Geographical data and information are virtually unlimited in their quantity and are oftentimes scattered throughout a multitude of locations and stored in various formats on a wide variety of platforms. The Oregon Coast Geospatial Clearinghouse (OCGC) is a web-based central repository for metadata (data about data) corresponding to collected data...
Since their discovery in 1977, hydrothermal vent communities have offered scientists
a unique glimpse into a world that is supported primarily by chemically derived
energy rather than direct energy from the sun. Furthermore, studies of hydrothermal
vent ecosystems have introduced scientists to amazing animals that have successfully
adapted to living...
Spatialization is an innovative way to expand searching capabilities for a
marine/coastal reference database by using a metaphorical map framework to establish
a sense of place for non-spatial information. Spatializing the Catalogue of Oregon
Marine and Coastal Information (COMCI), a coastal reference database, enables the
marine and coastal resource community...
Dramatic declines in several groundfish populations have occurred along
the U.S. West Coast during the last decade (PFMC 1999, Sampson 1997,
Ralston 1998, Bloeser 1999). One problem exacerbating these declines is
insufficient stock assessments, especially for species of west coast rockfish
(Family Scorpaenidae, Genus Sebastes) which comprise the core of...
Ecoregions are regions of relative homogeneity with respect to specific
ecosystem variables (Bailey 1976; Omernik 1995). There has been an increasing
awareness that effective management of environmental resources must be undertaken
with an ecosystem perspective (Omernik, 1995). Ecoregions serve as a spatial
framework for assessing, managing, and monitoring ecosystems that...
An Internet Map Server (IMS) web site was constructed with the goal of
helping middle- through high-school students learn about ocean processes. This IMS was
developed in conjunction with the activities of the Science & Math Investigative
Learning Experience (SMILE) program, and for eventual use with the Oregon Coastal
Atlas,...
Web geographic information systems (GISs) and the Internet are now providing the connectivity necessary to support large-scale data access by a wide variety of users, including not just scientific researchers, but also policy-makers and marine resource managers. However, connectivity alone cannot ensure that those who need natural resource information will...
Mount Shasta, the southernmost stratovolcano in the Cascade Range (41.4°N) has
frequently produced lahars of various magnitudes during the last 10,000 yr. These include
large flows of eruptive origin, reaching more than 40km from the summit, and studies have
shown that at least 70 debris flows of noneruptive origin have...
Oregon is the number one producer of cool-season grass seed in the United
States. The center of the grass seed industry of Oregon is located in the Willamette
Valley, where about 470,000 acres of seed are grown. Innovative grass seed growers
of the area are beginning to implement precision agriculture...
Overfishing of our national marine resources has degraded some of the most productive fishing regions in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, most notably the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. These regions may have shifted from productive trophic regimes to a less than optimal state therefore reducing fishers’ catches and associated...