Category: Environment

NOAA's National Geodetic Survey defines and manages the National Spatial Reference System — a consistent coordinate system that defines latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and orientation throughout the United States. In addition to a network of continuously operating reference stations supporting three-dimensional positioning activities (shown here), the reference system includes a network of permanently marked points; a consistent, accurate, and up-to-date national shoreline; and a set of accurate models describing dynamic, geophysical processes that affect spatial measurements.

NOAA Scientists are Revolutionizing How Heights & Elevations are Measured

3/15/2024 - By oceanservice.noaa.gov. Suppose you are buying a new home that is located near a river that routinely floods. During the buying process, you learn that you are required to have flood insurance. A step in the process of obtaining this insurance is to get a certified elevation of your new… SEE MORE

https://lailluminator.com/2023/06/06/coastal-restoration-louisiana/

$4.3 Million Will Support Habitat Restoration in Coastal Louisiana

3/7/2024 - By ecomagazine.com. The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act Program has approved more than $4.3 million in funding for the NOAA-sponsored South Delacroix Marsh Creation Project. NOAA works through CWPPRA to restore habitat and support resilient communities and sustainable fisheries along the Louisiana coast. Funding will support engineering and design of… SEE MORE

The Truth About Garbage Patches in the Ocean

3/6/2024 - By blog.marinedebris.noaa.gov. You’ve likely heard the term “garbage patch” many times and it’s possible that this is what comes to mind: A thick, floating mass of marine debris is what most people picture when they think of the garbage patch. However, this is actually pretty inaccurate. Although this is what… SEE MORE

Wreck of the schooner Galinipper, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary's oldest known shipwreck. Image: Becky Schott / Liquid Productions

Shipwrecks: New Study Opens Window to Cultural Past in Great Lakes Sanctuary

3/4/2024 - By santuaries.noaa.gov. While shipwrecks are often the primary focus of maritime heritage preservation in America’s Great Lakes national marine sanctuaries, a recent two-part maritime cultural landscape study of the 962-square-mile Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary reveals that shipwrecks only tell part of the story of human connections to the natural environment… SEE MORE

https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/images/plastics-ocean-infographic

Plastics in the Ocean: How They Get There, Their Impacts, and Our Solutions

2/28/2024 - By blog.marinedebris.noaa.gov. Marine debris is a pervasive problem facing our ocean and Great Lakes. Of all the trash that ends up in these important water bodies, plastics are the most common. This week, we’re exploring the problem of plastics in our ocean and the solutions that are making a difference. Globally, we… SEE MORE

A 22 inch diameter grouping of ice crystals. Photo taken on February 28, 1936. (Image credit: NOAA)

Friday Find: Supersized Ice Crystals

2/20/2024 - By noaa.gov. On the morning of February 28, 1936, “ice crystals of unusual size” were found in Boise, Idaho. According to the March 1936 edition of the Weather Bureau’s Monthly Weather Review, the group was 22 inches across, or almost twice as wide as two standard dinner plates, and included… SEE MORE

Wendy Kaveney-2004/The Children's Museum of Indianapolis - CC BY-SA 3.0

Efforts to save blue crabs underway in South Carolina

2/11/2024 - By Carli Stewart. South Carolina recorded a record-low number of blue crabs in 2023. However, a current bill in the works could change this going forward. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) reported the lowest number of species in 50 years. However, there has been a steady decline… SEE MORE

Sustainable Dining and Commercial Fishing: The answer to invasive Asian Carp?

1/30/2024 - By Carli Stewart. A professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Mark Morgan, has spent over a decade researching Asian carp, an invasive species to the United States. Also known as silver carp, the fish was introduced to the U.S. in the 1970s to help with water purification in catfish ponds.… SEE MORE

Scientists study shipwreck sites to better understand ecological processes like succession, zonation, connectivity, energy flow, disturbance, and degradation. In the future, shipwrecks may provide opportunities to establish a global monitoring network for studying these processes in aquatic environments. Illustration by Alex Boersma.

Scientists Study Shipwrecks to Understand Underwater Ecology

1/28/2024 - By coastalscience.noaa.gov. In a newly published paper in BioScience, NCCOS scientists collaborated with an international team of ecologists and archaeologists to describe how shipwrecks provide a unique opportunity to study complex ecological processes. The synthesis focuses on a range of fundamental ecological functions and processes and how they manifest on and around shipwrecks.… SEE MORE

Unsettled Pacific Ocean Offers Few Clear Indicators for Salmon Success in 2024

1/26/2024 - By fisheries.noaa.gov Want to learn how the Pacific Ocean is likely to change and affect salmon survival in the coming year? Stay tuned, scientists say. The ocean indicators that NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center researchers track off Newport, on the Central Oregon Coast, are decidedly mixed for the coming year. El Niño… SEE MORE