Congress reauthorizes NOAA Sea Grant through 2025 Congress reauthorizes NOAA Sea Grant through 2025 The National Sea Grant College Act was reauthorized and amended by Congress and signed by President Donald J. Trump on December 18, 2020. The reauthorization, titled the “National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2020,” includes several updates to Sea Grant’s authorizing legislation. The Act serves as a guiding framework upon which Sea Grant operates and serves America’s coastal and Great Lakes communities. Read more
NOAA Research's top 5 stories from 2020 NOAA Research's top 5 stories from 2020 From predicting smoke movement from massive wildfires, to investigating how marine life is responding to a quieter ocean, 2020 was a big year for NOAA science. As this unprecedented year draws to a close, we’re looking back at some of our biggest research endeavors in 2020. Here are 5 of our most-read stories from the last year. Read more
National Sea Grant Aquaculture Initiative: 2020 Update National Sea Grant Aquaculture Initiative: 2020 Update Over the past several years, Sea Grant has funded many research projects. Last year, Sea Grant established several collaborative teams focused on bringing together diverse aquaculture stakeholders, advancing specific aspects of the industry, and informing future national investments by Sea Grant. Funding for existing projects is ongoing. This year, Sea Grant provided supplemental funds to each of the state Sea Grant programs to expand work and take on new aquaculture projects at the local level. National investments also included rapid response funds to each Sea Grant state program to address aquaculture needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
Monitoring Change in the Arctic Monitoring Change in the Arctic Expedition to the U.S. Arctic keeps in place some vital research While NOAA has had to cancel many of its planned research surveys in Alaska, it has been able to conduct a number of scaled-back research surveys in 2020. One such survey that will be finishing up this week is in the Arctic and was conducted on board NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson to collect critical data supporting a long time series involving many scientific partners. Read more
Mapping, listening at the bottom of the sea Mapping, listening at the bottom of the sea NOAA partner collects quarry of deep ocean sound and mapping data Barely had the ink dried on the partnership agreement signed by NOAA and ocean explorer Victor Vescovo, owner of Caladan Oceanic LLC, when his team headed out to the Pacific Ocean to dive and map the Mariana Trench, and answer the questions -- how deep and where exactly is the bottom of the ocean. Read more
NOAA-funded tool uses fluorescence to help scientists see tiny coral NOAA-funded tool uses fluorescence to help scientists see tiny coral Read more
Atmospheric Rivers: What are they and how does NOAA study them? 11Jan2023 Read more You may have heard of atmospheric rivers in the news lately due to the intense rainfall and flooding along the U.S. West Coast. These naturally occurring air currents can bring both severe disruption and great benefit through the heavy rain and mountain snows that contribute to regional water supply. NOAA studies atmospheric rivers to improve forecasting capabilities as well as to improve our understanding of atmospheric river impacts on communities and the physical environment. Read more
Global atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise 14Nov2022 Read more Global carbon dioxide emissions in 2022 remain at record levels and natural carbon sinks are being impacted by climate change, according to a report published last week by the Global Carbon Project. Read more
One facility makes a big contribution to Salt Lake’s winter brown cloud 25Jan2023 Read more The 2.4 million people who live along Utah’s Wasatch Front experience some of the most severe winter particulate matter air pollution in the nation. Now, analysis of measurements taken during NOAA research flights in 2017 indicates that emissions from a single source, a magnesium refinery, may be responsible for a significant fraction of the fine particles that form the dense winter brown clouds that hang over Salt Lake City. Read more
NOAA Research's top accomplishments from 2022 20Dec2022 Read more Major hurricanes, intense wildfires, increasing concentrations of greenhouse gasses, deep sea discoveries, and more made 2022 an eventful year for NOAA Research. As we enter the final days of the year, we’re taking a look back at some of our biggest accomplishments from the last 12 months. Read more
When volcanoes roar: protecting the public and tracking long-term climate impacts 5Jan2023 Read more 2022 was a busy year for volcanic eruptions with Hawaii's Mauna Loa and Kilaeau erupting simultaneously, along with Mount Semeru, Indonesia and the Hunga undersea volcano in Tonga. While the United States Geological Survey is the primary agency that monitors volcanic activity in the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) oversees safety systems for tsunamis and other volcano-related threats, as well as studies the impact of volcanic gasses on our global climate. Read more