NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration recently released the latest version of the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®). ERMA is a web-based mapping application used by environmental responders and natural resource decision-makers. During environmental disaster response and cleanup, it serves as the common operating picture for NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other state and federal agencies by providing a consolidated view of static and real-time information that enhances situational awareness, improves interagency collaboration, and streamlines decision-making.
The development team introduced several key enhancements to map tools and layers, the time slider, rasters, and the photo carousel. Below are the highlights.
Improved Map Tools, Layers and More
The team implemented critical backend updates to bolster security and accelerate data processing for imports and exports. These updates address existing defects and support ongoing user-interface improvements to workflows, administrative tools, and mapping features.
The swipe tool, located in the top left map toolbar, has been improved so users can easily navigate and interact with the map and data. To make it easier to share with other viewers, user settings in the ERMA URL can now be embedded. Examples of this can be found in the Southwest ERMA (dataset) and from our unmanned aircraft system (UAS) project in Santa Barbara, California. To learn more about this update, see the ERMA help page.
The updated graticules tool, first introduced in spring 2026 during the Grand Isle Block 59 incident response, now offers broader customization. The tool toggles a dynamic graticule grid on top of the map, representing evenly-spaced lines of latitude and longitude. Users can adjust font sizes, graticule colors, coordinates, formats, and label positions, which helps users visualize the coordinates of where data was collected. This is very helpful for field teams using printed paper maps.
Additionally, the improved raster import function handles larger raster files to be displayed, accelerating data turnaround from the field to the Incident Command Post. Users can also identify raster values using the ERMA ID tool. Lastly, the weather forecast icon changed from a lightning bolt to a cloud, making it quicker to identify on the toolbar.
Redesigned Timeslider
The revamped timeslider offers a more intuitive user interface, delivering better performance and clearer visualization when handling multiple time-enabled layers and different time steps. A new check and visual indicator helps users distinguish between two distinct layer types:
- Time-step layers: use preset timestamps collected at regular intervals that cannot be modified.
- Time-range layers: layers that have timestamps collected at varying time intervals between the start and end points. Users can adjust time steps to minutes, hours, days, weeks, or years.
New Standalone Photo Carousel
The updated photo carousel moves the photo card out of the dashboard tool and into its own dedicated feature. Powered by the OR&R Esri server, this initial release pairs directly with Esri mobile collection apps (including Survey123, Quick Capture, and Field Maps) to display field photos, videos, and attachments. Future updates will expand this functionality by integrating key data fields and imagery from DIVER and additional services.
When using the photo carousel, users can turn on any layers that contain links to photos and navigate to the photos menu. ERMA automatically detects active, compatible layers and populates a dropdown menu alongside the photo carousel. The record count dynamically updates based on map scale as you zoom in and out and pan. Clicking through the photos highlights the precise location of each photo with an icon directly on the map.
Leveraging User Feedback for ERMA Improvement
These new enhancements reflect NOAA’s ongoing commitment to refining user experience and data accessibility for environmental responders. This release represents a significant stride in empowering environmental responders and decision-makers with a more robust, user-friendly, and analytical common operating picture. By consistently enhancing core features, OR&R ensures ERMA remains an indispensable tool for interagency collaboration and streamlined, data-driven decision-making in the face of environmental challenges.
Users are encouraged to explore the application, take full advantage of the latest updates, and provide suggestions for future development. Feedback is invaluable as we strive to refine ERMA further. Visit response.restoration.noaa.gov for the latest feature releases and updates.