Coastal Services Center

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Southern California

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Ecological Assessment of Storm Impacts

As part of the Coastal Storms Program, NOAA is assessing how nonpoint source contaminants move into nearshore ecosystems during storms and how these pollutants affect natural resources. In addition, NOAA conducted new ecotoxicological research and compiled a database of existing information on sediment and water quality to help natural resource managers assess the potential impacts of storm water runoff on at-risk aquatic species.

Chemical fate and transport modeling is used to characterize the stormwater-driven environmental movement of selected contaminants to nearshore habitats. Exposure profiles are combined with response information from an ecotoxicological database to estimate the potential for adverse health outcomes in fish and invertebrate communities.

NOAA is also conducting new scientific investigations to address key data gaps for contaminants commonly associated with runoff from roads, highways, parking lots, and other impervious surfaces in highly urbanized watersheds. This experimental research will focus on ecologically and commercially important fish species that are trust resources for NOAA and other local, state, and federal agencies.

Finally, in partnership with the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, NOAA is compiling a comprehensive standardized database of available sediment chemistry, tissue chemistry, and sediment toxicity from the Southern California region. The data are being incorporated into NOAA’s Query Manager database application and into a Southern California Watershed Database and Mapping Project. Query Manager allows users to select from a menu of preprogrammed queries that sort and analyze the data to produce summary output tables. The query output then can be immediately displayed in the integrated mapping program, MARPLOT, or it can be exported to a variety of formats for use with other mapping software (e.g., ArcMap) or applications (e.g., spreadsheets, statistical software packages, and word processors). Query Manager and MARPLOT are tools designed to assist coastal resource managers by providing a rapid, convenient way to create watershed-based maps that display analyzed, sorted, and summarized data.. Staff members are working with state partners to evaluate and develop sediment quality objectives for California and distribute ecologically relevant geospatial data sets. These products are available to the public via the Web  at mapping2.orr.noaa.gov/website/portal/coastalstorms/index.html.

How the Project Will Work

The public and the scientific community are benefiting by having electronic access to new and existing data on sediment and water pollution. These contributions from CSP are important for understanding the health of coastal ecosystems in the Southern California Bight. This information will also help local planners identify the sources, transports, and fates of specific chemical pollutants in estuarine and marine environments. The information should improve the effectiveness of regional activities designed to mitigate or otherwise reduce the ecological impacts of nonpoint source pollution.

For Additional Information

Nat Scholz (nonpoint pollution)
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Telephone: (206) 860-3454
E-mail:Nathaniel.Scholz@noaa.gov

Michele Jacobi
NOAA National Ocean Service
Office of Response and Restoration
Telephone: (206) 526-6830
E-mail: Michele.Jacobi@noaa.gov