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From March 30 to April 20, tune in as we go back in time to the day of our country’s largest marine oil spill, what’s happened since then, and how we’re better prepared for future spills. In our latest blog, learn more about how data tools used and developed during Deepwater Horizon help to protect coastal resources. 

Keeping up with technology is no small task. It seems like every month our smartphone software is out of date or there are some big updates happening on the computer. Nowadays, many smartphone apps will automatically refresh themselves with the most recent version. These range from small security fixes to major updates with a new look or feel that can catch users off guard. Just like any other technology, NOAA tools need to be updated so our work can continue to go as planned. 

This week, we’re taking a closer look at what sensitivity mapping is, how it’s used, and why it’s so important. A snapshot of the resources in a specific area, sensitivity mapping can be a valuable tool both in and out of the spill response community. Our latest blog takes you through the process of using sensitivity mapping to prioritize response activities during an oil spill.

A remnant of the Ice Age, Glacier Bay Park and Preserve sits between the Gulf of Alaska and Canada at the northernmost section of the southeastern Alaska coastline. As its name suggests, Glacier Bay is home to thousands of glaciers, though centuries ago, a single tidewater glacier stretched across the whole of Glacier Bay. By the mid-18th century, the ice began to retreat and has continued to withdraw nearly 60 miles in total over the past two and a half centuries.

Participating in training and oil spill exercises is a great way for NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) to maintain and improve our spill response and natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) capabilities. That’s why we’re constantly seeking opportunities to collaborate with our federal, state, and industry partners to advance our application of science and technology, improve our capacity to respond, and strengthen our partnerships.

This week, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration is looking at the impacts of pollutants on wildlife and endangered species. We’ll explore tools we’ve developed to map sensitive species and habitats, how marine debris endangers marine life, how restoring toxic waste sites improves the health of wildlife, and the creation of a mobile wildlife hospital.

The Arctic is one of the most remote regions on the planet but that may change as the sea ice continues to shrink, allowing for more ships, tourism, fishing, and possible oil exploration in the region. More activity also brings the possibility of oil spills and other environmental disasters.

For more than 200 years, the U.S. Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have partnered together in maritime resiliency, environmental sustainability and scientific research. In fact, a variety of NOAA projects encompassed over 50 percent of Coast Guard Cutter Healy operations for 2016, including a Coast Guard and NOAA collaborative effort to chart the extended continental shelf and survey marine habitats and biodiversity. Today, more than ever in the past, the Coast Guard and NOAA are working together on numerous levels of profession in the U.S. Arctic Region, which happens to be Coast Guard Alaska‘s northern area of responsibility, or AOR. From daily sector operations and district-led full scale exercises to partnering on the national level in workgroups under the Arctic Council, Coast Guard and NOAA have a strong working relationship supporting and representing the U.S. in cold weather operations and Arctic initiatives.

The 2010 Deepwater oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico revealed a challenge with the way scientific monitoring information is shared and stored.

At the time, the scientific records of monitoring efforts in the Gulf of Mexico were dispersed across many entities from universities, natural resource management agencies, private industries to non-governmental organizations. In most cases monitoring systems were developed independently, often narrowed to specific questions, such as how many oysters should be harvested and how many should be left in the water?