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The NOAA Ocean Podcast

Connect with ocean experts and explore topics from corals to coastal science with our audio podcast.


Listen to episodes of the new NOAA Ocean podcast here—and subscribe to us in your favorite podcatcher so you never miss an episode. Just search for "NOAA Ocean."

A red life ring hangs on a post at the beach with large rocks embedded in the sand. The words “Blue IQ” are across the image.
Boost Your Blue IQ

Attention beachgoers! Don’t let ocean and shoreline hazards keep you from enjoying your time at the beach this summer; instead, boost your “Blue IQ” through this episode. Listen to ocean and coastal safety expert Bruckner Chase discuss common beach hazards and best practices to keep you and your loved ones safe in the surf.

Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon April 21, 2010. Image credit: NOAA.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: 15 Years of Advancing Science

Fifteen years ago, NOAA played a critical role in the initial response, assessment, and development of a restoration plan following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill — the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. In this episode, we’re joined by experts Doug Helton and Lisa DiPinto from the National Ocean Service’s Office of Response and Restoration to discuss the earliest moments of the response, and the progress made over the past 15 years to advance oil spill science and technologies.

A GPS antenna and receiver determine an accurate position and elevation for a geodetic control mark on the top of Mt. Blue Sky, Colorado
Moving Mountains

Since 2007, NOAA’s National Ocean Service has been working to update the National Spatial Reference System. This huge project will modernize the system for measuring the horizontal positions and vertical elevations of the United States and its territories. During the course of this work, NOAA scientists realized that the heights of Colorado’s famous “Fourteeners” — or mountains with peak elevations of at least 14,000 feet — had been overestimated. In this episode, we learn why this occurred, how this impacts the status of these mountains, and what benefits this project will have for the nation. Our featured expert is Derek van Westrum, physicist with NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey.

Fishing nets on shallow coral reefs around islands and atolls.
Marine Debris - Talking Trash

Marine debris is a large and global problem. Plastics, metals, rubber, fishing gear, and other lost and discarded items enter our ocean, Great Lakes, waterways, and coastal areas every day. This challenging problem can cause negative impacts to wildlife, the environment, and the economy. In this episode, we chat with our expert, Sophie Maginnes, communication specialist with NOAA’s Marine Debris Program.

High tide flooding often happens in low-lying areas near the coast, and can cause disruptions to communities like longer commute times, business closures, and construction delays.
High Tide Flooding

Rising waters can spell trouble for coastal areas. The impacts of high tide flooding can range from longer commute times to business closures and construction delays. NOAA plays a vital role in helping communities prepare for and respond to flooding threats. This episode features a panel of experts from NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services. We’re joined by oceanographers Analise Keeney and Karen Kavanaugh and chief scientist Greg Dusek, Ph.D.

All Episodes

Looking for a recent podcast? Start here.

