page_title: Mussel Watch Program
hierarchical_section_title: Mussel Watch Program
caption_attribution_description: Scientists from NCCOS’ Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, Office of Coast Survey, and NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory collect zebra mussels attached to rocks in Lake Erie for NCCOS’ Mussel Watch Program. Since 1986, NOAA’s Mussel Watch has consistently studied and monitored 300 sites around the country for over 100 organic and inorganic pollutants in sediments, oysters, and mussels. NOAA relies on this fundamental data set at a national scale to report the success of declining contaminant levels and to call attention to new contamination problems. The collection site in this picture is one of the first Mussel Watch sites established in 1992 in the Great Lakes near Peach Orchard Point South Bass Island. Pictured (from left): Cliff Cosgrove and Dr. Gunnar Lauenstein with Andrew Yagiela on the boat.
context_page_description: The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Status and Trends Mussel Watch Program is a water contaminant monitoring program that started in 1986. It is the longest running continuous contaminant monitoring program of its kind in the United States. Mussel Watch monitors the concentration of contaminants in bivalves and sediments in the coastal waters of the U.S., including the Great Lakes, to monitor bivalve health and by extension the health of their local and regional environment.
  Mussel Watch consults with experts to determine appropriate contaminants to monitor; these include dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls. As of 2008, Mussel Watch monitors approximately 140 analytes. In addition to the effects of contaminants, Mussel Watch is able to assess the effects of natural disasters, such as the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, and environmental disasters, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Data collected by Mussel Watch can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of coastal remediation.
context_section_description: The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Status and Trends (NS&T) Mussel Watch Program is a water contaminant monitoring program that started in 1986. It is the longest running continuous contaminant monitoring program of its kind in the United States. Mussel Watch monitors the concentration of contaminants in bivalves (mussels and oysters) and sediments in the coastal waters of the U.S., including the Great Lakes, to monitor bivalve health and by extension the health of their local and regional environment.
  Mussel Watch consults with experts to determine appropriate contaminants to monitor; these include dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). As of 2008, Mussel Watch monitors approximately 140 analytes. In addition to the effects of contaminants, Mussel Watch is able to assess the effects of natural disasters, such as the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, and environmental disasters, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Data collected by Mussel Watch can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of coastal remediation. The Mussel Watch Program utilized its 20 years of monitoring data to effectively analyze the impacts of Hurricane Katrina and has affected regulatory decisions based on the data it has collected on bivalve parasites.
caption: Scientists from NCCOS’ Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, Office of Coast Survey, and NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory collect zebra mussels attached to rocks in Lake Erie for NCCOS’ Mussel Watch Program. Since 1986, NOAA's Mussel Watch has consistently studied and monitored 300 sites around the country for over 100 organic and inorganic pollutants in sediments, oysters, and mussels. NOAA relies on this fundamental data set at a national scale to report the success of declining contaminant levels and to call attention to new contamination problems. The collection site in this picture is one of the first Mussel Watch sites established in 1992 in the Great Lakes near Peach Orchard Point South Bass Island.  Pictured (from left): Cliff Cosgrove and Dr. Gunnar Lauenstein with Andrew Yagiela on the boat.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Digital image", "Image Make": "SeaLife", "Image Model": "SL320/SL321", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "1.00.006PI", "Image DateTime": "2007:09:05 11:24:01", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "266", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "956", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4972", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1140", "EXIF FNumber": "33/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:09:05 11:24:01", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:09:05 11:24:01", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "254/25", "EXIF ApertureValue": "33/10", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "297/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "73/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2816", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2112", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "832", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}