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NOAA Research,
conducted primarily through the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric
Research, drives the NOAA environmental products and services that
protect life and property and promote sustainable economic growth.
Research, conducted by in-house laboratories and by extramural programs,
focuses on enhancing our understanding of environmental phenomena
such as tornadoes, hurricanes, climate variability, solar flares,
changes in the ozone, El Niño/La Niña events, fisheries productivity,
ocean currents, deep sea thermal vents, and coastal ecosystem health.
NOAA research also develops innovative technologies and observing
systems. All divisions of NOAA conduct research in their respective
disciplines. Click
here for the home page of the NOAA Research
(Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research).
The NOAA Research network consists of 12 internal research laboratories,
NOAA Office
of Ocean Exploration, extramural research, a network
of more than 200 institutions participating in the
Sea Grant university and research programs,
six
undersea research centers, a research grants program
through the Office of Global Programs,
and 11
cooperative institutes with academia. Through NOAA
and its academic partners, thousands of scientists, engineers, technicians,
and graduate students participate in furthering our knowledge of
natural phenomena that affect the lives of us all.
Atmospheric Research
- Every day, NOAA scientists and their research partners expand
the atmospheric body of knowledge and shed new light on the processes
that contribute to the world's weather and developing new tools
for predicting it.
Climate Research
- NOAA's research laboratories, Office of Global Programs,
and research partners conduct a wide range of research into complex
climate systems and how they work. These scientists want to improve
their ability to predict climate variation in both the shorter term—like
cold spells or periods of drought—and over longer terms like centuries
and beyond.
Fisheries Research
- Sound scientific research is the basis for sustainable fisheries.
To help ensure productive future harvests, NOAA Fisheries scientists
study the life history, stock size, and ecology of economically
important fishes, and the effects of climate and ocean processes
on their populations. This information is used by fisheries managers
to set annual quotas, or the amount of fish that can be harvested
each year.
National Centers for Coastal
Ocean Science - conduct and support monitoring, research,
assessment, and technical assistance for the range of NOAA's coastal
stewardship responsibilities.
Ocean & Coastal
Research - NOAA explores and investigates ocean habitats
and resources. It provides scientific results to help manage and
understand fisheries, conserve and protect our coasts, and build
a stronger economy through marine products and businesses, such
as biotechnology and aquaculture. The agency also looks for changes
in the oceans and Great Lakes due to natural and human activities.
NOAA's National Geophysical
Data Center - is the national repository for geophysical
data, providing a wide range of science data services and information.
The center provides long-term stewardship for and access to geophysical
data, compiles new, well-documented databases from many sources,
and offers value-added data services to researchers and the general
public.
Paleoclimatology
Program - is working with scientists from around the world
to study past climate in hopes of achieving a better understanding
of the Earth's climate of today and that of the future. Space Weather Research
- NOAA's Space Environment Center (SEC), located in Boulder, Colo.,
is the national and world warning center for disturbances that can
affect people and equipment working in the space environment. Understanding
the space environment and being able to accurately predict turbulent
space weather is critical to the nation as we face a changing world
that includes more and more orbiting satellites, satellite-based
communication networks, and global positioning systems for ship
and airline navigation.
Arctic
Theme Page - provides
access to widely distributed Arctic data and information for scientists,
students, teachers, academia, managers, decision makers and the
general public. Visit NOAA's
Arctic Science Laboratory and Arctic
Research Office.
What is Global Warming? A Historical Perspective - The term
Global Warming refers to the observation that the atmosphere near
the Earth's surface is warming, without any implications for the
cause or magnitude. This warming is one of many kinds of climate
change that the Earth has gone through in the past and will continue
to go through in the future.
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Aeronomy
Lab — conducts research to improve the capability
to observe, understand, predict and protect the quality of the
atmosphere, especially the chemical and physical processes of
the Earth's atmosphere. This research concentrates on the lower
two layers of the atmosphere, known as the troposphere and stratosphere.
