NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

SOS Explorer® (SOSx) is a flat screen version of the widely popular Science On a Sphere® (SOS). The revolutionary software takes SOS datasets, usually only seen on a 6-foot sphere in large museum spaces, and makes them more accessible. The visualizations show information provided by satellites, ground observations and computer models.

The NOAA Coordinated Hurricane Atmosphere-Ocean Sampling (CHAOS) program's goals are to improve our understanding of the role of the ocean, waves, and air-sea interactions in the development and intensification of hurricanes in order to produce more accurate and reliable models and forecasts. Learn more about the early career scientists working on this program! Early career ocean professionals are defined as people who are current graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, or within 10 years since the completion of their highest graduate degree. 

The geographic, or spatial extent, over which a species is found to occur, is its distribution. Understanding how species are distributed in space and time and the factors that drive spatial patterns in distribution and abundance are central questions in ecology and important for species conservation and management. The Distribution Mapping and Analysis Portal (DisMAP) brings species distribution data into one user-friendly and interactive map with data models. Explore changes in marine fish and invertebrate distributions over time. Learn more with this introduction from the project's lead.

Kelp forests are an important ecosystem that support a variety of species and grow predominantly along the Eastern Pacific Coast, from Alaska and Canada to the waters of Baja, California. Kelp forests can be found in four of our national marine sanctuaries along the West Coast of the United States. This collection has compiled wide-ranging resources from lesson plans, webinars, web stories, virtual reality videos, and more. You are invited to learn more about the importance of Kelp Forest Ecosystems, NOAA’s efforts to manage and conserve them, the species that call these forests home, and the threats kelp face.

What does it mean to be a woman in an ocean science career? What different career paths are available, and how does one get there? Perhaps you’ve thought about becoming a marine biologist, or you have an interest in marine policy, but aren’t sure which steps to take towards such a career. Maybe you’re passionate about ocean science and conservation, and want to use your communication skills to influence others. Hear from some of the inspiring women working throughout the National Marine Sanctuary System.

NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in partnership with the Marine Research Institute in Iceland deployed the first high-latitude ocean acidification monitoring buoy in the Atlantic Ocean in early August. The moored buoy is the first of its kind to be deployed north of the Arctic circle in a region where very little is known about how carbon dioxide (CO2) is entering the ocean environment.

This website hosts a collection of lessons for 5th - 9th grades about the Adopt a Drifter Program, drifter buoys, and data collection. There are additional lessons for high school and undergraduate classes on buoys, data, ocean currents, and more.

An Argo float recently surfaced in the Atlantic Ocean to transmit temperature and salinity measurements from over a mile deep. This float was made in France and launched by German scientists in 2016, and it is one of thousands in the international Argo Program, which just recorded its two millionth profile, marking a major milestone for the 20-year old observation program.

The growth of our civilization is changing the ocean in ways that are deadly for corals. If we don't act soon, it may be too late.

Argo is a global array of more than 3,500 free-drifting profiling floats that measure the upper two thousand meters of the ocean. Learn what these floats can tell us.