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UCLA‑led student project aims to map California ocean monitoring and un‑analyzed samples
Summary
Mark Gold of CALCOFI told the council a UCLA senior practicum will inventory ocean monitoring across state waters, include GIS locations, identify analytes and gaps, and highlight archived samples that have yet to be analyzed — work intended to support development of a statewide ocean monitoring program.
Mark Gold, director of the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CALCOFI), told the council that a team of UCLA senior practicum students will attempt a statewide inventory of ocean monitoring in California state waters.
Gold said the inventory will identify monitoring locations, sampling frequency, which parameters are measured, and where data gaps exist. He also flagged that multiple organizations, including academic and agency programs, have archived samples that remain unanalyzed; he gave the example that CALCOFI appears to hold about a decade of manta trawl samples that have not been processed. The students plan to produce a GIS component so stakeholders can visualize spatial coverage and temporal gaps.
Gold sought input from council members and agency partners on data models and interoperability; several members offered to share data models and to help align the inventory with existing federal and regional efforts such as Internet of Water or the Chesapeake model. He proposed sharing a near‑final draft with the council and State Water Board by next summer so agencies can review and advise.
Why it matters
Council members noted that a unified inventory could help design a model monitoring program, reveal where monitoring coverage is weak (for example, deeper state waters and some North Coast areas), and show where stored samples might be prioritized for analysis. The council recommended follow‑up and potential coordination between the inventory project and the council’s post‑fire monitoring efforts where ocean data are relevant.
