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April 26, 2005
A new online portal consolidates decades of rich marine data, much of
it available for the first time, enabling resource managers and scientific
researchers to combine and analyze information in unprecedented ways,
creating new insights into the Gulf of Maine's ecology.
Launched today by the Gulf of Maine Area Program of the Census of Marine
Life, the Dynamic Atlas of the Gulf of Maine, online at http://gmbis.iris.usm.maine.edu,
will enhance current understanding of the complex marine ecosystem off
New England and Canada's southeast coast. The Gulf of Maine Area Program
is housed in the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at the University
of Southern Maine.
With the collaboration of the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System, the
first-in-the-nation marine buoy system that reports ocean conditions in
real time, and the Gulf of Maine Ocean Data Partnership, the alliance
of 20 agencies and organizations providing marine data, the new portal
offers up decades of work by agencies and scientists dedicated to understanding
the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and its species.
For decades, a vast and growing storehouse of knowledge about the Gulf
of Maine has been out of reach for most scientists and researchers. Although
research capacity has grown by leaps and bounds as a result of computer
and sensor technology, valuable collections of biological, oceanographic
and geologic data from public and private institutions have, in large
part, remained in isolation from each other. For the first time, the Dynamic
Atlas brings this information together in one place.
"This new tool will enhance our understanding of biological patterns
in the Gulf of Maine, across space and time, and illuminate critical trends
related to this important international resource," says Evan Richert,
program director for the Gulf of Maine Area Program. "The new portal is
the door to a treasure of data, much of it essentially inaccessible before
now. Modern technologies allow us now to access these data in far more
meaningful ways. This is a very big step toward understanding the diversity
and distribution of life in the Gulf."
Over the coming months, the Web site will be made even more dynamic by
allowing users to visualize the data in even more interesting ways. But
for now, access to the data will be an invaluable resource for scientists
seeking to understand marine ecosystems.
Dr. Lewis Incze, chief scientist for the Gulf of Maine program explains:
"Knowledge of biodiversity and the relationships of life in the Gulf of
Maine to the surrounding environs is fundamental to ecosystem-based management.
The Dynamic Atlas creates the opportunity for credible gains in our knowledge
about how the patterns of life in the Gulf are unfolding."
For example, the Atlas can be used for simple analyses, such as calculating
the rate at which fish species are being first identified in the various
regions of the Gulf, or the prevalence of different species of fish in
the different areas of the Gulf, and how abundance and distribution is
changing over time. The data also can be mined and combined to examine
more complex relationships, such as the way the abundance of one species
may vary with another, or how species may be affected by variations in
temperature and currents.
To illustrate, one quickly can see changes in the abundance and distribution
of Atlantic cod over the past 30 years without poring through pages of
data. To see the type of visual analysis the Web site can offer at this
time, follow this quick guide:
1. Go to: http://gmbis.iris.usm.maine.edu/home.asp
2. Click on: "Take a look at our products" 3. Click on: The map next
to "Annual Atlantic Cod Abundance & Distributions: 1963-2003." (For more
info, contact Nick Wolff, 207-228-8069, or nwolff@usm.maine.edu)
The Dynamic Atlas will serve as a pilot for a truly integrated ocean
observing system, called the Gulf of Maine Biogeographic Information System.
Over time, the Census of Marine Life will work with the Gulf of Maine
Ocean Data Partnership to take the Atlas and other portals (including
the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans Centre for Marine Biodiversity,
Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System and others) to new levels of dynamic
data sharing and data aggregation and mapping.
About Gulf of Maine Area Program
The goal of the Gulf of Maine Area Program, part of the Census of Marine
Life, is to foster insights into ecosystem-based management in a large
marine environment. The program will advance knowledge of both biodiversity
and ecological processes over a range of habitats and food-chain levels,
from plankton to whales. The Gulf of Maine Area Program is housed in the
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern
Maine.
About Census of Marine Life
Through 2010, more than 1,000 scientists from 70 countries are creating
the Census, assessing the diversity, distribution and abundance of ocean
life and how it changes over time. The scientists, their institutions
and government agencies are pooling findings to create a comprehensive
and authoritative portrait of life in the oceans today, yesterday and
tomorrow. Support for the Census of Marine Life comes from government
agencies as well as private foundations and companies.
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