NOAA National Ocean Service

You can't cross your fingers and hope for the best when a cargo ship and a the structural integrity of a bridge are on the line. Learn how our work ensures that the space under a bridge, or air gap, is measured perfectly - every time: https://lnkd.in/dz5UkgHh

We have a unique mission that includes some of the most interesting parts of government - balancing economic and environmental needs and delivering tools and services that directly support national security and the public. Dive in to learn more about how we are working for you each and every day: https://lnkd.in/ecGa26Vr

More than 50 percent of all U.S. grain is exported through the Lower Mississippi River Ports complex. Earlier this week, a Crescent Pilot safely navigated a large grain ship through rain and limited visibility using our electronic navigation charts and updated bridge heights. Modern ships navigate U.S. ports with increasingly tight margins—under their keels, beneath bridges, and within narrow channels. As vessels grow in size and port infrastructure remains the same or experiences limited expansion, the margin for error becomes smaller. Learn more about our work providing precise bridge clearances in New Orleans here:?https://lnkd.in/eqcpjTfj

To help communities plan for more frequent flooding, NOAA provides Monthly and Annual High Tide Flooding Outlooks. But which one should you use and when? Learn about each of these outlooks and how to apply them in different scenarios with these new free training modules: https://lnkd.in/eFha7aUd

We were proud to support response and recovery efforts in the wake of the tragic aircraft collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Learn how we worked with U.S. Coast Guard, National Transportation Safety Board, US Army Corps of Engineers, DC Fire and EMS Department and other partners to locate wreckage, support search and recovery efforts, and ensure safe navigation on the Potomac: https://lnkd.in/ekPrEReG

Did you know that tides affect waters all the way to the Sacramento area of California? The area is connected to the Pacific Ocean via the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel, the Sacramento River, and inland bays. To better support mariners navigating to and from the area, NOAA recently partnered with the Port of West Sacramento to add a new water level sensor to the San Francisco Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System or PORTS?. This new water level sensor will allow mariners and terminal operators to better assess changing tides in the area to plan vessel movements and cargo loading based on published tide predictions so they can navigate more safely and efficiently. Access the data here: https://lnkd.in/gykyxyDc Learn more about PORTS?: https://lnkd.in/eJMqKSJJ?

Today is the second annual World Lidar Day! Our National Geodetic Survey is proud to be a founding member of this celebration of the numerous benefits and applications of lidar. For more than 20 years we've pushed the boundaries of lidar technology to improve flood modeling, coastal mapping, and resilience planning. https://lnkd.in/dMe4Jci

Happy Birthday, NOAA Coast Survey! 218 years ago today, President Thomas Jefferson signed An Act to provide for surveying the coasts of the United States, and NOAA’s Coast Survey has helped mariners navigate with confidence ever since. Our charting products and services have expanded considerably over the past two centuries–we’re surveying to help reopen ports within days following a disaster, and using uncrewed surface vehicles among countless other examples–but wanted to take this time to look back at nautical charts, then and now. You can look through our comprehensive historical chart archive here - https://lnkd.in/eFbhw7Hs, which includes charts that even pre-date the Coast Survey.

In our latest episode of the #PlanetNOAAPodcast, we’re getting up-close with corals! ???? Join us as NOAA coral expert Brian Beck shares fascinating facts about these biologically diverse, culturally significant and economically valuable ecosystems. PLUS: Learn how an early philosophical spat between Charles Darwin and Louis Agassiz kicked modern coral research into high gear: https://lnkd.in/eNpXWJAy

We’re excited to share that NOAA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation have established the nation’s 39th Physical Oceanographic Real-time System (PORTS?) in the Hudson River Estuary! The system is equipped with sophisticated measurement sensors to deliver real-time data on water levels, currents, salinity, winds, atmospheric pressure, and air and water temperatures. Its data is vital for supporting safe and efficient navigation through the Hudson River’s International Shipping Channel, and supporting the region's efforts to preserve 5,000 acres of protected tidal wetlands in the northern Hudson River Estuary.?https://lnkd.in/eF9TtU9C ??: Chris Bowser,?NYS Department of Environmental Conservation