The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in collaboration with NOAA and U.S. Geological Survey, recently released a report that discusses the impacts of sea-level rise on the coast, coastal communities, and the habitats and species that depend on coastal areas, with a focus on the eight coastal states from New York to North Carolina....

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The concept of coastal zone management is a relatively new one, emerging less than four decades ago from the need to tackle an array of interconnected problems associated with population growth and development along our nation’s coasts.

The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) was passed in 1972 and provided a formal structure to address the challenges of continued growth in coastal areas. Administered by NOAA, the CZMA recognizes that ensuring access to clean water and healthy ecosystems that support a vibrant coastal economy requires effectively integrating science, technology, and public policy. The goals of the CZMA are to “preserve, protect, develop, enhance, and restore where possible, the coastal resources.”

One program under the CZMA, the National Coastal Zone Management Program, encourages coastal states and territories to work in partnership with the federal government to design and enforce local programs consistent with the CZMA and accompanying regulations. Today, 34 of the 35 eligible coastal and Great Lakes states and territories have entered into the voluntary partnership.

As a result of the Coastal Zone Management Act and the success of its programs, coastal communities are equipped to better address continued economic development of the coastal zone while accounting for natural resource management. This will ensure the health and stability of the coast, both environmentally and economically, into the long-term future.

For more information:
Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management: Partnering with States to Manage Our Coastline
The Coastal Zone Management Act: A History of Treasuring Our Coastlines and Estuaries


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Volcanic eruptions occur only in certain places and do not occur randomly. This is because the Earth’s crust is broken into a series of slabs known as tectonic plates. These plates are rigid, but they “float” on a hotter, softer layer in the Earth's interior. As the plates move, they spread apart, collide, or slide past each other.

Sixty percent of all active volcanoes occur at the boundaries between tectonic plates. Most volcanoes are found along a belt, called the “Ring of Fire” that encircles the Pacific Ocean. Some volcanoes, like those that form the Hawaiian Islands, occur in the interior of plates at areas called “hot spots.”

Although most of the active volcanoes we see on land occur where plates collide, the greatest number of the Earth's volcanoes are hidden from view, occurring on the ocean floor along spreading ridges.

For more information:
Teachers Guide to Stratovolcanoes of the World
New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2007, NOAA Ocean Explorer
Submarine Ring of Fire 2004, NOAA Ocean Explorer
'Kick'em Jenny' Volcano, NOAA Ocean Explorer

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Rogue, freak, or killer waves have been part of marine folklore for centuries, but have only been accepted as a real phenomenon by scientists over the past few decades.

Rogues, called 'extreme storm waves' by scientists, are those waves which are greater than twice the size of surrounding waves, are very unpredictable, and often come unexpectedly from directions other than prevailing wind and waves.

Most reports of extreme storm waves say they look like "walls of water." They are often steep-sided with unusually deep troughs.

Since these waves are uncommon, measurements and analysis of this phenomenom is extremely rare. Exactly how and when rogue waves form is still under investigation, but there are several known causes:

Constructive interference. Extreme waves often form because swells, while traveling across the ocean, do so at different speeds and directions. As these swells pass through one another, their crests, troughs, and lengths sometimes coincide and reinforce each other. This process can form unusually large, towering waves that quickly disappear. If the swells are travelling in the same direction, these mountainous waves may last for several minutes before subsiding.

Focusing of wave energy. When waves formed by a storm develop in a water current against the normal wave direction, an interaction can take place which results in a shortening of the wave frequency. This can cause the waves to dynamically join together, forming very big 'rogue' waves. The currents where these are sometimes seen are the Gulf Stream and Agulhas current. Extreme waves developed in this fashion tend to be longer lived.

For more information:
Wind, Swell and Rouge Waves, JetStream Online School for Weather, National Weather Service
Rogue Waves, Ocean Prediction Center, National Weather Service

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Life on Earth is found in conditions ranging from the coldest arctic ice to extremely hot hydrothermal systems on the ocean floor. Microbes are also found in very acidic conditions, very salty conditions, and very alkaline conditions.

