SMART Indicator Report: Transition Dates

1 Indicator category

[Fill by hand, needs decision by Council]

2 Indicator name

Transition Dates

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

3 Indicator brief description

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

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.

5 Indicator documentation

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

## Yes

5.1.1 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

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

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

5.1.3 Who is the contact?

kevin.friedland@noaa.gov

5.2 Gather indicator statistics

5.2.1 Units

## no Units field

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

General overview: Annual time series (1982 to 2023)

Indicator specifics:

Indicator	EPU	StartYear	EndYear	NumYears	MissingYears
falltrans	GB	1982	2023	42	0
falltrans	GOM	1982	2023	42	0
falltrans	MAB	1982	2023	42	0
maxday	GB	1983	2023	41	0
maxday	GOM	1983	2023	41	0
maxday	MAB	1983	2023	41	0
sprtrans	GB	1982	2024	43	0
sprtrans	GOM	1982	2024	43	0
sprtrans	MAB	1982	2024	43	0
sumlen	GB	1982	2023	42	0
sumlen	GOM	1982	2023	42	0
sumlen	MAB	1982	2023	42	0

5.2.3 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

5.2.4 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]

5.2.5 Uncertainty metrics

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

## Yes

5.3.1 Can the indicator be calculated from current documentation?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for current and previous methods]

5.3.2 Is code publicly available? up to date?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for current and previous methods]

5.3.3 Have methods changed over time?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for current and previous methods]

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

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for source, may require judgements]

5.4.1 Where are source data stored?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for source, may require judgement]

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

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for source, may require judgement]

5.4.3 How often are they updated?

[Build link to Tech-doc, look for source, may require judgement]

6 Indicator analysis/testing or history of use

6.1 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.

6.2 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]

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

[Fill by hand; if not in key results or implications, likely does not exist]

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

[Fill by hand; if not in introduction, key results, or implications, likely not tested]

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

[Fill by hand; if not in introduction, key results, or implications, likely not tested]

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

[Fill by hand; if not in introduction, key results, or implications, likely not tested]

7 Comments

[Fill below by hand once above data complete]

7.1 Additional potential links to management in addition to uses listed above

7.2 What additional work would be needed for the Council to use the indicator?

7.3 What issues are caused if there is a gap or delay in data underlying the indicator