NOAA News
Courtesy of NOAA

NOAA Commissions New Fisheries Survey Ship and Dedicates New Fisheries Service Building in Pascagoula, Miss. Senior NOAA officials today commissioned NOAA Ship Pisces, the nation’s most advanced fisheries research vessel, and dedicated a new fisheries laboratory in Pascagoula, Miss. Publ.Date : Fri, 6 Nov 2009 13:21:28 -0500 Dr. Susan Solomon Wins Prestigious Award A Senior Scientist at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory, Dr. Solomon accepted the 2009 Volvo environment prize for her pioneering scientific contributions and subsequent impacts on environmental policies. Publ.Date : Fri, 6 Nov 2009 10:25:10 -0500 NOAA Scientists Fly to the Ends of the Earth to Measure Greenhouse Gases NOAA scientists took off Saturday on the second phase of a mission that, when complete, will provide a detailed view of how carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are distributed globally. Monitoring the increasing levels of greenhouse gases and black carbon aerosols in the atmosphere is crucial to understanding human-caused climate change. Publ.Date : Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:20:09 -0500 NOAA Awards $2.4 Million to Refine Management Strategies for the Northern Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Scientists researching the causes and impacts of the dead zone in the northern Gulf of Mexico have been awarded more than $2.4 million for the first year of an anticipated $12 million multi-year NOAA research investment. Publ.Date : Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:35:52 -0400 NOAA and Smithsonian Project to Improve Chesapeake and Delaware Bays’ Nearshore Habitat Management NOAA has awarded the Smithsonian Institution’s Environmental Research Center and several partner organizations $946,000 for the first year of an anticipated five-year, $5 million collaborative project to study the degradation of nearshore coastal habitats in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. Publ.Date : Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:34:49 -0400 NOAA, The Nature Conservancy Address Coral Reef Threats NOAA and The Nature Conservancy have entered into an agreement to protect the health of the nation’s valuable but increasingly vulnerable coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean, Florida, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. Publ.Date : Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:48:31 -0400 NOAA and Partners Announce South Atlantic Alliance Representatives from NOAA and the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, announced the formation of a partnership to better manage and protect ocean and coastal resources, ensure regional economic sustainability, and respond to disasters such as hurricanes. Publ.Date : Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:15:42 -0400 NOAA and FDA to Combine Resources on Seafood Inspection NOAA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration unveiled an interagency agreement today to strengthen seafood inspection and improve seafood safety and quality. Publ.Date : Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:59:33 -0400 Changing Arctic Affecting Air, Ocean, and Everything in Between Despite the fact that summer 2009 had more sea ice than in 2007 or 2008, scientists are seeing drastic changes in the region from just five years ago and at rates faster than anticipated. The findings were presented today in the annual update of the Arctic Report Card, a collaborative effort of 71 national and international scientists. Publ.Date : Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:26:41 -0400 NOAA Seeks Comments on Proposed Authorization for Navy Sonar Operations off the Coast of the Mariana Islands NOAA’s Fisheries Service is seeking comments now through November 19 on its proposed rule to authorize impacts to marine mammals during Navy training exercises around the Mariana Islands. The NOAA proposal includes protective measures designed to minimize effects on marine mammals. Publ.Date : Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:04:39 -0400 Indiana School Welcomes Home NOAA ‘Teacher at Sea’ from Arctic Voyage Today, students from Carmel Middle School in Carmel, Ind., welcomed home Christine Hedge, a seventh-grade science teacher who spent six weeks in the Arctic Ocean on board the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy as part of a multi-year, multi-agency effort to collect seafloor mapping and oceanographic data along the North American Extended Continental Shelf. Publ.Date : Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:37:16 -0400 New NOAA System Improves Safety and Efficiency of Ships on the Lower Mississippi River and Port of New Orleans Ship captains and pleasure boaters can now get free real-time information on water and weather conditions for the lower Mississippi River from a new NOAA ocean observing system that makes piloting a ship safer and more efficient. Publ.Date : Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:03:29 -0400 NOAA: Global Surface Temperature Was Second Warmest for September The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the second warmest September on record, according to NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Publ.Date : Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:39:24 -0400 NOAA Will Not List Two Spotted Seal Populations as Endangered or Threatened NOAA’s Fisheries Service today announced that two of three populations totaling more than 200,000 spotted seals in and near Alaska are not currently in danger of extinction or likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. The announcement follows an 18-month status review. Publ.Date : Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:44:35 -0400 2009 Winter Outlook El Niño to Help Steer U.S. Winter Weather Publ.Date : Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:30:00 -0400 Statement from Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, Announcing Support for Listing Atlantic Bluefin Tuna on International Trade Endangered Species List The United States today announced that it will seek the strongest possible management for the conservation of Atlantic bluefin tuna, a fish which is in serious trouble. Publ.Date : Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:17:52 -0400 NOAA Scientists Study Historic ‘Dust Bowl’ and Plains Droughts for Triggers After analyzing historical records and climate model data for two major U.S. droughts in the 1930s and 1950s, NOAA scientists found two very different causes, shedding new light on our understanding of what triggers drought. Publ.Date : Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:22:27 -0400 NOAA: September Temperature Above-Average for the U.S. The average September temperature of 66.4 degrees F was 1.0 degree F above the 20th Century average. Precipitation across the contiguous United States in September averaged 2.48 inches, exactly the 1901-2000 average. Publ.Date : Thu, 8 Oct 2009 11:46:47 -0400 NOAA Announces $9 Million in Ocean Education Grants to National Aquariums NOAA today announced 11 grants totaling more than $9 million that will create new education projects in aquariums across the nation. The projects will educate visitors about the ocean and encourage better stewardship of the marine environment. Publ.Date : Mon, 5 Oct 2009 13:13:21 -0400 NOAA Reports Health of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary A new NOAA report on the health of California’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary indicates that the overall condition of the sanctuary’s marine life and habitat ranges from good (highest rating) to fair (moderate rating), but identifies several threats to sanctuary resources, such as growing coastal populations, agricultural and urban runoff, vessel traffic and marine debris. Publ.Date : Fri, 2 Oct 2009 11:45:51 -0400 NOAA Gives Great White Sharks More Protection in Gulf of the Farallones Sanctuary New regulations to protect the great white shark are now in effect in NOAA’s Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, a marine protected area just west of San Francisco.  Publ.Date : Fri, 2 Oct 2009 10:49:46 -0400 NOAA’s Fisheries Service Issues Recovery Plan for Mid-Columbia Steelhead NOAA’s Fisheries Service today released its recovery plan for Middle Columbia River steelhead, a fish that was first given protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1999. Publ.Date : Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:52:14 -0400 New Research to Improve Management of Toxic Red Tides in the Gulf of Maine NOAA has awarded $457,000 in competitive grant funding to support three projects to better track and manage outbreaks of toxic red tide algae that threaten public health and New England’s shellfish industry. Publ.Date : Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:30:03 -0400 NOAA Awards Funds to Improve Toxic Algal Bloom Predictions in the Western Gulf of Mexico NOAA is awarding $178,358 for the first year of a project to improve predictions of toxic algal blooms in the western Gulf of Mexico as part of an evolving national ecological forecasting capability. NOAA anticipates a nearly $1 million investment in this large-scale regional project over the next four years. The project is funded by the interagency Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms, or ECOHAB, program. Publ.Date : Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:13:04 -0400