Construction began today for NOAA’s National Water Center on The University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, which will strengthen the nation’s water forecast capabilities when completed in mid-2013.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today they are partnering to enhance the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) for the Arctic region by summer 2012.

A powerful instrument designed to give scientists more refined information about Earth’s atmosphere and improve weather and climate forecasts is now active and sending its first data back to Earth from America’s newest polar-orbiting satellite.

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries today launched a new website highlighting the 150-year history of the USS Monitor on the anniversary of the ship’s launch.

On January 27, the City of Los Angeles will be recognized by NOAA’s National Weather Service as StormReady and the largest city in the nation to become TsunamiReady.

Last week we were informed of the passing of former NOAA Administrator (1985-87) and physicist Dr. Anthony - Tony - Calio. Known for his strong leadership, Dr. Calio advanced the effort to modernize NOAA’s National Weather Service, which included the development of NEXRAD radar - a major advancement for its time - as well as AWIPS 90, the first program of its kind to bring operational satellite data to the forecasting community.

NOAA today announced it has begun to use an improved method to estimate the amount of fish caught by saltwater anglers, which will allow rules that fishermen follow to be based on more accurate information.

Remarks delivered by NOAA Administrator at the American Meteorological Society annual meeting

In 2011, NOAA satellites were critical in the rescues of 207 people from life-threatening situations throughout the United States and its surrounding waters.

Isaac Held, Ph.D., a senior research scientist with the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J., will receive the prestigious BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for his contributions to improved understanding of climate change and atmospheric circulation systems.

The National Weather Service’s New Orleans/Baton Rouge office today increased its rapid response ability with the launch of a new 24/7 emergency response desk and team of meteorologists and hydrologists who will provide forecasts, warnings, and timely decision support services during high-impact weather and other disasters. A critical part of NOAA’s Weather-Ready Nation initiative, these emergency mobile weather and water forecasters are trained to work alongside emergency managers to enhance preparedness efforts in the central Gulf coast region.

According to NOAA scientists, the globe experienced its 19th warmest January; however, it was also the coolest of any month since January 2008. Additionally, Arctic sea ice measured at fourth smallest.

NOAA announced today the designation of additional critical habitat to provide protection for endangered leatherback sea turtles along the U.S. West Coast. NOAA is designating 41,914 square miles of marine habitat in the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.

In partnership with state, tribal, and federal agency partners, the Obama Administration today released the first draft national strategy to help decision makers and resource managers prepare for and help reduce the impacts of climate change on species, ecosystems, and the people and economies that depend on them. The draft National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, available for public review and comment through March 5, 2012, can be found on the web at www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov

NOAA announced today that it is doubling the amount of Gulf of Maine winter flounder commercial fishermen can catch from almost 510,000 pounds to more than 1.1 million pounds for the current fishing season, which ends April 30. New scientific information shows that overfishing is no longer occurring on this important fish stock.

NOAA announces two additional severe weather events reached $1 billion damage threshold, raising 2011’s billion dollar disaster count from 12 to 14 events

Robert Detrick, Ph.D, a marine geophysicist, was named the new head of NOAA’s research office today. Detrick will start as the assistant administrator of the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) on Feb. 13.

Remarks delivered by NOAA Administrator on sustainable oceans at University of California Davis

A highly specialized NOAA jet typically used to study hurricanes will fly over the north Pacific Ocean during the next two months gathering data that will enhance winter storm forecasts for the entire North American continent.

Three large commercial vessels who were assessed civil penalties this fall for violating seasonal speed limits designed to protect one of the most endangered whale species in the world have paid their penalties in full. Cases against six other vessels for the same offense are still open.

By combining detailed chemical measurements in the deep ocean, in the oil slick, and in the air, NOAA scientists and academic colleagues have independently estimated how fast gases and oil were leaking during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Jan. 5, Dr. Jane Lubchenco announced that she has chosen Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, to serve as NOAA’s acting assistant secretary of commerce for conservation and management.

NOAA has awarded the first year of an anticipated five-year, $4 million grant to scientists researching the causes of Ciguatera fish poisoning, the most common form of algal toxin-induced seafood poisoning in the world, focusing on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.

NOAA is seeking public comment on a draft environmental impact statement describing how offshore oil and gas activities in the U.S. Beaufort and Chukchi seas could affect marine mammals and the Alaska Native communities that depend on them for subsistence.

The amount of air pollutants in the atmospheric plume generated by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was similar to a large city according to a new NOAA-led study published today in a special issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A recent mission marked the completion of a five-year collaboration between the United States and Canada to survey the Arctic Ocean. The bilateral project collected scientific data to delineate the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the coastline, also known as the extended continental shelf (ECS).

The globe experienced its 12th warmest November since record keeping began in 1880.

Remarks by the NOAA Administrator on a Weather-Ready Nation at the Severe Weather Symposium in Norman, Oklahoma

A bill introduced in Congress yesterday would prevent pirate fishing vessels from entering U.S. ports to offload their illegally caught seafood. This pirate fishing is often called illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Corals damaged in 2002 when a boat ran aground in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary are now thriving following a restoration and near decade-long monitoring effort, according to a new NOAA report released today. With hundreds of groundings happening each year in the sanctuary, lessons learned from this coral reef restoration and monitoring will guide future restoration efforts.

Science underpins all that AGU and NOAA do, and we appreciate the key role you play in championing strong science and its use.

A new federal policy proposed today will help clarify which species or populations of species are eligible for protection under the Endangered Species Act and will provide for earlier and more effective opportunities to conserve declining species.

Great Lakes perch lovers will find good news in a new NOAA study that shows yellow perch efficiently eliminate a harmful algal toxin from their tissues. The findings suggest that unless the fish are caught during a toxic algal bloom, eating them will not likely expose people to unsafe levels of the toxin known as microcystin.

NOAA’s commitment to science was further solidified today with the release of a scientific integrity policy by Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.

November and the September-November autumn season were warmer than average across the contiguous U.S., according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C. Precipitation totals across the country were also above average during November, but near the long-term average for the autumn season.

For 12 years, GOES-11, one of NOAA’s geostationary satellites, tracked weather and severe storms that impacted the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii and the Pacific region. Today, NOAA began the process to deactivate the satellite, which is approaching the end of its useful life, and replace it with a new, more advanced spacecraft.

NOAA today released the first regional saltwater recreational fishing action plans designed to help improve fishing opportunities and address recreational fishing priorities in each of the nation’s six coastal regions and for the angling community that fishes for tunas and other highly migratory species.

On December 14, the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) trustees released the Deepwater Horizon Draft Phase I Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for formal public comment.The plan proposes the first round of projects for early restoration of Gulf natural resources affected by the 2010 oil spill disaster.

State of the Gulf Summit 2011, Houston, TX, Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, As Delivered

An international team of scientists who monitor the rapid changes in the Earth’s northern polar region say that the Arctic is entering a new state - one with warmer air and water temperatures, less summer sea ice and snow cover, and a changed ocean chemistry.

A brown cloud of pollution over the Indian Ocean resulting from human activities has led to stronger tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea, according to an international team of scientists.

The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends Wednesday, having produced a total of 19 tropical storms of which seven became hurricanes, including three major hurricanes. This level of activity matched NOAA’s predictions and continues the trend of active hurricane seasons that began in 1995.

Florida scientists and veterinarians studying the causes of sea turtle deaths in the Gulf of Mexico have been awarded $227,793 for the first year of an anticipated three-year, $653,379 project to determine how the red tide toxin, or brevetoxin, affects turtle health.

NOAA’s Office of Education announced that it has awarded grants totaling $10.8 million to four lead minority-serving institutions across the country to train and graduate students who pursue applied research in NOAA-related scientific fields.

The Adventure Aquarium and New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences, one of the country’s top aquariums and a leading regional educational institution, will join 23 other marine facilities when it becomes part of the growing network of Coastal America Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers in a ceremony at the aquarium today.

The globe experienced its eighth warmest October since record keeping began in 1880. Arctic sea ice extent was the second smallest extent on record for October at 23.5 percent below average. Additionally, La Niña conditions strengthened during October 2011. According to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, La Niña is expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere winter.

On September 8, 2011, NOAA announced that it will refer new law enforcement cases to administrative law judges (ALJs) from the Environmental Protection Agency. As noted in that announcement, cases docketed with the Coast Guard ALJs prior to September 8, 2011, will remain with the Coast Guard ALJs.

Scientists researching harmful algal bloom hot spots off southern and central California have been awarded $821,673 for the first year of an anticipated 5-year $4,076,929 project to investigate methods that could provide early warning detection of the toxic blooms, also known as red tides.

NOAA’s updated Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI), which measures the direct climate influence of many greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, shows a continued steady upward trend that began with the Industrial Revolution of the 1880s.

NOAA has awarded a team of scientists $182,982 for the first year of an anticipated four-year $703,777 project for research that could lead to an instrument, called a biofilter, that could break down harmful algal toxins in the Great Lakes into harmless byproducts.

During October, a persistent upper-level weather pattern brought below-normal temperatures to the southeastern United States and above-normal temperatures from the Southwest, across the northern tier of the United States, and into parts of the Northeast.

NOAA has selected the University of Oklahoma to continue a federal/academic research partnership that focuses on weather radar research, improving forecasts for severe storms, and improving our understanding of extreme weather and short-term regional climate.

NOAA has awarded $125,614 for the first year of an anticipated $591,082, three-year project to New York scientists researching new methods of monitoring and predicting Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) caused by the toxic algae Alexandrium and Dinophysis.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) made significant progress on key U.S. priorities to improve science, management of fish stocks and their ecosystems, monitoring of fishing activities, and compliance with commission decisions at the recently completed annual meeting in Turkey.

NOAA announced today that the high number of seal deaths that have occurred along the New England coast since September has been declared an “Unusual Mortality Event.” This will enable the agency to direct additional resources to further investigate the cause of these seal deaths.

Scientists at the University of Maine have been awarded $201,187 for the first year of an anticipated three-year $574,028 project to investigate methods that would provide early warning detection of toxic Alexandrium blooms, also known as red tides, in the Gulf of Maine

Damaging winds, coastal flooding, blizzard conditions are among the expected impacts of a Bering Sea storm that will slam into Alaska. Get the latest warnings from National Weather Services interactive map at http://www.arh.noaa.gov, and please take precautions to stay safe.

The owners and operators of 18 shrimp trawlers were assessed civil penalties over the past two weeks for allegedly altering or not having turtle excluder devices on their vessels.

NOAA today released the final management plan and environmental assessment for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Washington state.

Dr. Larry Robinson, NOAA’s assistant secretary of commerce for conservation and management, and deputy administrator, announced today that he plans to step down effective Nov, 18, returning to academia to resume his work in academic administration and train the next generation of environmental scientists and leaders.

America’s newest polar-orbiting satellite roared into orbit this morning, setting the stage for enhanced weather data NOAA scientists will use to develop life-saving severe weather forecasts days in advance.

Pathology experts contracted by NOAA have identified the bacteria Brucella in five bottlenose dolphins that died in the northern Gulf of Mexico. These five are among the 580 dolphins in higher than expected strandings that began in February 2010 and are continuing. NOAA has declared it an unusual mortality event triggering a focused, expert investigation into the cause.

Wintertime droughts are increasingly common in the Mediterranean region, and human-caused climate change is partly responsible, according to a new analysis by NOAA scientists and colleagues at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES).

Today, NOAA released a draft of its enforcement priorities and invited the public to submit comments through January 9. These enforcement priorities are the latest step NOAA is taking to improve its enforcement program.

NOAA’s Office of Weather and Air Quality has funded 12 multi-year proposals totaling $942,235 this year from university partners along with federal scientist collaborators to more rapidly and smoothly transfer new technology, research results, and observational advances through NOAA’s Joint Hurricane Testbed (JHT).

NOAA has taken emergency action to increase the amount of skate that fishermen can land this year from 31 million to 48 million pounds, based on new scientific information showing an increase in the overall skate population.

Tim Arcano, an ocean engineer with extensive experience in naval submarine and submersible design and engineering was selected as director of NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER). Arcano is slated to begin Nov. 7.

NOAA today released the 2010 Final Report on the Performance of the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery. This report builds upon earlier release of catch and value information for the 2010 groundfish season and includes new information on fishery performance, leasing of quota, costs and employment.

NOAA today released a comprehensive draft management plan and environmental assessment for Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in American Samoa.

A peer-reviewed study commissioned by NOAA shows the American people assign an estimated total economic value of $33.57 billion for the coral reefs of the main Hawaiian Islands.

NOAA scientists have found that pressure from increasing coastal populations, ship and boat groundings, marine debris, poaching, and climate change are critically threatening the health of the Florida Keys ecosystem.

NOAA has selected Oregon State University (OSU) to continue a federal/academic research partnership that extends NOAA’s ability to study marine resources in the Pacific Northwest. The award means that NOAA will continue funding the Cooperative Institute for Marine Resource Studies (CIMRS), which was established at Oregon State in 1982, for at least five and up to 10 more years.

Letter outlines concrete ways NOAA will work with fishermen and others to improve the sector management system for the groundfish fishery and seek a healthy and diverse fishing fleet throughout New England.

The Antarctic ozone hole, which yawns wide every Southern Hemisphere spring, reached its annual peak on September 12, stretching 10.05 million square miles, the ninth largest on record. Above the South Pole, the ozone hole reached its deepest point of the season on October 9 when total ozone readings dropped to 102 Dobson units, tied for the 10th lowest in the 26-year record.

NOAA research grants totaling $1,665,056 announced today will lead to the implementation of seasonal and weekly toxic algal bloom forecasts improving accuracy and providing better early warnings for harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Maine.

NOAA is now using a sophisticated forecast model that substantially improves predictions of space weather impacts on Earth. Better forecasts offer additional protection for people and the technology-based infrastructure we use daily.

Studies of future climate change scenarios on the Great Lakes have pointed to falling water levels, but a new NOAA study gives a more optimistic outlook.

An environmental oceanographer who has published more than 100 scientific articles on the global carbon cycle and was among the first to publish scientific data about ocean acidification has been chosen to be the director of the NOAA laboratory known for studying ocean physics and chemistry, innovative research in tsunamis, and underwater volcanoes.

On Oct. 25, NOAA Fisheries issued the latest in a series of broad-scale economic reports, examining the economic health of the Northeast groundfish fishery as a whole. Read about Dr. Lubchencos response to this release here.

On Oct. 17, NOAA announced three new Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) awards, totaling $11 million over five years, to climate science collaborations in Alaska, California/Nevada, and the Carolinas.

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science has awarded $998,703 to the University of Miami to investigate how the deep coral reefs of Pulley Ridge may replenish key fish species and other organisms in the downstream reefs of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Tortugas Ecological Preserve.

The southern third of NOAA’s 22-square mile Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary off the Georgia coast was designated a research area, where scientists can study how human activities and natural processes affect the sanctuary’s marine resources. The new designation will take effect after a 45-day Congressional review.

Tropical Storm Lee drenches parts of the U.S. while extreme drought conditions persist in the Southern Plains

Logan Gregory, an 18-year veteran of NOAAs Office of Law Enforcement, has been named Special Agent in Charge of the agencys Northeast Division, according to Enforcement Director Bruce Buckson.

The Southern Plains should prepare for continued drier and warmer than average weather, while the Pacific Northwest is likely to be colder and wetter than average from December through February, according to the annual Winter Outlook released today by NOAA.

