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Beach Safety Week 2025

Be prepared and stay aware at the beach this summer.

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NOAA’s National Ocean Service

NOS is America’s leader in coastal and ocean science, technology, and management. We balance economic and environmental needs and deliver tools and services that directly support national security and the public. Dive in to learn more about how NOS works for you each and every day.

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Well #59 Incident Response

NOAA’s National Ocean Service is aiding in response to an oil and natural gas release in a marsh environment near the Spectrum OpCo, LLC, Garden Island Bay Production Facility company's well in Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Response and Restoration
An uncrewed NOAA surface vessel on the Potomac surveying the river bed for debris. Credit: John Gray/NOAA.
Experts, technology support DCA aircraft collision recovery efforts

In the wake of the aircraft collision over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), NOAA’s National Ocean Service activated response teams to support response and recovery efforts. Tragically, the incident claimed all 67 lives aboard the two aircraft and created significant recovery and salvage obstacles due to the frigid waters and complex wreckage field.

Response and Recovery
An image of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill: 15 years of recovery, research, and restoration

April marked 15 years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill — the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. NOAA was on the scene from the earliest moments of the event to guide emergency response and environmental assessment efforts; and has continued to work over the past 15 years to restore the Gulf, advance oil spill science and technologies, and improve preparedness to support future events.

A tower with sensors sits on the shoreline of the Hudson River in New York, with a bridge and trees in the background.
New data for improved navigation in the upper Hudson River

Navigating New York waterways just got a bit easier. The Hudson River Estuary Physical Oceanographic Real-time System (PORTS®) system delivers real-time oceanographic and meteorological observations that can improve maritime safety and inform coastal resource management in the region. Commercial mariners, recreational boaters, resource managers, and coastal planners can use the online tool to access real-time water level data from Sleepy Hollow to Troy, New York.

Nicole LeBoeuf, NOS assistant administrator
Advancements in modeled coastal water level data

Nicole LeBoeuf, NOS assistant administrator, highlights how the recent release of the Coastal Ocean Reanalysis, or CORA, closes the gap between NOAA tide stations, allowing coastal communities to better understand and make informed decisions about their flood risks.

This image from CORA captures historical maximum water levels for the entire South Carolina coastline. Water-level observations were previously only available from one location, a tide gauge represented by the blue star in the image. The CORA dataset fills gaps in water level observations between tide stations providing historical water levels at each of the red, orange, and yellow dots, spaced every 500 meters along the coast. Credit: NOAA
Explore the first modeled water level and wave dataset

Imagine your community is located along a rural part of the South Carolina coast and you’re trying to plan for future coastal flooding. Planning like this often starts with understanding historic changes in water levels and flood risks in your community. To aid in this understanding, NOS launched the Coastal Ocean Reanalysis, the first comprehensive modeled dataset for the Atlantic, Gulf of America, and Caribbean coasts.

Around the Ocean Service
  • 25 years of tourism, science, and economic growth at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
    sanctuaries
  • Video: Drones with specialized cameras could enhance detection, removal of beach debris
    coastal science
  • Ceremony marks launch of New Jersey floodplain reforestation project
    response and restoration
  • How sharks keep the ocean healthy
    sanctuaries
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