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NOAA and partners to test limits of technology and science
The Southern Ocean is one of the roughest and most dangerous bodies of water on Earth. It's also key to understanding the global climate system.
The vast distances and harsh conditions of the...
NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) performs a broad spectrum of oceanographic research spanning air-sea interaction, fisheries oceanography, ocean acidification, long-term climate monitoring, and tsunami prediction...
On July 20, 2026, researchers embarked on the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program's West Coast Ocean Acidification mission (WCOA 2026). Departing from San Diego aboard the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (R/V) Sikuliaq, the team will travel north to...
Increased monitoring efficiency is required to address the growing risk of harmful algal blooms and rapid shifts in coastal ecosystems across the Pacific Arctic and Pacific Northwest. Traditional research approaches, such as ship...
In May 2026, three members of PMEL's Engineering team (Scott Stalin, Nick Delich, and Courtney Avioli) were aboard 404 Marine's Michael UHL. Their destination? The Harvest platform—a retired oil and gas rig ~10 miles off the California coast near...
NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL)-coauthored research article wins United Kingdom's National Champion award and is shortlisted for the Frontiers Planet Prize.
Ocean Acidification: Another Planetary Boundary Crossed, published in Glob...
California's 2026 Coast and Ocean Assessment was released in March by the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC), in partnership with the California Ocean Science Trust. This coast and ocean assessment is the result of the work of more than 120...
PMEL's Atmospheric Chemistry Group (ACG) and U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are working together to deploy the first of an autonomous system to observe atmospheric, cloud, and aerosol properties on a...
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.1 megathrust earthquake struck off the coast of Japan. Violent tremors lasted for about six...
Recently retired NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) senior scientist Dr. Richard Feely was featured on a podcast called Ecoshock hosted by Alex Smith. The podcast addresses earth science issues like climate change and ocean...
As the 2025 hurricane season ramps up, NOAA will be testing small, uncrewed instrumented sailboats built by a robotics company to capture weather and ocean data in the path of tropical storms. The observations from these robots will help scientists...
On Tuesday, July 29th, 2025, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred off the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, triggering numerous tsunami alerts in Alaska, Hawaii, the U.S. west coast, and throughout the Pacific. At the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental...
On May 9, 2025, a research-enhanced weather buoy was deployed at 40.50°N 69.25°W for an expected observing period of one year. Working alongside a team of engineers and technicians at the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), Dr. Yolande Serra's (UW...
The Surface UNcrewed Fleet (SUN Fleet) — a new network of ocean robots — could solve longstanding scientific challenges.
The surface of the global ocean, where the sea meets the sky, is one of the most important physical boundaries on the planet.
Here...
For decades, firefighting crews counted on falling temperatures and rising humidity at night to dampen wildfire activity, allowing them to rest, regroup and prepare for the next day.
Over the last 20 years though, satellite measurements have...
Despite rapid Arctic warming, plan for more frigid spells
New research on the Arctic confirms that even as the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world, cold-air outbreaks from the polar region will continue across the Northern Hemisphere...
