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Making Waves: Episode 10 (Dec. 23, 2008)

(INTRO)
WELCOME TO THE NEW YEARS EDITION OF MAKING WAVES FROM NOAA’S NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE. TO MARK THE OCCASION, TODAY WE’RE GOING TO TAKE A BRIEF LOOK BACK AT SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PAST YEAR. WE WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR, AND A SAFE, HEALTHY, AND PRODUCTIVE 2009.

(YEAR IN REVIEW)
LET'S START OFF ON THE COASTS. OUR COASTS MAKE UP ONLY SEVENTEEN PERCENT OF OUR NATION’S LAND, BUT OVER FIFTY-FIVE PERCENT OF US LIVE THERE. AND MORE PEOPLE ARE MOVING TO THE COAST EVERY YEAR. WITH ALL OF THESE PEOPLE SQUEEZED INTO SUCH A SMALL AREA, THERE IS INTENSE PRESSURE FROM POLLUTION AS COASTAL URBAN AREAS GROW LARGER AND LARGER.

IN RESPONSE TO THIS, THE OCEAN SERVICE FUNDED RESEARCH OVER THE PAST YEAR TO MANAGE THE GROWING PROBLEM OF BACTERIA AND DISEASE IN COASTAL AREAS.

THIS RESEARCH LED TO THE PREDICTION OF A LARGER-THAN-NORMAL HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM IN THE GULF OF MAINE AND THE LARGEST-EVER “DEAD ZONE” IN THE GULF OF MEXICO OVER THE PAST SUMMER. THESE PREDICTIONS HELPED LOCAL COMMUNITIES PREPARE FOR THESE EVENTS. AND THIS RESEARCH IS ALSO PRODUCING THE SCIENCE TO HELP US BETTER MANAGE EVENTS LIKE THESE IN THE FUTURE TO HELP REDUCE ECONOMIC LOSS AND PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH.

WE ALSO CONTINUED TO LOOK AT THE EFFECTS OF NATURAL HAZARDS ON COASTAL AREAS. ALONG THE GULF COAST, WE INSTALLED FOUR HURRICANE-HARDENED STRUCTURES TO MAINTAIN ESSENTIAL WATER-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION DURING EXTREME COASTAL STORM EVENTS.

WE’RE ALSO WORKING TO BUILD A NATIONAL SYSTEM TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND FORECAST OCEAN AND COASTAL CHANGES AND THEIR IMPACTS. OVER THE PAST YEAR, WE CONTINUED TO REFINE THE NOAA INTEGRATED OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEM® PROGRAM BY PROVIDING NEW TOOLS AND RESOURCES TO DEVELOP STANDARDS FOR DATA MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS.

THESE DATA STANDARDS ARE A CRITICAL PIECE IN ENSURING THAT OCEAN OBSERVATIONS COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES ARE COMPATIBLE. OBSERVING MIGHT NOT SOUND VERY EXCITING – BUT COLLECTING INFORMATION IS THE FOUNDATION FOR UNDERSTANDING WHAT’S GOING ON. AND AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR OCEANS AND COASTS, WE WILL BE BETTER PREPARED TO RESPOND TO CHANGES SUCH AS SEA-LEVEL RISE AND HABITAT LOSS.

WE WERE ALSO BUSY SUPPORTING THE SHIPS AND BARGES THAT FORM THE BACKBONE OF OUR NATIONAL COMMERCE SYSTEM. IN 2008, WE BEGAN UPGRADING AND MODERNIZING NOS’S HYDROGRAPHIC DATA COLLECTION FLEET. THE INCREASED SPEED AND CAPABILITY OF THESE VESSELS ALLOW US TO COLLECT THE DATA TO PRODUCE THE NATION’S NAUTICAL CHARTS.

IN ADDITION, WE EXPANDED PORTS — THE PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHIC REAL-TIME SYSTEM® — TO FOUR NEW LOCATIONS IN THE GULF OF MEXCIO. PORTS HELP ENSURE SMOOTH TRAVELING ALONG OUR NATION’S MARINE HIGHWAY. THIS SYSTEM PROVIDES REAL-TIME INFORMATION ABOUT OCEAN WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, SALINITY, WIND, AND BRIDGE CLEARANCES TO HELP GET SHIPS SAFELY GET IN AND OUT OF BUSY PORTS.

BUT WHEN SHIPS HAVE ACCIDENTS THAT RESULT IN THE SPILL OF OIL OR OTHER HAZARDOUS MATERIAL, NOS STEPS IN TO LEND A HAND TO CLEAN UP AND TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND THE SPILL RECOVER. IN 2008, WE RESPONDED TO NEARLY 180 HAZARDOUS SPILL INCIDENTS, RESTORING DAMAGED RESOURCES, AND DELIVERING THE TOOLS, INFORMATION, AND TRAINING NEEDED TO HELP COASTAL MANAGERS DO THEIR JOBS BETTER.

FINALLY, NOS CONTINUED WORKING ON INNOVATIVE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO SOLVE COASTAL PROBLEMS IN 2008. LAST YEAR, NOS SCIENTISTS RELEASED A MAJOR REPORT ASSESSING THE CONDITION OF CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS, SHOWING THAT NEARLY HALF OF THE NATION’S CORAL REEFS ARE NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN “POOR” OR “FAIR” CONDITION. NOS COMMEMORATED THE DESIGNATION OF THE PAPAHĀNAUMOKUĀKEA MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT IN HAWAII AS A PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE SEA AREA TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION OF THIS NEARLY 4,500-SQUARE-MILE PRISTINE CORAL REEF HABITAT, AND WE WORKED WITH NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD TO PROTECT OTHER SENSITIVE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS.

(OUTRO)
THAT’S JUST A TASTE OF WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO OVER THE PAST YEAR. IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE, WE’LL BE POSTING OUR ANNUAL REPORT ONLINE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. BE SURE TO CHECK IT OUT.

THE ADDRESS TO VISIT IS OCEANSERVICE.NOAA.GOV.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS WEEK’S PODCAST OR ABOUT THE NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE, SEND US AN EMAIL AT NOS.WEB@NOAA.GOV. AND IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE OCEAN YOU’D LIKE ANSWERED, YOU CAN EMAIL US THAT, TOO. WE’RE DEVELOPING A LIST OF OCEAN FACTS ON OUR WEB SITE – GIVE IT A LOOK.

WELL, THAT'S ALL FOR THIS WEEK.

LET’S BRING IN THE OCEAN ... THIS IS MAKING WAVES FROM NOAA'S NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR.

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