A message from the Assistant Administrator
Getting Your Feet Wet: An Introduction to NOAA's National Ocean Service (pdf, 526 kb)
NOS Overview (pdf, 186 kb)
America's Oceans and Coasts: Safe, Healthy, and Productive (pdf, 1.4 Mb)
NOS Organizational Chart (pdf, 22 kb)
Overview of NOS Offices (pdf, 1.6 Mb)
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Strategic Plan FY2006-2011 (pdf, 1.6 mb)
NOAA Organizational Structure, Mission and Statutory Authority
Department of Commerce Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plans
Department of Commerce Organizational Structure, Mission and Statutory Authority
Department of Commerce Point of Contact for Small Businesses
NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) is the nation's premier science agency for oceans and coasts.
The National Ocean Service keeps America's oceans and coasts safe, healthy, and productive.
NOS delivers the tools and services needed to understand, predict, and respond to the challenges we face along America's 95,000 miles of shoreline and 3.5 million square miles of coastal, Great Lakes, and deep-ocean waters.
This vast area, home to great biological wealth, generates more than 60 percent of the nation's gross national product each year. Yet our oceans and coasts are facing unprecedented pressure from threats such as climate change, marine debris, and port congestion.
In response to these threats, NOS scientists, natural resource managers, and specialists are seeking solutions that continue to grow our nation's coastal economy while sustaining a healthy and productive environment.
In partnership with other NOAA offices; federal, state, and local agencies; industry representatives; members of the academic community; and others, the men and women of NOS focus on science, technology, innovation, and education to keep our oceans and coasts safe, healthy and productive.
NOS headquarters and major program offices are located in Silver Spring, Maryland, with regional and field offices across the nation.
A nation with safe, healthy, and productive oceans and coasts
To provide science-based solutions through collaborative partnerships to address evolving economic, environmental, and social pressures on our oceans and coasts.