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barracuda

Podcast: How the U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network aims to change our understanding of the ocean.
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school of barracuda

Podcast: Hear why marine life counts in our latest in our latest expert interview.

  • PODCAST
Fisheries biologist Nicholas Wegner of NOAA Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif., lead author of the a 2015 research paper that discovered the unique warm-blooded characteristics of the opah (shown here).

Are all fish cold-blooded? The answer may surprise you.

  • OCEAN FACT
He'eia National Estuarine Research Reserve. Credit: Manual Meija, The Nature Conservancy

NOAA designates 29th National Estuarine Research Reserve.

  • NEWS
GOES-11 satellite image of Pineapple Express event in 2010

What is the Pineapple Express? Get to know a well-known atmospheric river.

  • OCEAN FACT
Annapolis, Maryland, pictured here in 2012, saw the greatest increase in nuisance flooding in a recent NOAA study. (Credit: With permission from Amy McGovern.)
WINTER 2016
National High Tide Outlook

Tides are the regular rise and fall of the sea surface caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun and their position relative to the earth. There are some factors we can predict that cause the tides to be higher or lower than what is "normally" seen from day to day. Our bulletin tells you when you may experience higher than normal high tides around the nation for December 2016 through February 2017.

storm surge
OCEAN FACT
Storm Surge or Storm Tide?

Storm surge is the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm, measured as the height of the water above the normal predicted astronomical tide. The surge is caused primarily by a storm's winds pushing water onshore. Storm tide is the total observed seawater level during a storm, resulting from the combination of storm surge and the astronomical tide. Astronomical tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon.
A ship run aground on coral reef in Puerto Rico is surrounded by protective oil boom. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
OIL SPILL RESPONSE
Common Words with Uncommon Meanings

What is mousse? In oil spill response, it's a term to describe a water-in-oil emulsion that resembles chocolate mousse in color and texture. Pancakes? This term refers to isolated, roughly circular patches of spilled oil ranging in size from a few feet across to hundreds of yards (or meters) in diameter. Don't miss this list of ten common words that can become head-scratchers when used in the context of spill response.

penguins
FULL MOON VIDEO SERIES
Animals of the Ice

This full moon, watch animals of the ice run, swim, slide, waddle, and fly. They are animals of the ice — and how they survive in the harsh extremes of the polar regions is amazing. As the earth continues to warm, however, their world is changing. Learn why sea ice is shrinking and how scientists are studying the impacts climate change is having on their home. Let's get started! Don't miss NOAA Ocean Today's latest 'Full Moon' video series.
coral and fish schools

U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observing Network: Building Global Connections

  • FEATURE
This photograph shows the first powered, controlled, sustained flight. Orville Wright at the controls of the machine, lying prone on the lower wing with hips in the cradle which operated the wing-warping mechanism. Wilbur Wright running alongside to balance the machine, has just released his hold on the forward upright of the right wing. Today, we fly using technological advances that the Wright Brothers only could have imagined. Millions of people board airplanes, confident that pilots will guide them safely to their destinations. But safe navigation begins well before the pilot even touches the plane's controls; it begins with the runway. That's where NOAA comes in.

Are we cleared to land? How the Wright Brothers influenced NOAA's mission.

  • FEATURE
Spinner dolphins in Hawaii Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Credit: Claire Fackler/NOAA

The ocean is noisy. How do human-generated sounds affect marine life?

  • OCEAN FACT
a tidal marsh

A new study explores tidal marsh resilience to sea level rise.

  • NEWS
Bound for Chicago with a hold full of Christmas Trees, the Rouse Simmons was lost with all hands in a November gale in 1912. Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society

NOAA moves to conserve shipwrecks in two new sanctuaries.

  • OCEAN FACT
St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

How Important is the ocean to U.S. Island Territories?

  • NEWS