Tampa Bay Integrated Science Pilot Study:

Digital Library

Digital Library home page [enlargement]

The Tampa Bay Pilot Project is an integrated science effort by the USGS that combines the expertise of Federal, State, and local partners to address some of the most pressing societal and ecological problems of the Tampa Bay estuary. As a pilot study, the project will serve to develop a template for application of integrated research projects in other estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico.

As part of this effort, the Tampa Bay Pilot Study Digital Library was developed by the USGS National Wetlands Research Center as a web-based clearinghouse for scientific data related to the assessment and management of Tampa Bay.

When monitoring the health of Tampa Bay, natural resource managers make use of a variety of data such as historical depictions of the estuary, habitat analysis, shoreline change, and biological processes.

The digital library centralizes this information on the project website for scientists, natural resource managers, and the public. Users can access comprehensive geological, ecological, and water quality data that is required to make decisions about the future health of the estuary. Information is indexed by keyword and data type allowing visitors to quickly locate resource materials.