These microbes are called “extremophiles” (which means 'lovers of extremes').

While conditions on the surface of the Earth where humans are happy are likely to be extremely rare outside of our home planet, the range of conditions in which microbes are found on Earth are more likely to be found on other planets and moons.

Some areas of our oceans, for example, may be similar to conditions found elsewhere in the solar system.

Jupiter’s moon Europa is completely covered by ice, but the tidal energy generated by giant Jupiter is so strong that a global ocean likely exists under the ice that could be 10 times as deep as what we find on Earth. Many scientists think that hydrothermal vents may exist at the bottom of this vast ocean.

This is exciting news, because microbes are found in abundance in hydrothermal vent systems in our oceans.

Understanding extreme life on Earth might help us identify environments on other moons and planets where life could exist.

For more information:
Novel Microorganisms from the Cold Dark Sea, NOAA Ocean Explorer
Loihi Submarine Volcano: A Unique, Natural Extremophile Laboratory, NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
Hydrothermal Vents Program, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

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On January 7, rapid responders removed the first reported invasive lionfish from the waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary within 24 hours of notification. This marks the first arrival of lionfish into the Florida Keys since the species became established in U.S. waters in 2000....

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The highest tides in the world can be found in Canada at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia.

At some times of the year the difference between high and low tide in this Bay is 16.3 meters (53.5 feet), taller than a three-story building.

Anchorage, Alaska, comes in at a close second with tidal ranges up to 12.2 meters (40 feet).

At increasing lattitudes (as one moves further from the equator and closer to the poles) there often is a dramatic increase in tidal range.

Tidal highs and lows depend on a lot of different factors. The shape and geometry of a coastline play a major role, as do the locations of the Sun and Moon. Storm systems at sea and on land also shift large quantities of water around and affect the tides. Detailed forecasts are available for high and low tides in all sea ports, but are specific to local conditions.

 

For more information:
Tides and Water Levels, NOS Education
Tides Online, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services

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Tides are one of the most reliable phenomena in the world. As the sun rises in the east and the stars come out at night, we are confident that the ocean waters will regularly rise and fall along our shores.

Tides are very long-period waves that move through the oceans in response to the forces exerted by the moon and sun. Tides originate in the oceans and progress toward the coastlines where they appear as the regular rise and fall of the sea surface.

When the highest part, or crest, of the wave reaches a particular location, high tide occurs; low tide corresponds to the lowest part of the wave, or its trough. The difference in height between the high tide and the low tide is called the tidal range.

For more information:
Tides and Water Levels, NOS Education
Tides Online, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services

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Most scientists agree that the atmosphere and the oceans accumulated gradually over millions and millions of years with the continual ‘degassing’ of the Earth’s interior.

According to this theory, the ocean formed from the escape of water vapor and other gases from the molten rocks of the Earth to the atmosphere surrounding the cooling planet.  

After the Earth's surface had cooled to a temperature below the boiling point of water, rain began to fall—and continued to fall for centuries. As the water drained into the great hollows in the Earth's surface, the primeval ocean came into existence. The forces of gravity prevented the water from leaving the planet.

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While there is only one global ocean, the seas are geographically divided into the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Southern (Antarctic) Oceans.

These five oceans are not separate bodies of water; they form one continuous oceanic mass. The boundaries between these five oceans arose over time for a variety of historical, cultural, geographical, and scientific reasons.

The Pacific, the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans are known as the three major oceans.

The Southern Ocean is the 'newest' ocean. The boundaries of this ocean were set in 2000 by the International Hydrographic Organization. The U.S. is a member of this organization, represented by the NOS Office of Coast Survey.

For more information:
Office of Coast Survey
A History of Charting America's Waters, NOAA 200th Anniversary Web Site

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