- Date:
- October 3, 1970 - present
- Areas Of Involvement:
- Climate
- Atmosphere
- Weather forecasting
- ocean
- scientific research
- Related People:
- Kathryn Sullivan
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
News •
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What is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a U.S. governmental agency created in 1970 within the Department of Commerce. NOAA studies Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and coastal areas to understand how they affect the U.S. land surface and coastal regions.
NOAA has six offices:
* National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
* National Marine Fisheries Service
* National Ocean Service
* National Weather Service
* Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
* Office of Program Planning and IntegrationNOAA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and manages various research laboratories and offices throughout the United States and its territories. NOAA also operates and manages a fleet of satellites with NASA for Earth observation and weather forecasting.
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What does NOAA do?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a U.S. governmental agency created in 1970 to study Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and coastal areas as they affect the U.S. land surface and coastal regions.
NOAA's work is carried out by its six offices:
* National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
* National Marine Fisheries Service
* National Ocean Service
* National Weather Service
* Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
* Office of Program Planning and IntegrationNOAA also maintains research laboratories and offices throughout the U.S. and supports Cooperative Institutes affiliated with many institutions. NOAA equipment and staff predict and track weather phenomena, monitor atmospheric patterns, research climate change, manage fisheries, and conduct ocean research.
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Why is NOAA important for the United States?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is important to the United States because it studies Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and coastal areas to understand how they affect the country's land and coastal regions. NOAA provides weather-related forecasts and warnings, manages and conserves coastal fisheries, and researches global warming and climate change. NOAA uses a fleet of satellites with NASA to observe Earth and forecast weather. It also uses "hurricane hunter" aircraft to monitor tropical cyclones. NOAA's work improves severe weather warnings and studies Earth’s environment from a multidisciplinary perspective.
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How does NOAA study and predict the weather?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) studies and predicts the weather through its National Weather Service (NWS), using an integrated network of over 100 regional and field offices. The NWS gathers weather and climate data from diverse sources like satellites, aircraft, weather balloons, and ground-level remote sensing equipment, including Doppler weather radar.
NOAA employs numerical weather prediction models that calculate changes in atmospheric conditions using physics-based equations. These models, along with methods like nowcasting and Model Output Statistics (MOS), enable meteorologists to make objective forecasts.
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What are some other areas NOAA works on besides weather?
Beyond weather forecasting, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) studies the oceans, atmosphere, and coasts of the United States. NOAA has six offices:
- National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
- National Marine Fisheries Service
- National Ocean Service
- National Weather Service
- Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
- Office of Program Planning and Integration
NOAA also researches climate change, tracks tropical cyclones, and monitors atmospheric patterns such as El Niño. They manage fisheries and conduct ocean research, using surface ships, submersibles, and a fleet of satellites with NASA.
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How does NOAA help protect ocean and coastal environments?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) studies the oceans, atmosphere, and coastal areas of the United States to protect these environments. NOAA manages and conserves coastal fisheries through the National Marine Fisheries Service. The National Ocean Service focuses on the health and productivity of U.S. oceans and coasts. In January 2025, NOAA designated the marine portion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument as a national marine sanctuary to provide additional protection and conservation management of its natural, cultural, and maritime heritage resources.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. governmental agency established in 1970 within the Department of Commerce to study Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and coastal areas insofar as they affect the land surface and coastal regions of the United States.
The organization is composed of six offices:
- The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, for disseminating global environmental data
- The National Marine Fisheries Service, for managing and conserving the coastal fisheries within the 200-mile (320-km) exclusive economic zone of the United States
- The National Ocean Service, for activities related to the health and productivity of the oceans and coasts bordering the United States
- The National Weather Service, for providing weather-related forecasts and warnings for the United States, its possessions, and its marine and freshwater approaches
- The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, for performing environmental research
- The Office of Program Planning and Integration, for integrating and monitoring the performance of the other offices
NOAA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and manages seven research laboratories—including the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma, the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington, and Newport, Oregon, and the Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado—and several dozen offices throughout the United States and its territories and possessions. In addition, NOAA supports approximately 20 Cooperative Institutes (CIs) affiliated with over 40 institutions, including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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Before its creation on October 3, 1970, the administration’s scientific activities were split between the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (established in 1807 to survey the coast of the United States), the United States Weather Bureau (established in 1870—and later known as the National Weather Service—to collect various weather data from around the country and predict future conditions), and the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries (established in 1871 to protect the country’s food fisheries). These organizations were brought together out of the need to produce more-effective warnings of severe weather and to satisfy the emerging interest in investigating Earth’s physical environment from the perspective of a consolidated multidisciplinary whole rather than through several distinct disciplines. The Environmental Data Service, the National Oceanographic Data Center, and the National Satellite Center were also brought into NOAA upon its establishment.
NOAA’s staff and equipment have been used extensively to predict and track tropical cyclones and other weather-related phenomena, such as tornado outbreaks and snowstorms, to monitor periodic shifts in major atmospheric patterns, such as El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and to research the phenomenon of global warming and climate change. For fisheries management and ocean research, NOAA operates and maintains several research surface ships and submersibles. For Earth observation and weather forecasting, NOAA operates and manages a fleet of satellites in concert with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Such satellites include those of the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) programs and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). For assessing the strength and monitoring the development of tropical cyclones, NOAA possesses a small fleet of “hurricane hunter” aircraft made up of propeller-driven and jet airplanes.