The identification and quantification of global change, including climate change, requires long time series of key variables. In this work, the fundamentals and operation of low-cost long-term coastal observatories are described, and preliminary data are shown. The vision is to offer a scientific platform of physicochemical data for at least the next 100 years, what requires establishing sustainable strategies, training human resources, strong institutional support, and long-term funding sources. The network formally operates since 2013 and has generated more than 6 million data points, continuously growing, of which >1.5 million data points are permanently stored and available through a public access web platform. The strategies and methodologies are described and, in the Mazatlan observatory, data recovery and basic statistics of eight environmental variables are presented. During 2015, an extreme El Nino year, marine temperatures increased from the bay to the middle Urias coastal lagoon, were higher than atmospheric temperatures, and showed the impact of a thermal power plant. In surface waters of Mazatlan bay, hypoxic periods were also observed. It is expected that results will foster the development of other projects, and will be useful to the scientific community and decision makers, for a better management of coastal ecosystems worldwide.
1.Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Unidad Acad Proc Ocean & Costeros, Inst Ciencias Mar & Limnol, Ciudad De Mexico 04510, DF, Mexico 2.Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Unidad Informat Marina, Inst Ciencias Mar & Limnol, Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico 3.Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Estn El Carmen, Inst Ciencias Mar & Limnol, Ciudad Del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico 4.Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Unidad Acad Sistemas Arrecifales, Inst Ciencias Mar & Limnol, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico 5.Ctr Estudios Ambientales Cienfuegos, Ciudad Nucl, Cienfuegos, Cuba 6.Inst Ecol, Red Ecol Func, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico 7.Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Unidad Acad Ecol & Biodiversidad Acuat, Inst Ciencias Mar & Limnol, Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico 8.Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Unidad Acad Mazatlan, Inst Ciencias Mar & Limnol, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico 9.Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Posgrad Ciencias Mar & Limnol, Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico 10.Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Posgrad Ciencias Tierra, Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico 11.Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Ctr Ciencias Atmosfera, Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico
Recommended Citation:
Sanchez-Cabeza, Joan-Albert,Alvarez-Sanchez, Leon Felipe,Gilberto Cardoso-Mohedano, Jose,et al. A low-cost long-term model of coastal observatories of global change[J]. JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY,2019-01-01,12(1):34-46