As one of five NOAA Line Offices, NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) works to observe, understand, and manage our nation's coastal and marine resources. NOS measures and predicts coastal and ocean phenomena, protects large areas of the oceans, works to ensure safe navigation, and provides tools and information to protect and restore coastal and marine resources.

In providing these services, NOS works closely with its NOAA partners: the National Weather Service, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations. Such partnerships are important to achieving a "one NOAA" vision.  Partnerships can also bring a broader range of experience, knowledge, and skill to the table—to develop tools and services that benefit a greater number of people and solve complex resource management problems.

Using a combination of satellite imagery and field sampling, NOS scientists predict blooms of harmful algae in coastal waters to protect public health.

What is NOS?

NOS is a scientific and technical organization of 1,700 scientists, natural resource managers, and specialists in many different fields. NOS employees work to preserve and enhance the nation's coastal resources and ecosystems along 95,000 miles of shoreline and 3.5 million square miles of coastal ocean. Its mission is to provide products, services, and information that promote safe navigation, support coastal communities, sustain marine ecosystems, and mitigate coastal hazards.

 

What Does NOS Do?

NOS's eight program offices and two staff offices manage and preserve our nation's ocean and coasts. Specifically, NOS…

• Provides products, services, and data, such as nautical charts, a framework for consistent geographic reference, and tidal and water-level monitoring.

• Manages 13 national marine sanctuaries and one national monument and provides funding to coastal states to manage 27 national estuarine research reserves.

• Participates in immediate response to hazardous spill events, damage assessment, and restoration activities.

• Supports states in protecting resources and guiding economic development in coastal areas. NOS also supports training for state coastal managers participating in the program.

• Assesses, monitors, and predicts the consequences of natural and human-induced environmental hazards such as hurricanes, erosion, and sea-level rise.

To learn more about NOS activities, click here.

 

What is NOS's Vision and Plan?

NOS personnel respond to spills of hazardous materials in the marine environment. Here workers lay absorbent material to prevent oil from further contaminating a beach.

NOS works in close cooperation with the other parts of NOAA to achieve the vision of "one NOAA, one workforce" and to support NOAA's four mission goals related to ecosystems, climate, weather and water, and commerce and transportation. To learn more about NOS's role in executing NOAA mission goals and programs, click here.

 

How is NOS Organized?

NOS is organized into eight program offices and two staff offices. NOS employees are located at 75 duty stations (pdf, 284 kb) around the country. Most employees work at headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, and in regional offices in Seattle, Washington; Norfolk, Virginia; and Charleston, South Carolina. Smaller numbers of NOS employees are widely scattered throughout the nation.