DETERMINING THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF EKMAN TRANSPORT AND OTHER METEOROLOGICALLY-DRIVEN FLOWS AND ASTRO…

Public award description

DETERMINING THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF EKMAN TRANSPORT AND OTHER METEOROLOGICALLY-DRIVEN FLOWS AND ASTRONOMICAL TIDES--NOAA FISHERIES HAS A REQUIREMENT OT DETERMINE THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF EKMAN TRANSPORT AND OTHER METEOROLOGICALLY-DRIVEN FLOWS AND ASTRONOMICAL TIDES AS ONSHORE TRANSPORT MECHANISMS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL ESTUARINE RECRUITMENT OF ICHTHYOPLANKTON AND POST LARVAL SHRIMP IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO. THE PROPOSED WORK SHALL INCLUDE FIELD MEASUREMENTS OF APPROPRIATE TIME AND SPATIAL CALES TO IDENTIFY PHYSICAL TRANSPORT MECHANISMS OPERATING ON VARIOUS FREQUENCIES: HIGH-SUCH AS DIEL, TIDAL, SYNOPTIC-SCALE WEATHER EVENTS, LUNAR CYCLES; MEDIUM- SUCH AS SEASONAL CYCLES IN RIVER DISCHARGE AND STORMS; AND LOW- SUCH AS LONG-TERM AND INTER-ANNUAL CLIMATE CYCLES. IN-SITU MEASUREMENTS OF LARVAL FISH AND SHRIMP ARE REQUIRED TO QUANTIFY THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ON SHORE TRANSPORT AND RSTUARINE RECRUITMENT. SINCE THE IMPORTANT SPECIES ARE OFFSHORE SPAWNERS, AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE PROPOSED WORK SHALL BE THE USE OF SATELLITE REMOTELY-SENSED INFORMATION TO EXTABLISH THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE LARGER SCALE OFFSHORE FLOWS WITH LOCAL NEAR SHORE AND ESTUARINE CURRENTS PREFERABLY MEASURED IN-SITU. FIELD MEASUREMENTS WILL BE REQUIRED AT LEAST AS FREQUENTLY AS SEMI-MONTHLY DURING THE WINTER RECRUITMENT SEASON (SEPTEMBER-APRIL) AND OVER A TWO-YEAR PERIOD TO ESTABLISH INTER-ANNUAL VARIABILITY. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE SATELLITE AND QUALITY-CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT DATA TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO NOAA AS SOON AWS AVAILABLE AND ICHTHYOPLANKTON DATA AS SOON AS IDENTIFICATION AND SORTING IS COMPLETED. DELIVERABLES SHALL BE AN ANNUAL REPORT AFTER YEAR 1 AND 2 AND A FINAL REPORT DUE WITHIN THIRTY DAYS AFTER COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT. THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE SHALL BE THE DATE OF THIS TASK ORDER AND CONTINUE THROUGH THREE YEARS.