Dear Fellow Ocean Explorer,

Welcome to the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) office website. Ocean exploration and research excites and inspires while catalyzing research and education, and informing decisions. This website describes our office and what we do. You are also invited to explore the ocean expeditions and projects we support (including a number of expeditions with live images from the seafloor), by visiting oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

The President's Panel Report of 2000, Discovering Earth's Final Frontier: A U.S. Strategy for Ocean Exploration, recommended the nation undertake a national program of ocean exploration, with discovery and the spirit of challenge as cornerstones. "We must go where no one has ever gone before, 'see' the oceans through a new set of technological 'eyes,' and record these journeys for posterity," the report said. The Panel's recommendations gave rise to NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration in 2001, and helped establish NOAA as the lead agency for a federal ocean exploration program. In 2007, NOAA's National Undersea Research Program merged with ocean exploration to form OER, NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research.

This OER office website has traditionally offered information explaining our "Announcements of Opportunity," that seek proposals for ocean exploration and related expeditions, but this updated site now covers a broader base of information about our office and its programs.

OER "product lines" include: technology development; exploration (expeditions and projects); catalyzing research; data and information management; and education and outreach. In delivering these products, we always look for a measurable and valued return-on-investment. We accomplish our mission through national and international partnerships forged with government, academic, and commercial partners. We continually look to these valued public and private partnerships to develop and support a compelling national vision and long-range plan for ocean exploration that supports our Nation's ocean literacy, science, resource management, and strategic security goals.

Please explore our website. If you have any questions or comments, please click on "Contact Us."

Sincerely,

Dr. Joseph T. (Tim) