NOAA'S EXXON VALDEZ LONG-TERM SHORELINE ECOSYSTEM MONITORING PROGRAM—1990–1994 TRENDS

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 977-978
Author(s):  
Alan J. Mearns
Keyword(s):  
Plant Cover ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Ecosystem Monitoring ◽  
Physical Profile

ABSTRACT Halfway through a 10-year monitoring program, NOAA continues to track biological, chemical, and shoreline profile recovery at nearly three dozen sites in Prince William Sound, Alaska. By simple measures (percent visible oil, percent plant cover) all but three or four sites recovered in two to three years. However, by a more integrated biological, chemical, and physical profile, most previously oiled and treated sites are still recovering.

A 10-Year Study of Shoreline Conditions in the Exxon Valdez Spill Zone, Prince William Sound, Alaska

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (1) ◽  
pp. 559-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward S. Gilfillan ◽  
David S. Page ◽  
Keith R. Parker ◽  
Jerry M. Neff ◽  
Paul D. Boehm
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Intertidal Community ◽  
Infaunal Community ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Natural Factors

ABSTRACT A shoreline ecology program was performed in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska in 1990 and 1991 (1 and 2 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, EVOS) to assess the fate and effects of the oil in the intertidal zone. Major components of the study were repeated in 1998 and 1999. This update included a sediment-sampling program at formerly oiled “worst-case” boulder/cobble (B/C) sites and randomly chosen unoiled B/C reference sites. The samples were analyzed for petroleum hydrocarbons and benthic infaunal community characteristics. This paper focuses on the results of the benthic infaunal community analysis. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the 1990–1999 infaunal species composition data. Very little effect of oiling was detected in either the analysis of community structure parameters or in individual species abundances. Oiling effects were detected at some sites in 1990 and 1991, but not in 1998 and 1999. Nearly all the change in intertidal community parameters between 1990 and 1999 was attributed to natural interannual variation. The composition of the intertidal community of B/C shores changed over time because of natural factors not related to the spill. A core group of species was found in each of the 4 years. This group of species represented between 9 to 30% of all species identified. Two other groups of species did not co-occur. One group was present in 1990 and 1991, but not in 1998 and 1999; the other group was present in 1998 and 1999, but not in 1990 and 1991. The progressive change in the animal community observed between 1990 and 1999 is very likely related to long-term climatic changes occurring in the study area and not the oil spill. This long-term study demonstrates the importance of study designs that allow separation of oiling effects from natural factors that can affect biological communities.

scholarly journals Isotopic evidence of increasing water abundance and lake hydrological change in Old Crow Flats, Yukon, Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 124024
Author(s):  
Lauren A MacDonald ◽  
Kevin W Turner ◽  
Ian McDonald ◽  
Mitchell L Kay ◽  
Roland I Hall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Additive Models ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Ecosystem Monitoring ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
Monitoring Programs ◽  
Old Crow Flats

Abstract Lake-rich northern permafrost landscapes are sensitive to changing climate conditions, but ability to track real-time and potentially multiple hydrological responses (e.g. lake expansion, drawdown, drainage) is challenging due to absence of long-term, sustainable monitoring programs in these remote locations. Old Crow Flats (OCF), Yukon, is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance where concerns about low water levels and their consequences for wildlife habitat and traditional ways of life prompted multidisciplinary studies during the International Polar Year (2007–2008) and led to the establishment of an aquatic ecosystem monitoring program. Here, we report water isotope data from 14 representative thermokarst lakes in OCF, the foundation of the monitoring program, and time-series of derived metrics including the isotope composition of input waters and evaporation-to-inflow ratios for a 13 year period (2007–2019). Although the lakes spanned multiple hydrological categories (i.e. rainfall-, snowmelt- and evaporation-dominated) based on initial surveys, well-defined trends from application of generalized additive models and meteorological records reveal that lakes have become increasingly influenced by rainfall, and potentially waters from thawing permafrost. These sources of input have led to more positive lake water balances. Given the documented role of rainfall in causing thermokarst lake drainage events in OCF and elsewhere, we anticipate increased vulnerability of lateral water export from OCF. This study demonstrates the value of long-term isotope-based monitoring programs for identifying hydrological consequences of climate change in lake-rich permafrost landscapes.

scholarly journals EVOS and the Prince William Sound Long Term Environmental Monitoring Program

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Payne ◽  
William B. Driskell ◽  
David Janka ◽  
Lisa Ka'aihue ◽  
Joe Banta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Monitoring ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
Advisory Council ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Mussel Tissue ◽  
Weathered Oil ◽  
Diesel Spill

