The Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institute started in October 2006. It is one of 20 NOAA Cooperative Institutes (CIs). The NGI is a partnership of six academic institutions and NOAA. The collaboration led by Mississippi State University (MSU), includes the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), Louisiana State University (LSU), Florida State University (FSU), the

University of Alabama in Huntsville The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises eight colleges: arts, humanities ...

, and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL). The NGI defines the Northern Gulf of Mexico region as the upland, watershed, coastal zone, and coastal ocean areas from the Sabine River in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

east to the

Suwannee River The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River or Swanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the Southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrog ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

History

The Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institute developed within the context of the Memorandum of Agreement between Mississippi State University (MSU) and

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploratio ...

. The collaboration led by Mississippi State University (MSU), includes the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), Louisiana State University (LSU), Florida State University (FSU), and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL). The NGI also has Memorandum of Agreements with several regional entities who share interests in the Gulf of Mexico including th
Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium
the Harte Research Institute, th
Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association
and the

Mississippi Department of Marine Resources The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) is a state agency of Mississippi headquartered in the Eldon Bolton State Office building in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was created by the legislature as a new state agency in 1994 to manage Missis ...

. The NGI defines the Northern Gulf of Mexico region as the upland, watershed, coastal zone, and coastal ocean areas the Sabine River in

east to the

. This region is a rich and interdependent natural environment of great complexity vital to the Nation. The riverine-dominated Northern Gulf ecosystems are under pressure from increasing population and coastal development, impacts from severe storms and climate variability, inland watershed and coastal wetlands degradation, and many other factors. This is the geographic focus for the NGI. Recognizing the need to integrate research and technology to more effectively address the needs of the Northern Gulf of Mexico, NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) issued an Announcement of Federal Funding Opportunity (OAR-CIPO-2006-2000641) on April 26, 2006. NOAA evaluated and awarded the Northern Gulf Institute Cooperative Institute to the team led by

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

on October 1, 2006. The award is part of the Cooperative Institute Program furthering regional and national interests in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. The institute is consistent with and expands upon the Memorandum of Agreement between MSU and NOAA, the NOAA notice of award to MSU of October 1, 2006, and the NOAA Cooperative Institute Interim Handbook. NGI’s approach to Northern Gulf Regional issues and opportunities is closely aligned with NOAA’s strategic and research priorities. The NGI is also guided in its mission by a number of sources, the White House’s Ocean Action Plan and the 2004 coordinated and comprehensive report of the congressional United States Commission on Ocean Policy, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, and others. The result is an approach that is science driven, regionally focused, and coordinated with other Gulf of Mexico Basin activities. NOAA awarded NGI a second five-year term in 2011, after a NOAA Science Advisory Board review rated NGI as outstanding.

Vision

The NGI seeks research-driven transformations in regional ecosystem-based management enable managers and communities to improve the resilience and health of ecosystems and people and the sustainability of resources in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Mission

The NGI conducts research that builds an integrated, comprehensive understanding of natural and human impacts on northern Gulf of Mexico ecosystems and economies to improve its management.

Research themes and goals

The NGI focuses on four research themes that align with NOAA’s research and operational focuses. These themes provide a framework for the activities of the institute. The four NGI research themes are: #

Ecosystem-based management Ecosystem-based management is an environmental management approach that recognizes the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including humans, rather than considering single issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation. It can be ...

Geospatial data Geographic data and information is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to Earth (a geographic location or geographic position). It is also cal ...

/information and visualization in environmental science #

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and

climate variability Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events, whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more ...

effects on regional ecosystems # Coastal hazards and resiliency The NGI has three research goals and two engagement goals. The three research goals are: # Understand the structure, function, and services of ecosystems across land-sea, ocean-atmosphere, and coastal waters-deep sea interfaces # Synthesize information across disciplines to reduce uncertainty and to forecast ecosystem responses # Develop applications that address regional management needs The two engagement goals are: # Develop, facilitate, disseminate, and transition research, knowledge, and applications # Build internal and external connections for institutional sustainability

References

External links

Northern Gulf Institute

Mississippi State University High Performance Computing Collaboratory
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