New NOAA Coral web site (CORIS)!

[Jim Hendee]

NOAA 02-126
CONTACT: =20
Patricia Viets, NOAA
(301) 457-5005

~~~ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ~~~

 NOAA UNVEILS COMPREHENSIVE WEB SITE ON CORAL REEFS

 A new Internet site designed as a single point of access for
information on coral reefs is now online, the Commerce Department's
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today.

 The site, the Coral Reef Information System, or CoRIS, provides data
and information derived from NOAA programs and projects. The site
provides access to 19,000 aerial photos, 400 preview navigational
charts, tide stations, paleoclimatological studies, photo mosaics, coral
reef monitoring, bleaching reports, and other information. Before CoRIS,
users faced an array of more than 50 NOAA coral reef Web sites.

 CoRIS, backed by powerful search engines, offers a Web-enabled,
GIS-enhanced, state-of-the-art information system using a single Web
portal to gain easy access to NOAA's coral reef resources. By cataloging
and indexing metadata summarizing the actual data holdings, CoRIS easily
guides the user to the desired data and information. CoRIS supports
NOAA's activities on the National Coral Reef Task Force and NOAA's
implementation of the National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs.

 Corals are ancient animals that date back 400 million years. Over the
past 25 million years they have evolved into modern reef-building forms.
Coral reefs are one of the most diverse habitats in the world and are
considered the largest structures on Earth of biological origin,
rivaling old-growth forests in their longevity. Reefs can be many
hundreds of years old. Reefs provide important protection for coastal
communities from storms, wave damage and erosion, as well as homes and
nurseries for almost a million species of plants, animals and other
organisms, including many that we rely on for food.

 Corals are now a cross-cutting theme throughout NOAA, and the recent
"National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs" calls on NOAA and its
Coral Reef Task Force partners to reduce or eliminate the most
destructive human-derived threats to coral reefs. The plan describes
nine long-range, far-reaching strategies to address these threats:

*  Expand and strengthen the network of coral reef marine protected
areas
and reserves;
*  Reduce the adverse impacts of extractive uses such as overfishing;
*  Reduce habitat destruction;
*  Reduce pollution such as marine debris;
*  Restore damaged reefs;
*  Reduce global threats to reefs;
*  Reduce impacts of international trade of coral reef resources;
*  Improve interagency accountability and coordination; and
*  Inform the public.

 The Coral Reef Information System Web site (CoRIS) is located at:

      http://www.coris.noaa.gov/

 NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety
through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related
events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal
and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit
http://www.noaa.gov.
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