ABSTRACT Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS), the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council began the Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Program (LTEMP) in 1993 to track oil hydrocarbon chemistry of recovering sediments and mussel tissues along the path of the spill in Prince William Sound (PWS) and across the Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGOA) region. The program also samples sites near the Alyeska Marine Terminal (AMT) within Port Valdez, primarily to monitor tanker operations and the resulting treatment and discharge of oil-contaminated tanker ballast water. Over the last 28 years, the program has documented EVOS oil's disappearance at the spill-impacted sites (albeit buried oil still exists at a few unique sheltered locations in PWS). Within the Port, a few tanker- and diesel-spill incidents have been documented over the years, but all were minor and with recovery times of < 1 yr. Of highest concern has been the permitted chronic release of weathered oil from tankers' ballast-water that is treated and discharged at the Alyeska Marine Terminal (AMT). In earlier years (1980s–90s), with discharge volumes reaching 17–18 MGD, up to a barrel of finely dispersed weathered oil would be released into the fjord daily. Over the last two decades, total petrogenic inputs (TPAH43) into the Port have declined as measured in the monitored mussels and sediments. This trend reflects a combination of decreased Alaska North Slope (ANS) oil production and thus, less tanker traffic, plus less ballast from the transition to double-hulled tankers with segregated ballast tanks, and improved treatment-facility efficiency in removing PAH. From the 2018 collections, mussel-tissue hydrocarbon concentrations from all eleven LTEMP stations (within Port Valdez as well as PWS and NGOA regions) were below method detection limits and similar to laboratory blanks (TPAH43 < 44 ng/g dry wt.). At these low background levels, elevated TPAH values from a minor 2020 spill incident at the Terminal were easily detected at all three Port Valdez stations.

scholarly journals Male Antarctic fur seals: neglected food competitors of bioindicator species in the context of an increasing Antarctic krill fishery

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Lowther ◽  
I. Staniland ◽  
C. Lydersen ◽  
K. M. Kovacs
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Krill ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Bioindicator Species ◽  
Ecosystem Monitoring ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Fur Seals ◽  
Antarctic Fur Seals

Abstract The fishery for Antarctic krill is currently managed using a precautionary, ecosystem-based approach to limiting catch, with performance indices from a long-term monitoring program focused on several krill-dependent predators that are used to track ecosystem health. Concerns over increased fishing in concentrated areas and ongoing efforts to establish a Marine Protected Area along the Peninsula, a key fishing region, is driving the development of an adaptive management system for the fishery. The cumulative effects of fishing effort and interactions among krill-dependent predators and their performance is at present neglected in the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program. However, we show considerable overlap between male Antarctic fur seals and the krill fishery in a complex mosaic, suggesting potential for cumulative impacts on other krill dependent predators. A holistic view is required as part of future efforts to manage the krill fishery that incorporates various sources of potential impacts on the performance of bioindicator species, including the fishery and its interactions with various krill dependent predators.

ASSESS INTERTIDAL IMPACTS: LESSONS LEARNED FROM 11 YEARS OF MONITORING IN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND1

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 931-936
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Coats ◽  
Gary Shigenaka
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Equivalent Number ◽  
Initial Sampling ◽  
Using Data

ABSTRACT “How many samples do we need?” and “Where should we collect them?” are questions common to most field monitoring programs. They are especially compelling when an oil spill impinges on a coastline and an intertidal monitoring program must be rapidly implemented to assess impacts. Moreover, these initial sampling decisions profoundly affect the ultimate validity of the assessment study. While it is important to avoid squandering limited resources by oversampling, an undersized study is equally wasteful if it cannot reliably discern significant impacts and produce useful results. All else being equal, the power to detect change in an ecosystem is dictated by its inherent variability. Variability estimates were computed for a variety of intertidal assemblages using data collected within Prince William Sound over eleven years, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The sample-size recommendations that emerge from these power analyses demonstrate that spill and cleanup impacts to most intertidal taxa can be reliably detected using four to six replicate samples collected at three or more treatment sites, and at an equivalent number of reference sites. They also demonstrate that collecting more than eight replicate samples within each site does little to increase the power to detect differences in mean populations. Analogously, “parallelism” tests on multi-year data provide a reliable means of quantifying long-term recovery in intertidal populations following an oil spill. Parallelism tests examine temporal trends in mean abundance at impacted sites relative to reference sites. However, the ability to detect major recolonization events with parallelism tests varies widely depending on the taxa being tested. For example, the marked recolonization in Fucus and epifaunal invertebrates that was experienced four years after the Exxon Valdez spill could have been detected by sampling at only two reference and two impact sites. In contrast, infaunal populations exhibit greater variability, making detection of nonparallel trends difficult without sampling at least six reference and six impacted sites.

scholarly journals Bringing citizen monitoring into land management: a case study of the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. A02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowan Converse ◽  
Daniel Shaw ◽  
Kim Eichhorst ◽  
May Leinhart
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resource ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Ecosystem Monitoring ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Natural Resource Managers ◽  
Citizen Monitoring

Despite the rapid expansion of citizen-based monitoring, data from these programs remain underutilized by natural resource managers, perhaps due to quality and comparability issues. We present the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program as a case study of an initiative successfully meeting long-term monitoring needs of federal, state, tribal, and local natural resource managers, and informing public policy. To maximize potential for partnerships with managers, we recommend the creation of a five-year plan including scientific goals and financial solvency strategies prior to establishing a citizen science program, and offering multiple platforms for data-sharing and dialogue.

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