Past anomalies as a diagnostic tool for evaluating multiple marine ecological disturbance events

In the search for the best ecological and economic indicators of ecosystem change, a unifying solution for joining data from disparate fields appears as a general rule: Organize data into space/time/topic hierarchies that per mit convergence of data resulting from shared and appropriate scaling. The scale of the data selects for compatible methodologies, leading to data int egration and the discovery of new relationships. Information technology app roaches include bibliographic keyword searches, data-mining, data-modeling and geographic information system design. The approach was used within the "HEED" (Health Ecological and Economic Dimensions) study, which reconstruct ed historic marine disturbance events within the Northwestern Atlantic, Gul f of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. The object of the study was to retrospective ly derive co-occurring Multiple Marine Ecological Disturbances (MMEDs). Dis turbances include indices of morbidity, mortality and disease events affect ing humans, marine invertebrates, flora, and wildlife populations. Correlat ions between space/time occurrence, event coincidence, climate and oceanogr aphic forcing are used to better define multiple marine ecological disturba nce types. Systematic derivation of these types is part of diagnostic appro ach that can assist or guide marine ecological risk assessment.