NOAA scientists recently returned from a three-week mission to study unexplored areas of the sea floor using sonar technology off the southern coasts of St. John and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and eastern Puerto Rico. Along the way, the team gathered data on the coral reef habitats, fish communities and uncovered a few remnants of the region's rich maritime past.

Researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science used robotic subs and seafloor imagers to examine coral reefs and explore areas where fish spawn in order to create detailed maps of the sea floor. NOAA is surveying the area at the request of territorial agencies and local scientists, who have determined it to be of special ecological significance.

"Little was known about the distribution, extent, and health of mid-water coral reef ecosystems and marine fish associated with them before we began studying these areas eight years ago. We are filling these data gaps," Tim Battista, lead scientist and oceanographer with the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment's Biogeography Branch, said.

Data Yield Plenty of Surprises

Scientists logged nearly 400 hours at sea, mapping over 145 square kilometers (56 square miles) of sea floor. Sonar and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) data located derelict fishing traps and spotted more than 30 invasive lionfish. Increasingly rare colonies of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) were also observed. Staghorn coral was once one of the most abundant coral species in the Caribbean, but is now listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Not only did the sonar data spot plenty of interesting seafloor habitats and fish, they also located six uncharted shipwrecks. The ROV was deployed to further explore the wrecks. "What we saw was truly exciting! Finding one shipwreck would have been great, but locating six was a total surprise," Battista said. "The wrecks seemed to serve as a refuge for fish and other marine life. In several instances we saw schools of fish, sharks and turtles."

The shipwreck sightings were reported to local maritime history authorities. Experts are currently reviewing the ROV footage to learn more about the wrecks. The shipwreck data will also be used to update the region's nautical charts to improve ship navigation safety.

Supporting Community Needs

During a mid-cruise port visit to St. Thomas, scientists presented their most recent findings to a group of regional politicians including Congresswoman Donna Christensen and staff, as well as members of the local Senate. Other education and outreach events were aimed at engaging fishermen from the St. Thomas Fishermen's Association, local graduate researchers and grade school students.

"We gathered a lot of valuable information this year. In the coming months, we'll process the SONAR data to create seamless images of the seafloor," Battista said. "These maps will apprise managers of where key resources are located, and will help them evaluate how best to protect them and meet the community's needs."

This mission was supported by the Coral Reef Conservation Program.

A formal dedication ceremony sponsored by the Census Bureau will be held in Plato on May 9 at 1 p.m. Dave Doyle will be there, together with the Directors of the National Geodetic Survey and the U.S. Census Bureau. A good portion of Plato's populace will probably be present, too.

If you filled out the 2010 Census form from the U.S. Census Bureau, then you had a part in defining the centroid — the point where the center of the U.S. population falls. Every 10 years, after the Census Bureau crunches the numbers and figures out where the centroid is, NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) places a geodetic survey disk (also called a survey marker, monument, or bench mark) in the incorporated community closest to its exact geographic location.

How does the Census Bureau calculate the centroid for population?

NOAA Chief Geodetic Surveyor Dave Doyle, who has helped place a survey marker at the centroid every 10 years since 1980, says first to think of a rectangular-shaped state like Colorado. "If you imagine Colorado as a perfectly flat plain without all the mountains and valleys, and you put it on a map, the place where this rectangular shape balances perfectly on a point is the centroid."

"Then, think of the United States, including Alaska and the territories, as a flat plain and put it on a map. Imagine also that every individual in the population weighs exactly the same," he continues. "The centroid is where the center of the population is located."

The process that the Census Bureau uses to figure out the centroid for the U.S. population is more complicated, but that's the basic idea.

Why is it useful to know where the centroid is?

The Census Bureau has been tracking the centroid for a long time. Every 10 years, another point is plotted on the U.S. map. Connecting the dots forms a snapshot of how the U.S. population has shifted over time.

"What you notice," says Doyle, "is that from roughly 1790 when the centroid was in Kent County, Maryland, to about 1920 when it was in Indiana, the centroid moved almost in a straight line to the west. Then, around 1930, the trend moved southwest, with the influx of people moving to places like Texas, New Mexico, and California."

NGS got involved with the effort back in 1960, when the Census Bureau asked NGS's predecessor agency to place a geodetic survey disk at or very close to the exact coordinates of the centroid.

