Resources for Alaska Coastal Communities

CACS Gulf of Alaska CoastWatch Activity Guide
Download Copy

This activity guide includes a tiered approach to beach exploration and coastal monitoring on rocky and sandy/muddy beaches in the Gulf of Alaska. The guide includes instructional activities to introduce concepts about intertidal diversity and scientific sampling considerations and field trip activities to explore the beach as an environment, conduct a CoastWalk to collect and share biological and human use observations, and to conduct more rigorous sampling of the diversity and abundance of marine invertebrates in intertidal communities. Background sections summarize the intertidal ecology of the region and provide a framework for monitoring change. The guide is designed as a curriculum guide for students in grades 4-12 but can also be used to develop training programs for citizen volunteers.

Coastal Habitat Maps

ShoreZone mapping has been completed for many areas of the Alaskan coastline by combining georeferenced, digital videography; expert mapping of physical and biological shoreline characteristics, and ground-truthing. The resulting GIS maps and associated database are an important baseline for detection of significant changes in the future. The information and "fly the coast" videography is accessible to the public at http://www.coastalaska.net as a resource for education and marine recreation.

To learn how to create and download maps, download our ShoreZone “how to” guide.

Access to Real-time Oceanographic and Weather Data.

Alaska Ocean Observing System http://www.aoos.org.

Detection and Reporting of Observations of Marine Invasives.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game: Invasive Species homepage.
http:// www.adfg.state.ak.us/special/invasive/invasive.php

Online Alaska Seaweed Atlas.

A new website provides information and images of 120 species of seaweeds at http://www.seaweedsofalaska.com. Sponsored by Cook Inlet RCAC (http://www.circac.org), the website displays images and information for seaweeds that occur on beaches surveyed during their coastal surveys. Users can view individual seaweed species organized within a searchable and browsable taxonomic structure. The home page of the website allows you to access seaweed information through a search for a specific phylum, genus or by looking at links to species organized under the categories for green, red, and brown algae. Descriptions of different habitat types, the various regions of the Gulf of Alaska (such as Kachemak Bay, Prince William Sound, and others), and maps that show the locations of the sites from where intertidal photos have been collected can also be seen on the new web pages.