Fishing jobs have been at the heart of this region for centuries. I take the challenges in the Northeast region very seriously, as I know you do. Following decades of overfishing and decline, including the collapse and closure of this fabled fishery, and years of legal battles, the past ten years have been particularly challenging for those who catch cod, haddock, and other groundfish.

On Sept. 19, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco announced two actions to help improve the management of New England groundfish and ease the economic burden of the fisherys observer program.

Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank today announced $102 million for three Louisiana projects in the Barataria and Terrebone basins, to restore deteriorated wetlands and barrier island habitats along the state’s coast.

Three NOAA scientists were named today as recipients of the 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is the highest honor given by the U.S. government to outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.

Thursday, NOAA announced the award of a contract to Triune-Beck, Joint Venture V of Dallas to build the new NOAA National Water Center on the campus of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Mexican environmental officials today released an updated plan to guide and strengthen the conservation and recovery of the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. The Bi-National Recovery Plan revises the current recovery plan issued in 1992.

NOAA Ship Rainier has begun a month long survey of the sea floor near Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island as part of a multi-year effort to update nautical charts for the area.

The United States deeply regrets that Japan has decided to continue its controversial whaling in the Southern Ocean. The United States also expresses its deep concern about the possibility of violence in connection with such whaling.

Coral reef managers in the Northern Mariana Islands will now receive early warning of dangerous environmental conditions that can weaken and kill high value coral reefs, thanks to a new coral observing station added today in Lao Lao Bay, Saipan.

The Earth experienced its eighth warmest September since record keeping began in 1880. The annual minimum Arctic sea ice extent was reached on September 9 and ranked as the second smallest extent since satellite records began in 1979.

Black smoke billows from a controlled burn of surface oil during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A new study by NOAA and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) found that controlled burns released more than one million pounds of sooty black carbon into the atmosphere.

Federal, state, and Bay area officials announced a comprehensive civil settlement with the owners and operators of the M/V Cosco Busan, resolving all natural resource damages, penalties, and response costs that resulted from the ship striking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007, and subsequent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay.

State and federal trustee agencies will use most of the funds from a $36.8 million settlement of natural resource damages to restore natural resources injured by the Nov. 7, 2007 oil spill in the San Francisco Bay and improve Bay Area recreational opportunities impacted by the spill.

NOAAs just-completed first edition VDatum tool will allow users to combine and transform geospatial data from different sources onto a single vertical reference surface, removing the largest obstacle GIS users face when creating products that enable safe navigation and serve other vital purposes for coastal communities.

NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule today changing the listing of loggerhead sea turtles under the Endangered Species Act from a single threatened species to nine distinct population segments listed as either threatened or endangered.

The globe had its eighth warmest August since record keeping began in 1880, while June through August was the seventh warmest such period on record. The Arctic sea ice extent was the second smallest for August on record at 28 percent below average.

NOAA scientist Amy Merten and her team are one of four finalists for the Samuel J. Heyman Partnership for Public Service to America Medal for Homeland Security.

A new NOAA report of data collected in 2005 will help the agency’s scientists better monitor progress in reducing bycatch - the non-target fish, marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds caught incidentally in fishing.

Multibeam sonar, an echo sounding technology commonly used to map the seafloor, can also be used to map and detect gaseous seeps in the water column, according to scientists testing the technology on board NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer last week in the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike other types of sonar, multibeam technology is able to survey a wide area of the seafloor and water column.

NOAA has awarded $18,700 to State University of New York scientists to document the first known incidence of a bloom of harmful algae off Long Island’s south shore, study its effects on the area’s shellfish, and test a method that could control it.

New clean fuel regulations in California and voluntary slowdowns by shipping companies substantially reduce air pollution caused by near-shore ships, according to a new NOAA-led study published online today in Environmental Science Technology.

Beginning today, NOAA will refer new law enforcement cases to administrative law judges (ALJs) from the Environmental Protection Agency.

La Niña, which contributed to extreme weather around the globe during the first half of 2011, has re-emerged in the tropical Pacific Ocean and is forecast to gradually strengthen and continue into winter. Today, forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center upgraded last month’s La Niña Watch to a La Niña Advisory.

NOAAs National Weather Service released its final assessment report on the May 22 tornado that struck Joplin, Mo. The report identifies best practices and makes recommendations to help save more lives during future violent tornadoes.

The blistering heat experienced by the nation during August, as well as the June through August months, marks the second warmest summer on record according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C. The persistent heat, combined with below-average precipitation across the southern U.S. during August and the three summer months, continued a record-breaking drought across the region.

A collaboration announced today uses NOAA research and data to help the insurance industry anticipate and react to storm damage, saving time and money.

NOAAs National Weather Service ranks in the top 15 percent of federal agencies for customer satisfaction, according to a recent public survey.

On Thursday, in a report to Congress, the President concurred with the Secretary of Commerces recommendations and directed federal agencies to take actions to encourage Iceland to change its whaling policy.

Ocean explorers on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer observed two species of marine life scientists believe have never before been seen together at a hydrothermal vent - chemosynthetic shrimp and tubeworms.

Scientists can now remotely monitor the ocean’s changing chemistry with help from some of the five-foot-tall Argo floats that drift with deep ocean currents and transmit data via satellite back to land.

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson continues today on a three-month survey of the sea floor off the coast of New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island, as part of a multi-year effort to update nautical charts for Block Island Sound and keep large ships and commerce moving safely.

NOAA and France’s Protected Areas Agency have signed a sister sanctuary agreement to support the protection of endangered humpback whales that migrate annually more than 3,000 miles between NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the Massachusetts coast and Agoa Marine Mammal Sanctuary in the Caribbean’s French Antilles.

NOAA’s Historical Hurricane Tracks mapping application can easily generate customized maps based on more than 150 years of Atlantic hurricane data.

Today, we are pleased to release an independent report from the accounting firm Clifton Gunderson, LLP, of NOAAs Asset Forfeiture Fund (AFF), that found no abuse of the fund.

The National Weather Service is redoubling efforts to help America become a Weather-ready nation, and has launched a new heat safety website in Spanish.

The Commerce Department today announced the reappointment of John McMurray of New York to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Under this appointment, McMurray will serve on the council until August 10, 2014.

NOAAs Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) plans to launch weather balloons carrying small instruments that collect and transmit wind speed, wind direction, temperature, and relative humidity data Sept. 12-20 from the Duke Energy Ocotillo Wind Farm located near Forsan, Texas.

NOAA, Shell Exploration and Production, ConocoPhillips, and Statoil USA E and P Inc. today signed an agreement to enhance collaboration on ocean, coastal and climate science for the Arctic.

NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, along with other NOAA officials, will join representatives from the Oregon fishing industry and state representatives to celebrate the successful completion of one project and inaugurate a new partnership to remove derelict crab pots and other marine debris in Oregon’s coastal fishing waters in a dockside event in Newport, Ore., this Saturday.

U.S. commercial fishermen landed 8.2 billion pounds of seafood in 2010, valued at $4.5 billion, an increase of 200 million pounds and more than $600 million in value over 2009, according to a new report released by NOAA on Wednesday.

NOAA and the Port of Newport today dedicated a new NOAA ship operations facility in Newport, Ore., during a ceremony attended by federal, state and local officials and the public.

NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco and Maria Damanaki, European Union commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries, will sign a historic statement on Wednesday pledging bilateral cooperation to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, known as IUU fishing - a first for the longstanding partnership between the U.S. and the E.U. on fisheries management.

NOAAs National Hurricane Center is issuing forecasts for Tropical Storm Lee. This system will bring significant rainfall to portions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama with flooding likely.

Remarks by Dr. Jane Lubchenco at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Boaters and fishermen in the Chesapeake now have a new way to check conditions at the mouth of the Bay, thanks to a new NOAA “smart buoy” deployed today near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel near Virginia Beach, Va.

Irene may be gone, but she leaves behind lives lost, widespread power outages, intense flooding, and property damage across more than 12 states. The storm ranks as the 10th $1 billion disaster of 2011. NOAA’s early and accurate prediction of Irene’s storm path saved lives and livelihoods, as did the unprecedented use of social media to alert emergency managers and the public. Critical to NOAA’s forecasting and warnings capability were NOAA’s environmental satellites, which require sustained investment.

The globe experienced its seventh warmest July since record keeping began in 1880. July’s Arctic sea ice extent was the smallest on record for that month since records began in 1979.

NOAAs Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Maritime Heritage Program and the University of Hawaiis Marine Option Program have completed a survey of sunken World War II-era aircraft and shipwrecks along Mauis southern coast.

Carbon dioxide remains the undisputed king of recent climate change, but other greenhouse gases measurably contribute to the problem. A new study, conducted by NOAA scientists and published online today in Nature, shows that cutting emissions of those other gases could slow changes in climate that are expected in the future.

A new report released August 2, The Gulf of Mexico at a Glance: A Second Glance, will provide coastal managers, planners, policy officials, and others with a reference to support regional decision-making and communications about the importance of healthy Gulf coastal ecosystems to a robust national economy, a safe population, and a high quality of life.

NOAAs Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the Government of Bermuda have pledged cooperation on scientific and educational programs to better protect the endangered North Atlantic humpback whale population.

NOAA administrator wins 2011 Blue Planet Prize

NOAA is launching a comprehensive initiative to build a Weather-ready nation to make America safer by saving more lives and protecting livelihoods as communities across the country become increasingly vulnerable to severe weather events, such as tornado outbreaks, intense heat waves, flooding, active hurricane seasons, and solar storms that threaten electrical and communication systems.

NOAA today announced the selection of Bruce Buckson, a nationally recognized leader in natural resource conservation law enforcement, as director of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D. joined Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and other national and state leaders today to recognize the pioneering Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan (Ocean SAMP).

A recent increase in the abundance of particles high in the atmosphere has offset about a third of the current climate warming influence of carbon dioxide (CO2) change during the past decade, according to a new study led by NOAA and published today in the online edition of Science.

NOAAs Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a draft rule, called a catch sharing plan, designed to sustainably manage the halibut stock in southeast Alaska and the central Gulf of Alaska.

NOAAs National Hurricane Center is tracking the seasons fourth named storm, which is on a path toward Texas.

Testimony of NOAAs Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (Chair, Senator Richard Durbin, D-IL) during a hearing titled, Federal Disaster Assistance - Are We Weather-Ready?

Persistent, scorching heat in the central and eastern regions of the United States shattered long-standing daily and monthly temperature records last month, making it the fourth warmest July on record nationally, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center.

NOAA issued its updated 2011 Atlantic hurricane season outlook Thursday raising the number of expected named storms from its pre-season outlook issued in May.

The 150th anniversary of the Civil Wars First Battle of Manassas, also known as the First Battle of Bull Run, offers an interesting peek into a significant advantage the Confederacy held over the Union Armies - better battlefield knowledge.

Emily is expected to resume a west-northwest track this morning with a turn toward the northwest during the next day or so. On this track the center of Emily will move across the southwestern peninsula of Haiti later today and move over extreme eastern Cuba tonight or early Friday. Follow NHCs Emily updates on a href=http://twitter.com/#!/NHC_Atlantic style=font-size:11px;Twitter/a.

NOAA has approved a suite of management measures for the Atlantic sea scallop fishery, developed by the New England Fishery Management Council with input from the fishing industry, which will increase fishing opportunities for fishermen.

The heat wave baking the Central U.S. broke two more records: It was the warmest July ever recorded in Oklahoma City and Wichita Falls, Texas. The Oklahoma City average monthly temperature was 89.2 degrees F, while Wichita Falls averaged 92.9 degrees. Please take a href=http://www.noaa.gov/features/earthobs_0508/heat.html style=font-size:11px;precautions/a to keep cool and well-hydrated.

This fall Arlene Fiore, Ph.D., will become the second NOAA scientist ever to receive the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) prestigious James. B. Macelwane Medal.

NOAA Corps officer Michael S. Devany was promoted to the rank of rear admiral (lower half) during a July 15 ceremony in Silver Spring, Md. Devany was also named director of NOAA’s Marine and Aviation Operations Centers (MAOC), assuming command of the day-to-day operations of the 18 research ships and 11 aircraft in NOAA’s fleet.

A NOAA investigation has found the crew of the NOAA Research Ship Auk, captained by a NOAA contractor, exercised due care before and after it struck a North Atlantic Right Whale in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the Massachusetts coast in April 2009.

There has not always been a need to know precisely how hard the wind blows 350 feet above Earth’s surface. Today, wind turbines occupy that zone of the atmosphere, generating electricity. So NOAA and several partners have launched a year-long effort to improve forecasts of the winds there, which ultimately will help to reach the nation’s renewable energy goals.

NOAA Corps Capt. Randall J. TeBeest assumed command today of the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) in Tampa, Fla. The center is home to most of NOAA’s 11 research aircraft, including the agency’s WP-3D Orion and Gulfstream-IV “hurricane hunter” planes.

While the excessive heat has left much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, high temperatures and humidity are still a dangerous combination in parts of the Central U.S., South.

The United States joined more than 50 countries Thursday signing a recommendation to regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) to better track vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for tunas, swordfish, sharks and other highly migratory species.

Coastal communities along the U.S. East Coast may be at risk to higher sea levels accompanied by more destructive storm surges in future El Niño years, according to a new study by NOAA.

With additional areas in the Gulf opening to shrimping on Friday, NOAA is continuing to help fishermen comply with Turtle Excluder Device (TED) regulations designed to prevent turtles from being caught in shrimp trawl nets.

The globe experienced the seventh warmest June since record keeping began in 1880. The Arctic sea ice extent was the second smallest extent for June on record.

Monday, NOAAs administrator will announce a new aquaculture initiative to help meet our country’s growing demand for seafood, while creating jobs and restoring healthy ecosystems.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke certified to President Obama that Icelands commercial whaling and international trade in fin whale products is diminishing the effectiveness of the International Whaling Commission.

June 2011 brought temperature and precipitation extremes across the United States.

NOAA Ship Fairweather, a 231-foot survey vessel, departed Kodiak, Alaska, today on a mission to conduct hydrographic surveys in remote areas of the Arctic where depths have not been measured since before the U.S. bought Alaska in 1867.

Many rivers in the upper Midwest and northern Plains remain above flood stage, and the threat for more flooding will continue through the summer, forecasters at NOAA’s National Weather Service said Wednesday.

NOAA today announced quotas and other measures for bluefin tuna that underscore the nation’s commitment to sustainable science-based management of this vital fish stock. The allocations divide the available 2011 U.S. bluefin tuna quota of 957 metric tons among commercial and recreational fishing sectors for the fishing season that began on June 1.

According to the 1981-2010 normals to be released by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) on July 1, temperatures across the United States were on average, approximately 0.5 degree F warmer than the 1971-2000 time period.

Worldwide, 2010 was one of the two warmest years on record according to the 2010 State of the Climate report, which NOAA released today. The peer-reviewed report, issued in coordination with the American Meteorological Society, was compiled by 368 scientists from 45 countries. It provides a detailed, yearly update on global climate indicators, notable climate events and other climate information from every continent.

NOAA and the U.S. Navy embarked today on a two-day research expedition to survey the condition of two sunken Civil War vessels that have rested on the seafloor of the James River in Hampton Roads, Va., for nearly 150 years.

As part of stepped-up efforts to address an increase in sea turtle strandings in the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA announced today it will explore new rules to reduce unintended catch and mortality of sea turtles in the southeastern shrimp fishery.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) today announced an innovative pilot project at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa., that links NOAA’s internationally recognized climate services and APGA’s public gardens, which receive more than 70 million visitors a year.

