# *"SCIENCE TO IMPROVE MANAGEMENT OF UNDERWATER ECOSYSTEMS"*

#### Mission Beneath the Sea

> NOAA is the federal agency charged with stewardship of our nation's
> ocean environments and resources. A critical requirement to fulfill
> this mission is a presence beneath the sea and Great Lakes capable of
> supporting a variety of scientific investigations from the coast to
> the abyss. NOAA's Undersea Research Program (NURP) develops and
> provides technologies that enable the nation's science community to go
> underwater - either directly with submersibles and SCUBA, or
> virtually, using robots and observatories - to acquire observations
> and data that lead to solutions needed to address a variety of NOAA's
> priority goals, including:

+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| # NOAA Priority           | # NURP Response                          |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| # *Pro                    | Provide data on commercial fisheries,    |
| tect, restore, and manage | fishery impacts, essential fish          |
|  the use of coastal and o | habitats, recruitment, biodiversity and  |
| cean resources through ec | ecosystem alteration; coastal hazards    |
| osystem-based management* | for mitigation; important underwater     |
|                           | habitats and their associated organisms, |
|                           | including shallow coral reefs, deep-sea  |
|                           | corals, gas hydrates and hydrothermal    |
|                           | vents                                    |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| # *Understand clima       | # **Describe past climate and climat     |
| te variability and change | e change using underwater paleoceanograp |
|  to enhance society's abi | hic data; understand the role of oceans  |
| lity to plan and respond* | and subsea vents and seeps in global and |
|                           |  regional climate and the carbon cycle** |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| # *Serve                  | Help sustain an Integrated Global        |
| society's needs for weath | Environmental Observation and Data       |
| er and water information* | Management System                        |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| #                         | Work in partnership with educators and   |
|  *Environmental Literacy, | institutions to enrich science and math  |
|  Outreach, and Education* | education and public awareness of the    |
|                           | oceans and Great Lakes                   |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| # *Sound, S               | Use advanced underwater technologies     |
| tate-of-the-Art Research* | such as, submersibles, remotely operated |
|                           | vehicles, autonomous underwater          |
|                           | vehicles, and advanced scuba diving      |
|                           | techniques to allow scientists to        |
|                           | observe, sample and conduct experiments  |
|                           | underwater                               |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| # *Homeland Security*     | Develop and transfer advanced undersea   |
|                           | technologies to security agencies.       |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+

#### ![](media/image1.jpeg){width="3.58125in" height="2.6930555555555555in"}

#### NURP Regional Network

NURP is comprised of a network of regional centers of undersea science
and technology excellence located primarily at major universities. This
extramural network facilitates collaborations with programs outside
NOAA, leverages external funds and infrastructure and provides access to
world-class expertise and students. Federal grants support six regional
centers and a national technology institute that undergo periodic
external review. NURP supports over 100 projects each year that involve
hundreds of scientists and students from across the country. A rigorous
peer-review process is used to select NURP projects based on scientific
merit and relevance to NOAA and national research requirements. These
projects produce peer-reviewed publications that are added to the
scientific literature.

***Five year summary of NURP dive operations, projects and
publications.***

  ------------- ------------- -------------- -------------------- -------------------- ---------------- --------------------
  ***Subs***    ***ROVs***    ***SCUBA***    ***Participants***   ***Institutions***   ***Projects***   ***Publications***

  ***1,063***   ***1,334***   ***53,461***   ***4,169***          ***1,041***          ***539***        ***516***
  ------------- ------------- -------------- -------------------- -------------------- ---------------- --------------------

#### ![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.3805555555555555in" height="2.3805555555555555in"}Safely Advancing Underwater Technologies

> NURP has helped sustain U.S. leadership in ocean technology through
> development and application of advanced diving and observing
> technologies that enable researchers to sample and sense the ocean at
> wider and finer time and space scales. These include the *Alvin* and
> *Pisces* deep submergence vehicles; the world's only underwater
> laboratory, *Aquarius*; the *LEO-15* Observatory; remotely operated
> vehicles Kraken, Jason II, *Ventana*, and *Tiburon*; advanced scuba
> diving to 100 m; and a variety of other data gathering and mapping
> technologies. Over its 20 year history NURP has maintained an
> impeccable safety record.

## NURP Research Provides Answers

> Over the past 25 years, NURP has improved our fundamental
> understanding of marine and Great Lakes ecosystems in direct support
> of NOAA goals. Strategic research results include:
>
> ![](media/image3.jpeg){width="1.7368055555555555in" height="2.375in"}

-   [Determined impacts of trawling and other fishing gear types on
    seafloor essential fish habitats]{.underline}---results improved
    fisheries management and contributed to the recent Pew Oceans report
    on fishing gear impacts;

-   [Contributed to new national effort to design and establish
    protected areas]{.underline} that will help restore fish stocks in
    continental shelf areas around the country;

-   [Defined essential fish habitat for several species of economically
    important finfish and shellfish]{.underline}---results contributed
    to fishery management plans for many fish stocks, especially in deep
    water reef systems where trawls are ineffective;

-   [Devised new and better (e.g., non-destructive) methods to improve
    stock assessments and reduce by-catch of non-target
    species]{.underline};

> ![](media/image4.jpeg){width="2.1527777777777777in"
> height="1.4159722222222222in"}

-   [Led the nation in ground-breaking research on factors affecting
    coral reef health]{.underline}, such as coral bleaching, water
    quality, over-fishing, and climate change---results helped restore
    and sustain healthy reef ecosystems that contribute billions
    annually in economic benefits;

-   [Supported research to better understand deep-sea
    corals,]{.underline} including their dispersal, genetics, associated
    fauna and fish;

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-   ![](media/image5.jpeg){width="2.1944444444444446in"
    height="1.6472222222222221in"}[First federal program to identify and
    describe frozen methane hydrates exposed at the
    seafloor]{.underline}---subsequent research has described their role
    as extreme ecosystems, potential future energy source, and a
    possible factor in abrupt climate change;

-   [Partnered with NSF and MMS to better understand life at deep-sea
    chemosynthetic communities located at seafloor vents and
    seeps]{.underline};

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-   [Leader in investigating coastal earthquake and tsunami
    hazards]{.underline} through investigation of submarine fault
    systems and undersea landslides;

-   [Discovered novel bio-compounds for pharmacological and other
    benefits to society]{.underline};

-   [Developed innovative educational programs]{.underline} to provide
    hands-on learning opportunities for teachers and students using
    underwater vehicles and data from seafloor observatories.