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Technology & Innovation

Parikha and Wayne talking while standing next to a model of a plane

Patenting innovation in climate science

Parikha Mehta has spent the last four months focused on the intersection of intellectual property and climate and environmental technologies while on an employee exchange (known as a detail) at NOAA from the U.S Patent and Trade Office (USPTO). Her goal: Help researchers understand the importance of protecting their inventions so that NOAA’s research and technology can better serve the public and inspire future innovation. 

Patenting innovation in climate science Read More >

Ron Brown officers, Ambassador Patman, Chief Scientist Barbero and embassy personnel with the Ron Brown in the background. Photo Credit: Kristján Pétursson

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ICELAND VISITS NOAA SHIP RONALD H. BROWN AFTER 55-DAY GO-SHIP CRUISE DOCKS IN REYKJAVIK

After 55 days at sea and a successful re-occupation of 150 ocean stations as a part of the decadal GO-SHIP transect A16N, NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown received a welcome visit from the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland, Carrin F. Patman, in Reykjavik this May. During the visit, Ambassador Patman embarked on a tour of the ship led by Captain Marc Moser, Commander Aaron Maggied, Chief Scientist Leticia Barbero, and senior officers.

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ICELAND VISITS NOAA SHIP RONALD H. BROWN AFTER 55-DAY GO-SHIP CRUISE DOCKS IN REYKJAVIK Read More >

Diagram of how a monitoring instrument works between station and flying drone

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory Development of a UAS “Virtual Tower” for Gas and Ozone Measurements

Scientists from NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) have undertaken novel development of an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) “hexacopter” that will enable the lab to not only recommence a long-standing mission that was recently forced to halt, but paves the way toward enhanced operations in the future. The composition of Earth’s atmosphere is rapidly changing due to anthropogenic releases of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), which are powerful greenhouse gasses driving global warming. Also, human-made chemicals such as CFC-11 and CFC-12 (refrigerants) are destroying the ozone layer that filters out ultraviolet (UV) radiation. These CFCs and their counterparts destroy enough of the protective stratospheric ozone layer to produce the Antarctic “Ozone Hole”.

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory Development of a UAS “Virtual Tower” for Gas and Ozone Measurements Read More >

INDIAN OCEAN BUOYS SERVICED & RESCUED WITH HELP OF INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS

The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) recently hosted NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) on a cruise to re-establish and maintain the Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA). The KIOST-NOAA joint cruise is the first RAMA maintenance cruise in the Indian Ocean since 2019, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cruise departed Port Louis, Mauritius on board the KIOST ship R/V ISABU on December 15, 2021 and ended in Jangmok-myeon, Republic of Korea on January 18, 2022.

INDIAN OCEAN BUOYS SERVICED & RESCUED WITH HELP OF INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS Read More >

Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV)

NOAA Awards L3 Latitude Contract

On September 12, 2019 the NOAA awarded L3 Latitude a support contract to continue development of the L3 Latitude FVR-55 hybrid Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) UAS, integrate NOAA scientific payloads, and support UAS flight operations from the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown for the NOAA UAS Program. The Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory is developing UAS payloads to make aerosol and meteorological measurements. The Physical Science Division is developing a sensor to measure atmospheric parameters such as heat flux.
The L3 Latitude FVR-55 UAS has been developed through a NOAA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant. This hybrid UAS has unique capabilities which allow for autonomous launch and recovery from the deck of a ship without the need for a runway or catapult. After vertical takeoff, the UAS transitions to fixed wing flight with an endurance of up to 10 hours, a ceiling of 12,000ft and the ability to carry up to a 15 lb payload. The payload nose cone can be used to house different instrumentation dependent upon the mission.
The UAS will be operated from the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown and during the Atlantic Tradewind Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC), which is a field study to investigate atmospheric shallow convection and air-sea interaction in the tropical North Atlantic east of Barbados in 2020.

NOAA Awards L3 Latitude Contract Read More >

Deep ocean buoy

New NOAA Buoy to Help Close Gap in Climate Understanding South of Africa

To better understand the effects of the ocean on global climate and weather, scientists from NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, or PMEL, deployed an Ocean Climate Station mooring – an anchored buoy – on the edge of the warm Agulhas Return Current (ARC) southeast of South Africa. Although there is an array of climate buoys positioned in the tropics, this is one of only two deep ocean climate buoys positioned below the Tropic of Capricorn; the other is located south of Australia. The buoy is part of NOAA’s climate observation and monitoring efforts.

New NOAA Buoy to Help Close Gap in Climate Understanding South of Africa Read More >

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