Three fisheries stocks from the Northeast (Georges Bank haddock, Atlantic pollock and spiny dogfish) have now been rebuilt to healthy levels, bringing to 21 the number that have been rebuilt nationwide since 2000, according to a report to Congress from NOAA’s Fisheries Service issued Thursday.

On, Tuesday, NOAA and Marinette Marine Corporation held a keel-laying ceremony at the MMC shipyard in Marinette, Wis., for NOAA’s newest fisheries survey vessel, Reuben Lasker.

Dangerous heat and humidity will remain anchored in the central U.S. this week as it begins spreading into the East. Excessive heat warnings and heat advisories have been issued by NOAAs National Weather Service. Take precautions to stay cool and hydrated.

NOAA keynote speech (20 min.) Monday, June 20, 2011; 11:10 to 11:35 am Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of NOAA As prepared for delivery

Summer is time for backyard barbeques, trips to the beach and lots of outdoor fun, but it’s also a time when dangerous thunderstorms become more frequent. Hundreds of people are struck by lightning each year, causing countless debilitating injuries and 55 deaths on average. NOAA and its lightning safety partners are working to reduce this number by urging the public, “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!”

Testimony before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management. Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. U.S. Senate

When it comes to climate, Western governors know that access to timely and accurate information saves lives and property and helps local businesses.

“We are pleased to report that the accounting firm Clifton Gunderson, LLP, conducted an independent audit of NOAA’s Asset Forfeiture Fund and the fund’s audited financial statements received an unqualified (clean) opinion, or the best type of audit opinion one can receive.

NOAA’s draft scientific integrity policy is available for public review and comment until Aug. 15, 2011. The policy incorporates the principles of scientific integrity contained in guidance from the White House, and addresses how NOAA ensures quality science in its practices and policies and promotes a culture of transparency, integrity and ethical behavior.

The globe experienced the 10th warmest May since record keeping began in 1880, as the climate phenomenon La Niña ended its 2011 cycle.

NOAA and its federal partners are meeting today on Capitol Hill with East Coast, Gulf and Caribbean state officials to discuss U.S. tsunami warning capabilities and the need for better local preparedness.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) today announced that a multi-agency team of ocean scientists has launched an expedition using sonar to map deepwater canyons, and to identify sensitive biological habitats, coral communities and archeological sites such as shipwrecks and other historically significant sites.

NOAA announced today an $11.5 million, three-year award to Earth Resources Technologies, Inc. for cloud-based unified messaging services.

The Department of Commerce and NOAA today released national sustainable marine aquaculture policies to meet the growing demand for healthy seafood, to create jobs in coastal communities, and restore vital ecosystems. Foreign aquaculture accounts for about half of the 84 percent of seafood imported by the U.S., contributing to the $9 billion trade deficit in seafood.

NOAA’s climate science is used by businesses and governments to make smart investments in the U.S. economy and infrastructure. In her testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, Dr. Jane Lubchenco discussed the proposed a href=http://www.noaa.gov/climate.html style=font-size:11px;climate service/a within NOAA.

NOAAs Fisheries Service has proposed 16 areas as critical habitat for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and is inviting public comment. The proposed revision includes expanding the 1988 critical habitat designation in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and adding new areas throughout the main Hawaiian Islands.

Remarks by NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco during Capitol Hill Oceans Week

Last month, the contiguous United States had dramatic shifts in regional temperatures, but overall May was slightly cooler and wetter than normal. The spring was marked by record moisture in the Northwest and the Ohio River Valley, while drought conditions intensified across the South, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C.

Researchers from NOAA have discovered a potent and highly-debilitating toxin in the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, a first-of-its-kind chemical finding that is now prompting investigations of other marine mammals in the state.

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) program, which will deliver the next-generation of polar-orbiting satellites, reached a key milestone with the installation of the first antenna that will receive data from the spacecraft. A team from Raytheon Company recently installed the antenna receptor at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

With vacation season on the horizon, NOAA and partners are alerting beach-goers to the threat of rip currents and how to prevent drowning from their strong and potentially fatal grip.

The Gulf of Mexico’s hypoxic zone is predicted to be the largest ever recorded due to extreme flooding of the Mississippi River this spring, according to an annual forecast by a team of NOAA-supported scientists from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Louisiana State University and the University of Michigan.

Today, the Obama Administration proclaimed June as National Ocean Month, recognizing that healthy oceans matter to all Americans.

NOAA will lead a summer research expedition to locate and study World War II shipwrecks sunk in 1942 off North Carolina during the Battle of the Atlantic, specifically the Battle of Convoy KS-520.

The Commerce Department today announced the appointment of 21 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils - important partners with NOAAs Fisheries Service in determining how ocean fisheries are managed.

The worlds best known shipwreck turns 100 today. Maritime historians generally consider the date of a ships launch to be its official birth date and the Belfast, Northern Ireland, shipyard of Harland and Wolff launched RMS Titanic on May 31, 1911. Once afloat, RMS Titanic was then completed by shipyard workers before setting out on its tragic maiden voyage nearly a year later.

According to NOAAs Climate Prediction Center, La Nina is gone. This period of colder-than-average sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean has passed. The Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature will likely remain near normal through the summer.

As Irene crosses the Northeast Sunday and early Monday, winds will steadily decrease but heavy rain could still cause flooding. Stay informed with the latest information from NOAAs National Weather Service. Follow updates on Twitter a href=http://twitter.com/NHC_Atlantic style=font-size:11px;@NHC_Atlantic/a, and visit our a href=http://www.noaa.gov/hurricanecentral.html style=font-size:11px;Hurricane Central/a webpage for a list of resources.

After an extensive scientific review, NOAA announced today that Atlantic bluefin tuna currently do not warrant species protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Following a destructive series of tornadoes in April, deadly twisters continue to cut across the nation. NOAAs National Weather Service estimates there have been more than 1,000 tornadoes this year and this Web site will provide up to date information.

NOAA today announced that, at the request of the New England Fishery Management Council and members of the scallop industry, it will not reopen the Nantucket Lightship Access Area to scallop fishing, as had been scheduled for June 15.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service today launched a voluntary program to encourage commercial and recreational fishermen to safely release Atlantic shortfin mako sharks alive and report the releases to NOAA for posting on an online map.

As the International Oil Spill Conference kicks off in Portland, Ore. today, co-sponsors the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that they have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to increase their coordination and collaboration to ensure the environmentally sound offshore energy development.

NOAAs Climate Prediction Center today announced that climate conditions point to a below normal hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific this year. The outlook calls for a 5 percent probability of an above normal season, a 25 percent probability of a near normal season and a 70 percent probability of a below normal season.

NOAAs Central Pacific Hurricane Center today announced that projected climate conditions point to a below normal hurricane season in the Central Pacific Basin this year.

NOAAs Fisheries Service today proposed designating a population of hatchery-raised steelhead salmon in Oregons Deschutes River as experimental, which would provide legal protection to anyone who harmed the fish while otherwise acting lawfully

On May 17, 2011, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco issued the following statement about the National Research Council’s release of its fifth and final report as part of the Americas Climate Choices series

NOAA-sponsored explorers are searching a wild, largely unexplored and forgotten coastline for evidence and artifacts of one of the greatest seafaring traditions of the ancient New World, where Maya traders once paddled massive dugout canoes filled with trade goods from across Mexico and Central America.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced today that $649,527 in fisheries enforcement penalties will be returned to 11 individuals or businesses after an independent review of their cases concluded the NOAA enforcement program had in some instances overstepped the bounds of propriety and fairness.

Cigarette smoking, forest fires and woodburning can release a chemical that may be at least partly responsible for human health problems related to smoke exposure, according to a new study by NOAA researchers and their colleagues.

The Earth experienced the seventh warmest April since record keeping began in 1880, as the climate phenomenon La Niña continued to be a significant factor.

Representatives from NOAA and the Agulhas-Somali Currents Large Marine Ecosystem (ASCLME) recently formalized an agreement that will help African and Indian Ocean states better manage their ocean ecosystems and resources.

Dr. Elizabeth (Libby) Jewett, a NOAA scientist with diverse science and management experience in ocean acidification and coastal hypoxia (low oxygen) research programs, will be the first director of NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program.

NOAAs Fisheries Service said today it was authorizing the states of Washington and Oregon to lethally remove specific California sea lions that congregate 140 miles from the Pacific Ocean just below the Columbia Rivers Bonneville Dam to eat thousands of adult salmon and steelhead swimming upriver to spawn.

Under a new fisheries management program effective since last May, revenues increased for the Northeast groundfishery during the first nine months of the 2010 fishing year compared to same period in 2009.

More than anywhere on the planet, rain can mean the difference between life and death for those living in Niger, in West Africa. After a severe drought in 2009 caused many to face acute hunger, in 2010 the area experienced its wettest year since 1964. NOAA-funded researchers hope a new climate information system they developed will help West African farmers help themselves.

On May 11, the USACE, NOAA, and USGS, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form an innovative partnership of federal agencies to address America’s growing water resources challenges.

The third U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue meeting was held May 9-10 in Washington, D.C. A significant outcome relates to their cooperation on observing greenhouse gases and a renewed dialogue on bilateral fisheries and ocean management.

A senior scientist, a partner in an environmental law firm, and an academic were selected by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to lead the advisory committee that will produce the next National Climate Assessment.

Historic flooding, a record-breaking tornado outbreak and devastating wildfire activity made April 2011 a month of historic climate extremes across much of the United States, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C.

Townspeople, elected representatives, government officials and hundreds of students today celebrated the naming of Plato, as the 2010 Census U.S. center of population.

NOAA Corps Cmdr. Lawrence Krepp has assumed command of NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, one of the world’s most technologically advanced hydrographic survey vessels.

Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D., was confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate and appointed by President Obama to serve as assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction and deputy administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAAs National Geodetic Survey dispatched the NOAA King Air 350CER aircraft, equipped with specialized remote sensing equipment, on a mission to collect aerial photography at 5,000 feet from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham, Ala.

NOAA today proposed raising the catch limit for Atlantic sea scallop vessels from the current level of 47 million pounds to 51 million pounds in 2011 and to 55 million pounds in 2012.

NOAA and partners conducted 11 ocean explorations in the Gulf of Mexico during the past ten years, providing a foundation of information against which to measure change to the regions ecosystems - changes that may relate to the Deepwater Horizon event that took place a year ago.

To improve energy production by wind farms, NOAA researchers and colleagues are launching a study this month to make visible the invisible wakes produced behind wind turbines.

Tuesday, NOAA released phase one of an independent assessment of the fishery management system in New England that was requested last year.

Eric Schwaab, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries, joined officials from the town of Brewster, Mass., and other partners today on the shores of Cape Cod’s Stony Brook to celebrate the completion of a American Reinvestment and Recovery Act project that restored natural tidal flow to 20 acres of salt marsh and opened passage for fish to nearly 400 acres of ponds for spawning.

NOAA hurricane experts will visit five U.S. East Coast cities aboard a NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft to raise awareness about storm threats and the danger of being caught without a personal hurricane plan.

The Department of Commerce today announced the appointment of three new public advisors charged with counseling the Secretary of Commerce and NOAA on national saltwater fishery management and laws that protect marine mammals, sea turtles and other ocean life.

Christa von Hillebrandt-Andrade, manager of the NOAA National Weather Service Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program, has been named as the new president of the Seismological Society of America (SSA).

NOAA’s Fisheries Service is asking for public input as it starts the process of updating the national guidelines that promote the safety of commercial and recreational fishermen in federal waters.

Six nations are participating in a study that looks at the potential role of black carbon, or soot, on the rapidly changing Arctic climate.

NOAA, the Ecosphere Restoration Institute, state and local partners celebrated the restoration of nearly 70 acres of wetlands that feed into Tampa Bay today in Ruskin, Fla.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco today spotlighted NOAA’s Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center (CREST) for its efforts to prepare students for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

NOAA officials today announced that ASRC Aerospace Corp., of Greenbelt, Md., has been awarded a contract to operate and maintain the agencys Fairbanks Satellite Operations Facility (FSOF) located in Fairbanks, Alaska.

NOAAs Fisheries Service issued new rules today on vessel traffic, aimed at protecting Southern Resident killer whales in Washington’s Puget Sound. These charismatic marine mammals, popular with tourists, whale-watch operators and the general public, were added to the Endangered Species list in late 2005.

The Earth experienced the 13th warmest March since record keeping began in 1880, as the climate phenomenon La Niña continued to be a significant factor.

Building on NOAAs previous actions to improve its enforcement program and to strengthen its efforts to improve communication with and outreach to the fishing industry, a former commercial fisherman has been tapped as NOAA Office of Law Enforcements compliance assistance liaison in the Northeast.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service has issued regulations and a letter of authorization (LOA) to the U.S. Navy that includes measures to protect marine mammals while conducting research, development, test and evaluation activities and range expansion at the Naval Sea System Command Undersea Warfare Center Keyport Range Complex, in waters off the state of Washington.

NOAAs Fisheries Service announced Monday that it will decide whether or not to list Chinook salmon in the Upper Klamath and Trinity rivers basin as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act after the agency found that a petition to list the fish contained substantial scientific information that warrants federal review.

Last month, temperatures and precipitation in the contiguous United States averaged above normal, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Opening keynote address as delivered on April 5 by Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator as part of the Albert, Norma, and Howard Geller 77 Endowed Lecture at Tilton Hall, Clark University

Nearly 500 students from more than 35 classrooms virtually accompanied researchers from the University of Hawaii and NOAAs Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) on the 1,000th dive by one of the lab’s twin Pisces manned-submersibles. Since 1981, HURL researchers have spent nearly 9,000 hours underwater around the Pacific.

Opening keynote address as delivered on April 4 by Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator as part of the First National Climate Assessment Federal Advisory Committee Meeting in Washington, DC

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco recently appointed nine new members to the Hydrographic Services Review Panel, a federal advisory committee that gives NOAA independent advice for improving ocean and coastal navigation products, information, data and services.

NOAAs Fisheries Service will require commercial fishermen who fish for yellowfin tuna, swordfish and other species with longlines in the Gulf of Mexico to use a new type of hook, called a weak hook, designed to reduce the incidental catch of Atlantic bluefin tuna.

NOAA continues to re-test seafood from the Gulf of Mexico to demonstrate to American and worldwide consumers that it is safe to eat, and announced today it will continue this re-testing into the summer.

Strong tornadoes and large hail may develop in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas later today. Powerful winds from this storm system will contribute to dangerous fire weather conditions across eastern New Mexico, west Texas and western Oklahoma this afternoon. Widespread severe weather is likely to move east into the Middle and Lower Mississippi River Valley on Friday. Stay up to date.

NOAAs National Weather Service, which operates the U.S. tsunami detection and warning system, says that the key to surviving a tsunami is staying informed and moving quickly to higher ground when a tsunami threatens.

Hundreds of surveyors from all around the United States will join NOAAs National Geodetic Survey on Saturday, March 19, at exactly 1 p.m. EDT, in the first-ever Surveying USA Day, a kick-off event commemorating Surveyors Week coordinated by the National Society of Professional Surveyors.

NOAAs Fisheries Service today announced that it will propose increasing the spiny dogfish quota to 20 million pounds for 2011. The new quota would be a 33 percent increase over the 2010 catch limit of 15 million pounds.

