DISCLAIMER
CARICOOS provides this data portal as a service to the public. This tool was developed for information and display purposes only and caution should be taken when analyzing and interpreting the included data products. CARICOOS is not responsible for the accuracy or content of information of the linked Internet resources and websites or for inappropriate use of this tool.
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Coastal Barriers
20 products availableUnique landforms that provide protection for diverse aquatic habitats and serve as the mainland’s first line of defense against the impacts of severe coastal storms and erosion.
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Coastal Hazards20 products available
Physical phenomena that expose a coastal area to risk of property damage, loss of life and environmental degradation.
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Conservation17 products available
Planned management of a natural resource so that they can persist for future generations. It includes maintaining diversity of species, genes, and ecosystems, as well as functions of the environment.
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Coastal Planning17 products available
A process planners use to make better decisions about ocean uses.
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Mangroves15 products available
Woody tree or shrub that lives along sheltered coastlines within the tropic or subtropic latitudes.
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Critical Habitat14 products available
A habitat area essential to the conservation of a listed species.
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Habitat13 products available
The natural environment in which an organism or population normally lives.
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Seagrasses13 products available
Seagrasses are grass-like flowering plants that live completely submerged in marine and estuarine waters.
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Marine Spatial Ecology11 products available
The role of space in marine population dynamics and interspecific interactions.
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Nearshore11 products available
Littoral zone, the part of a sea, lake or river which is close to the shore.
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Benthic11 products available
Relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water.
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Hurricanes10 products available
Tropical cyclone, with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or higher, that forms over tropical or subtropical waters in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean.
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Growth (vertical and/or horizontal) of morphological structures (beach, bar, dune, sand bank, tidal flat, salt marsh, tidal channel, etc.) by sedimentation.
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Members of a group of predominantly aquatic photosynthetic organisms of the kingdom Protista.
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Instrument that measures the altitude of the land surface or any object such as an airplane.
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Cultivation of aquatic organisms in controlled aquatic environments for any commercial, recreational or public purpose.
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AMO. Ongoing cycle of long-duration changes in the sea surface temperature of the North Atlantic Ocean, with cool and warm phases that may last for 20-40 years.
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Group of unicellular microorganisms which have cell walls but lack organelles and an organized nucleus, include some pathogens.
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The study of the "beds" or "floors" of water bodies, including the ocean, rivers, streams, and lakes.
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Description of the condition of the water, including chemical, physical, and biological characteristics, usually with respect to its suitability for a particular purpose such as swimming.
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Zone of unconsolidated material that extends landward from the low water line to the place where there is marked changes in material or physiographic form, or to the line of permanent vegetation.
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Relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water.
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Variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi.
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Amount of living matter in a given habitat, expressed either as the weight of organisms per unit area or as the volume of organisms per unit volume of habitat.
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Carbon captured by the world's ocean and coastal ecosystems.
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Sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem.
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Buildup of calcium in a body tissue, causing the tissue to harden.
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Colorless and non-flammable gas at normal temperature and pressure. It is an important greenhouse gas that helps to trap heat in our atmosphere.
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Class of pigments found in virtually all photosynthetic organisms, including green plants, cyanobacteria, and algae. It absorbs energy from light.
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Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns due to natural causes or human activities.
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Long-term average of a given variable, often over time periods of 20-30 years.
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Unique landforms that provide protection for diverse aquatic habitats and serve as the mainland’s first line of defense against the impacts of severe coastal storms and erosion.
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Physical phenomena that expose a coastal area to risk of property damage, loss of life and environmental degradation.
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A process planners use to make better decisions about ocean uses.
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Bacteria that are always present in the digestive tracts of animals, including humans, and are found in their wastes. They are also found in plant and soil material.
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Planned management of a natural resource so that they can persist for future generations. It includes maintaining diversity of species, genes, and ecosystems, as well as functions of the environment.
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Sessile marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria that typically live in colonies of many identical individual polyps.
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A habitat area essential to the conservation of a listed species.
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Movement of water from one location to another, normally driven by tidal currents, wind and thermohaline circulation.
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Large system of winds that circulates about a centre of low atmospheric pressure in a counterclockwise direction north of the Equator and in a clockwise direction to the south.
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Standard reference for sharing information on biological diversity.
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DEM; is a representation of the bare ground (bare earth) topographic surface of the Earth excluding trees, buildings, and any other surface objects.
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Adverse events that have the potential to cause catastrophic loss of life and physical destruction.
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Shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s lithosphere that creates seismic waves.
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The wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.
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A system that includes all living organisms (biotic factors) in an area as well as its physical environment (abiotic factors).
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Managerial function to create the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters.
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Precautions taken before an emergency or disaster happens to help lessen damage and effects on people and property. It is the first step in emergency management and is subdivided into mitigation and direct preparedness phases.
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ESA; Federal law that was enacted in 1973 to protect endangered and threatened species from becoming extinct.
