National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science researchers and their partners have discovered that a sunscreen chemical commonly used in many soaps, cosmetics, and body fragrances is highly toxic to corals. The team's data show that even…

Collecting Sediment Samples in Puerto Rico Scientists collected sediment samples in Guánica Bay, Puerto Rico, to create an ecological baseline to help improve watershed…

A new study from a team of international scientists finds that a common chemical in many sunscreen lotions and cosmetics is highly toxic to juvenile corals and other marine life. Oxybenzone, or BP-3, is found in more than 3,500 skin…

Advances in both visual displays and information sharing technology mean we can more rapidly let other agencies and the public know what we know. With a major oil spill or other disaster, responders,…

<!----> In this episode: You know about ocean tides, but how much do you know about ocean currents? Watch our three-minute video podcast to learn what…

Within any given area, living and nonliving interact with each other. Together, these things form an ecosystem. Because all of the elements within an ecosystem are interrelated, these…

Less oxygen dissolved in the water is often referred to as a “dead zone” because most marine life either dies, or, if they are mobile such as fish, leave the area. Habitats that would normally be teeming with life become,…

Nutrients can run off of land in urban areas where lawn and garden fertilizers are used. Pet and wildlife wastes are also sources of nutrients. To see how this happens, consider this…

VIDEO: Learn how scientists predict the spread of harmful algal blooms in this video from Ocean Today. There are thousands…

PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, are a class of fire retardant chemicals.

<!----> NOAA Ocean Today: The Mesophotic Zone You’re entering another dimension. A dimension of water, of darkness, of mystery. Next stop, The Mesophotic Zone!…

An installed marsh organ at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve in the Florida Panhandle. A NOS-sponsored project in the Gulf of Mexico employs the marsh organ to mimic sea…

<!----> Creating a habitat ecosystem map of the seafloor—a key component of marine…

Living shorelines are a green infrastructure technique using native vegetation alone or in combination with offshore sills to stabilize the shoreline. Living shorelines provide a natural alternative to ‘hard’…

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Scientists now believe that some corals can live for up to 5,000 years, making them the longest living animals on Earth. Continue reading →

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VIDEO: What is eutrophication? Here's an overview in one minute. Transcript Eutrophication is a big word that describes a big problem in the nation's…

A sunken vessel among a coral colony in Vieques, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 23, 2017. Following Hurricane Maria in 2017, NOAA and partners removed a total of 479 displaced vessels and 3,668 hazardous chemical…

From Land to Sea Pesticides enter our coastal waters after rain washes the chemicals into waterways that flow to the sea. Tidal creek ecosystems may be especially sensitive to…

Message in a Bottle Clockwise from left: (1) the message contained inside sealed bottles set adrift by the U.S Coast & Geodetic Survey; (2) the U.S. Coast & Geodetic…

Pearl of Wisdom All of the nitrogen currently polluting the Potomac River estuary could be removed if 40 percent of its river bed were used for shellfish…

Screening for Tiny Algae in the Name of Human Health Low-cost fiberglass screens help scientists gather samples for monitoring toxin-producing algal cells. Until now, sampling…

A Bucket of Ocean Data Once a year, thousands of scientists and volunteers across the globe participate in Ocean Sampling Day, an international collaboration to collect water samples from the Earth's…

Crewmembers on the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer guide a sediment corer back onto deck so they can retrieve core samples. These sediment samples from the ocean…

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Red Tide Robot The Environmental Sample Processor, shown here prior to deployment, is an underwater robot that can remotely measure…

Training coastal stewards since 1996 In 1996, the people at NOAA had a bright idea—to seek out gifted postgraduates and match them up with coastal zone management programs for two years of on-the-job training in…

The lionfish, a native of the Western Pacific Ocean, is a venomous, voracious predator that’s flourishing in coastal waters of the U.S. Southeast and the Caribbean. This invasive species has the potential to harm reef ecosystems…

Healthy coral reefs are one of the most valuable ecosystems on Earth. They provide billions of dollars in economic and environmental services, such as food, coastal protection, and tourism. However, coral ecosystems around the world…

Unmanned Surface Vehicle for Autonomous Hypoxia Monitoring This project will operationalize water profiling capabilities on the L3Harris C-Worker 5 autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) for deployment in the Gulf of…