Southern Resident Killer Whale mother and her calf swimming.

Mom and baby sea turtle sleeping on the beach on the Big Island in Hawaii. Credit: Karyn Wagner

The many facial expressions of Northern fur seal pups. Credit: Eric Boerner, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries Service

Mom and baby manatee swim in canal in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Mom and baby elephant seal just rolling around on the beach in Ano Nuevo Island, California.

Children discover ocean life at the Smithsonian National Zoo's invertebrates exhibit in Washington, DC.

NOAA’s LCDR Joe Pica diving with a humpback whale off Dominica Republic. His encounter with this humpback whale occurred during a routine dive off NOAA ship Gordon Gunter to recover an acoustic underwater buoy.

A northward view of the Big Sur coastline and Monterey Bay National Marine Santuary approximately 120 miles south of San Francisco, Calif. Bixby Creek Bridge, a popular landmark of this region, is visible in the distance.

An iceberg captured on camera during a 30-day mission in 2012 to map areas of the Arctic aboard the NOAA Ship Fairweather.

As multi-year sea ice continues to disappear at a rapid rate, vessel traffic in the Arctic is on the rise. NOAA is working to update Arctic nautical charts, add new tide and current monitoring stations, and conduct geodetic surveys to support safe navigation, national security, and economic growth in the region.

Polar bears have evolved to living in the extreme conditions of the Arctic. Polar bears and seals are dependent on sea ice for foraging, resting, and reproduction.

Starfish along the shore in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Washington State. 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, which established NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary system. Head to sanctuaries.noaa.gov for a link to a special website highlighting the top 40 accomplishments of the sanctuary system.

The wreck of the schooner E.B. Allen, located within Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Michigan. 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, which established NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary system. Head to sanctuaries.noaa.gov for a link to a special website highlighting the top 40 accomplishments of the sanctuary system.

A manta ray in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Florida. 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, which established NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary system. Head to sanctuaries.noaa.gov for a link to a special website highlighting the top 40 accomplishments of the sanctuary system.

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Naturalist Corps volunteers support a whale watching expedition. (Image courtesy of Bob Perry, Condor Express)

Two starfish 'hanging out' on a sponge in Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, located off the coast of Georgia.

Sponges in Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Georgia. Within this sanctuary, there are rocky ledges with sponge and coral live bottom communities, as well as sandy bottom areas that are more typical of the seafloor off the southeastern U.S. coast.

Aplysina fulva, a type of sponge characterized by long rope-like branches. This specimen lives within Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Georgia.

Marine protected areas provide recreation opportunities (e.g., fishing, swimming, and kayaking) for millions of Americans each year.

Diving and snorkeling continue to be popular recreation activities, including here at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Georgia. NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary System includes habitats such as rocky reefs, lush kelp forests, deep-sea canyons, and underwater archaeological sites that offer many recreational opportunities for visitors.

Located north of Monterey, Calif., this site is renowned for outstanding birding opportunities. There are a total of 28 National Estuarine Research Reserves located in 22 states and Puerto Rico. The reserves protect more than 1.3 million coastal and estuarine acres.

The students of NOAA Climate Stewards participate in a variety of activities, ranging from planting and maintaining a garden in Maryland (shown here), to growing native sea grasses in rural Louisiana, to water quality testing in Hawaii.

NOAA Restoration Day is one of the largest voluntary federal employee-sponsored environmental stewardship events in the Chesapeake Bay watershed region. The event is organized by the National Ocean Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Let NOAA staff inspire you! NOAA employees volunteer in a number of ways, including the Marine Animal Rescue Program at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Here, volunteers release a rehabilitated harbor seal named Hopper.

Illinois -- the last eligible state -- joined the national coastal management program on March 9, 2012. The creation of the Illinois Coastal Management Program comes at the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act by Congress in 1972.

Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, Delaware. Because we rely on coastal areas as places to live (more than half of us live along the coast), visit, get food from, and transport goods through, we need to manage and protect these areas. One mechanism for managing our nation’s diverse coastal regions is the National Coastal Zone Management Program.

Sunset over Hendry's Beach, Santa Barbara, California. World Ocean Day Photo Contest Submission by Chris Seaton.

A humpback whale breaching in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, off the coast of California. Image credit: Robert Schwemmer, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

Viewing the Pacific Ocean from Lāwa`i Kai, on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i. World Ocean Day Photo Contest Submission by Dawn Forsythe.

An osprey enjoying a nice breakfast in the Potomac River. World Ocean Day Photo Contest Submission by Kevin Watkins.

Driftwood on the beach, Atlantic Ocean. World Ocean Day Photo Contest Submission by Jacqueline Bedell.

Giant Clams in Palau, Federated States of Micronesia World Ocean Day Photo Contest Submission by Doug Helton.

Three willetts along the beach in Monterey, California. World Ocean Day Photo Contest Submission by Paul Jimerson.

Mirror reflection in Whittier, Alaska. World Ocean Day Photo Contest Submission by Henry Hauch.

An image of a crab backlit by the setting sun in West Bengal, India. World Ocean Day Photo Contest Submission by Arnab De.

Spectators look on as homemade cardboard boats race across the Thunder Bay River in Michigan during the 1st annual Cardboard Boat Regatta on July 4, 2011. The Regatta is part of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Maritime Festival, a celebration of the area's rich maritime heritage and America's birthday!

Over 50 percent of the nation's population lives in only 17 percent of the U.S. land area (excluding Alaska), which generates a wide range of pressures on sensitive coastal ecosystems. As our nation's coastal county population continues to grow, it is imperative to understand, manage, and protect the bounty and beauty that have drawn so many Americans to our coasts.

A manatee, also known as a 'seacow.' These air-breathing herbivores are listed as a federally endangered species. Manatees are slow-moving and therefore unable to swim quickly away from boats; this often results in collisions that may cause injury or death to the creatures. In areas that are known manatee habitats, "no-wake" signs are posted requiring boaters to slow down and produce only minimal wake.

Each year, the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary hosts the 'Sanctuary Ocean Count.' This a fun volunteer activity for residents and visitors on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, and Kauai—and it helps to provide important population and distribution information on humpback whales around the Hawaiian Islands.

Each year, the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary hosts the 'Sanctuary Ocean Count.' This a fun volunteer activity for residents and visitors on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, and Kauai—and it helps to provide important population and distribution information on humpback whales around the Hawaiian Islands.

The balloonfish, also known as a porcupine or spiny puffer fish, swells up like a balloon when attacked.

A blue rockfish in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Calif.

A sunset viewed from Kure Atoll, located near Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. Image credit: Robert Schwemmer, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

Pacific white-sided dolphins in California. Image credit: Robert Schwemmer, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research station, is located within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Aquarius is home to scientists for missions up to 10 days long and is made to withstand the pressure of ocean depths to 120 feet deep.

Close-up image of brain coral in the Dry Tortugas, Florida.

The NOAA Ship Rainier is designed and outfitted primarily for conducting hydrographic surveys in support of nautical charting. The ship operates off the U.S. Pacific Coast, and in Alaskan coastal waters. The Rainier is named for Mount Rainier.

This school of permits contained 60-80 individuals, each over a foot long. The school was observed in the Dry Tortugas, Florida.

While you might not guess it from this photo, located off the coast of southern California, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is adjacent to the growing counties of Ventura and Santa Barbara, and not far from the heavily populated Los Angeles metropolitan area. Image credit: Robert Schwemmer, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

A lobster pokes out of its hiding spot under a coral head in the Dry Tortugas, Florida.

A unique driftwood structure along the coast at Point Belcher, Alaska. Image credit: Robert Schwemmer, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

A Caribbean spiny lobster on the sea floor. This photo was shot during a 2010 NOAA expedition in the U.S. Virgin Islands to map underwater habitats and the marine life they support.

A sea anemone nestled in plate coral and various types of algae. This photo was shot during a 2010 NOAA expedition in the U.S. Virgin Islands to map underwater habitats and the marine life they support.

Rapture Reef sits within the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, which was created in 2006. One hundred times larger than Yellowstone National Park, the monument encompasses more than 140,000 square miles of ocean and coral reef habitat. It is the single largest fully protected marine conservation area in the world. Image credit: Robert Schwemmer, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

Employees of the National Geodetic Survey conducted leveling to check the stability of the Washington Monument for the National Park Service in the winter of 2008-2009.

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial is located on Lake Erie in Ohio and was built to commemorate Commodore Oliver Perry's victory over the British in the 1823 Battle of Lake Erie.

