The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an American scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce that focuses on the conditions of the oceans, major waterways, and the atmosphere.
NOAA warns of dangerous weather, charts seas, guides the use and protection of ocean and coastal resources and conducts research to provide the understanding and improve stewardship of the environment.
NOAA's specific roles include:
1. Supplying Environmental Information Products. NOAA supplies to its customers and partners information pertaining to the state of the oceans and the atmosphere. This is clear through the production of weather warnings and forecasts via the National Weather Service, but NOAA's information products extend to climate, ecosystems, and commerce as well.
2. Providing Environmental Stewardship Services. NOAA is a steward of U.S. coastal and marine environments. In coordination with federal, state, local, tribal and international authorities, NOAA manages the use of these environments, regulating fisheries and marine sanctuaries as well as protecting threatened and endangered marine species.
3. Conducting Applied Scientific Research. NOAA is intended to be a source of accurate and objective scientific information in the four particular areas of national and global importance identified above: ecosystems, climate, weather and water, and commerce and transportation.
The five "fundamental activities" are:
1. Monitoring and observing Earth systems with instruments and data collection networks.
2. Understanding and describing Earth systems through research and analysis of that data.
3. Assessing and predicting the changes in these systems over time.
4. Engaging, advising, and informing the public and partner organizations with important information.
5. Managing resources for the betterment of society, economy, and environment.
Jeff de La Beaujardière received his B.A. in physics in 1985 from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. in astrophysics in 1990 from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Since 1994 he has been working on public accessibility and usability of Earth observations at NASA and NOAA.
