The NOAA Library research service team leads NOAA policy analysts and scientists in gathering information to support evidence-based decision-making and scientific inquiry. As part of our new blog we’ll be diving deep into highlighting projects our team has done, but before that we’d like to highlight a few projects the research service team supported in 2024.
MDBC Deepwater Horizon Gulf restoration
Vital seafloor habitats were damaged by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. NOAA and partners have built a network of experts and resources to restore this underexplored area in the Gulf. Over the past four years, NOAA Library’s research services team has been working to support projects related to mapping, ground-truthing, and predictive modeling of mesophotic and deep benthic (MDBC) habitats in the northern Gulf by providing comprehensive literature reviews. Datasets within the literature are being used to guide new data collection methods and provide further information related to management and restoration.
Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS)
The GLANSIS database, an interagency project led by the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), contains the best available information about nonindigenous aquatic species in the Great Lakes region. The information is meant to be used by researchers and stake holders to limit the introduction, spread, and help mitigate invasive species. Since 2020, the NOAA Library's research team has collaborated with the GLANSIS team to ensure regular updates to existing species profiles by providing in-depth literature reviews of species. In 2024, NOAA Library provided eleven literature reviews to the GLANSIS team.
Supported numerous Endangered Species Act Status and 5-year reviews
NOAA Fisheries is responsible for the protection, conservation, and recovery of more than 160 endangered and threatened marine and anadromous species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA Library’s Research Service assists NMFS to ensure access to the best available science in order to inform the decisions. In 2024 our team provided research support for status reviews of Alabama Shad, Washington Coast Chinook Salmon, and the Sunflower Sea star in response to petitions to add the species to the Endangered Species Act. The research team also provides support for 5-year reviews to ensure that the listing classifications of species are accurate. Last year, the team supported reviews of Hawksbill sea turtles, African Coelacanth, Sawback angelshark, and the Smalltooth Sawfish.
Use of NOAA bottom trawl survey data
Bottom trawl surveys are some of the longest running and continuous bottom fish and marine sampling done. These surveys help monitor the population and environmental trends as well as collect data for ecosystem-based fisheries management. NOAA Library was asked to collect publications that use NOAA’s bottom trawl survey’s data and findings and provided support for researchers at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center on work to understand the value of fisheries independent trawl surveys and highlight the importance of surveys as a methodology in fisheries research.
The EndNote libraries for these projects are available from NOAA Library upon request.
Contact us at reference.library@noaa.gov