Two tropical cyclone names in the Atlantic were retired from the official name rotation by the World Meteorological Organization’s hurricane committee because of the deaths and damage they caused in 2010. The committee issues the list of potential names for tropical cyclones to be used every six years for both the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins.

NOAA explained today how it will concentrate scientific, service, and stewardship efforts in the Arctic when it released its first ever Arctic Vision and Strategy. Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, made the announcement during a keynote address to the Aspen Institute in Washington.

This year, the globe experienced the 17th warmest February since record keeping began in 1880, as the climate phenomenon La Niña continued to be a significant factor. Last months average Arctic sea ice extent tied with 2005 as the smallest extent for February in its 32-year period of record.

A new emergency increase to the butterfish fishing limit will enable squid fishermen off the northeast, who often catch butterfish unintentionally while fishing for squid, to continue working, while still protecting the butterfish stock.

NOAA scientists and academic partners have found a way to use air chemistry measurements taken hundreds of feet above last year’s BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill to estimate how fast gases and oil were leaking from the reservoir thousands of feet underwater.

NOAAs Fisheries Service today announced it is implementing the regulatory recommendations of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) due to concerns over declining halibut stocks. These regulations include limiting the maximum size of a halibut caught by charter anglers in southeastern Alaska to 37 inches, and retaining the one-fish-per-person-per-day rule that began in 2009.

During a special airborne mission to study the air-quality impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill last June, NOAA researchers discovered an important new mechanism by which air pollution particles form.

The deadly Russian heat wave of 2010 was due to a natural atmospheric phenomenon often associated with weather extremes, according to a new NOAA study. And while the scientists could not attribute the intensity of this particular heat wave to climate change, they found that extreme heat waves are likely to become increasingly frequent in the region in coming decades.

February 2011 was near normal for both temperature and precipitation averaged across the contiguous United States, according to the latest NOAA State of the Climate report issued today.

NOAAs Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) has launched a new interactive web page that shows the scope of coastal program investments and successes in NOAAs 34 partner states and territories.

For the first time, data from electronic tags attached to marine animals will be incorporated into the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®).

NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve will host a series of public events March 21-26 in six communities in Mexico and the Caribbean to urge residents to prepare for the 2011 hurricane season.

NOAA scientists and their colleagues from Boulder, Colo., and across the country have gathered in Erie, Colo., for a month-long study of the chemistry of the wintertime atmosphere, which they hope will shed light on some scientific mysteries.

With spring flooding already underway over portions of the U.S., NOAA forecasters are warning the worst is yet to come. Almost half the country has an above-average risk of flooding over the next few weeks, according to the annual spring outlook released Thursday by NOAAs National Weather Service.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced that he would allow fishermen and businesses until May 6, 2011, to submit complaints about potentially excessive enforcement penalties to the Special Master for review, as well as request stays of their penalties as part of the complaint process.

Monday, Feb. 28, NOAA proposed new measures for the 2011 groundfishing year that give fishermen greater opportunity to fish in Northeast waters, assist small vessel owners, and continue important stock rebuilding. The rule, called Framework 45, is based on recommendations by the New England Fishery Management Council and is open for comment March 3.

On behalf of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and the 12,800 employees of NOAA, it is my pleasure to stand with the World Resources Institute and partners to launch Reefs at Risk Revisited. With this historic report, WRI continues its trend of using expert knowledge to inform, inspire, empower action, and implement transformative solutions that address global environmental challenges.

With many communities throughout the nation facing threats of spring flooding, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are once again joining forces to commemorate Flood Safety Awareness Week March 14 - 18.

NOAA is again surveying saltwater anglers across the nation to update and improve estimates of the overall economic contributions of saltwater recreational fishing to the U.S. economy.

To advance the ongoing natural resource restoration planning process following the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA and the Department of the Interior (DOI) today announced plans to develop a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) in cooperation with state co-trustees as part of the ongoing Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). The first step in the PEIS process will be public scoping meetings in each of the affected Gulf Coast states.

A panel of scientists speaking today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) unveiled new research and models demonstrating how climate change could increase exposure and risk of human illness originating from ocean, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems, with some studies projecting impacts to be felt within 30 years.

At a hearing Tuesday in front of the Senate Commerce Committee on the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Assistant NOAA Administrator for Fisheries Eric Schwaab said that the U.S. is making good progress toward meeting the mandate to end domestic overfishing.

Updated scientific data on red snapper populations in the South Atlantic show that the planned area closure for all snapper and grouper species off southern Georgia and northern Florida is no longer needed. As a result, NOAA’s Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a proposal to repeal the previously approved area closure that is set to go into effect on June 1.

NOAAs Fisheries Service has issued regulations and a letter of authorization to the U.S. Navy that includes measures to protect marine mammals while conducting the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet training operations at the Gulf of Mexico Range Complex. The regulations and authorization letter require the Navy to take measures to protect and minimize impacts to marine mammals.

Cows put it out there. So do mines and landfills. On a molecular level, methane gas is elegantly simple, just four tiny hydrogen atoms surrounding a single carbon atom. Zoom out, however, and the picture is more complex, particularly when it comes to climate change. Methane, the main component in natural gas, is both a rich source of energy and a powerful greenhouse gas.

Seventy-five percent of the worlds coral reefs are currently threatened by local and global pressures, according to a comprehensive analysis released by the World Resources Institute, along with the Nature Conservancy, the WorldFish Center, the International Coral Reef Action Network, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Center, and a network of more than 25 partner organizations, including NOAA.

It’s a puzzle: How could warmth in the Arctic produce frigid conditions elsewhere? NOAA scientists may have a clue.

The ozone layer - the thin atmospheric band high-up in the stratosphere that protects living things on Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, not to be confused with damaging ozone pollution close to the ground - faces potential new challenges even as it continues its recovery from earlier damage, according to a recently released international science assessment.

Last month was the 17th warmest January for combined global land and ocean surface temperature since records began in 1880. La Niña, with its cooling effect on the central and eastern tropical Pacific, continues to be a factor in global ocean temperatures.

Steven Koch spent time in Norman, Okla., while he earned his doctorate in meteorology in 1979. He’ll return to Norman in late April as the new director of NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, the laboratory most involved with tornado research.

The Special Master has given an interim report of his progress to date reviewing NOAA fisheries enforcement complaints identified by the Commerce Inspector General and sent by the Secretary of Commerce for his review.

Sydney Levitus, an award-winning oceanographer and researcher at NOAA, was elected as a 2010 Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Levitus will be instated on Feb. 19, with 503 other newly elected fellows during the association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

As delivered on Feb. 10 by Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator

Report is the latest independent analysis to clear climate scientists of allegations of mishandling of climate information.

Maritime heritage archaeologists working with NOAAs Office of National Marine Sanctuaries have found the nationally-significant wreckage of a famous 1800s Nantucket whale ship, Two Brothers, on a reef off French Frigate Shoals, nearly six hundred miles northwest of Honolulu, in the remote Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

NOAA scientists will use unmanned aircraft to study “rivers in the sky” during the Winter Storms and Pacific Atmospheric Rivers, or WISPAR, field campaign slated to begin Feb. 11. The focus of the research is to improve our understanding of how atmospheric rivers form and behave, and to evaluate the operational use of unmanned aircraft for investigating these phenomena.

A large swath of the country is at risk of moderate to major flooding this spring, from northeastern Montana through western Wisconsin following the Mississippi River south to St. Louis, National Weather Service flood experts are forecasting. Today the agency released an initial spring flood outlook for this high risk region and will release a national spring flood outlook on March 17.

In response to resurging interest in renewable energy production, NOAA has launched a website containing legal and licensing information for industries interested in developing Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) capability in the United States.

It isn’t often that a map visually displays a moral issue facing a divided nation and then affects a President’s response. Yet nearly 150 years ago, the U.S. Coast Survey — NOAA’s predecessor organization — produced such a map that, according to historians, President Abraham Lincoln used to coordinate military operations with his emancipation policies.

Keynote Address, Beyond Recovery: Moving the Gulf Toward a Sustainable Future delivered on Feb. 9 by Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, at the Center for American Progress, Washington, DC

As delivered on Feb. 8 by Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator

Last month was the coolest January since 1994, according to scientists at NOAAs National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C.

On Feb. 14, President Obama issued the FY 2012 budget for NOAA, requesting $5.5 billion for the nation’s oceanic and atmospheric agency. The proposed budget includes key investments to strengthen NOAA’s most critical programs and initiatives, while addressing the administration’s goals.

Seafood consumers and the law-abiding fishermen who catch that seafood gained a big victory last week when a complex NOAA Office of Law Enforcement investigation into conspiracy, misbranding and smuggling resulted in two guilty pleas in federal court.

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in partnership with Murrain Associates, Inc., and the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS), today launched Voyage to Discovery, a new website and education initiative highlighting untold stories of African-Americans and the sea.

The wreck of a mid-20th century fishing vessel, representative of the highest technological advances of the time, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. The Edna G. shipwreck site rests within NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

The Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce today announced a new agreement to further collaboration between the agencies on renewable energy modeling and weather forecasting, which will help enable the nation’s renewable energy resources to be used more effectively by business and entrepreneurs.

Louis W. Uccellini, Ph.D., director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction for NOAAs National Weather Service in Camp Springs, Md., has been named president-elect of the American Meteorological Society. His term begins in 2012.

A young critically endangered female right whale died recently as a result of becoming entangled in hundreds of feet of rope. Despite efforts by teams of disentanglement experts, the whale was unable to overcome the impacts of the ropes, which at one point were embedded in her body.

In 2010, NOAA satellites were critical in the rescues of 295 people from life-threatening situations throughout the United States and its surrounding waters. The satellites picked up distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers, and relayed the information about their location to first responders on the ground.

A free online educational workshop for formal and informal educators, ocean explorers, scientists and other interested members of the public will be available from NOAA later this month.

Today NOAA released a comprehensive draft management plan and environmental assessment for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary for public review and comment.

Legislation recently signed by President Obama has paved the way for NOAA to move ahead to increase the Georges Bank yellowtail flounder quota for U.S. commercial fishermen in 2011.

On Wednesday, Feb. 9, NOAA released complementary draft national aquaculture policies that support sustainable marine aquaculture to increase the U.S. supply of healthy seafood, create jobs in coastal and other communities, spur innovation in technology, and help restore depleted species and marine habitats.

Future aeronautical charts would include a reference to overflight regulations for four West Coast national marine sanctuaries under technical changes proposed by NOAAs Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. The proposed change would not create a new regulation but would clarify existing overflight regulations that have been in place for many years in the Channel Islands, Monterey Bay, Gulf of the Farallones and Olympic Coast sanctuaries.

On May 1-4, 2010, greater Nashville and the surrounding region experienced catastrophic, record flooding. Despite ongoing forecasts and warnings for heavy rain and widespread flooding several days in advance, 26 people died in the region - 11 of those in Nashville, where property damage exceeded $2 billion.

NOAA today submitted a report to Congress identifying six nations - Colombia, Ecuador, Italy, Panama, Portugal, and Venezuela - whose fishing vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2009 and/or 2010.

An international, NOAA-led research team took a significant step forward in understanding the atmosphere’s ability to cleanse itself of air pollutants and some other gases, except carbon dioxide. The issue has been controversial for many years, with some studies suggesting the self-cleaning power of the atmosphere is fragile and sensitive to environmental changes, while others suggest greater stability. And what researchers are finding is that the atmosphere’s self-cleaning capacity is rather stable.

NOAA will reopen 4,213 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters off Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to royal red shrimping on Feb. 2, 2011. The area was closed to this type of deep water fishing on Nov. 24 as a precautionary measure after a commercial shrimper discovered tar balls in his net.

NOAA-funded scientists have found extensive and biologically diverse coral ecosystems occurring at depths between 100-330 feet within a 12 mile span off the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico. With the overall health of shallow coral reefs and the abundance of reef fish in Puerto Rico in decline, this finding brings hope that deeper fish stocks may help to replenish stocks on shallower reefs.

NOAA is now using enhanced weather and marine forecast models for the Great Lakes that will extend forecasts from 36 hours to 60 hours into the future to better serve commercial and recreational mariners, the shipping industry, emergency responders, water resource managers and the private weather industry.

David Kennedy has been named NOAA assistant administrator for the National Ocean Service effective immediately. The announcement was made today by Under Secretary of Commerce and NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco.

While wet and snowy weather has dominated the western U.S., persistent drought conditions are likely to linger in the Southern Plains and Southeast through mid to late spring, according to NOAAs National Weather Service.

As the new year approaches, NOAA ships and independent contractors are preparing for the nations 177th hydrographic surveying season, aiming to collect critically needed ocean and coastal mapping data for 2,525 square nautical miles in high-traffic coastal waters of the continental United States and Alaska.

Remarks by Dr. Jane Lubchenco at the National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment - 2011 Our Changing Oceans (Jan. 20, 2011).

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today determined that the economic effects of closing shellfish fisheries in Maine in 2009 due to a harmful algal bloom, commonly referred to as red tide, caused a commercial fishery failure.

Scientists from NOAA Fisheries Service and its state and nonprofit partners successfully used at-sea chemical sedation to help cut the remaining ropes from a young North Atlantic right whale on January 15 off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Billfish and tuna, important commercial and recreational fish species, may be more vulnerable to fishing pressure because of shrinking habitat according to a new study published by scientists from NOAA, The Billfish Foundation, and University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

As planned and in coordination and consultation with state and local partners, the federal governments response framework for the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill will transition on Friday, allowing for long-term response operations to be overseen by regional U.S. Coast Guard units rather than surge forces.

NOAA has dispatched one of its highly specialized aircraft to collect atmospheric data over the North Pacific Ocean to enhance forecasts of winter storms for the entire North American continent.

An image captured by NOAAs Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-13 (GOES-13) shows a major winter storm as it continues to hit the northeastern United States with heavy snow and high winds on Jan. 12. Additional views of winter storms as seen from space can be found at: www.nnvl.noaa.gov.

Results of a five-year monitoring effort to repair seagrass damaged in a boat grounding incident suggest that restoration techniques such as replanting seagrass can speed recovery time. The finding is included in a new report released today by NOAAs Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

Every State, with the exception of Florida, currently has snow on the ground. This includes Hawaii where about seven inches of snow is atop Mauna Kea. As of Jan. 11, 69.4 percent of the contiguous United States is covered by snow - this is more than double the snow cover from last month. This weeks snow storm in Southern states has allowed for this unusual occurrence.

According to NOAA scientists, 2010 tied with 2005 as the warmest year of the global surface temperature record, beginning in 1880. This was the 34th consecutive year with global temperatures above the 20th century average. For the contiguous United States alone, the 2010 average annual temperature was above normal, resulting in the 23rd warmest year on record.

For his work in expanding our understanding of the global carbon cycle and raising awareness for climate change, Pieter Tans, Ph.D., was awarded the Roger Revelle Medal at the 2010 fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

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 NOAAs climate observation and monitoring efforts.

New submarine volcanoes, a large hydrothermal field with a thriving exotic animal ecosystem and areas rich with deep-sea ocean animals are among the discoveries reported today by U.S. and Indonesian scientists who explored the largely unknown deep Sulawesi Sea last summer off the coast of Indonesia.

Texas officials and coastal managers will now receive early notice of outbreaks of toxic algae that threaten public health and affect beach and fishing activities along the coast. Weekly bulletins generated by the NOAA Harmful Algal Bloom Operational Forecast System are based on observations from state partners, coupled with models, imagery and data from NOAA’s powerful tide and current and weather systems.

