Features

A Creek and a Causeway Serve a Higher Cause

A creek, a causeway, and a salt marsh on Sapelo Island, Georgia – the state’s fourth-largest barrier island and one of its most pristine – are revealing much to scientists, policy makers, and regulatory authorities about salt-marsh ecology.

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islands of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary: Just Beyond the Golden Gate, NOAA Protects a Unique Portion of the Pacific

Many of metropolitan San Francisco’s eight million people are not aware that NOAA’s Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary surrounds a unique island chain and wildly beautiful mainland shores just beyond the Golden Gate.

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Lew Lapine, Director of the South Carolina Geodetic Survey

From Theodolites to Satellites, Lew Lapine has been a Global Positioning Pioneer

For 12 years now, Louis Lapine, PhD, has been chief of the South Carolina Geodetic Survey (SCGS). This agency establishes horizontal and vertical geodetic control points throughout the state to allow land and land-related items to be referenced to the national coordinate system maintained by NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey.

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Preparing for Oil Spills in the Future Arctic

Within the next two decades, scientists estimate that the Arctic Ocean will be free of multiyear ice in the summer. While many people around the world are thinking about the economic opportunities that may open up as the ice thaws, experts from the NOS Office of Response and Restoration are now working out strategies to deal with the increased likelihood of oil spills in this remote region.

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Of Seconds & Centimeters: How South Carolina Positioned Itself at the Forefront of Global Positioning

NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) develops and maintains a national system of positioning data needed for a range of applications, from navigation to mapping and construction. NGS's activities set the standards for other states to build their own statewide positioning networks. South Carolina is one state that is successfully pushing the limits of global positioning.

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The National Ocean Service: Responding to Hurricanes

A hurricane has just ravaged the coast. Homes are damaged or destroyed. Family members are searching for loved ones. Ports are closed due to unknown hazards in surrounding waterways. Damaged vessels and chemical containers are leaking potentially hazardous material into the water. And in the background, without much bravado or fanfare, NOS has sprung in to action, working to get things moving again…responding in the aftermath of the storm.

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Climate Change Research Used to Educate the Next Generation of Ocean Scientists

The U.S. Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (GLOBEC) program is making it possible for today’s students to learn about cutting edge climate change research that will prepare them for careers in this growing scientific field. By making scientific advances known and training young scientists in modeling techniques developed, U.S. GLOBEC is educating the workforce of tomorrow to tackle the daunting problems associated with climate change and the oceans.

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