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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract/Grant No. CMRC/WASC/NOAA 50ABNF-0-00013 (BAA00360) between the National Academy of Sciences and Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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Cover: The background is a SeaWiFS satellite image showing the brilliant phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Alaska. This photo was provided by the SeaWiFS Project, National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE. The second image, the inlay of the two Orcas, Orcinus orca, affectionately known as Maverick and his wingman Iceman, was taken in June 1992 by Retired Commander John Bortniak of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Corps. Photo courtesy of NOAA photo library. Cover design by Van Nguyen of the National Academy Press.
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Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M.Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V.Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M.Alberts and Dr. Wm. A.Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE GULF OF ALASKA ECOSYSTEM MONITORING PROGRAM
Members
MICHAEL ROMAN, Chair,
University of Maryland, Cambridge
DON BOWEN,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
ADRIA A.ELSKUS,
University of Kentucky, Lexington
JOHN J.GOERING,
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
GEORGE HUNT,
University of California, Irvine
SETH MACINKO,
University of Rhode Island, Narragansett
DONAL MANAHAN,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
BRENDA NORCROSS,
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
J.STEVEN PICOU,
University of South Alabama, Mobile
THOMAS C.ROYER,
Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia
JENNIFER RUESINK,
University of Washington, Seattle
KARL TUREKIAN,
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Staff
CHRIS ELFRING, Director,
Polar Research Board
DAVID POLICANSKY, Associate Director,
Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology
ANN CARLISLE, Administrative Associate
POLAR RESEARCH BOARD
Members
ROBIN BELL, Chair,
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, New York
RICHARD B.ALLEY,
Pennsylvania State University, University Park
AKHIL DATTA-GUPTA,
Texas A&M University, College Station
HENRY P.HUNTINGTON,
Huntington Consulting, Eagle River, Alaska
AMANDA LYNCH,
University of Colorado, Boulder
ROBIE MACDONALD,
Fisheries and Oceans, Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia
MILES MCPHEE,
McPhee Research Company, Naches, Washington
CAROLE L.SEYFRIT,
Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia
Ex-Officio Members
MAHLON C.KENNICUTT,
Texas A&M University, College Station
ROBERT RUTFORD,
University of Texas, Dallas
PATRICK WEBBER,
Michigan State University, East Lansing
Staff
CHRIS ELFRING, Director
ANN CARLISLE, Administrative Associate
ROB GREENWAY,1 Project Assistant
BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
Members
GORDON ORIANS (Chair),
University of Washington, Seattle
JOHN DOULL (Vice Chair),
University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City
DAVID ALLEN,
University of Texas, Austin
INGRID C.BURKE,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
THOMAS BURKE,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
WILLIAM L.CHAMEIDES,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
CHRISTOPHER B.FIELD,
Carnegie Institute of Washington, Stanford, California
DANIEL S.GREENBAUM,
Health Effects Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts
BRUCE D.HAMMOCK,
University of California, Davis
ROGENE HENDERSON,
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
CAROL HENRY,
American Chemistry Council, Arlington, Virginia
ROBERT HUGGETT,
Michigan State University, East Lansing
JAMES H.JOHNSON,
Howard University, Washington, D.C.
JAMES F.KITCHELL,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
DANIEL KREWSKI,
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
JAMES A.MACMAHON,
Utah State University, Logan
WILLEM F.PASSCHIER,
Health Council of the Netherlands, The Hague
ANN POWERS,
Pace University School of Law, White Plains, New York
LOUISE M.RYAN,
Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
KIRK SMITH,
University of California, Berkeley
LISA SPEER,
Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, New York
Senior Staff
JAMES J.REISA, Director
DAVID J.POLICANSKY, Associate Director and Senior Program Director for Applied Ecology
RAYMOND A.WASSEL, Senior Program Director for Environmental Sciences and Engineering
KULBIR BAKSHI, Program Director for the Committee on Toxicology
ROBERTA M.WEDGE, Program Director for Risk Analysis
K.JOHN HOLMES, Senior Staff Officer
SUSAN MARTEL, Senior Staff Officer
SUZANNE VAN DRUNICK, Senior Staff Officer
RUTH E.CROSSGROVE, Managing Editor
Preface
This report is in response to a request from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council to review the Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Program (GEM). To ensure that the GEM program is based on a science plan that is robust, far-reaching, and scientifically sound, the Trustee Council asked the National Academies to serve as an independent advisor. The Academies appointed a special committee and charged it to review the scope and content of the program as it evolved. To meet this charge our committee reviewed Trustee Council planning documents and met with their representatives and with individuals representing various communities and user groups of the Gulf of Alaska region.
Trustee Council funds for long-term research in the Gulf of Alaska provide a rare opportunity for citizens, resource managers, and scientists to understand an ecosystem and obtain data essential to its long-term management. Virtually all ecosystems on Earth are influenced by natural changes and human activities. Sustained observations are necessary to separate the influences of these factors and to document natural fluctuations of ecosystem processes. We face this challenge in managing the living resources of all ecosystems. Thus the financial commitment to GEM, if coupled with careful planning and sound science, can serve as a model for ecosystem science and management. This is an exciting prospect.
This report is not an endorsement of a specific science plan for the long-term study of the Gulf of Alaska. While planning is well under way, the details of such a plan will arise after careful analysis, synthesis, and scientific deliberation. We focus this review on the planning process and scientific infrastructure necessary for a successful long-term environmen-
tal research program in the Gulf. We make recommendations on how the GEM planning process can be improved, based on the experience of the committee and lessons learned from other environmental research programs. Our report is divided into sections relating to planning long-term ecosystem science; the importance of a conceptual foundation; determining scope and geographic focus; organization structure; community involvement and traditional knowledge; data management; and synthesis, modeling, and evaluation. We recommend a course of action that has proven successful in planning and implementing other large interdisciplinary science programs.
Many people provided information to this committee as we prepared our report. In particular we would like to thank Molly McCammon, Phil Mundy, and Robert Spies of the Trustee Council; Gary Kompkoff from the village of Tatitlek; and Patty Brown-Schwalenberg of the Chugach Regional Resources Commission. On behalf of the entire committee I want to thank Chris Elfring of the Polar Research Board and David Policansky of the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. Their sage council, broad experience with the NRC process, diligence, and professionalism greatly contributed to this report. We thank Ann Carlisle of the Polar Research Board for her excellent logistic and administrative support. Finally, I especially want to thank my fellow committee members. They worked hard, gave unselfishly of their time, and patiently learned the language and biases of different scientific disciplines while they worked to meet our charge.
Michael Roman, Chair
Committee to Review the Gulf of Alaska
Ecosystem Monitoring Program
Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Kenneth H.Brink, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
Ingrid C.Burke, College of Natural Resources, Fort Collins, Colorado
Robert B.Gramling, University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette
Mahlon C.Kennicutt, Texas A&M University, College Station
John J.Magnuson, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Sharon L.Smith, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Miami, Florida
Judith Vergun, Oregon State University, Corvallis
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Garry Brewer
of Yale University. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