"The data from that survey marker – its latitude, longitude, and elevation – are then integrated into the network of other survey control points that we refer to as the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS)," Doyle says. NOAA and its predecessors have maintained some version of this national reference framework ever since Thomas Jefferson established the Survey of the Coast in 1807.

The NSRS is a huge network of about 1.5 million monuments, or bench marks, around the nation. These reference points form the foundation for all of the nation's geographic mapping needs, including nautical charting, aeronautical charting, and topographic mapping.

While this has always been important to NOAA and a host of other scientific and technical entities, Doyle notes that the advent of the Global Positioning System made the NSRS relevant to nearly everyone.

"Almost everybody has some sort of positioning capacity in smart phones and iPads, in their cars and trucks, or on their bikes or wristwatches," he says. "The individual's ability to position him or herself has become an important part of our national infrastructure. At the heart of that is this rather invisible piece of infrastructure – the NSRS – for which NOAA is largely responsible."

Where is the 2010 Centroid?

"The 2010 Centroid is located in the town of Plato, Missouri, in the south-central part of the state about 10 miles south of Fort Leonard Wood," Doyle reveals.

He led a team out to the site for reconnaissance in April so that they could pin down the exact location. Plato's a small place, with a population of approximately 109.

"The residents are pretty excited about this," he says, "and that's one of the great things about the project. Bringing this large and somewhat vague concept to an actual community helps people understand how important everyone is in the context of the entire country."

The Greek philosopher Plato, for whom the tiny town was named — author of The Republic — would no doubt agree with Doyle on this point.

A formal dedication ceremony sponsored by the Census Bureau will be held in Plato on May 9 at 1 p.m. Dave Doyle will be there, together with the Directors of the National Geodetic Survey and the U.S. Census Bureau. A good portion of Plato's populace will probably be present, too.

For the first time, the analysis includes threats from climate change, including warming seas and rising ocean acidification.

The most immediate and direct threats arise from local sources, which currently threaten more than 60% of coral reefs. Local threats include impacts from fishing, coastal development, and pollution. Left unchecked, the percent of threatened reefs will increase to more than 90% by 2030 and to nearly all reefs by 2050.

Visit NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program for more on this report, including links to social media resources and supporting video.

"Reefs at Risk Revisited" was launched globally on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 with events in Washington, D.C.; London, England; Malaysia; Australia; and other locations. Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator was the featured speaker at the D.C. event at the National Press Club. This event also featured presentations by Jonathan Lash, President, WRI; Lauretta Burke, lead author, WRI; and Dr. Nancy Knowlton, Chair of Marine Science, Smithsonian Institution.

“Dr. Bamford brings a unique set of skills that make her particularly well qualified for this position. She is both a strong scientist and an excellent manager. I am delighted that Dr. Bamford will bring her expertise and enthusiasm to the job as deputy assistant administrator,” said NOS assistant administrator David Kennedy.

“It’s an honor to have been selected for this position,” said Dr. Bamford. “The National Ocean Service boasts a diverse portfolio of excellent programs that serve Americans every day. NOS translates science into action, delivering the information, tools, and technical services needed to support healthy communities and economies.” Dr. Bamford earned a Ph.D. in the field of organic environmental chemistry, quantifying the physical and chemical processes that control the transport and fate of organic contaminants.  During her graduate training, Dr. Bamford spent much of her time in the field and on research vessels gathering data in support of her research.  During this time, she spent a year as a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology developing analytical methods to detect trace organic contaminants in water and air particles.  Dr. Bamford has a number of peer-reviewed publications that have been widely referenced in the field of environmental chemistry and water quality, including papers in Environmental Science & Technology, Atmospheric Environment, and Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry.  In her first position at NOAA, Dr. Bamford served as a senior member of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research executive scientific support team.   

In addition, Dr. Bamford brings significant leadership and management expertise—skills that were first honed as an undergraduate studying business management. As the director of NOAA’s Marine Debris Program in the Office of Response and Restoration, Holly brought national recognition to issues related to marine debris and to the program, accomplishments that were recognized with a NOAA Administrator’s Award in 2008. Through her work as Marine Debris Director and Division Chief, Dr. Bamford has served on a number of scientific and advisory committees and presented at a number of national and international meetings, academic institutions, as well as addressed the public through national media outlets including CNN, ABC, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Good Morning America, Rolling Stone, People, and the Wall Street Journal. 

