Marine Debris Week
This week, join us on social media for key issues related to marine debris.
On behalf of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, NOAA and partner agencies have awarded several new proposals that build upon the foundation established by the U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network, the U.S. Animal Telemetry Network, and the U.S. IOOS regional associations. The new projects work across sectors and disciplines towards an integrated, sustained marine life observing capability for the U.S. ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes — from estuaries to the deep ocean.
One score and several months ago, the director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center called up a colleague and asked whether a tool showing historical hurricane tracks could be created. Oh, and could it be done in four months? Cue lots of rallying and putting heads together, and the Historical Hurricane Tracks tool was born. This tool allows users to view, analyze, and share historical hurricane tracking information going back more than 150 years. It is one of the longest-running tools the Office for Coastal Management has ever developed, and its relevance seems to grow as hazards intensify.
International Coastal Cleanup Day is Saturday, September 17, and we should all pitch in to help. NOAA helps remove derelict fishing gear and other debris from coral reefs. Find more photos of debris removal on NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program website.
Once every ten years, NOAA and the U.S. Census Bureau team up to capture snapshots of how our nation's population is changing over time. Learn about this special partnership — and our new "center of population" — in this video message from NOS Assistant Administrator Nicole LeBoeuf.
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 of 2022.
In this episode, an expert from NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program discusses a disease affecting long-spined sea urchin populations in the Caribbean. We explore how disease has impacted these organisms in the past, their important role in keeping coral reef systems healthy, and how you can help save them.
We know less about the ocean floor than we do about the surface of the moon and Mars. But by the end of the decade we may know the general outline of our undersea contours and crevasses, thanks to an international project called Seabed 2030. The mapping initiative, called Seabed 2030, launched in 2017 to produce the definitive map of the world ocean floor by 2030.
Community planners and decision makers now have an application guide to help them plan for the significant sea level rise the United States is expected to see in the next 30 years. The guide is a response to the Interagency Sea Level Rise report, which projected about a foot of higher waters, on average, along U.S. coastlines by 2050. That is as much sea level rise in 30 years as the country witnessed in the previous century.
America’s marine economy contributed about $361 billion of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2020. That is according to the most current results of the annual Marine Economy Satellite Account released today by two Department of Commerce agencies, NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. These numbers are from the first year of the coronavirus pandemic and represent a 5.8%, or $23 billion, reduction in real terms (adjusted for inflation) from 2019, outpacing the general economy’s decline of 3.4%.
Mariners can breathe a little easier when sailing in and around Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state. The base is now fitted with a NOAA system that helps ensure safe and efficient marine navigation. The technology is part of a nationwide network called Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System, or PORTSⓇ. Kitsap PORTS is the 37th system in this network of precision marine navigation sensors. The sensors track oceanographic and meteorological conditions as they unfold around Naval Base Kitsap.
In 1972, in response to growing public concern about the state of our environment, Congress enacted banner legislation designed to protect our nation’s ocean and coasts. The legislation shaped our past 50 years and will continue to shape the future. Learn more and find out how you can help.