CPO’s Marine Ecosystem Risk Team (MERT) has published its National Marine Sanctuary Climate Change Science Priorities Workshop Report for the public.
The report summarizes a cross-NOAA workshop held in late January 2021 that brought together over 130 participants from every site in the sanctuary system as well as from NOAA Research, NOAA Fisheries, NOAA's National Ocean Service, NOAA Satellites, and external organizations. The workshop strived to identify the climate science and information needs of national marine sanctuaries as well as actions and partnerships to meet those needs. Based on workshop outcomes, the report identifies 10 cross-cutting climate science and information needs that, if met, will increase the resilience of sanctuary resources and advance the ability of sanctuaries to understand and manage climate change impacts.
The report also serves as a call to mobilize NOAA and non-NOAA partners by identifying 15 actions and partners that will help NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) address sanctuary climate science, information, and capacity needs.
The published report will help MERT reach federal, non-federal, and academic partners that will be critical to meeting the identified needs. The report is a key milestone toward an overarching goal of the MERT initiative. MERT aims to increase collaboration between ONMS and other NOAA programs, and develop partnerships between labs, programs, and individual sanctuaries to advance NOAA’s stewardship mission.
For more information email cpo.mert@noaa.gov.
Read the report »
View the appendices »