Author name: Kristina Kiest

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and the University of California, Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang broke ground today on the new 15,000-square foot Ocean Science Education Building on the east side of the UCSB campus. The project brings together the university’s Marine Science Institute and NOAA’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

To the surprise of no one affected by the Dec. 18-20, 2009 system that dumped heavy snow from the mid-Atlantic to southern New England, NOAA has rated the storm a Category 3 or “Major” winter storm on NOAA’s Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale, also known as NESIS.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service today announced that it will consider listing Atlantic sturgeon as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The agency received a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council in October 2009, requesting that the species be listed throughout its range.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a proposed rule to expand critical habitat for the endangered leatherback sea turtle by designating more than 70,000 square miles in three areas in the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami will issue watches and warnings for tropical storms and hurricanes along threatened coastal areas 12 hours earlier than in previous years. According to NHC experts, advancements in track forecasts are making it possible for forecasters to provide greater lead time.