Comparative studies of other EBCs could also provide useful information as to experimental design, by providing hypotheses on the direction that certain changes might take either due to ENSO or climate change variability. Modeling studies should be started now to develop and validate the biophysical models, and to explore the sensitivity of coupled physical-biological models to flow fields and to biological processes of growth, fecundity and mortality. The modeling component of the program should determine likely environmental conditions under different climate change scenarios and attempt to link GCM and regional-scale models, and couple physical and biological parameters in regional models. Model studies of biological rates and responses to physical conditions should begin as soon as possible. Output from these models will be useful in establishing sampling sites along the coast, and in suggesting how present latitudinal differences may be applied toward forecasting the consequences of climate change.
Ongoing monitoring allows one to place intensive field process experiments in a temporal context.
Concurrent coordinated monitoring programs at different localities should utilize comparable measurement methods. To the extent possible, this monitoring should include real-time reporting of the data, allowing a fast response to ENSO or other unusual events.