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Bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and therefore indicate possible contamination of streams and rivers by fecal waste.
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Concise summary of coastal resources that could be at risk in the event of an oil spill.
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Surface process that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth’s crust, and then transports it to another location.
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Those waters and substrates necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity.
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Seaward portion of a drowned valley system which receives sediment and water from both fluvial and marine sources giving rise to a unique sedimentary regime and areas of variable salinity.
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Zone where the U.S. and other coastal nations have jurisdiction over natural resources.
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The industry or occupation devoted to the catching, processing, or selling of fish, shellfish, or other aquatic animals. A place where fish or other aquatic animals are caught.
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Hazards associated with flooding. They are divided into primary hazards (due to contact with water), secondary (effects that occur because of the flooding), and tertiary effects such as changes in the position of river channels.
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Tool for assessing a property’s flood risk. Maps show a community’s flood zone, floodplain boundaries, and base flood elevation.
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Gradual increase in temperature of the earth’s atmosphere observed since the pre-industrial period due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.
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The natural environment in which an organism or population normally lives.
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Technology to map ocean surface currents and wave fields (along with other variables) over wide areas with high spatial and temporal resolution.
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HMS; Fish species that travel long distances and often cross domestic and international boundaries.
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Tropical cyclone, with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or higher, that forms over tropical or subtropical waters in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean.
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The basic systems and services, such as transport and power supplies, that a country or organization uses in order to work effectively.
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Total water level that occurs on normally dry ground as a result of flooding due to abnormally high tides, storm surge, persistent onshore winds and waves, and runoff.
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Highest tides that occur over the course of the year. These especially high tides eventuate when a new or full moon occurs at the same time as the moon is at its closest to the earth (in its perigee).
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Observed physical cover on the earth’s surface. Includes grass, asphalt, trees, waters, bare ground, etc.
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A place to dispose of refuse and other waste material.
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Remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure distances to the Earth.
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Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) is a growing global initiative composed of regional networks of scientists, resource managers, and end-users working to integrate data from existing long-term programs to improve our understanding of changes and connections between marine biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
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Woody tree or shrub that lives along sheltered coastlines within the tropic or subtropic latitudes.
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Introduction of substances from humans into the marine environment resulting in harmful effects as harm to living resources, hazards to human health, hindrance to marine activities including fishing, and impairment of seawater quality.
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Protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great lakes. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources.
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The role of space in marine population dynamics and interspecific interactions.
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Process of analyzing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives that are usually specified through a political process.
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Base level for measuring elevation and depth on Earth.
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The process or result of making something less severe, dangerous, painful, harsh, or damaging.
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Sustainable management and use of natural features and processes to tackle socio-environmental issues including climate change, water security, water pollution, food security, human health, biodiversity loss, and disaster risk management.
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ATON. Any type of signal, marker, or guidance device that aids the traveler in navigation, usually in maritime or aviation. Common types of such aids include lighthouses, buoys, fog signals and day beacon.
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Littoral zone, the part of a sea, lake or river which is close to the shore.
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NAO. Index describing changes in the strength of two recurring pressure patterns in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic: a low near Iceland, and a high near the Azores Islands.
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Reduction in the pH of seawater as a consequence of the absorption of large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) by the oceans.
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Ability of people and their communities to anticipate, accommodate and positively adapt to or thrive amidst changing climate conditions and hazard events.
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A landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill.
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Seagrasses are grass-like flowering plants that live completely submerged in marine and estuarine waters.
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Frequency and severity of earthquakes in a given region.
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Any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life.
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System consisting of equipments to follow and obtain vessels real time information including ship position, speed, location, etc.
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A regularly used navigable route for commercial ships.
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Sessile multicelullar marine filter feeders with dense and porous bodies with channels, allowing water to circulate through them.
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An abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, over and above the predicted astronomical tides.
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Ocean currents driven by global wind systems that are fueled by energy from the Sun.
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Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
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Any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
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Periodic rising and falling of water that results from the gravitational attraction of the Moon and Sun and other astronomical bodies acting upon the rotating Earth.
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Detailed record of a land area, giving geographic positions and elevations for both natural and man-made features. They show the shape of the land the mountains, valleys, and plains by lines of equal elevation above sea level.
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A tropical cyclone that has maximum sustained surface winds of 38 mph (33 knots) or less.
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Series of ocean waves caused by the displacement of large volume of water by earthquakes, underwater landslides or undersea volcanic eruptions.
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Chemical, physical and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage.
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A disturbance or variation that transfers energy progressively from point to point in a medium and that may take the form of an elastic deformation or of a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic intensity, electric potential, or temperature.
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Complex ecosystem characterized by flooding or saturation of the soil, which creates low-oxygen environments that favor a specialized assemblage of plants, animals, and microbes adapted to tolerate periods of sluggishly moving or standing water.
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Perceptible natural movement of the air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction.
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Photosynthetic cells that live in coral tissues.