  1. Boost Your Blue IQ
    25 Jun 2025
  2. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: 15 Years of Advancing Science
    24 Apr 2025
  3. Moving Mountains
    30 Oct 2024
  4. Marine Debris - Talking Trash
    25 Sep 2024
  5. High Tide Flooding
    13 Aug 2024
  6. Sanctuary Spotlight: Olympic Coast
    22 Jul 2024
  7. Artificial Reefs
    25 Jun 2024
  8. Hurricane Preparedness and Response
    29 May 2024
  9. Behind the Scenes at NGS
    04 Mar 2024
  10. Say Cheese: Wetland Wildlife Inventory
    15 Feb 2024
  11. Coral Bleaching
    5 Dec 2023
  12. Meteotsunamis
    9 Nov 2023
  13. Weird Facts About Oil and Oil Spills
    29 Sep 2023
  14. The Florida Keys: Dive into History
    07 Sep 2023
  15. Digging into the Science of Sand
    31 Jul 2023
  16. Rip Currents: Preparedness and Prevention
    28 Jun 2023
  17. Gliders: Versatile Vehicles for Underwater Observation
    31 May 2023
  18. USACE: Foundational Research on Rebalancing with Blue Carbon
    27 Apr 2023
  19. Seagrass: Ecosystem Services Provider
    30 Mar 2023
  20. Recording Oral Histories
    27 Oct 2022
  21. Capturing Snapshots of the U.S. Population
    20 Sep 2022
  22. Understanding Disease Impacts to Long-Spined Sea Urchins
    28 July 202
  23. Surveying in the Great Lakes
    26 May 2022
  24. Engineering with Nature: USACE, NOAA, and the Value of Partnership
    31 Mar 2022
  25. Water Level Stations and their Role in Tsunami Detection
    31 Mar 2022
  26. 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report
    15 Feb 2022
  27. The Future Ocean Podcast
    16 Dec 2021
  28. Restoration: Replacing What Was Lost
    09 Nov 2021
  29. Marine Protected Areas: Conserving America’s Ocean and Coasts
    02 Sep 2021
  30. Connecting the Dots with Modeling (Part Two)
    20 May 2021
  31. Connecting the Dots with Modeling (Part One)
    20 May 2021
  32. NOAA Custom Chart Tool
    15 Apr 2021
  33. A Laser is Worth a Thousand Words
    25 Mar 2021
  34. Explore Your Ocean with NOAA Ocean Today
    04 Mar 2021
  35. Shipwrecks, Science, and Stewardship at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
    14 Jan 2021
  36. Protecting Culebra's Coral Reefs
    08 Dec 2020
  37. Precision Marine Navigation
    29 Oct 2020
  38. The Microplastic-Mussel Connection: Part Two
    30 Sep 2020
  39. The Microplastic-Mussel Connection: Part One
    30 Sep 2020
  40. From Diving to Data: Close-up with Coral Research
    27 Aug 2020
  41. Breaking Down Barriers: Natural Infrastructure
    30 Jul 2020
  42. Turning the Tide: D-Day from an Oceanographer's Perspective
    24 Jun 2020
  43. Marine Life Counts: The U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network
    28 May 2020
  44. Education Resources
    24 Apr 2020
  45. Understanding Gravity
    19 Mar 2020
  46. Bringing Wetlands to Market
    20 Feb 2020
  47. The Nurdle Patrol: Citizen Scientists Fight Pollution, One Pellet at a Time
    23 Jan 2020
  48. After a Hurricane Hits: NOAA’s Emergency Response Aerial Imagery
    17 Dec 2019
  49. The Nautical Origins of 10 Popular Phrases
    23 Oct 2019
  50. NOAA's Disaster Preparedness Program
    07 Aug 2019
  51. Meteotsunamis: State of the Science
    11 Jul 2019
  52. Ocean Gliders: How NOAA uses autonomous technology to help predict hurricane intensity
    30 May 2019
  53. Navigating the Sea is Safer, More Efficient With Digital Charts
    25 Apr 2019
  54. Making it Count
    21 Mar 2019
  55. Lionfish Invasion
    28 Feb 2019
  56. Fa’a Samoa: The Samoan Way (Part Two)
    04 Dec 2018
  57. Fa’a Samoa: The Samoan Way (Part One)
    04 Dec 2018
  58. All About HABS: Uncovering the Mystery of Harmful Algal Blooms
    14 Nov 2018
  59. Remote Control
    24 Oct 2018
  60. Ocean Noise
    29 Aug 2018
  61. Breaking Down Barriers: Natural Infrastructure
    28 Jun 2018
  62. National Ocean Service's Role in Hurricane Prep, Response, and Recovery
    24 May 2018
  63. Motion in the Ocean: Tides and Currents
    26 Apr 2018
  64. Garbage Patches: How Gyres Take Our Trash Out to Sea
    22 Mar 2018
  65. Dealing with Dead Zones: Hypoxia in the Ocean
    22 Feb 2018
  66. Geodesy: The Invisible Backbone of Navigation
    18 Jan 2018
  67. Marine Debris in Alaska
    16 Nov 2017
  68. Reef Resilience
    23 Aug 2017
  69. Ocean Current Surveys 101
    27 Jul 2017
  70. Historical Maps and Charts
    21 Jul 2017
  71. Celebrating 100 Years of NOAA Corps
    25 May 2017
  72. Marine Animal Telemetry
    11 May 2017
  73. Restoration at Industrial Waste Sites
    04 May 2017
  74. Volunteering with our National Marine Sanctuaries
    17 Apr 2017
  75. GPS on Bench Marks
    23 Mar 2017
  76. Picking the Right Spot: Offshore Wind Energy
    01 Mar 2017
  77. Marine Life Counts: The U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network
    19 Jan 2017
  78. Listen up: What you need to know about ocean noise.
    08 Dec 2016
  79. Bringing Wetlands to Market: the Power of Blue Carbon in a Changing Climate
    04 Aug 2016
  80. Connecting the Dots Between Corals and Humans
    24 Mar 2016
  81. Alaska: Marine Debris in the Wilderness
    28 Jan 2016
  82. Vertical Mapping and Atomic Clocks
    24 Sep 2015
  83. Exploring the Unknown in the Caribbean
    01 Apr 2015
  84. Shipwreck Detectives in California
    15 Jan 2015
  85. Arctic Shield
    01 Oct 2014
  86. Great Pacific Garbage Patch
    26 Jun 2014
  87. Coastal Blue Carbon
    08 May 2014
  88. The Exxon Valdez, 25 Years Later
    21 Mar 2014
  89. Connecting the Dots: Corals and Humans
    15 Sep 2016
  90. Ocean Economy
    18 Aug 2016
  91. Harmful Algal Bloom Forecasting
    05 May 2016
  92. Remembering the Titanic
    15 Apr 2016
  93. Shipwreck Detective
    17 Feb 2016
  94. How Invasive Species Are Introduced
    21 Jan 2016
  95. Marine Debris Movement
    24 Nov 2015
  96. A Healthy Eelgrass Meadow is Restored
    29 Oct 2015
  97. Coral Bleaching
    17 Sep 2015
  98. Hypoxia
    18 Jun 2015
  99. NOAA PORTS
    14 May 2015
  100. Tsunamis
    26 Mar 2015
  101. Four Corners
    19 Mar 2015
  102. Coastal Blue Carbon
    12 Feb 2015
  103. Invasive Lionfish
    06 Feb 2014
  104. Restoring Natural Resources
    16 Jan 2014
  105. Reef Resilience
    22 Sep 2016
  106. Microplastics
    30 Jun 2016
  107. Living Shorelines
    07 Apr 2016
  108. Exploring Hawaii's Coral Reefs
    03 Dec 2015
  109. Nuisance Flooding
    22 Oct 2015
  110. Hurricane Katrina: 10 Years Later
    27 Aug 2015
  111. Ocean Economy
    25 Jun 2015
  112. GPS on Bench Marks
    16 Apr 2015
  113. Invasive Species
    26 Feb 2015
  114. Coral Bleaching
    01 Dec 2014
  115. Tides and Currents
    18 Mar 2014
  116. The Intracoastal Waterway
    20 Feb 2014
  117. Planning Ocean Uses
    30 Jan 2014
NOAA Ocean podcast icon

From corals to coastal science, connect with ocean experts to explore questions about the ocean environment.

We also offer episode archives and transcripts for Making Waves and Diving Deeper, two podcasts which preceded the NOAA Ocean Podcast:

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