NOAA, Navy Partner to Monitor Ocean Conditions Near Spill Area

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...

Tom Karl Named Chair of the Subcommittee on Global Change Research

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....

NOAA’s GOES-12 Satellite Begins Coverage of South America

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....

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Announces Fishery Failure Determination in Gulf of Mexico

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....

NOAA Baseline Sampling of Sediment, Shellfish and Water Sets Stage for BP Oil Spill Damage Assessment

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....