Cordell Bank Monitoring Inventory

Cordell Bank Buoy - West Coast Observatories

Lead	Bodega Marine Laboratory (University of California, Davis)
Objective	Buoy provides data for water temperature, salinity, turbidity, and chlorophyll-a fluorescence; data are linked with regional coastal ocean observing systems.

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Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) Wave Rider Buoy 029 (Point Reyes, CA - South Cordell Bank, NDBC identifier 46214)

Lead	Scripps Institute of Oceanography
Objective	Measures and archives wave climatology (direction and energy) and water temperature of coastal waters.

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National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) - Station 46013

Lead	NOAA National Data Buoy Center
Objective	Measure and archive wind and wave climatology (direction and energy) and water temperature of coastal waters.

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Coast Watch

Lead	NOAA's Coast Watch Program
Objective	Provide remotely sensed satellite and other environmental data to government decision makers and academic researchers.

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West Coast Ocean Acidification Monitoring

Lead	NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Carbon Group
Objective	Conduct large-scale coastal surveys of pCO2 and related water column chemical and hydrographic measurements to determine the spatial scales of CO2 sources and sinks.

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Marine Biotoxin Monitoring and Control Program

Lead	California Department of Health Services
Objective	State-wide effort to detect toxin-producing species of phytoplankton in ocean water before they harm the public.

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Cordell Bank Ocean Monitoring Program (CBOMP)

Lead	Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Monitor seabirds, marine mammals, krill, and physical oceanographic conditions in the Cordell Bank pelagic ecosystem.

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Applied California Current Ecosystem Studies (ACCESS; formerly PRBO surveys)

Lead	Dr. Jaime Jahncke (Point Blue Conservation Science), Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Support marine wildlife conservation and healthy marine ecosystems in northern and central California by conducting ocean research to inform resource managers, policy makers and conservation partners.

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Collaborative Survey of Cetacean Abundance and the Pelagic Ecosystem (CSCAPE)

Lead	NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Objective	Assess the abundance and distribution of marine mammals and characterize the pelagic ecosystem off the U.S. West Coast.

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Tracking Black-footed Albatross

Lead	Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge
Objective	Use satellite tracking to explore the post-breeding movements and ocean habitats of Black- footed Albatross, attempt to characterize albatross movement corridors and foraging grounds, and quantify overlap with management jurisdictions and long-line fisheries.

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Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (TOPP)

Lead	NOAA's Pacific Fisheries Ecosystems Lab, Stanford's Hopkins Marine Lab, and University of California, Santa Cruz's Long Marine Laboratory
Objective	Tagging and tracking North Pacific predators to learn how they use the ocean environment. Species include elephant seals, white sharks, leatherback turtles, squid, albatross and sooty shearwaters.

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Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) - Spatial Ecological Analyses of Megavertebrate Populations (SEAMAP)

Lead	Andrew Read, Patrick Halpin (Duke University)
Objective	Spatially referenced online database, aggregating marine mammal, seabird and sea turtle observation data from around the world.

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Central California Aerial Surveys

Lead	NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Objective	Quantify the spatial and temporal distributions of marine mammals, seabirds, and leatherback turtles in the coastal waters of central California.

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Southeast Farallon Island Seabird Ecology Surveys

Lead	Point Blue Conservation Science, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Farallon National Wildlife Refuge
Objective	Monitor and study the ecology of 12 seabird species. Daily measurements of sea surface temperature, salinity, and weather are also made.

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West Coast Bottom Trawl Survey

Lead	NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) Division
Objective	Assess the distribution, abundance and biological characteristics of commercially important fish species, particularly sablefish, and many of the shelf and slope rockfish species.

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Pacific Hake Survey

Lead	NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) Division
Objective	Assess the distribution, abundance and biological characteristics of commercially important mid-water fish species using trawls and acoustics, particularly pacific hake and sardines.

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Integrated Ecosystem Survey (formally known as Rockfish Recruitment Survey)

Lead	NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Fisheries Ecology Division
Objective	Survey distribution and abundance of pelagic juvenile young-of-the-year (YOY) rockfishes. The survey extends from San Diego in the south to the northern boundary at Point Delgada, just south of Cape Mendocino.

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Seafloor Mapping and Monitoring

Lead	Rikk Kvitek (California State University, Monterey Bay)
Objective	Collected high resolution (3m) multi-beam data for the extent of Cordell Bank. The Seafloor Mapping Lab (SFML), within the Division of Science and Environmental Policy at California State University Monterey Bay, specializes in high-resolution acoustic remote sensing for coastal habitats.

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Central California Habitat Characterization and Monitoring

Lead	Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	(1) Map the seafloor in three West Coast national marine sanctuaries: MBNMS, CBNMS, and GFNMS, (2) Ground-truth habitat maps in MBNMS and CBNMS, (3) Characterize habitats and associated benthic macro-invertebrates and fish assemblages in MBNMS and CBNMS, and (4) make mapping information available to the public.

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USGS usSEABED Seafloor Characteristics Database

Lead	USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program, University of Colorado
Objective	Gather diverse geologic data about the continental shelf and organize it through a GIS database know as usSEABED. The database provides unprecedented coverage of the sediment and rock types sampled from the seafloor as well as a searchable catalog of other observations, such as micro and macro flora and fauna and sedimentary structures.

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Trawling Impacts to Soft-Sediment Habitats and Communities

Lead	Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Quantify the recovery of seafloor microhabitats and associated benthic fauna along the central California coast following the cessation of fishing with mobile bottom fishing gear (e.g., otter trawls). Cordell Bank site represented a closure area due to essential fish habitat closure regulations.

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Cordell Bank Benthic Community Characterization and Monitoring

Lead	Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Conduct a long-term study to classify habitats and monitor fishes and macro-invertebrates on and around Cordell Bank; additionally, provide data on lost fishing gear abundance and distribution on Cordell Bank.

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Deep Sea Coral Explorations

Lead	Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Objective	Document the presence, abundance, and habitat associations of deep-sea coral and sponge communities in the deep waters (>200m) of CBNMS.