Split Rock Lighthouse, located southwest of Silver Bay, Minn., on Lake Superior.

A sea lion is captured in mid-backflip off the California coast. Image credit: Robert Schwemmer, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

Coralline algae at Rose Atoll, located off the coast of American Samoa. An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.

Scientists from the Office of Coast Survey and the University of New Hampshire spent three weeks aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy in the Arctic using a sophisticated echo sounder to create a three-dimensional map of the sea floor in an area north of Alaska known as the Chukchi Cap. Here, the Healy crew lowers echo sounding equipment into the water. The data collected during the expedition will help scientists better understand the underwater landscape in the region and improve climate and ocean current circulation models.

Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary comprises a fringing coral reef ecosystem nestled within an eroded volcanic crater on the island of Tutuila, American Samoa. This smallest and most remote of all the National Marine Sanctuaries.

Anacapa Island is located within the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, off the coast of California.

A NOAA archaeologist uses a towboard to search for shipwrecks in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

The Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) is a nationally standardized database of land cover and land change information, developed using remotely sensed imagery, for the coastal regions of the United States. This image shows Mt. Pleasant (a suburb of Charleston), South Carolina.

NOAA's air gap technology received the ultimate test on the morning of June 27, 2009. The technology passed with flying colors as the new U.S. Navy LPD ship, the USS New York, sailed down the Mississippi River, clearing the underside of the Huey P. Long Bridge just north of downtown New Orleans by 64 centimeters (2.1 feet). The San Antonio-class $1 billion naval vessel, built in part from steel salvaged from the World Trade Center towers, sailed downriver, heading out for a month of sea trials.

NOAA nautical charts, such as this chart of Tampa Bay, Florida, are important tools to help mariners navigate safely at sea. A nautical chart is a graphical portrayal of the marine environment, showing the nature and form of the coast, the depths of the water, character and configuration of the sea bottom, locations of hazards and dangers, the rise and fall of the tides, ocean currents, magnetic variation, regulatory boundaries, and the locations of aids to navigation (e.g., lights, buoys, beacons and other important landmarks).

Kelp and sardines, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Image credit: Robert Schwemmer, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

Seventy acres of salt marsh were created in Lavaca Bay, Texas, as a result of a cooperative natural resource damages settlement with NOAA, co-trustees, and Alcoa, using the latest science from the NOAA Galveston Laboratory. As part of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, this new marsh adds to the foraging area of endangered whooping cranes.

A sharknose goby (Elacatinus evelynae) propped up on brain coral in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Marine protected areas, such as Elkhorn Slough in California, are an important tool for managing the nation's natural and cultural marine resources, and are a key component of an ecosystem approach to management.

These images represent three distinct visual sensing techniques. The top picture represents a true-color image, the middle an infrared image, and the bottom an elevation image. The images were taken in March 2008 over Hatteras Island, North Carolina.

A NOAA archaeologist photographs a wreck site in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary using specially a constructed sled mounted with a high-resolution camera.

The National Coastal Zone Management Program works with coastal states to conserve habitat in the nation's coastal zone, including estuaries, beaches, dunes, and wetlands such as the one pictured here.

A breathtaking view of Anacapa Island, part of the Channel Island chain off the coast of California.

Divers from the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Eastern Carolina University photograph the German U-boat U-352. U-352 was surveyed off the coast of Morehead City, N.C., during the Battle of the Atlantic Expedition Summer 2008. The wreck site was surveyed using traditional archaeological mapping techniques coupled with video and photographic documentation. The site was discovered in the 1970s and has suffered the effects of storms, time, and looters. NOAA's objective during the survey was to map the site in detail and to assess its historical significance and archaeological integrity. NOAA divers used various technologies to document the sites, including employing underwater cameras and sonar to create a photo-mosaic of the wreck.

A scientist from the Minerals Management Service surveys the German U-boat U-701 during the Battle of the Atlantic Expedition Summer 2008 off the coast of North Carolina. The 2008 summer expedition was the first part of a larger multi-year project to research and document a number of historically significant shipwrecks tragically lost during WWII. The project is dedicated to raising awareness of the war that was fought so close to the American coastline and to preserving our nation's maritime history.

A scientist from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary participates in a site visit to the 1887 shipwreck Slobodna in the Upper Region of the Sanctuary.