Dr. Bamford also served as acting deputy assistant administrator for NOS for much of 2010. During this time, she led a comprehensive review of headquarters functions to identify efficiencies. 

Throughout her academic and federal service, Dr. Bamford has received a number of prestigious awards for the demonstration of exceptional management, leadership, and partnership skills, including a NOAA Bronze Medal, NOAA Administrator’s Awards, Coastal America Presidential Partnership Awards, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gulf Guardian Award. She was recognized by the Washington Post in February, 2010, under the Federal Player Profile. 

Biologist Kathy Moore, chairperson of SWG-WILD, specializes in marine forensics at NOAA’s Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston. Explaining that the NAS report focused on human forensics, she and her colleagues in wildlife forensics were still concerned that its findings might undercut their testimony in courts of law. As a result, they teamed up to set standards meant to bolster the quality and credibility of scientific evidence that they present in criminal and civil trials.

Pending Legislation to Protect People and the Economy

“We are working on a number of fronts to prepare the wildlife forensics community for the impacts of upcoming legislation,” says Moore.

She is referring to Senate Bill 132, the Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Reform Act of 2011, sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The bill, which aims to ensure consistency and scientific validity in forensic testing, would require the nation’s forensic scientists and labs – whether they work with human or animal evidence – to be certified in their disciplines and conduct their work in accredited laboratories.

In addition to protecting the personal rights of U.S. citizens, the legislation is intended to fend off an ever-growing assault on the U.S. economy: Trade in illegal wildlife. The profits from this clandestine commerce run well into billions of dollars per year, and it could be the third-largest black market after drugs and weapons.

In terms of marine life, the trade includes deliberately mislabeled seafood, unlawful fishing practices, and the poaching of threatened and endangered species. In her Charleston lab, Moore and her co-workers routinely analyze the evidence for such cases on behalf of NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement. It is the only program in the United States dedicated to the forensic analysis of marine species.

The Significance of Certification

The principle goal of SWG-WILD’s first meeting was for the experts to reach consensus on certification and standards of practice in wildlife forensics. At present, only three wildlife labs in the country are accredited, and there is no program for certification in wildlife forensics.

Moore and her SWG colleagues are interested in changing that, not only because future legislation would likely require it, but also because it ensures that the science used by the courts is accurate and unbiased.

As an example, Moore points to the fact that she was recently trained and proficiency tested in ivory identification by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Forensics Laboratory. In most cases, she must identify the remains of marine creatures through DNA and other time-consuming genetic tests.

“It’s obviously much easier to ID the tooth of a sperm whale morphologically [by sight] than genetically,” Moore says.

Third-party proficiency testing also bolsters analysts’ credibility in court when testifying as to the species of origin of teeth from whales and other marine animals.

Moore is also working with the Society for Wildlife Forensic Sciences to include some marine fish in its current proficiency tests for DNA species identification so that NOAA scientists can be tested by an independent party.

“Whether or not the proposed legislation passes, certification and accreditation will be necessary in the not-too-distant future,” she concludes. “We need to be prepared to raise the bar for the field of wildlife forensics as a whole.”

Other SWG-WILD members and observers represent Canada’s Trent University Department of Forensics and Functional Genomics; U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Forensic Laboratory; Wyoming Game and Fish Wildlife Forensic and Fish Health Laboratory; University of Maine Molecular Forensics Laboratory; NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center; Federal Bureau of Investigation mtDNA Unit; University of California Davis Veterinary Forensics Genetics Laboratory; and National Institute of Standards and Technology Office of Law Enforcement Standards.

For More Information

NOS Marine Forensics Program

NOAA Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research

"Forensic Science Bolsters Prosecution of Environmental Crime Cases" [NOS News, June 2009]

"NOS Forensic Experts Save Time, Money in Latest Case" [NOS News, Nov. 2008]

"Marine Forensic Experts at Work" (Making Waves Podcast: Episode 4 (Nov. 21, 2008)

"What is Marine Forensic Science?" [Ocean Fact]