Preparing for the 2018 Hurricane Season at FEMA

Posted Tue, 06/26/2018 - 12:21
By Chris Landsea, National Hurricane Center

This is the second blog in a week-long series to highlight the importance of disaster preparedness. Follow us this week as we take a look at how NOAA prepares for natural and human-made disasters, and how you can prepare for the 2018 hurricane season. Share your #DisasterPreparedness strategy by commenting on our blog, or replying to our Twitter and Facebook.

Disaster Preparedness: It’s Not a One Time Effort

Posted Mon, 06/25/2018 - 12:15
By Alyssa Gray, Office of Response and Restoration

This week, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration is highlighting the importance of disaster preparedness. Follow us this week as we take a look at how NOAA prepares for natural and human-made disasters, and how you can prepare for the 2018 hurricane season. Share your #DisasterPreparedness strategy by commenting on our blog, or replying to our Twitter and Facebook.

Minds Behind OR&R: Say Aloha to Mark Manuel

Posted Tue, 06/19/2018 - 17:31
By Shanelle Naone, Office of Response and Restoration Marine Debris Program

This is the ninth in a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s profile is on Marine Debris Program Pacific Island Regional Coordinator Mark Manuel.

Shelle-brate World Sea Turtle Day!

Posted Fri, 06/15/2018 - 12:07
By Melissa Bernhard, Mote Marine Laboratory

Mote Marine Laboratory was instrumental in the sea turtle rescue efforts during Deepwater Horizon and in honor of World Sea Turtle Day, June 16, Mote is excited to share some of the other work they do with sea turtles through their Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Program. Find out more about Mote’s work to monitor and protect nesting activity in southwest Florida — a hotspot for loggerhead sea turtles — in this day-in-the-life blog by Mote Senior Biologist Melissa Bernhard.

Incident Responses for May 2018

Posted Wed, 06/06/2018 - 16:39

Every month our Emergency Response Division provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard on everything from running oil spill trajectories to model where the spill may spread, to possible effects on wildlife and fisheries, and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment.

This month OR&R responded to eight incidents, including oil discharges, sunken vessels, and hazardous material releases.

MARPLOT on the Mississippi: How OR&R’s Mapping Software Supports Oil Spill Response

Posted Tue, 06/05/2018 - 13:48
By Kristen Faiferlick, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration

Just before midnight on April 22, 2018, the M/V Iver Exporter was removing the sea water taken on the ship — also known as ballast, this water is used for balancing cargo — when the crew spotted a black sheen of heavy fuel oil around the vessel on the Mississippi River near New Orleans. Responders moved into action to stop the spill and protect our natural and man-made resources. But how did they ensure everyone was on the same page, looking at the same map?

Minds Behind OR&R: Meet Toxicologist Sarah Allan

Posted Tue, 05/29/2018 - 17:47
By Alyssa Gray, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration

This is the eighth in a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s profile is on Assessment and Restoration Division toxicologist and Alaska Regional Resource Coordinator Sarah Allan.

Assessing Changes in U.S. Crude Oil Exports for West Coast

Posted Tue, 05/29/2018 - 13:58
By Valerie Cleland and Ian Hanna, graduate students at the University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs

You could call it a black gold rush. Technological advances like hydraulic fracking have made harvesting oil profitable in the U.S. again and changed the global petroleum market. For decades, the U.S. was dependent on oil imports and banned crude oil exports to protect domestic reserves. This changed in 2015, when the U.S. lifted the 40-year export embargo on crude oil and gave the oil industry access to the global crude oil market.