NS&T Program: National Status and Trends Program for Marine Environmental Quality

In 1984, NOAA initiated the National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program to determine the current status of, and to detect changes in, the environmental quality of our Nation’s estuarine and coastal waters. The NS&T Program is managed by the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) in NOAA’s National Ocean Service. The NS&T (1) conducts long-term monitoring of contaminants (Table 1) and other environmental conditions at more than 350 sites along U.S. coasts, (2) studies biotic effects intensively at more than 25 coastal ecosystems, (3) partners with other agencies in a variety of environmental activities, and (4) advises and participates in local, regional, national, and international projects related to coastal monitoring and assessment. 1998 NOS (National Ocean Service) NCCOS (National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science) Library Public Domain 1935