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Phytoplankton Monitoring Network: 20 years of citizen science

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citizen science

Phytoplankton communities collected during the NOAA Fisheries September 2019 Northern California Current Ecosystem Cruise. Large type Psuedo-nitzchia chains look like grains of rice, while Asterionellopsisglacialis and Chaetoceros debilis are in spiral chains. This image shows a magnified view of phytoplankton communities: large type Psuedo-nitzchia chains look like grains of rice, while Asterionellopsisglacialis and Chaetoceros debilis are in spiral chains.

Large-scale coral restoration begins in Florida Keys sanctuary

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habitat restoration

Diver transplants nursery-grown staghorn coral to reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary as part of NOAA’s recovery effort — Mission: Iconic Reefs.

Media advisory: Florida Keys to undergo unprecedented coral reef restoration effort

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media teleconference

Coral Restoration Foundation divers transplant nursery-grown staghorn coral to Carysfort Reef in 2018. On Dec. 9, NOAA will announce a major coral reef restoration strategy targeting seven reefs in the Florida Keys.

'What's that in the water?' Using citizen science to better understand marine debris

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citizen science

A citizen scientist collects and analyzes water samples for microplastic debris in Florida.

NOAA launches two coastal models for mariner safety on West Coast, Gulf of Mexico

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Cargo ship docked in Corpus Christi harbor, Texas

NOAA signs data-share agreement with offshore wind energy company

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Ørsted's Gode Wind turbines in a wind energy farm off the coast of Germany.

See our Spring 2021 high tide outlook

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tides and currents

Sea level rise is turning nuisance flooding into a “sunny day” event — high-tide flooding that occurs even without a storm.

Scientists successfully halt tissue loss disease in pillar coral

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Pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) is rare in the Florida Keys.

Marking 30 years of restoring waterways after pollution

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coastal restoration

Workers hose off oil from a rocky shore in Alaska following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Photo dated April 1989.

NOAA begins transition exclusively to electronic navigation charts

February 26, 2021

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nautical charts and maps

Chart 18665 of Lake Tahoe is the first traditional paper chart to be fully supplanted by an electronic navigational chart as part of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey Raster Sunset Plan. Shown is the lake's northern shore.

Podcast: Protecting Culebra's coral reefs

February 3, 2021

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A beautiful beach on Culebra Island, Puerto Rico. Undated image.

NOAA researchers and partners find new record-sized coral colony in American Samoa

January 22, 2021

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Pictured: Big Momma, a large coral head, in the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. NOAA-funded researchers have recently identified a NEW, record-sized coral colony at Ta’u Island in American Samoa, even larger than the island’s Big Momma colony, one of the largest in the world.

NOAA, Palau to announce sister sanctuary agreement

December 10, 2020

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A shallow coral reef community in Palau National Marine Sanctuary.

NOAA strategy addresses stony coral tissue loss disease

November 24, 2020

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A diseased brain coral in Looe Key, Florida. The disease is leaving a white band of recently dead skeleton in contrast to the healthy, yellow/brown tissue.

Dive into science activities for kids of all ages

November 23, 2020

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Understanding Marine Debris: Games and Activities for Kids of All Ages, a popular assortment of puzzles, brain-teasers and coloring activities.

NFWF and NOAA announce more than $37 million in grants to support coastal resilience efforts across the nation

November 17, 2020

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coastal economies

Major flooding in Milford, Delaware as a result of the the outskirts of Hurricane Joaquin in 2015.

U.S. coral reefs’ health assessed for the first time on a national scale

November 10, 2020

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A brain coral among a group of staghorn corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Aerial images of Hurricane Zeta damage now available

October 30, 2020

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aircraft operations

NOAA satellite imagery of Hurricane Zeta as it made landfall in southeastern Louisiana, near Cocodrie, the afternoon of October 28, 2020.

NOAA, federal partners announce marine litter strategy

October 28, 2020

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NOAA team conducts shoreline marine debris removal at Lisianski Island.

Ocean observing prize solicits designs for tomorrow’s storm tracking technology

October 19, 2020

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NOAA and the U.S. Department of Energy announced the winners of the Powering the Blue Economy Ocean Observing Prize.

NOAA, local council to improve marine navigation near Valdez, Alaska

October 15, 2020

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Buoy off Jackson Point in Port Valdez, Alaska, with the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company Valdez Marine Terminal in the background.

Aerial images of Hurricane Delta damage available online

October 11, 2020

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A NOAA aerial image from a Hurricane Delta damage assessment overflight taken October 10, 2020, west of Lake Charles Regional Airport in Louisiana.

NOAA grants to advance coral reef conservation science and management

October 7, 2020

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A large steephead parrotfish or laggua near Tumon Bay, Guam.

NOAA awards $11.6 million for harmful algal bloom research

October 6, 2020

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harmful algal blooms (HABs)

Clam diggers along the Washington state coast.

Aerial images of damage from Hurricane Sally now available

September 21, 2020

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A September 18, 2020, aerial image (zoomed-in), taken by NOAA aircraft, of the area west of Shelby Lake, Gulf Shores, Alabama (near SR-182) just days after Hurricane Sally swept through.

New research finds deep sea corals could face ‘osteoporosis of the sea’

September 17, 2020

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Deep-sea scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa with a bubblegum octocoral (in red, Paragorgia sp.) at 300 meters depth on Piggy Bank in Southern California’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Mapping the seafloor for signs of tsunami risk in Alaska's waters

September 11, 2020

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nautical charts and maps

A view of Barry Glacier, Alaska. (undated photo.)

NOAA improves marine navigation near Georgia and New Hampshire naval bases

September 10, 2020

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The ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee entering Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia.

Podcast: From diving to data, get a close-up look at coral research

September 2, 2020

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NOAA Research Ecologist and scuba diver Shay Viehman finishes up a survey of corals in the deep blue waters of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. In the foreground is a huge mound of corals.

Get the facts that bust 5 common myths about the ocean

September 2, 2020

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A wave cresting in the open ocean.

See our Fall 2020 high tide outlook

September 2, 2020

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tides and currents

Tidal flooding in Miami.

Aerial images of damage from Hurricane Laura now available online

August 29, 2020

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Aerial image from NOAA damage assessment flight over the area near Holly Beach, Louisiana. NOAA's King Air is surveying damage from Hurricane Laura. Image taken August 28, 2020.

NOAA awards $2.7 million in grants for marine debris removal and prevention

August 26, 2020

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Removing dock debris left in the wake of Hurricane Florence, September 2018.

NOAA issues new strategy to map the ocean

August 17, 2020

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nautical charts and maps

The unmanned surface vehicle BEN ( seen in yellow, bobbing on the ocean surface) launched from NOAA Ship Fairweather in U.S. Arctic waters, July 28, 2018.

Look back at 30 years of oil spill response

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response and restoration

On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Within six hours of the grounding, the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons (259,500 barrels) of its 53 million gallon cargo of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. The oil would eventually impact more than 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, making the Exxon Valdez the largest oil spill in U.S. waters at the time.