The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
is the descendant of America's oldest science agencies, the Survey
of the Coast formed in 1807, the Weather Service formed in 1870, and
the forerunner of today's National Marine Fisheries Service formed
in 1871. The foundation built by these great organizations has given
rise to an agency whose realm extends from the surface of the sun
to the bottom of the sea, whose concern for life in the sea extends
from microscopic creatures to the great whales, and whose reach in
time extends from thousands of years in the past to decades in the
future with global change studies and observations. On any given day,
NOAA ships, buoys, observatories, aircraft, and satellites will observe
environmental conditions from Arctic to Antarctic. They might observe
features as diverse as fish stocks, ozone content of the atmosphere,
sun spots, tornadoes, or coastlines. Or they could be engaged in producing
warnings and forecasts or producing charts and tide tables to help
keep the citizens of the United States safe in their homes, at their
work, or on the seas.
The NOAA
Photo Library has been built so as to capture the work, observations,
and studies that are carried on by the scientists, engineers, commissioned
officers, and administrative personnel that make up this complex and
scientifically diverse agency. It also has been built in an attempt
to capture NOAA's scientific heritage, which is in fact a heritage
shared by much of the physical and environmental science communities
in the United States today. To date, over 16,000 images have been
digitized and reside in the online NOAA Photo Library. This number
will continue growing as long as there are environmental problems
to study and solve, as long as the citizens of the United States are
threatened by violent weather, as long as mariners need nautical charts,
and as long as creatures of the sea need our protection to survive.
Until then, you are invited to join NOAA in this photographic essay
that spans the World's oceans and atmosphere, carries you from the
surface of the sun to the bottom of the sea, and travels through centuries
of scientific thought and observations.