1 Descriptive Section

1.1 Indicator category

[1] “Habitat-Physical”

1.2 Indicator name

Transition Dates

Includes variable(s): falltrans, maxday, sprtrans, sumlen

1.3 Indicator brief description

The date that cool winter conditions transition to warm stratified summer conditions.

1.4 Indicator visualization

Ocean summer length in Mid-Atlantic: the annual total number of days between the spring thermal transition date and the fall thermal transition date. The transition dates are defined as the day of the year when surface temperatures changeover from cool to warm conditions in the spring and back to cool conditions in the fall.

2 SMART Attribute Section

2.1 Indicator documentation

2.1.1 Are indicators available for others to use (data downloadable)?

Yes

2.1.1.1 Where can indicators be found?

Data: https://noaa-edab.github.io/ecodata/index.html

Description: https://noaa-edab.github.io/catalog/trans_dates.html

Technical documentation: https://noaa-edab.github.io/tech-doc/trans_dates.html

2.1.1.2 How often are they updated? Are future updates likely?

[need sequential look at datasets for update frequency. Future requires judgement]

2.1.1.3 Who is the contact?

kevin.friedland@noaa.gov

2.1.2 Gather indicator statistics

2.1.2.1 Units

Indicator	Units
falltrans	no Units field
maxday	no Units field
sprtrans	no Units field
sumlen	no Units field

2.1.2.2 Length of time series, start and end date, periodicity

General overview: Annual time series (1982 to 2023)

Indicator specifics:

Indicator	EPU	StartYear	EndYear	NumYears
falltrans	GB	1982	2023	42
falltrans	GOM	1982	2023	42
falltrans	MAB	1982	2023	42
maxday	GB	1983	2023	41
maxday	GOM	1983	2023	41
maxday	MAB	1983	2023	41
sprtrans	GB	1982	2024	43
sprtrans	GOM	1982	2024	43
sprtrans	MAB	1982	2024	43
sumlen	GB	1982	2023	42
sumlen	GOM	1982	2023	42
sumlen	MAB	1982	2023	42

2.1.2.3 Spatial location, scale and extent

General overview: by EPU

Indicator specifics:

Indicator	EPU
falltrans	GB
falltrans	GOM
falltrans	MAB
maxday	GB
maxday	GOM
maxday	MAB
sprtrans	GB
sprtrans	GOM
sprtrans	MAB
sumlen	GB
sumlen	GOM
sumlen	MAB

2.1.2.4 Management scale: all species, FMP level, species level, can it be aggregated or separated to different scales?

[Classify by hand, note gridded data if available could be applied to different species ranges]

2.1.2.5 Uncertainty metrics

Uncertainty is captured in these variables:

character(0)

2.1.3 Are methods clearly documented to obtain source data and calculate indicators?

Yes

2.1.3.1 Can the indicator be calculated from current documentation?

Analysis was recreated from Kevin D. Friedland et al. (2015).

2.1.3.2 Is code publicly available? up to date?

2.1.3.3 Have methods changed over time?

2.1.4 Are indicator underlying source data linked or easy to find?

Data is publically available.

2.1.4.1 Where are source data stored?

Data comes from NOAA’s high resolution blended analysis of daily sea surface temperature on a 1/4 degree grid and is available online at Physical Science Labratory.

2.1.4.2 How/by whom are source data updated? Are future updates likely?

Kimberly Bastille kimberly.bastille@noaa.gov

[likelihood of source data updates requires judgement, enter by hand]

2.1.4.3 How often are they updated?

[Update by hand, look for source, may require judgement]

2.2 Indicator analysis/testing or history of use

2.2.1 What decision or advice processes are the indicators currently used in?

Transition dates are defined as the day of the year when surface temperatures changeover from cool to warm conditions in the spring and back to cool conditions in the fall.

2.2.2 What implications of the indicators are currently listed?

Prolonged fall temperatures have been linked to the increased number of cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley sea turtles found in Cape Cod Bay [74]

2.2.3 Do target, limit, or threshold values already exist for the indicator?

2.2.4 Have the indicators been tested to ensure they respond proportionally to a change in the underlying process?

2.2.5 Are the indicators sensitive to a small change in the process, or what is the threshold of change that is detectable?

Unknown

2.2.6 Is there a time lag between the process change and the indicator change? How long?