Specific Research Highlights
Evaluate Economic, Environmental, and Social Outcomes of Nutrient
Management Policies by developing a policy simulation tool that draws from
existing data and stakeholder input, enabling users to explore different scenarios,
interpret results, and evaluate outcomes of selected policies or interventions
aimed at reducing adverse impacts of nutrients on the watershed.
Estuary Data Mapper, a web-based decision-support system that includes GIS
coverages with links to geo-referenced relational databases of environmental
monitoring information for estuaries and associated coastal watersheds.
Understanding Risks of Emerging Contaminants by creating and applying
advanced tools and endpoints to identify exposures and potential effects of
pharmaceuticals, persona! care products, and other anthropogenic contaminants
in urban estuarine systems.
Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool (WMOST), a user-
friendly decision-support tool to find the most cost-effective suite of management
practices for watersheds and communities to meet water quantity and quality-
related goals within an integrated water management framework.
Non-monetary Benefit Indicators for Prioritizing Wetland Restoration
Projects. The Rapid Benefit Indicators (RBI) Approach is a process to assess
restoration sites using non-monetary benefit indicators which quantify benefits to
local communities.
Models to Inform Nutrient Management in Estuaries and Coastal
Waters, using multiple ecological endpoints to assist in the derivation of nutrient
criteria and standards, water clarity goals, and restoration objectives for seagrass.
Related research links nutrient loading from watersheds to their ecological effects
in estuarine systems.
More Information
AED Main Office: 401-782-3011
or https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-
atlantic-ecology-division-aed-epas-national-
health-and-environmental -effects-research
Recycled/Recyclable. Printed with
^ vegetable-based ink on paper that contains
• ^0 a minimum of 50% post-consumer fiber
and is processed chlorine free
EPA/600/F-16/369 | April 2017
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research & Development
National Health & Environmental Effects
Research Laboratory
Atlantic Ecology Division
27 Tarzwell Drive
Narragansett, RI 02882
r/EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research & Development
National Health & Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
Atlantic Ecology Division
Providing quality ecological science to inform
decision making and enhance our understanding of
the effects of human activity on the land and
waters of the Atlantic seaboard.

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About AED
The Atlantic Ecology Division (AED) is one of four ecological effects divisions
within the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
(NHEERL) of the Office of Research and Development (ORD). The four
divisions are geographically dispersed along the Nation's coasts; AED is
located in Narragansett, Rhode Island, overlooking the West Passage of
Narragansett Bay.
Our Purpose: To perform research to develop methods and models as well
as analyze data to improve our understanding of the ecological effects of
human activity on watersheds and aquatic systems including freshwaters,
wetlands, estuaries, and near-coastal environments.
Facilities & Capabilities
AED has office space for administrative and scientific staff, multiple
conference rooms, a research library, and a number of unique facilities and
resources needed to conduct outstanding research and develop quality
research products, including:
•	Wet laboratorie:, including a greenhouse, which provide areas for
culture, holding, and research of marine plants and animals;
•	Dry laboratories that provide areas for biological, chemical, and
physical analyses of sediment, tissue, and water samples;
•	An Information Center containing state-of-the-art technology, complete
with a training room and a GIS laboratory;
•	Research vessels that serve as field sampling platforms - from small
jon boats and kayaks useful in tidal and marsh environments to 27-foot
vessels capable of monitoring and sampling in deeper waters; and
•	Field equipment that provides each of AED's research programs with
the ability to collect samples of marine organisms, sediments, and water,
conduct on-site surveys, and deploy and recover in situ experiments.
AED also puts a practical emphasis on sustainable facility designs and
technology to address energy conservation and performance, water
protection and preservation, and reduction of the environmental impacts of
materials.
Focus Areas of Research Emphasis
Environmental Economics & Social Sciences: AED provides
scientific knowledge of ecosystem services and human well-being to enable
stakeholders to better assess and predict interactions between the natural
and built environment in order to maintain or restore high environmental
quality and enhance individual and community well-being.
Atlantic Coastal Ecosystem Response & Recovery: AED
generates real-world solutions using our research on coastal ecosystem
responses to management actions and major environmental stressors,
restoration approaches, ecosystem recovery, and characteristics of restored
and sustainable coastal ecosystems.
Coastal Contamination: Research on marine ecotoxicology and
geochemistry produces data, methods, and models that better characterize
the distribution and effects of human-mediated contaminants in estuaries
and watersheds on human and ecological communities.
Computational Ecology: AED uses and develops data intensive
scientific software, databases, web and mobile applications, and predictive
models for a wide array of research topics. Staff provide training to others
in the use of open source computational ecology tools (e.g., R) and in the
use of open science and reproducible research.
Geospatial Solutions: We establish geospatial databases and mobile
applications, tools for visualizing and analyzing geospatial data, and web-
based applications that will support geospatial science-based decision
making. AED also provides support and expertise in areas of geospatial
analysis and information management, and in using tools like ArcGIS,
QGIS, R, the GeoPlatform, and the ScienceHub.
Environmental Accounting: Our scientists quantitatively measure
sustainability and create objective biophysical methodologies for valuing, on
an equal objective basis, the contributions of the environment and the
economy to the well-being of society.

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