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On the afternoon of January 30th, 2002, managers from across the nation set out to learn about integrated science in Tampa Bay. |
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They left the USGS Center for Coastal and Marine Studies in St. Petersburg to board a 54’ catamaran waiting for them behind the USF/ FMRI marine science complex. |
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Traveling southeast across Tampa Bay, the group heard from the senior scientist of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Holly Greening. |
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Holly and her team of over 150 scientists have coordinated with elected officials to establish long term restoration and protection goals of natural resources in Tampa Bay. Holly spoke to the USGS management team about their important role as a long term partner to fill tactical gaps in the research conducted in Tampa Bay. |
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The managers sailed past the expansive Sunshine Skyway Bridge leaving downtown St. Petersburg in their wake. |
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They heard from Mike Crane of the EROS data center. He briefly spoke of urban growth and significant changes in land cover and land use practices over the past 50 years. |
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Mike Crane demonstrates the use of USGS’s highly advanced computer technology in predictive modeling of future dynamics in the estuary. |
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Their first stop was Mariposa Key, a relatively undisturbed portion of shoreline in the Tampa Bay estuary where several different studies have already been conducted. |
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The managers participated in a wading tour of the area and were given a brief discription of the experiments. |