NOAAs Fisheries Service today issued its final interim rule to reduce commercial fishing for groundfish stocks in the Aleutian Islands in an effort to provide more food for the endangered western Steller sea lion.

The first underwater robotic vehicle - or glider - to cross an ocean will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit opening in the Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History on Dec. 9.

A team of state and federal biologists assisted a severely entangled North Atlantic right whale off the coast of Daytona, Fla., on Dec. 30, 2010. The team successfully removed more than 150 feet of ropes wrapped around the whale’s head and fins, and cut portions of entangling ropes that remain on the animal.

Hundreds of conservation managers, marine scientists, conservation activists, political leaders and policy makers helped celebrate two globally significant milestones for Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument today at the Hawaii Convention Center.

NOAAs Fisheries Service is proposing to list four subspecies of ringed seals, found in the Arctic Basin and the North Atlantic, and two distinct population segments of bearded seals in the Pacific Ocean, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

NOAA has unveiled a web archive of the maps, wildlife reports, scientific reports and other previously released public information used by emergency responders, fishermen, mariners and local officials during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

In order to protect the red snapper population in the South Atlantic, NOAAs Fisheries Service will extend the ban of commercial and recreational fishing for the red snapper in federal waters off North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and the Atlantic coast of Florida.

Stay safe during this busy holiday travel season by keeping up-to-date on the latest forecasts and weather advisories or warnings issued by NOAAs National Weather Service. Visit www.weather.gov.

President Obama announces intent to nominate Kathryn D. Sullivan, PhD, as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Observation and Prediction.

Frank Marks, Ph.D., director of hurricane research at NOAAs Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, will receive the prestigious Verner E. Suomi Award by the American Meteorological Society. Marks will receive the Suomi medallion at the AMS 91st Annual Meeting in Seattle on Jan. 26, 2011.

NOAA today announced $2 million in grants from its National Sea Grant College Program to prevent and control aquatic invasive species. NOAA awarded five regional grants to combat high-priority aquatic invasive species identified by natural resource managers in each region.

The NOAA National Sea Grant College Program has selected seven graduate students to join the group of Sea Grant/NOAA’s Fisheries Service Fellows earning doctoral degrees in either population dynamics or marine resource economics.

NOAAs Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Spain’s Ministry of Culture announced today the signing of a memorandum of understanding outlining a framework to jointly identify, protect, manage and preserve underwater cultural resources of mutual interest within their respective areas of responsibility.

NOAA announced today that the fee for registering with the National Saltwater Angler Registry will be $15 as of January 1. The change affects anglers, spear fishers and for-hire fishing vessels in Hawaii, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I., although some anglers are exempt.

Now available: Under Secretarys response to Inspector Generals September 23, 2010 report regarding NOAAs enforcement program.

NOAA has hired two new staff members, both residents of the Gloucester area, as a part of its ongoing efforts to improve communication with the fishing industry and to work proactively with fishermen to help them understand and comply with fisheries regulations.

A new NOAA rule will prohibit boaters from discharging or depositing sewage into all waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The rule, which takes effect on December 27, also requires that vessel marine sanitation devices are secured to prevent discharges within sanctuary boundaries.

The 17th special meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) ended today with successes in some important areas and room for improvement in others. The United States met many of its important objectives this year, including the adoption of measures to address the bycatch of endangered sea turtles, conservation measures for shortfin mako sharks, a recommendation on scientific observer programs, and continued progress toward a more robust compliance system.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke issued the following statement on Icelands decision to resume international trade in fin whale meat, and its escalation of commercial whaling outside of the control of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Iceland killed 273 endangered fin whales in the last two years.

Eight shrimp trawlers have been charged by NOAA with allegedly fishing this summer in the area of the Gulf of Mexico that was closed due to the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill. The notices of violation and assessment (NOVAs) were issued as part of NOAA’s effort to help ensure the seafood reaching America’s dinner tables was safe – and to protect the livelihoods of Gulf fishermen who were respecting the closures.

NOAA announced today that it has awarded about $9.2 million to nine projects throughout the Great Lakes Region that will restore fish habitat by removing dams and barriers, constructing fish passage, restoring wetlands, removing marine debris and invasive species.

Remarks by Dr. Jane Lubchenco to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)

In response to a petition, NOAAs Fisheries Service will recommend that the Hawaiian insular false killer whale be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, to prevent the current population of less than 170 whales from going extinct.

Out of an abundance of caution, NOAA has closed 4,213 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters off Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to royal red shrimping.

On Tuesday, NOAA announced it is issuing notices of violations proposing civil administrative penalties against seven vessels for allegedly violating seasonal speed limits designed to protect one of the most endangered whales in the world. These civil administrative penalties are the first assessed since the Right Whale Ship Strike Reduction Rule was enacted on Dec. 9, 2008.

The Federal Interagency Solutions Group, established at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard and authorized under a directive from the National Incident Commander (NIC), is releasing today a peer-reviewed report that details the scientific calculations of the Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Spill Oil Budget Calculator response tool announced last August.

Coral reefs suffered record losses as a consequence of high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean in 2005 according to the most comprehensive documentation of basin-scale bleaching to date. Collaborators from 22 countries report that more than 80 percent of surveyed corals bleached and over 40 percent of the total surveyed died, making this the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin.

Federal and state agencies received $27.5 million to restore conditions for fish, birds, sensitive habitats, wildlife and recreational use of the Delaware River areas impacted in 2004 by an oil spill from the vessel Athos I.

With a total of 19 named storms, 12 hurricanes and five major hurricanes, the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season was one of the busiest on record - as NOAA forecasters had predicted. Fortunately, nearly all of those storms avoided the U.S. coastline.

The troposphere, the lower part of the atmosphere closest to the Earth, is warming and this warming is broadly consistent with both theoretical expectations and climate models, according to a new scientific study that reviews the history of understanding of temperature changes and their causes in this key atmospheric layer.

President Obama and India’s Prime Minister Singh will enter into a new collaborative agreement between NOAA and the India Ministry of Earth Sciences that aims to improve India’s monsoon forecasts. The agreement is part of a series of food security agreements formalized this week during the president’s visit.

During a Paris ceremony on Wednesday, NOAA senior scientist Susan Solomon, Ph.D., became a knight chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French Republic.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service has issued regulations and a letter of authorization to the U.S. Navy that includes measures to protect marine mammals while conducting training exercises off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California.

Three NOAA scientists will receive the 2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.

The contiguous United States had its 11th warmest October on record, according to the latest NOAA State of the Climate report issued Monday.

NOAA today announced that it is issuing notices of violation proposing civil administrative penalties against four scallop vessel owners and operators for landing significantly more scallops than were allowed by law and for making false statements to investigators and filing false trip reports to cover their actions. The proposed penalties in these cases range between $5,000 and $20,000.

NOAA’s Office of Education announced today that it has awarded grants totaling more than $8 million to seventeen institutions across the country to engage the public in science education activities that improve understanding and stewardship of the local and global environment.

October ranked the eighth warmest October on record. The first 10 months of 2010 tied with the same period in 1998 for the warmest combined land and ocean surface temperature on record.

I congratulate Dr. Steve Murawski on the announcement of his new position as St. Petersburg Downtown Progress- Peter R. Betzer research professor at the University of South Floridas College of Marine Science, which he will begin in January.

To better connect educators and students who are interested in NOAA’s education and science resources, NOAA has just completed a major update of the agency’s primary education resource portal, http://www.education.noaa.gov.

I am deeply saddened to share news of the passing of Dr. Isabella Abbott on October 28 at the age of 91. A pioneer in the study of central-Pacific seaweeds, Izzie was a font of knowledge and a beacon of inspiration for generations of marine biologists around the world, but especially at the two institutions where she taught, Stanford University and the University of Hawaii.

NOAA has announced seasonal vessel speed restrictions along the U.S. East Coast where the endangered right whale travels to protect them from being injured or killed by colliding with ships. The restrictions - the same as imposed last year - require vessels 65 feet or longer to travel at 10 knots or less in key right whale areas, reducing the chances ships will collide with whales.

Government and academic scientists on a multi-week expedition to explore deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico have observed corals and associated communities of marine life that show evidence of recent damage.

NOAA Fisheries scientists onboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer are collecting plankton samples from Hawaii to the U.S. West Coast and collecting floating plastic debris from the so-called great Pacific garbage patch, a concentrated area of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean.

NOAA today awarded three Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts, totaling up to $550 million, for scientific and technical services to support the agencys key mission and its five line offices.

NOAA today reopened to commercial and recreational fishing 8,403 square miles of Gulf waters which extend from the Louisiana state water line to due south of the Alabama/Florida state line. This is the eleventh reopening in federal waters since July 22.

In a research paper published online Saturday in the Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans, a publication of the American Geological Union (AGU), scientists reported the southern Baffin Bay off West Greenland has continued warming since wintertime ocean temperatures were last effectively measured there in the early 2000s.Temperatures in the study were collected by narwhals, medium-sized toothed Arctic whales, during NOAA-sponsored missions in 2006 and 2007.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today announced eight joint research awards totaling nearly $5 million to support the responsible siting and permitting of offshore wind energy facilities and ocean energy generated from waves, tides, currents and thermal gradients.

NOAAs Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary opened its new Ocean Climate Center today at its headquarters in San Francisco. The Ocean Climate Center will serve as an ocean and climate change communication center for the Bay Area and facilitate the exchange of technical, scientific, policy and education information and ideas.

Building upon the extensive testing and protocols already in use by federal, state and local officials for the fishing waters of the Gulf, NOAA and FDA have developed and are using a chemical test to detect dispersants used in the Deepwater Horizon-BP oil spill in fish, oysters, crab and shrimp.

On Thursday, NOAA released a national policy encouraging the consideration and use of catch shares, a fishery management tool that has shown it can help rebuild fisheries and sustain fishermen, communities, vibrant working waterfronts and culturally important fishing traditions.

A nearly 17,000 area encompassing freshwater marshes, uplands and river on the shores of Lake Superior in Wisconsin became the 28th member of NOAAs National Estuarine Research Reserve System today. Federal, state and local officials officially welcomed the site into the system at a ceremony in Superior, Wis.

NOAA has released the Recreational Saltwater Fisheries Action Agenda, a national plan to address the complex issues facing marine recreational fisheries. The plan will improve science and stewardship and build a stronger partnership with the recreational community. It is a direct outcome of input received from recreational fishermen during the April 2010 Recreational Saltwater Fishing Summit organized by NOAA.

NOAA today released a comprehensive draft management plan and environmental assessment for Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary for public review and comment.

NOAA and local partners yesterday celebrated the opening of 20 miles of stream habitat along the Patapsco River in Maryland and its tributaries, a critical step in restoring the Patapsco River and restore the health of the river and strengthen the environmental community.

NOAA today listed the southern distinct population segment (DPS) of the spotted seal as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, strictly regulating importation of the animal or its parts into the U.S.

The Arctic region, also called the planet’s refrigerator, continues to heat up, affecting local populations and ecosystems as well as weather patterns in the most populated parts of the Northern Hemisphere, according to a team of 69 international scientists.

Scientists from NOAA, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Audubon Nature Institute joined with Coast Guard Rear Admiral Roy A. Nash today to return 33 sea turtles to Gulf of Mexico waters offshore of Louisiana.

Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, announced on Monday two changes we have made to move NOAA further down the road to an effective enforcement program in NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

On Oct. 22, NOAA reopened to commercial and recreational fishing 7,037 square miles of Gulf waters about 80 nautical miles south of the Florida panhandle, between the Florida-Alabama state line and Cape San Blas, Fla. This is the tenth reopening in federal waters since July 22.

Those of us in the NOAA family were saddened to learn about the untimely passing this week of Dr. Bill Evans, NOAA administrator (1988-89) and pre-eminent marine mammalogist widely known for his research on marine mammal acoustics and tracking.

NOAAs Fisheries Service has mailed applications to almost 240 trawl fishermen and processors on the West Coast to invite them into what will be arguably the most important change in West Coast trawl fisheries management in a generation. The forms, due Nov. 1, are a crucial step for fishermen to participate in a catch-shares program, in which individual fishermen will be granted access to a specified share of the valuable West Coast bottomfish trawl harvest.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco today announced a $27.6 million American Reinvestment and Recovery Act investment to build a new state-of-the-art supercomputer center in Fairmont, W. Va. Lubchenco was joined by U.S. Rep. Alan B. Mollohan for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the NOAA Environmental Security Computing Center (NESCC), which is geared to develop and improve the accuracy of global and regional climate and weather model predictions.

A new federal rule will allow NOAAs assistant administrator for fisheries to deny a vessel entry into a U.S. port or access to port services if that vessel has been listed for engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by one of the world’s international fishery management organizations. The rule takes effect on Oct. 27, 2010.

The wonders of coral reefs and life thriving below the sea will be broadcast live on the Internet to classrooms and communities nationwide during a NOAA science and education mission at Aquarius Reef Base. The world’s only undersea research station, the Aquarius is located within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco Sends Letter to Oil Spill Commission.

On Oct. 15, NOAA reopened to commercial and recreational fishing 6,879 square miles of Gulf waters about 180-200 nautical miles south of the Florida panhandle, between the Florida-Alabama state line and Cape San Blas, Fla. This is the ninth reopening in federal waters since July 22.

Arctic sea ice reaches its third lowest minimum extent on record.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in 2011, NOAA has assembled a special historical collection of maps, charts, and documents prepared by the U.S. Coast Survey during the war years. The collection, Charting a More Perfect Union, contains over nearly 400 documents, available free from NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey website.br / br /

The contiguous United States had its 14th warmest September on record, according to the latest NOAA State of the Climate report issued Oct. 7. Average temperatures for September were 67.1 F, which is 1.7 F above the 1901-2000 average.

NOAA produced a report at the request of the Unified Command to project the most likely movement of oil. As part of its function to coordinate and review all interagency materials developed in response to the BP oil spill, OMB led a review of a preliminary report and provided comments to ensure the analysis reflected the best known information at the time and accurately reflected the limitation of the model and available information, including response actions.

As part of an ongoing efforttoreform its enforcement practices, NOAA’s Office of General Counsel, through its Office of General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation, is requesting public comment on a new draft penalty policy

The Pacific Northwest should brace for a colder and wetter than average winter, while most of the South and Southeast will be warmer and drier than average through February 2011, according to the annual Winter Outlook released today by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

The United States today joined other Arctic Coastal States in a mutual effort to develop nautical charts that will improve the safety of mariners transiting the Arctic. At a meeting today in Ottawa, representatives from Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States established a new Arctic Regional Hydrographic Commission.

On Sept. 30, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco delivered the following remarks at the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) Law Summit in New Orleans.

NOAA’s Historical Hurricane Tracks website and mapping application generates customized, downloadable maps based on more than 150 years of Atlantic hurricane data.

For the first time, scientists are using advanced technology and an innovative vessel to study, image, and map the unexplored offshore Northern San Andreas Fault from north of San Francisco to its termination at the junction of three tectonic plates off Mendocino, Calif.

The complex network of predators and prey that inhabit Lake Michigan has changed so drastically in recent decades that future trends for the food web are murky, according to scientists at the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL), the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER), and other academic partners.

Shortly after arriving in office 17 months ago, I heard troubling complaints about NOAA’s enforcement programs nationwide, and I decided that an investigation was warranted. I requested that the IG conduct a thorough investigation to identify the problems, so that we could take appropriate action.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Locke announced today sweeping reforms to increase accountability and transparency and strengthen the publics trust in NOAAs Office of Law Enforcement and the General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation.

