the U.S., make Rota, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a very special place.