The Gulfwatch Interactive Mapping Tool provides user-friendly access to Gulfwatch data from 1993 to 2001. Gulfwatch sampled a total of 38 sites during this period. Data from subsequent years will be made available after data processing is complete. The sampling program includes three types of sites:

• 5 benchmark sites have been sampled every year
• 27 sites have been sampled every 3 years on rotating basis
• 6 multi-year sites have been sampled every 4 to 6 years

List of sampling sites, including site names, latitude/longitude, years sampled, and substrate:
View online (HTML) | Text file (5 KB) | Excel file (28 KB)

Gulfwatch has also sampled 18 other sites on a less-frequent basis. Those data are not included in the Gulfwatch Interactive Mapping Tool.

In the Gulfwatch monitoring program, scientists collect blue mussels from coastal waters around the Gulf of Maine and analyze the tissues for a variety of contaminants. The blue mussel is common in the Gulf of Maine, and the species is widely used for other environmental monitoring programs and laboratory and field toxicity studies. Because it is long-lived and sedentary, the burden of contaminants in its tissues reflects local environmental conditions over time. More information: Mussels as biomonitors

The Gulfwatch Interactive Mapping Tool enables users to add data dynamically from numerous other organizations' databases that are linked through the Gulf of Maine Mapping Portal (GoMMaP). For example, watershed boundaries and land-use data can be viewed on the map with the contaminants data from Gulfwatch. Click the "Map Layers" button on the mapping tool to access this feature.