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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAA’s Mission:

Science, Service, and Stewardship. To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, To share that knowledge and information with others, and To conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.

NOAA is an agency that enriches life through science. Our reach goes from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor as we work to keep citizens informed of the changing environment around them.

From daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce, NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product. NOAA’s dedicated scientists use cutting-edge research and high-tech instrumentation to provide citizens, planners, emergency managers and other decision makers with reliable information they need when they need it.

NOAA’s roots date back to 1807, when the Nation’s first scientific agency, the Survey of the Coast, was established. Since then, NOAA has evolved to meet the needs of a changing country. NOAA maintains a presence in every state and has emerged as an international leader on scientific and environmental matters.

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The bow of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Duane, a decommissioned ship deliberately sunk off Florida to serve as an artificial reef. Stephen Frink via Getty Images

Not all underwater reefs are made of coral − the US has created artificial reefs from sunken ships, radio towers, boxcars and even voting machines

Artificial reefs are structures that humans put in place underwater that create habitat for sea life. A new study shows for the first time how much of the US ocean floor they cover.
A school of grunts on a sunken World War II German submarine in the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina. Karen Doody/Stocktrek Images via Getty Images

Shipwrecks teem with underwater life, from microbes to sharks

When ships sink, they add artificial structures to the seafloor that can quickly become diverse, ecologically important underwater communities.
Mass coral bleaching in 2014 left the Coral Reef Monitoring Program monitoring site at Cheeca Rocks off the Florida Keys a blanket of white. NOAA

Corals are starting to bleach as global ocean temperatures hit record highs

Water temperatures in the 90s off Florida in July are alarming, a NOAA coral scientist writes. Scientists in several North American countries have already spotted coral bleaching off their coasts.
The polar vortex influences the jet stream, which can bring cold winter weather to the U.S. and Europe. AP Photo/Bill Sikes

What exactly is the polar vortex?

The media often call unusually cold, snowy storms a ‘polar vortex.’ The real polar vortex isn’t coming down to visit the lower 48, but changes to the polar vortex can influence winter weather.
One of two underwater gliders is deployed from a research ship into Antarctic waters. NOAA

Waiting for an undersea robot in Antarctica to call home

Sending autonomous vehicles to the Southern Ocean can be fraught with anxiety, especially if one of them doesn’t make radio contact when it’s supposed to.
Sculpture réalisée à base d'éléments en plastique, à Helsingør, Hovedstaden au Danemark. Malene Møh. erik forsberg/flickr

Quand les anchois confondent le plastique avec un bon repas

La mer de plastique dans laquelle nagent les poissons n’est pas seulement une catastrophe écologique. Elle met en danger des espèces comme les anchois qui prennent ces débris pour de la nourriture.
Plastic trash on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. Kevin Krejci

Bait and switch: Anchovies eat plastic because it smells like prey

A new study shows that anchovies – key food for larger fish – are attracted to plastic trash because it smells like food. This suggests that toxic substances in plastic could move up through food chains.
Whitespotted surgeonfish (Acanthurus guttatus), found in the Indo-Pacific, crop the upper portion of algae while feeding, preventing macroalgae from becoming established on reefs. Kevin Lino/NOAA

Understanding the conditions that foster coral reefs’ caretaker fishes

Plant-eating fish control the spread of seaweed and algae on coral reefs. New research explaining why populations of these fish vary from site to site could lead to better reef protection strategies.
New data set includes more accurate data from the Arctic, where more warming has occurred. NASA

Improved data set shows no global warming ‘hiatus’

NOAA review reveals that difficult-to-explain slowdown in higher temperatures from global warming was based on faulty data.
Coral reefs and associated fisheries are of vital social, cultural and economic importance. Noah Pomeroy

Measuring coral reef fishes by taking humans out of the picture

Scuba-diving scientists devise method for gauging the health of coral reefs – a vital ecosystem for keeping fisheries sustainable for people.

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