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Air Resources Lab
- conducts research on processes that relate to air quality
and climate, concentrating on the transport, dispersion, transformation,
and removal of trace gases and aerosols, their climatic and
ecological influences, and exchange between the atmosphere and
biological and non-biological surfaces. |
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Atlantic Oceanographic &
Meteorological Lab
- AOML's mission is to conduct basic and applied research in
oceanography, tropical meteorology, atmospheric and oceanic
chemistry, and acoustics. The research seeks to understand the
physical characteristics and processes of the ocean and the
atmosphere, both separately and as a coupled system. |
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Atmospheric
Research and Applications
- optimizes the use of environmental satellite data as part
of NOAA's modernization activity by conducting applied research
and development, and technology transfer. |
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Climate Diagnostics Center
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identifies the nature and causes for climate variations on time
scales ranging from a month to centuries. |
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Climate Monitoring &
Diagnostics Lab - conducts
sustained observations and research related to source and sink
strengths, trends and global distributions of atmospheric constituents
that are capable of forcing change in the climate of Earth through
modification of the atmospheric radiative environment, those
that may cause depletion of the global ozone layer, and those
that affect baseline air quality. |
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Climate
Research and Applications - develops
products and applications of satellite observations for weather
and climate monitoring and prediction. CRAD also develops calibration
procedures for all NOAA satellite sensors and guides the development
of new satellite instruments. |
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Environmental Technology
Lab -
supports the strategic goals of NOAA and OAR through regionally
specific research efforts in weather, climate, and air quality
that exploit the Laboratory's unique expertise in remote sensing
of the geophysical environment. |
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Forecast Systems Lab
- conducts applied meteorological research and development
to improve and create short-term warning and weather forecast
systems, models, and observing technology. Supercomputing
and other leading-edge technology are used in these applications.
FSL then transfers the new scientific and technological advances
to its clients which include NOAA's National Weather Service,
the commercial and general aviation communities, the U.S.
Air Force, many foreign weather forecasting offices, and various
private interests. |
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Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
Lab -
engaged in comprehensive long lead-time research fundamental
to NOAA's mission. The goal of this research is to expand the
scientific understanding of the physical processes that govern
the behavior of the atmosphere and the oceans as complex fluid
systems. |
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Great Lakes Environmental
Research Lab -
carries out research and provides scientific products, expertise,
and services required for effective management and protection
of Great Lakes and coastal ecosystems. |
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Joint
and Cooperative Institutes - develop and maintain
a center of excellence in research relevant to understanding
the Earth's oceans, the Great Lakes, inland waters, Arctic regions,
solar terrestrial environment, intermountain west and the atmosphere.
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National Severe Storms Lab
- investigates all aspects of severe weather. Headquartered
in Norman OK with staff in Colorado, Nevada, Washington and
Wisconsin, the people of NSSL, in partnership with the National
Weather Service, are dedicated to improving severe weather warnings
and forecasts in order to save lives and reduce property damage. |
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Office
of Global Programs - leads the NOAA Climate and
Global Change (C&GC) Program. OGP assists NOAA by sponsoring
focused scientific research aimed at understanding climate variability
and its predictability. |
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Office
of Research and Applications - provides meteorological
and oceanographic satellite products and services to agencies
and people world-wide. ORA is the science arm of NESDIS that
provides guidance for the development and evolution of spacecraft
and sensors to meet future needs. ORA plans, coordinates, and
conducts research and development activities with other parts
of NESDIS and NOAA and other Government agencies, universities
and international groups. Through its divisions, ORA conducts
atmospheric, climatological, and oceanographic research on the
use of satellite data for monitoring environmental characteristics
and their change. |
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Pacific Marine Environmental
Lab - carries out interdisciplinary scientific
investigations in oceanography and atmospheric science. |
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Space Environment Center
- the Nation's official source of space weather alerts and warnings.
The Center continually monitors and forecasts Earth's space
environment; provides accurate, reliable, and useful solar-terrestrial
information; and leads programs to improve services. |
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Sea
Grant - network of Sea Grant Colleges and research
institutions. Headquartered at many of the nation's premier
universities, Sea Grant programs are located in coastal and
Great Lake states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. A national network
of 30 Sea Grant Colleges and institutional programs shares research,
outreach and education to solve old problems and explore new
uses for the world's marine, Great Lakes and coastal resources.
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