NOAA today reopened to commercial and recreational fishing 5,628 square miles of Gulf waters off eastern Louisiana, just west of the Mississippi River delta. This is the seventh reopening in federal waters since July 22.

Announcing Fisheries Law Enforcement Complaint e-Hotline and NOAA Proposed Policy on Prohibited and Authorized Uses of the Asset Forfeiture Fund.

NOAAs Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary proposes the creation of a research area to better evaluate effects of human activities, including fishing, on sanctuary resources.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced six new Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) awards totaling $23.6 million over five years to research institutions, from Honolulu, Hawaii to Boston, Mass., to improve the nation’s ability to anticipate and adapt to climate variability and change.

NOAA today announced plans to implement a new information technology business model designed to boost efficiency, reduce costs and make better use of taxpayer dollars. Called NOAALink, the model draws upon the innovation and expertise of America’s small businesses to standardize information technologies and solutions across the agency and ensure better, more cost-effective service.

On Oct. 5, NOAA reopened to commercial and recreational fishing 2,927 square miles of Gulf waters off eastern Louisiana, directly south and southwest of East Bay. This is the eighth reopening in federal waters since July 22.

NOAA has awarded a team of researchers, led by the Smithsonian Institution, $634,047 as part of a planned five-year grant, estimated at nearly $1.6 million, to predict the impact of hypoxia on commercially and ecologically important finfish and oysters living in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay.

Scientists analyzing measurements taken in the deep ocean around the globe over the past two decades find a warming trend that contributes to sea level rise, especially around Antarctica.

NOAA officials today announced that Global Science Technology, Inc., of Greenbelt, Md., has been awarded a contract to help manage the agency’s satellite Climate Data Records (CDR) program, which is based at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

In recognition of her pioneering work that altered the course of atmospheric research, Susan Solomon, a NOAA senior scientist, was awarded the Career Achievement Service to America medal Sept. 15 in a Washington, D.C., ceremony.

New Coral Disease Outbreak Risk Product Available

NOAAs Fisheries Service announced today that recreational red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico will reopen for an added season to allow fishermen to catch the quota they did not reach because a portion of the Gulf was closed due to the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.

The Department of the Interior, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the co-trustees for natural resources affected by the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill announced today they have started the injury assessment and restoration planning phase of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment.

NOAAs Fisheries Service first prohibited commercial and recreational fishing in federal waters impacted by the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill as a seafood safety measure in early May. The closed area was 88,522 square miles or 37 percent of the Gulf of Mexico federal waters at its largest and now after six reopenings is 31,915 square miles or 13 percent of the Gulf of Mexico federal waters.

Representatives from NOAA and the Challenger Center for Space Science Education will spend the next five years furthering both organizations’ reach in math, science and technology educational efforts

NOAAs National Hurricane Center is now tracking the 13th named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Matthew is also forecast to become the seasons 7th hurricane.

According to the NOAA Coral Reef Watch monitoring system coral bleaching is likely in the Caribbean in 2010. Scientists are already reporting coral bleaching at several Caribbean sites and severe bleaching has been reported from other parts of the world.

To more effectively meet the rising public and private demand for climate products and services, Secretary Locke today announced the selection of six new NOAA regional climate services directors.

Today, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco issued the following statement about the National Academy of Public Administration’s study on a NOAA Climate Service

NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program has launched a one-time $1.2 million effort to help coastal communities prepare for the impacts of climate change.

A NOAA Fisheries report finds the port of New Bedford, Mass. the top spot for value of landings for the tenth year in a row. The New Bedford port brought in $249.2 million in 2009, an increase of $7.9 million over the previous year. The amount of fish landed was also up by 23.6 million pounds, with scallops responsible for a large part of the high value.

Summer 2010 the second warmest on record, Arctic sea ice continues its 14-year decline

NOAA today reopened to commercial and recreational fishing 7,970 square miles of Gulf waters along the southern boundary of the federal closed area. This is the sixth reopening in federal waters since July 22.

The average American ate 15.8 pounds of fish and shellfish in 2009, a slight decline from the 2008 consumption figure of 16.0 pounds, according to a NOAA Fisheries Service report out thrusday.

The contiguous United States had its fourth-warmest summer (June-August) on record, according to the latest NOAA State of the Climate report issued on Wednesday, Sept. 8.

Hurricane Igor and Tropical Storm Julia.

NOAA today announced a $131.9 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contract to Walsh Construction Company of Chicago to construct the main facility at NOAA’s new Pacific Regional Center on Ford Island in Honolulu.

A relatively new type of El Niño, which has its warmest waters in the central-equatorial Pacific Ocean, rather than in the eastern-equatorial Pacific, is becoming more common and progressively stronger, according to a new study by NASA and NOAA. The research may improve our understanding of the relationship between El Niños and climate change, and has potential significant implications for long-term weather forecasting.

NOAA and SeaWeb have entered into a partnership to enhance understanding of the nations valuable, but increasingly vulnerable coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean, Florida, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. Sometimes referred to as the rainforests of the seas; coral reefs provide services estimated to be worth as much as $375 billion globally each year.

Federal officials today commissioned NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, a state-of-the-art research vessel that will study a wide range of marine life and ocean conditions along the West Coast.

On Friday NOAA reopened 3,114 square miles of Gulf waters offshore of the western Florida panhandle to commercial and recreational fishing. The reopening was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.

A rare and exciting look at the seafloor with images of unusual and beautiful creatures was offered to U.S. and Indonesian scientists working side-by-side at Exploration Command Centers in Jakarta and Seattle this summer. They used cutting-edge technology to fill their screens with live views of seafloor geology and of deep-ocean marine animals in waters off Indonesia.

NOAAs Fisheries Service has issued regulations and a letter of authorization to the U.S. Navy that require protective measures to minimize impacts to marine mammals while conducting training exercises around the Mariana Islands in the South Pacific.

NOAA today reopened to commercial and recreational fishing 5,130 square miles of Gulf waters stretching from the far eastern coast of Louisiana, through Mississippi, Alabama, and the western Florida panhandle.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced today an extension of the disaster for California salmon fishermen due to the low numbers of spawning Chinook salmon returning to the Sacramento River and the subsequent reduction in commercial fishery revenues.

Plume detected 22 miles long and more than 3,000 feet below surface

Today NOAA reopened 4,281 square miles of Gulf waters off western Louisiana to commercial and recreational fishing. The reopening was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.

NOAA Fisheries scientist Kenneth Sherman is one of two 2010 recipients of the Göteborg Award for Sustainable Development, considered the environmental equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced today an extension of the disaster for California salmon fishermen due to the low numbers of spawning Chinook salmon returning to the Sacramento River and the subsequent reduction in commercial fishery revenues.

NOAA and others released a report on Tuesday that showed dissolved oxygen levels have dropped by about 20 percent from their long-term average in the Gulf of Mexico in areas where federal and independent scientists previously reported the presence of subsurface oil. Scientists from agencies involved in the report attribute the lower dissolved oxygen levels to microbes using oxygen to consume the oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Scientists working on methods to prevent and control harmful algal blooms impacting coastal communities along the Atlantic coast have been awarded more than $1 million for the first year of an anticipated $2 million, multi-year NOAA research grant.

While conducting mapping surveys west of Key West, Fla. the evening of August 14, the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson heard a radio report from the U.S. Coast Guard that a small aircraft with one person aboard had crashed in the water about 30 miles away from the vessel. The crew of the Thomas Jefferson immediately contacted the Coast Guard to advise they would help with the search and rescue operation and proceeded to steam toward the reported position. 

NOAA’s National Weather Service is closely monitoring the strengthening Hurricane Earl in the western Atlantic Ocean. For the latest forecasts visit weather.gov or hurricanes.gov.

A new NOAA study has found that rain clouds form synchronous patterns in which individual clouds in a large cloud field respond to signals from other clouds, much like chirping crickets or flashing fireflies on a summer night. The study, published online today in the journal Nature also has significant implications for our understanding of climate change research.

Scientists researching the causes and effects of hypoxia in Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan, Wisc., have been awarded $348,037 for the first year of an anticipated four-year $1,367,300 project through NOAA’s Coastal Hypoxia Research Program. Hypoxia within Green Bay has been a problem for decades, and recent evidence suggests that it may be worsening, with the potential for “dead zones” and fish kills to become both more frequent and more extensive with a changing climate.

The July 2010 average temperature for the contiguous United States was 75.5 degrees F, or 1.3 degrees F, (17th warmest) above the 1901-2000 long-term average, according to the latest NOAA State of the Climate report.

Fishermen, stakeholders, and the general public still have two weeks to comment on NOAAs enforcement priorities and the agency’s National Enforcement Summit held in Washington earlier this week, through the summit’s website.

A new study looking at how to curb the rapid growth of lionfish, an invasive species not native to the Atlantic Ocean, suggests that approximately 27 percent of mature lionfish will have to be removed monthly for one year to reduce its population growth rate to zero.

NOAA administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco and Adm. Thad Allen joined state, federal, and partner biologists today as they released 23 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles back into the Gulf of Mexico near Cedar Key, Fla., after the turtles were successfully rescued and rehabilitated from the effects of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.

The combined global land and ocean surface temperature made this July the second warmest on record, behind 1998, and the warmest averaged January-July on record. The global average land surface temperature for July and January–July was warmest on record. The global ocean surface temperature for July was the fifth warmest, and for January–July 2010 was the second warmest on record, behind 1998.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service says changes are needed to the areas where commercial fishermen may fish for groundfish off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to further promote the recovery of the western population of Steller sea lions, and to be in compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

NOAA has awarded $750,000 for the first year of an anticipated $3 million research investment to develop the information and tools critically needed to plan for sea level rise and other consequences of climate change along more than 300 miles of the northern Gulf of Mexico’s shoreline.

President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate Scott Doney as NOAA Chief Scientist

NOAA has awarded $543,336 for two competitive grants to better understand and manage outbreaks of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) that threaten public health and fisheries in Puget Sound. The grants cover the first year of multi-year projects, anticipated to cost almost $1.5 million over the next three years.

NOAA has awarded New York-based Stony Brook University $285,895 as part of an anticipated three-year, nearly $500,000 project to determine how different kinds of phosphorous, a nutrient required by all plants for growth, trigger toxic blooms of blue-green algae in the Great Lakes.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar formalized an agreement between the two departments to coordinate and cooperate on climate related activities involving science, services, mitigation, adaptation, education and communication.

Tuesday NOAA reopened 5,144 square miles of Gulf waters to commercial and recreational finfish fishing. The reopening was announced after consultation with FDA and under a reopening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.

NOAA today decommissioned the research vessel NOAA Ship David Starr Jordan during a ceremony in Seattle. The 171-ft. ship conducted oceanographic, marine mammal and fisheries research in the Pacific for more than 40 years.

The numbers of top-level predators in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, such as halibut and swordfish, decreased significantly from population levels 100 years ago, according to a new NOAA report released today by the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

National Marine Sanctuaries have helped facilitate ecosystem-based management practices in U.S. waters by developing tools that balance marine conservation goals while minimizing conflicts between diverse marine interests, according to a new NOAA report.

A third (33 percent) of the total amount of oil released in the Deepwater Horizon/BP spill was captured or mitigated by the Unified Command recovery operations, including burning, skimming, chemical dispersion and direct recovery from the wellhead, according to a federal science report released today.

NOAA’s National Enforcement Summit will bring together tomorrow more than 60 stakeholders from the commercial and recreational fishing industries, non-governmental organizations, and state and federal enforcement officials to focus on how NOAA can better manage marine resources through consistent and transparent enforcement of natural resource laws.

Southern Florida, the Florida Keys and the East Coast are not likely to experience any effects from the remaining oil on the surface of the Gulf as the oil continues to degrade and is hundreds of miles away from the loop current, according to a new NOAA analysis. This analysis assumes the Deepwater Horizon/BP wellhead will remained capped.

Building on the significant actions it has already taken, NOAA today released a formal Corrective Action Plan for its Asset Forfeiture Fund, to ensure that monies collected from fisheries enforcement penalties are properly accounted for and used.

The 2009 State of the Climate report released Wednesday draws on data for 10 key climate indicators that all point to the same finding: the scientific evidence that our world is warming is unmistakable.

NOAA continues to play a vital role in the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill response, using all the scientific methods at its disposal, including satellites in space, planes in the air, ships on the water, autonomous underwater vehicles and gliders under the water, and scientists in the field.

NOAA has awarded $2.5 million to the University of Notre Dame and its partners to predict the next wave of invasive species likely to enter the Great Lakes and to identify cost-effective countermeasures.

NOAAs Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) and the U.S. Coast Guard continue to actively enforce the law in federal waters that have been closed to fishing to balance economic and public health needs as a result of the BP oil spill. Since the first closure was announced on May 2, the agencies have worked together to patrol waters and docks to identify violations associated with the closure, leading fishermen to abandon catches to prevent potentially tainted seafood from entering U.S. seafood markets.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco today commended the World Heritage Committee for adding Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List at its annual meeting in Brasilia, Brazil.

NOAA scientists today released a data report on air quality measurements taken in June in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill area. The report summarizes the levels of nearly 100 air pollutants measured with sophisticated air sampling instruments onboard a NOAA WP-3D research aircraft.

NOAA has selected seven graduate students as national recipients of the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarships, representing graduate-level scholars in marine biology, coastal resource management, and maritime archeology.

The Department of Commerce, in consultation with the Department of the Interior, has appointed 11 new members to the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee. The 30-member committee, which meets twice yearly, is made up of representatives of diverse interests who advise the Departments of Commerce and the Interior on the development and implementation of a national system of marine protected areas (MPAs).

Last month’s combined global land and ocean surface temperature made it the warmest June on record and the warmest on record averaged for any April-June and January-June periods, according to NOAA.

As Arctic ice recedes, countries are looking forward to faster, safer and more efficient sea routes across the top of the world. Responding to a request from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Maritime Pilots and the commercial shipping industry, NOAA sent one of its premier surveying vessels, NOAA Ship Fairweather, to detect navigational dangers in critical Arctic waters that have not been charted for more than 50 years.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) today released its second peer-reviewed, analytical summary report about subsurface oil monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico

NOAA has selected Harris Corporation in Melborne, Fla., to develop the antenna system that will support NOAA’s next generation geostationary satellite series, GOES-R. This new series of spacecraft, set to begin launching in 2015, is expected to double the clarity of today’s satellite imagery and provide at least 20 times more atmospheric observations.

NOAA announced today its selection of the University of California, San Diego to lead a new federal/academic research partnership, forming the Cooperative Institute on Marine Ecosystems and Climate to study climate change and coastal ecosystems.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced that he is raising fishing limits on several fish stocks based on new scientific analysis, delivering on a commitment he made to Northeast fishermen and members of Congress.

NOAA will re-open 26,388 square miles of Gulf waters to commercial and recreational fishing on Thursday. The reopening of a third of the overall closed area was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.

Officials from NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the City of Santa Cruz broke ground today (July 12), on the 12,000-square-foot Sanctuary Exploration Center. Located in Santa Cruz’ famed beach area, the center will function as the sanctuary’s premier interactive interpretive facility.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service today said it would not initiate a status review of the porbeagle shark in response to two petitions to list the species as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The finding published today in the Federal Register.

