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A Tale of Three Datums

How NOAA is keeping up with an ever-changing Earth.

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tides and currents
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nautical charts
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harmful algal blooms
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our ocean economy
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hurricane response
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Educational
Resources
3D shipwreck of submarine in North Carolina
Geographic Information Systems

GIS describes a wide variety of computer-aided tools and services that capture, store, check, and display information related to positions on Earth’s surface. You may be surprised to learn how much geography matters in our everyday lives. The ability to link maps digitally to information enables us to visualize and understand patterns and relationships around us. Geographic information systems, or GIS, provides this link.

port of Los Angeles
Precision Marine Navigation

NOAA's Precision Marine Navigation team is creating new online services to enable more efficient access to the NOAA data that powers private-sector marine navigation products. In this podcast, hear how a team is working to foster innovation, improve navigation safety, aid in more efficient coastal route planning, and help mariners make informed decisions as they navigate our nation's waterways.

image of hurricane zeta
Zeta Emergency Response Imagery

From October 29-30, the National Geodetic Survey collected emergency response imagery in the aftermath of Hurricane Zeta. Imagery was collected in specific areas identified by NOAA in coordination with FEMA and other state and federal partners. Collected images are available to view online via the NGS aerial imagery viewer.

Exploring the Hudson River in New York. Credit: Chris Bowser
Estuary Education Goes Virtual

Each year as many as 90,000 students visit the 29 National Estuarine Research Reserves on field trips, summer camps, and other educational programs. But this year has been different. To continue giving children the environmental education experience, reserve staff got creative, developing robust virtual educational programs and activities for children, teachers, and the homeschooling parents.

a current meter on a U.S. Coast Guard Aid-To-Navigation buoy near Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia.
NOAA Improves Marine Navigation Near two East Coast Naval Bases

Two new Physical Oceanographic Real-Time Systems, also known as PORTS ® , are improving maritime safety near Kings Bay, Georgia, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by two U.S. Navy installations. NOAA and the U.S. Navy partnered to install the first new PORTS in two years, the 34th and 35th in the nationwide network.

coastal flooding in South Carolina
Fall High Tide Bulletin

There are some factors that cause the tides to be higher than what is "normally" seen from day to day. View our bulletin to see when you may experience higher than normal high tides for the period of time between September and November 2020.

Around the Ocean Service
  • California Opens Up Public Access in a Big Way
    coastal management
  • NOAA Marine Debris Program Announces New Five-Year Strategic Plan
    marine debris
  • Working Group Releases Progress Report on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia in Great Lakes

    coastal ocean science

  • NOAA Responds to Oil Spill from Unknown Source Along Delaware Shorelines
    response and restoration
  • NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts Reduce Accidents, Provide Benefits

    nautical charts

  • Ocean Observing Prize Solicits Designs for Tomorrow’s Storm Tracking Technology
    ocean observing
  • NOAA Works With Local Partner to Improve Marine Navigation Near Valdez, Alaska

    tides and currents

  • NOAA Grants to Advance Coral Reef Conservation Science and Management
    coral reef conservation
  • Newly-Named Nuisance Algae Identified in Pacific
    sanctuaries
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