June 21, 2015, is the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. It's also the day that thousands of scientists and volunteers across the globe will participate in Ocean Sampling Day, an international collaboration to collect water samples from the earth's oceans and rivers.

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During the month of June, join us as we share videos, images, and ocean facts to celebrate the beauty and importance of our ocean and coasts.

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Beginning May 28, 2015, NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) will be performing a current survey throughout Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca over the next three years. The observations collected during this survey will enable NOAA to provide tidal current predictions to commercial and recreational mariners that depend on this information for safe navigation.

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American Samoa is tackling a thorny issue on its nearshore coral reefs. The issue takes the form of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), prickly critters, known locally as alamea, that voraciously consume the live stony corals that form the reefs’ limestone foundation.

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In celebration of World Ocean Day on June 8, NOAA's National Ocean Service is hosting a photo contest. From May 8-22, send us your best ocean and coastal images as we look to celebrate the beauty, mystery, and importance of the ocean. Sunsets over the water, colorful and bountiful marine life, ships delivering goods, images of underwater discovery and adventure...we want it all!

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Dr. Eugenie Clark was a scientific pioneer who greatly contributed to people's knowledge of sharks and other fish, and who worked tirelessly to improve sharks' reputation in the public eye. Image courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.

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Conserving coastal places provides economic benefits to local communities. For example, across all national marine sanctuaries, about $4 billion annually is generated in local coastal and ocean-dependent economies from diverse activities like commercial fishing, research, and recreation-tourist activities. The National Ocean Service works to conserve marine areas—and preserve the economic benefits of these special places to local communities—through coastal management and place-based conservation programs such as the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and National Marine Sanctuaries.

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NOAA's Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper is a free online tool that provides maps, data, and information to assess risks and vulnerabilities related to coastal flooding and hazards. The tool is available for the entire U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.

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How "crowdsourcing" contributes to research and outreach.

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In March 2015, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries announced that Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS) on the central California coast would double to more than twice their original size.



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