Scientists have discovered that the water chemistry in the Hood Canal and the Puget Sound main basin is becoming more “acidified,” or corrosive, as the ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These changes could have considerable impacts on the region’s shellfish industry over the next several decades.

A science team on the research vessel Seward Johnson departs Fort Pierce, Fla. today for the eastern Gulf of Mexico to gather baseline data against which to measure change if oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill reaches the area. The expedition will use a submersible, a remotely operated vehicle and other technology to assess and record conditions in the water column and on the seafloor.

NOAA’s National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center released its seasonal drought outlook today for the period from August through October. The outlook indicates already dry conditions across parts of Arizona and New Mexico are likely to worsen in coming months. The official outlook calls for current severe drought conditions to persist across north-central portions of New Mexico and northeast Arizona while developing across much of the remainder of Arizona and extreme western parts of New Mexico.

In the first week of a joint Indonesia - U.S. exploration of the deep ocean north of Sulawesi, Indonesia, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer’s built-in multibeam sonar mapped a huge undersea volcano while cameras on the ship’s remotely-operated vehicle took high-definition images of the feature called Kawio Barat, referring to the ocean area west of Kawio Islands.

NOAAs National Ocean Service and Fisheries Service launched the second online educational game in the WaterLife series, Sea Turtles and the Quest to Nest, earlier today. The web-based game encourages and explains loggerhead sea turtle conservation through a series of games and animations aimed at fourth through seventh grade students.

Today, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco issued the following statement on the Commerce Department Inspector General’s report on the Asset Forfeiture Fund.

On July 12, NOAA expanded the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico to include portions of the oil slick moving beyond the area’s current northwestern boundary, off the Louisiana federal-state waterline. This boundary was moved westward of Holly Beach, La., and is approximately 17 statute miles from the Louisiana-Texas border.

NOAA has received calls from concerned citizens to help coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins. NOAA is working closely with its state and local partners to assess and respond to distressed dolphins or dolphins found in areas affected by oil from the Deepwater Horizon/BP spill event.

Last month’s combined global land and ocean surface temperature made it the warmest June on record and the warmest on record averaged for any April-June and January-June periods, according to NOAA. Worldwide average land surface temperature was the warmest on record for June and the April-June period, and the second warmest on record for the year-to-date (January-June) period, behind 2007.

The first joint expedition by the Republic of Indonesia and the United States to explore unknown deep-sea areas in Indonesian waters is under way. This expedition is the first activity in a multi-year partnership to advance ocean science, technology and education.

The largest civil penalty ever assessed by NOAA will boost the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund to implement marine conservation plans in the Pacific.

NOAA officials today announced they have selected the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison for continued studies to improve climate and severe weather forecasts.

NOAA’s State of the Climate report shows the June 2010 average temperature for the contiguous United States was 71.4 degrees F, which is 2.2 degrees F above the long-term average (1901-2000). The average precipitation for June was 3.33 inches, 0.44 inch above the long-term average.

NOAA selected Michele Brustolon, an eighth grade science teacher at Woodbury Middle School in Salem, Mass., to join scientists aboard the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson as part of its Teacher at Sea program to bridge science and education.

NOAA selected Rebecca Kimport, a high school science teacher at Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., to join scientists aboard the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson as part of its Teacher at Sea program to bridge science and education.

The risk of weathered oil and tar balls from the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill coming to the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys remains low under current ocean and wind conditions. NOAA’s long-term projection model released July 2 focused on the possible long-term shoreline threats and not on current wind and oceans conditions in the Gulf of Mexico.

NOAA seeks final public comments on a plan that charts the future of the agency. Individuals can download a copy of the draft strategic plan and submit comments online via NOAAs Next Generation Strategic Plan website.

NOAA ship Gordon Gunter will depart today to continue its mission to evaluate the effects of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill on whales and dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico, including the endangered sperm whale.

A NOAA research ship and a university-owned vessel left Miami this week to begin two complementary studies gathering data on the Loop Current and area ecosystems in response to the Deepwater Horizon / BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Using underwater unmanned gliders and coastal high-frequency radar stations, NOAA’s Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) and its regional partners from across the nation are capturing data that will assist in the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill response by locating and tracking oil at various levels in the water column, as well as on the Gulf surface.

The northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone, an underwater area with little or no oxygen known commonly as the “dead zone,” could be larger than the recent average, according to a forecast by a team of NOAA-supported scientists from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Louisiana State University, and the University of Michigan.

NOAA ship Delaware II departs Key West, Fla., today to collect tunas, swordfish and sharks, to gather data about the conditions these highly migratory species are experiencing in waters around the Gulf of Mexico spill site.

The Commerce Department today announced the appointment of 19 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils – important partners with NOAA’s Fisheries Service in determining how ocean fisheries are managed.

NOAA has used modeling of historical wind and ocean currents to project the likelihood that surface oil from the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill will impact additional U.S. coastline. This modeling, part of NOAA’s comprehensive response to the unprecedented Gulf oil disaster, can help guide the ongoing preparedness, response and cleanup efforts.

NOAA has expanded the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico to include portions of the oil slick moving beyond the area’s current northwestern boundary, off the Louisiana federal-state waterline. This boundary was moved westward off Vermilion Bay.

When she applied to NOAAs Teacher at Sea program last fall, Nicolle von der Heyde, an eighth-grade science teacher from Florrisant, Mo., hoped to experience ocean research firsthand. Now onboard the NOAA Ship Pisces in the Gulf of Mexico, she’s getting that experience and more.

When she applied to the NOAA Teacher at Sea program last fall, Melinda Storey, a teacher at Mountain Brook Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala., hoped to experience ocean research first hand. Now onboard the NOAA Ship Pisces in the Gulf of Mexico, she’s getting that experience and more.

When she applied to the NOAA Teacher at Sea program last fall, Mechelle Shoemake, a teacher at South Jones Elementary School in Ellisville, Miss., hoped to experience ocean research firsthand. Now onboard the NOAA Ship Oregon II in the Gulf of Mexico, she’s getting that experience and more.

Gulf state health and fisheries officials joined with senior leaders from several federal agencies to affirm a shared commitment to ensuring the safety of seafood coming out of the Gulf of Mexico, through closures of affected waters, surveillance, and with an eye toward reopening closed waters as soon as possible, consistent with public health goals.

NOAA today launched State of the Coast, an important new website that provides coastal managers, planners and officials at all levels of government a snapshot of statistics, facts and graphics about America’s 95,000-miles of coastline.

Today, NOAA launches a new federal Web site meant to answer those questions with clarity and transparency -- a one-stop shop for detailed near-real-time information about the response to the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill. The Web site incorporates data from the various agencies that are working together to tackle the spill.

NOAA has opened more than 8,000 square miles of previously closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico, because the agency has not observed oil in the area. The most significant opening is an area due south of Mississippi which was closed Monday, June 21.

The lower Columbia River area receives an estimated annual economic benefit of $6.4 million in savings and direct income from the operation of NOAA’s Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System, also known as PORTS®, according to a new study by NOAA and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

As NOAA’s National Weather Service hosts the 10th national Lightning Safety Awareness Week June 20-26, everyone is urged to heed this warning - when thunder roars go indoors!

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) today released the first peer reviewed, analytical summary report about the subsea monitoring in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead. 

NOAA has expanded the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico to include portions of the oil slick moving beyond the area’s current northern boundary, off the Florida panhandle’s federal-state waterline.

NOAA today released the final management plan for Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, which will guide the sanctuary’s resource protection and conservation efforts over the next five years.

On Tuesday, June 15, the NOAA Ship Pisces reported a dead sperm whale floating 77 miles due south of the Deepwater Horizon spill site. NOAA is currently in the process of conducting thorough testing to determine the circumstances surrounding the mammal’s death, as well as collect information about its life. This is the first dead whale reported since BP’s rig exploded on April 20 It was not found in oiled waters; however, its location of death is unknown.

The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for May, March-May (Northern Hemisphere spring-Southern Hemisphere autumn), and the period January-May according to NOAA. Worldwide average land surface temperature for May and March-May was the warmest on record while the global ocean surface temperatures for both May and March-May were second warmest on record, behind 1998.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are taking additional steps to enhance inspection measures designed to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico reaching America’s tables is safe to eat.

NOAA’s independent analysis of water samples provided from the May 22-28 research mission of the University of South Florida’s R/V Weatherbird II confirmed the presence of very low concentrations of sub-surface oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at sampling depths ranging from 50 meters to 1,400 meters.

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson returned to Galveston, Texas, from an eight-day research mission to investigate the presence and distribution of subsurface oil from the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill. The mission collected water samples for chemical analysis and tested the feasibility of using acoustic and flourometric scanning to help find potential pockets of subsurface oil clouds. The science team onboard included researchers from NOAA, EPA, the University of New Hampshire and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is playing a vital role in the oil spill response, using all the scientific methods at its disposal, including satellites in space, planes in the air, boats on the water, gliders under the sea, scientists in the field, and information online. The following is an update on some of the research cruises taking part in the effort.

NOAA has expanded the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico to include areas where the oil slick is moving beyond the current boundaries off of the Florida panhandle and due south of Mississippi.

A $4 million NOAA grant will help a university consortium evaluate the readiness of marine forecasts, such as flooding from storm surge or seasonal dead zones, along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts and improve those forecasts for use by emergency managers, scientific researchers and the general public.

A Spanish-flagged fishing vessel faces a possible $7.4 million civil penalty for 67 counts of fishing in U.S. waters without a U.S. permit, according to NOAA’s Office of General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation in the Pacific Islands region. The penalty would be the highest ever assessed by NOAA.

NOAA has selected the University of Washington to continue leadership of a federal/academic research partnership that will look at tsunamis, ocean acidification, marine ecosystems and fisheries, climate change and other issues that affect millions in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

NOAA has expanded the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico to capture portions of the oil slick moving beyond the area’s current northern boundary, off the Florida panhandle’s federal-state waterline. This boundary was moved to Panama City Beach.

NOAA’s State of the Climate report shows the May 2010 average temperature for the contiguous United States was 60.8 degrees F, which is 0.2 degrees F below the long-term (1901-2000) average. May’s average precipitation was 3.10 inches, 0.23 inch above the 1901-2000 average.

A second NOAA WP-3D Orion aircraft was deployed to the Gulf today to build on current air quality monitoring efforts near the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

Today, NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded five grants totaling $188,000, to fund stewardship projects and improve coordination efforts at various sites within the National System of Marine Protected Areas. These grants will help protect and conserve many coastal and marine places of significant ecological and economical value.

With summer vacation on the horizon, NOAA, the United States Lifesaving Association, and the National Park Service are alerting beach-goers to the threat of rip currents and how to prevent drowning from their strong and potentially fatal grip.

NOAA scientists are reporting in a newly published study that the health of the marine environment of Vieques, Puerto Rico - the site of military training activities from 1941 to 2003 which included live bombing exercises on the eastern side of the island, is comparable to the rest of the region.

Thursday, over 50 experts and practitioners from government, academia and industry finished a two-day meeting looking at the potential long-term impacts of the prolonged use of large volumes of dispersants in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. 

NOAA has begun work to survey a new ship anchorage site at the mouth of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico for ships to undergo inspection and oil decontamination before entering ports.

The NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter conducting sampling in the Gulf will expand its mission to use its sophisticated sonar equipment and other scientific instruments to help define the subsurface plume near the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill site and adjacent area. The mission is a collaborative project among NOAA, academia and the private sector.

NOAA’s National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center today announced that projected climate conditions point to a below normal hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific this year. The outlook calls for a 75 percent probability of a below normal season, a 20 percent probability of a near normal season and a five percent probability of an above normal season.

NOAA has opened 339 square miles of previously closed fishing area off the Florida panhandle – the northern boundary now ends at the Florida federal-state water line on the east side of Choctawhatchee Bay.

NOAA has opened more than 16,000 square miles of previously closed fishing area off the Florida coast. Please visit http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov for more information.

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson is underway on a mission to deploy a variety of U.S. Navy ocean monitoring instruments in the vicinity of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The floats, drifters and gliders will aid researchers in monitoring the surface and deep currents that are distributing the oil. Of particular interest is the Loop Current and its potential to spread the oil to a much wider area.

NOAA has expanded some boundaries of the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico to capture portions of the slick moving beyond the current boundaries. Please visit http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov for more information.

NOAA has extended the northern and southern boundaries of the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico to capture portions of the slick moving into waters off eastern Alabama and the western tip of the Florida panhandle, as well as some large patches of sheen moving onto the west Florida shelf and southward to Cuban waters.

More than 74 percent of gulf still open for fishing. Closure area may be updated daily as necessary. Please visit http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov for more information.

Shere Abbott, associate director of environment for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, nominated Tom Karl, the Department of Commerce’s principal representative to the Subcommittee on Global Change Research, to serve as the group’s next chair.

More than 75 percent of gulf still open for fishing. Closure area may be updated daily as necessary. Please visit http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov for more information.

A newly repositioned NOAA satellite is broadening the coverage of the Western Hemisphere, especially over South America. This coverage will supply forecasters in South America with more imagery and data to track dangerous storms – including tropical cyclones – and the storms that can trigger potentially deadly mudslides.

In response to the Deepwater BP oil spill, NOAA’s Mussel Watch program has mobilized three teams of scientists to test shellfish, sediment and water at 60 locations along the Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Keys to Brazos River, Texas.

Mariners can now get free real-time information on water level, wind, and weather conditions for the Sabine-Neches Waterway of Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, from a new NOAA ocean observing system.

The upper layer of the world’s ocean has warmed since 1993, indicating a strong climate change signal, according to a new study. The energy stored is enough to power nearly 500 100-watt light bulbs per each of the roughly 6.7 billion people on the planet.

An “active to extremely active” hurricane season is expected for the Atlantic Basin this year according to the seasonal outlook issued today by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center – a division of the National Weather Service. As with every hurricane season, this outlook underscores the importance of having a hurricane preparedness plan in place.

The Arctic has profound significance for climate and functioning of ecosystems around the globe. Because the region is particularly vulnerable and prone to rapid change, NOAA must position itself to respond with quality products, services, and scientific research. To guide that effort, NOAA has developed an Arctic strategic plan and vision that will be available for public comment through June 10.

More than 77 percent of gulf still open for fishing. Closure area may be updated daily as necessary. Please visit http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov for more information.

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office deployed a “smart buoy” today in the Potomac River, just south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. This buoy—closest to our nation’s capital—is the newest in NOAAs Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS), a network that provides scientists, boaters, and educators with real-time data about the Bay.

NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey – the official U.S. government source for determining precise latitude, longitude and elevation – is undergoing a modernization effort that takes into account advances in GPS and other technologies..

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today determined there has been a fishery disaster in the Gulf of Mexico due to the economic impact on commercial and recreational fisheries from the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The affected area includes the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Four fisheries stocks, including Atlantic swordfish, have now been rebuilt to healthy levels, according to a report to Congress from NOAA’s Fisheries Service issued today.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Larry Robinson by unanimous consent Thursday to serve as assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Robinson will help guide policy and program direction for NOAA’s conservation, protection and resource management priorities.

NOAA’s State of the Climate report shows the April 2010 average temperature for the contiguous United States was 54.3 degrees F, which is 2.3 degrees F above the long-term (1901-2000) average (14th warmest April on record). April’s average precipitation was 2.18 inches, 0.25 inch below the 1901-2000 average.

More than 81 percent of gulf remains open to fishing. Closure area may be updated daily as necessary. Please visit http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov for more information.

