1 Descriptive Section

1.1 Indicator category

[1] “Habitat-Physical”

1.2 Indicator name

Warm Core Rings

Includes variable(s): Warm Core Rings

1.3 Indicator brief description

Number of warm core rings produced annually by the Gulf Stream off the Northeast US

1.4 Indicator visualization

Prior to 2000, an average of 18 warm core rings were formed by the Gulf Stream off the Northeast US shelf. From 2000-2017, an average of 33 warm core rings were formed. Annual numbers of warm core rings have been updated using the same methods for each year since 2017, but the regime shift analysis has not been updated.

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/wcr.html

Technical documentation: https://noaa-edab.github.io/tech-doc/wcr.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?

Avijit Gangopadhyay avijit.gangopadhyay@umassd.edu

2.1.2 Gather indicator statistics

2.1.2.1 Units

Indicator	Units
Warm Core Rings	n

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

General overview: Annual

Indicator specifics:

Indicator	EPU	StartYear	EndYear	NumYears	MissingYears
Warm Core Rings	All	1980	2024	45	0

2.1.2.3 Spatial location, scale and extent

General overview: Full shelf

Indicator specifics:

Indicator	EPU
Warm Core Rings	All

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?

The data from Gangopadhyay et al. (2019) were provided by Avijit Gangopandhyay, School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, MA.

A sequential regime shift detection algorithm was used to identify the regimes evident in the warm core ring formation time-series. See Gangopadhyay et al. (2019) for details.

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 available upon request.

2.1.4.1 Where are source data stored?

Gulf Stream charts from Jennifer Clark are the primary data source for the warm core ring analysis in Gangopadhyay et al. (2019). The Gulf Stream charts use infra-red (IR) imagery, satellite altimetry data, and surface in-situ temperature data in 3-day composite images are regularly produced by NOAA and/or the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (fermi) group (see http://fermi.jhuapl.edu for more details).

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

Avijit Gangopadhyay

[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?

Warm core rings are eddies formed from Gulf Stream meanders that transport warm Gulf Stream water into the cooler waters of the slope sea just off the Northeast US continental shelf. These rings transport both warm water and associated plankton and fish from the Gulf Stream towards the shelf and may form important habitat for oceanic fishery species, such as Illex squid. The indicator presented here extends published work [91]; with updated counts of warm core rings.

2.2.2 What implications of the indicators are currently listed?

The increased instability of the Gulf Stream position and warming of the Slope Sea may be connected to the regime shift increase in the number of warm core rings formed annually in the Northwest Atlantic [91,92]. When warm core rings and eddies interact with the continental slope they can transport warm, salty water to the continental shelf [93], which can alter the habitat and disrupt seasonal movements of fish [94]. Transport of offshore water onto the shelf is happening more frequently [94,95] and can contribute to marine heatwaves in the Mid-Atlantic Bight [93,96] as well as the movement of shelf-break species inshore [94,97,98].

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?

Sensitivity terms detected

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

Unknown

3 SMART rating

Category	Indicator	Element	Attribute	Rating	ElementRating	OverallRating
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Specific	Described	1	0.6666667	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Specific	Units	1	0.6666667	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Specific	Spatial	1	0.6666667	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Specific	Uncertainty	0	0.6666667	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Specific	Methods	1	0.6666667	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Specific	Code	0	0.6666667	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Measurable	Available	1	1.0000000	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Measurable	Online	1	1.0000000	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Measurable	Contact	1	1.0000000	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Measurable	SourceDat	1	1.0000000	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Measurable	SourceAvail	1	1.0000000	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Measurable	SourceContact	1	1.0000000	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Achievable	Tested	0	0.3333333	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Achievable	Sensitivity	1	0.3333333	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Achievable	TimeLag	0	0.3333333	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Relevant	Advice	1	0.6666667	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Relevant	Implications	1	0.6666667	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Relevant	TargThresh	0	0.6666667	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Timebound	Frequency	1	1.0000000	0.7333333
Habitat-Physical	Warm Core Rings	Timebound	Updated	1	1.0000000	0.7333333

3.1 Comments

[Fill below by hand once above data complete]

SMART Indicator Report: Warm Core Rings