4.1 SITE SELECTION
It would seem obvious that the best place to put up a coral reef meteorological and
oceanographic monitoring station would be near a coral reef, but there are in fact many
considerations that must be taken into account. Adhering to the same principals of site
selection for each station allows for comparison among the stations, which provides for
greater confidence in conclusions. Following are some of the considerations that must
be taken into account before choosing a proper site for installing a CREWS station.
• It is best if the site can be on the lee side of the island or local land mass (that
is, away from the prevailing winds), but not so close to land so that wind speed
and direction cannot be measured to show the general trend throughout the
day. The concept is that it would be best not to set up where the station would
continuously be pounded by high seas. Not only would this reduce the
lifetime of the station, but it would also make it very difficult for personnel to
carry out the installation and maintenance. It should be paramount to keep
safety of the station maintainer at the top of the list of station considerations.
• The site must be acceptable to NOAA's Coastal Zone Management office, any
National Park or Reserve where the station might be located, the Army Corps
of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and/or
any other appropriate regulatory agency.
• Arrangements must be made with a local entity or person for station
maintenance. Ideally, a graduate student or federal or territorial agency
partner would see to the maintenance every ten days to two weeks. The
upkeep is generally low effort, but maintenance and calibration costs should be
carefully determined and an agreement made with the local maintainer on who
will pay for specific costs.
• Because of the design of the station, the site should be in 6 m of water. This is
especially important for comparison of data from the same research instrument
suite deployed at different sites. "Colonized pavement" (NOAA Biogeography
Program, 2005) bottom seems to be best for the CREWS station deployment,
as it provides for comparisons of similar coral community types at all the
regions of installation. Placing the station at an area where extensive research
(e.g., coral bleaching) has been conducted before is helpful, especially since
the extended research instrument platform contains instruments designed to
answer research-related questions.
• The station will ideally not be at a site where it could be considered visually
obtrusive or offensive in any other way to the local population. With
community involvement, the local population can be educated as to the
benefits of the station, and, if applicable, informed that the station location is
temporary.
• It would be highly advantageous if the site were at a spot where an interested
party could see it often, to help obviate possible vandalism. (Hopefully this
and the above conditions go together.)
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Hendee, Stabenau, Florit, Manzello and Jeffris
It would seem obvious that the best place to put up a coral reef meteorological and
oceanographic monitoring station would be near a coral reef, but there are in fact many
considerations that must be taken into account. Adhering to the same principals of site
selection for each station allows for comparison among the stations, which provides for
greater confidence in conclusions. Following are some of the considerations that must
be taken into account before choosing a proper site for installing a CREWS station.
• It is best if the site can be on the lee side of the island or local land mass (that
is, away from the prevailing winds), but not so close to land so that wind speed
and direction cannot be measured to show the general trend throughout the
day. The concept is that it would be best not to set up where the station would
continuously be pounded by high seas. Not only would this reduce the
lifetime of the station, but it would also make it very difficult for personnel to
carry out the installation and maintenance. It should be paramount to keep
safety of the station maintainer at the top of the list of station considerations.
• The site must be acceptable to NOAA's Coastal Zone Management office, any
National Park or Reserve where the station might be located, the Army Corps
of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and/or
any other appropriate regulatory agency.
• Arrangements must be made with a local entity or person for station
maintenance. Ideally, a graduate student or federal or territorial agency
partner would see to the maintenance every ten days to two weeks. The
upkeep is generally low effort, but maintenance and calibration costs should be
carefully determined and an agreement made with the local maintainer on who
will pay for specific costs.
• Because of the design of the station, the site should be in 6 m of water. This is
especially important for comparison of data from the same research instrument
suite deployed at different sites. "Colonized pavement" (NOAA Biogeography
Program, 2005) bottom seems to be best for the CREWS station deployment,
as it provides for comparisons of similar coral community types at all the
regions of installation. Placing the station at an area where extensive research
(e.g., coral bleaching) has been conducted before is helpful, especially since
the extended research instrument platform contains instruments designed to
answer research-related questions.
• The station will ideally not be at a site where it could be considered visually
obtrusive or offensive in any other way to the local population. With
community involvement, the local population can be educated as to the
benefits of the station, and, if applicable, informed that the station location is
temporary.
• It would be highly advantageous if the site were at a spot where an interested
party could see it often, to help obviate possible vandalism. (Hopefully this
and the above conditions go together.)
140
Hendee, Stabenau, Florit, Manzello and Jeffris