NOAA’s Aquarius, the world’s only permanent underwater laboratory, will host a new team of “aquanauts” in support of NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations mission. This is the 14th such mission since 2001. The May 10-23 mission will be the first of the 2010 season, and will involve aquanauts testing exploration concepts and conducting life sciences experiments focused on human behavior, performance and physiology. All of this will occur in a low gravity underwater environment that closely resembles space.

NOAA is requesting public comment on options for implementing parts of the Marine Mammal Protection Act that address the incidental catch of marine mammals in foreign fisheries, including species such as whales and dolphins.

The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for both April and for the period from January-April, according to NOAA. Additionally, last month’s average ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for any April, and the global land surface temperature was the third warmest on record.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service has modified the area closed to fishing in the Gulf of Mexico due to the BP oil spill, which will include federal waters seaward of Louisiana state waters in the vicinity of Timbalier Island to waters off Florida’s Choctawhatchee Bay.

NOAA is sending one of its top fisheries science directors to the Gulf this week to lead its effort to rapidly assess, test and report findings about risks posed to fish in the Gulf of Mexico by contaminants from the BP oil spill and clean-up activities.

GOES-15, the final spacecraft in the latest series of NOAA geostationary satellites, took its first infrared image of Earth on April 26.

Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, attended last week’s America’s Great Outdoors Conference to highlight recreational fishing as an important part of America’s outdoor legacy and future.

Commerce Department Principal Deputy Under Secretary and U.S. Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, Monica Medina, today released the following statement about the IWC Chair’s proposal for the Future of the IWC.

NOAA has modified and expanded the boundaries of the closed fishing area to better reflect the current location of the BP oil spill, and is extending the fishing restriction until May 17.

A NOAA-sponsored ocean mission, set to explore for deep sea corals, has been redirected to collect seafloor and water column data from areas near the Gulf of Mexico oil spill source.

The vulnerability of people to the health effects of climate change is the focus of a report released today by an NIH-led federal interagency group that includes NOAA. The report, “A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change,” calls for coordinating federal research to better understand climate’s impact on human health and identifying how these impacts can be most effectively addressed. The report was published by Environmental Health Perspectives and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. 

As summer nears and some 12.5 million registered boaters hit the water, NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey is launching an effort to remind people about the importance of using up-to-date nautical charts. NOAA is a co-sponsor of the newly formed Alliance for Safe Navigation, a public-private partnership that raises awareness of safe boating practices and offers an instructional Web site to get people started.

NOAA is restricting fishing for a minimum of ten days in federal waters most affected by the BP oil spill, largely between Louisiana state waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River to waters off Florida’s Pensacola Bay (map attached). The closure is effective immediately. Fishermen who wish to contact BP about a claim should call 800-440-0858. 

NOAA awarded a $73.6 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contract to Marinette Marine Corporation located in Marinette, Wis., for the construction of a new fisheries survey vessel, which will dramatically improve NOAA’s ability to conduct surveys for fish, marine mammals and turtles off the U.S. West Coast and in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

This coming week, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, and other dignitaries will celebrate Earth Week at eight of the 50 coastal and Great Lakes habitat restoration projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

NOAA’s State of the Climate report shows the March 2010 average temperature for the entire contiguous United States was warmer-than-average with several New England states experiencing one of the warmest March’s on record. Average precipitation for the U.S. was below normal, but heavy rainfall set March records in parts of the Northeast.

The black and white full-disk image shows North and South America with a storm system visible across the United States, indicated by a drape of clouds from New England westward to the central Plains. Further, west is a cold front over the Rocky Mountains. Mostly clear skies are seen over the mid-Atlantic, southeastern U.S., Gulf of Mexico, California and Mexico.

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, one of the most technologically advanced hydrographic survey vessels in the world, will depart its Norfolk, Va. homeport on April 7 to conduct a five-month long effort to map the seafloor and look for hazards to navigation off the Gulf coast.

NOAA today announced new measures intended to end overfishing and continue the rebuilding of Northeast groundfish such as cod and flounder. The approved measures, which will be effective May 1, establish new catch limits and also include a major change in how the fishery will be managed.

NOAA’s National Marine Protected Areas Center has created a new interactive online mapping tool that, for the first time, allows users to view boundaries and access data for more than a thousand marine protected areas (MPAs) in the United States.

NOAA hurricane experts will visit five Gulf Coast cities aboard a NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft to raise awareness about storm threats and the danger of being caught without a personal hurricane plan. The five-day tour begins April 26.

NOAA will hold six listening sessions in April and May to hear recommendations from the public that will help the agency develop a new national policy for sustainable marine aquaculture.

The world’s combined global land and ocean surface temperature made last month the warmest March on record, according to NOAA. Taken separately, average ocean temperatures were the warmest for any March and the global land surface was the fourth warmest for any March on record. Additionally, the planet has seen the fourth warmest January – March period on record.

NOAA’s GOES-13 spacecraft today became the official GOES-EAST satellite, perched 22,300 miles above the equator in a prime location to spot potentially life-threatening weather affecting the eastern half of the nation, including tropical storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

Today, I am pleased to appoint Russell Dunn as the NOAA Fisheries National Policy Advisor for Recreational Fisheries and to appoint 22 members of the recreational fishing community from around the nation to a Recreational Fisheries Working Group to provide expertise on saltwater recreational fishing to NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC).

A new NOAA report shows that the last decade has been a period of progress in rebuilding depleted fish stocks, sustaining many fisheries populations, and gaining a better understanding of the complex relationships between marine species and their habitats.

The proposal to list Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) under Appendix I of CITES was not adopted today by the Parties. The proposal, sponsored by the Principality of Monaco, and strongly supported by the United States, garnered intense debate by the Parties due to the importance of this migratory fish species for commercial purposes.

Last month’s combined global land and ocean surface temperature made it the sixth warmest February ever recorded. Additionally, the December 2009 – February 2010 period was the fifth warmest on record averaged for any similar three-month Northern Hemisphere winter-Southern Hemisphere summer season, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service said today it is listing Pacific smelt, a little fish with a big history, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Melting sea ice may sound like a regional or local problem, but NOAA’s new Arctic Future Web site shows that changes in the Arctic can also influence weather in the mid-latitudes, where a large part of the global human population lives.

As one of the snowiest winter seasons in many years yields to warmer weather and the promise of rain and snowmelt, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s FloodSmart Campaign and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that they are again working together during Flood Safety Awareness Week (March 15-19) to raise awareness of the dangers associated with flooding and steps to protect against damage.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), jointly referred to as the Services, announced today their joint determination that the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is globally comprised of nine distinct population segments (DPSs) that qualify as “species” for listing as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program have designated March 21-27 as Tsunami Awareness Week. This designation comes in the wake of last month’s tsunami in Chile and less than six months after a tsunami hit American Samoa, both events resulting in loss of life and property.

NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve will host a series of public events from March 18 to 27 in six coastal communities in Bermuda, Mexico and the Caribbean to urge residents to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season. 

NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco today outlined specific steps the agency has taken and will take to assure that NOAA has an effective and fair enforcement program to protect fisheries and other marine resources that sustain the jobs and economic vibrancy of America’s coastal communities, in response to a January review of the Commerce Department Inspector General.

NOAA and Gloucester Fish Exchange, Inc. (owner of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction) agreed late yesterday to settle three pending enforcement cases that involved allegations of handling illegally caught fish and maintaining false records.

NOAA announced today an additional $10 million to preserve fishing opportunities for the New England fishing industry and continue the development of a new sector program in the groundfish fishery. Over the last two years, a total of $47.2 million has been committed to the groundfish fishery and the transition to sectors.

Today, scientists from the NOAA-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity project issued an outlook for a significant regional bloom of a toxic alga that causes ‘red tides’ in the spring and summer of this year, potentially threatening the New England shellfish industry.

Individuals and decision-makers across widely diverse sectors – from agriculture to energy to transportation – increasingly are asking NOAA for information about climate change in order to make the best choices for their families, communities and businesses. To meet the rising tide of these requests, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced the intent to create a NOAA Climate Service line office dedicated to bringing together the agency’s strong climate science and service delivery capabilities.

NOAA’s State of the Climate report for the winter season (December through February) and the month of February, state that temperatures were below normal for the contiguous United States. The winter season was wetter than normal; however precipitation in February alone was slightly below average.

I was deeply saddened to learn of Sam Hamilton’s untimely death this weekend. Sam was a wonderful colleague for whom we at NOAA had deep admiration. The NOAA family shares in this great loss to the conservation community, and we extend our sincere condolences to Sam’s family and to all of our colleagues at the Department of the Interior.

A new NOAA data feed will streamline search and rescue efforts and hazardous material cleanups in the Caribbean. Measurements of surface current speed and direction off the west coast of Puerto Rico are now feeding into a single Web site, making the information easily accessible and understandable to a broad user community of ocean rescuers and responders for the first time.

We’re pleased that the court views the Adaptive Management Implementation Plan as a positive development. We’re ready to proceed with the voluntary three-month remand as the court outlined in its proposed order so the court may consider the AMIP in evaluating the 2008 Biological Opinion.

NOAA and NASA officials announced a new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), launched tonight, successfully reached its initial orbit, joining four other GOES spacecraft that help NOAA forecasters track life-threatening weather and solar activity.

Scientists Discover Clues into Human Diseases by Studying Dolphins in a Changing Ocean

NOAA’s Fisheries Service today announced the agency will evaluate the status of 82 species of stony coral that the Center for Biological Diversity has asked to be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the loss of the U.S. Navy airship USS Macon, NOAA today announced that the wreck site on the seafloor within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco today instructed the agency’s head attorney and its top fisheries manager to take immediate and long-term actions to improve the agency’s enforcement and legal operations and enhance its relationship with the fishing community.

Coastal residents, businesses and decision-makers around the country will consider how their communities can adapt to climate change through eight newly awarded NOAA National Sea Grant College Program grants.

NOAA has taken delivery of Bell M. Shimada, the agency’s newest high-tech fisheries survey vessel. 

Monica Medina, Commerce Department principal deputy under secretary for oceans and atmosphere, has been appointed the U.S. commissioner for the International Whaling Commission by President Barack Obama.

President Obama today released the 2011 proposed budget for NOAA, requesting $5.6 billion for the nation’s oceanic and atmospheric agency. The request includes investments to strengthen NOAA’s science, promote economic development, strengthen energy and security, sustain oceans and coasts, and protect lives and livelihoods.

NOAAs National Weather Service will use a new hurricane scale this season called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The scale keeps the same wind speed ranges as the original Saffir-Simpson Scale for each of the five hurricane categories, but no longer ties specific storm surge and flooding effects to each category.

NOAA notified the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a letter sent today that, consistent with GAO’s recommendations, NOAA will conduct an assessment of whether there was a practicable alternative to awarding a lease to the Port of Newport, Ore., for the NOAA Marine Operations Center-Pacific.

A 10 percent drop in water vapor ten miles above Earth’s surface has had a big impact on global warming, say researchers in a study published online January 28 in the journal Science. The findings might help explain why global surface temperatures have not risen as fast in the last ten years as they did in the 1980s and 1990s.

Message from NOAA Administrator, Dr. Jane Lubchenco.

In a press conference earlier today, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco unveiled a new Web site that will serve as a single point-of-entry for NOAA’s climate information, data, products and services. This climate portal will provide information about the impacts of climate on nearly every aspect of our lives from agriculture and energy to transportation.

NOAA awarded the University of Hawaii at Manoa Kewalo Marine Laboratory a $199,996 grant to address the effects of land-based sources of pollution on coral reefs in the Pacific. The money will fund the first year of a five-year, $1 million dollar project.

Researchers are working with commercial fishermen to put electronic tags on hundreds of monkfish (Lophius americanus) in the waters of southern New England and the Gulf of Maine to track where the commercially important fish goes during its lifetime, and to answer other questions about its biology.

Despite a decade of efforts worldwide to curb its release into the atmosphere, NOAA and university scientists have measured increased emissions of a greenhouse gas that is thousands of times more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide and persists in the atmosphere for nearly 300 years.

NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and Google have signed a cooperative research and development agreement outlining how they will work together to create state-of-the-art visualizations of scientific data to illustrate how our planet works.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco was on hand today to mark the start of construction on NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center in Mobile, Ala. The facility will be the regional home to the agency’s Office of Response and Restoration - the NOAA organization charged with responding to oil spills, hazardous material releases, and marine debris.

The global ocean surface temperature was the second warmest on record for December, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Based on records going back to 1880, the monthly NCDC analysis is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides. Scientists also reported the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the eighth warmest on record for December.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco has directed the agency’s enforcement and legal offices to take steps to promote greater transparency in law enforcement, ensure fairness in penalties, and improve lines of communication with commercial and recreational fishermen.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service has issued regulations and a letter of authorization to the U.S. Navy that includes measures to protect marine mammals while conducting naval exercises off the Gulf of Mexico coast. The regulations require the Navy to implement measures designed to protect and minimize effects to marine mammals.

Springtime ozone levels above western North America are rising primarily due to air flowing eastward from the Pacific Ocean, a trend that is largest when the air originates in Asia. These increases in ozone could make it more difficult for the United States to meet Clean Air Act standards for ozone pollution at ground level, according to a new international study. Published online today in the journal Nature, the study analyzed large sets of ozone data captured since 1984.

For decades, experts have searched for signs in the sun that could lead to more accurate forecasts of solar flares — powerful blasts of energy that can supercharge Earth’s upper atmosphere and disrupt satellites and the land-based technologies on which modern societies depend. Now a scientist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and her colleagues have found a technique for predicting solar flares two to three days in advance with unprecedented accuracy.

Tsunamis send electric signals through the ocean that appear to be sensed by the vast network of communication cables on the seabed, according to a new study led by Manoj Nair of the University of Colorado and NOAA.

NOAA’s fleet of satellites played a vital role in the rescues of 195 people during life-threatening situations throughout the United States and its surrounding waters in 2009. In each incident, NOAA satellites pinpointed these downed pilots, shipwrecked mariners, or stranded hikers by detecting a distress signal from an emergency beacon and relaying the information to first responders on the ground.

NOAA joined federal, state, and local groups on Wednesday in Alviso, Calif., on the shores of San Francisco Bay to view the breaching of an earthen levee at a South Bay salt pond, an important step in the $7.6 million Recovery Act project to restore 2,000 acres of wetlands.

Today, NOAA and several partners in Hawaii announced a comprehensive long-term plan to actively assess and remove plastics, derelict fishing gear, and other human sources of marine debris from coastal waters and coral reefs along the island chain.

NOAA’s State of the Climate report shows the December 2009 average temperature for the contiguous United States was 30.2 degrees F, which is 3.2 degrees F below average. Last month’s average precipitation was 2.88 inches, which is 0.65 inch above the 1901-2000 average.

NOAA joined state and local officials today in a pledge to remove the San Clemente Dam to eliminate a threat to the lives and property of those along California’s lower Carmel River, and help restore the watershed for federally protected steelhead trout.

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.

NOAA’s Gulfstream IV aircraft, known for investigating Atlantic hurricanes, will begin flying over the North Pacific Ocean to fill gaps in atmospheric observations, which will enhance forecasts of winter storms for the entire North American continent through improved computer modeling.

NOAA is seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would allow the NOAA assistant administrator for fisheries to deny a vessel entry into a U.S. port or access to port services if that vessel has been listed for engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by one of the world’s international fishery management organizations.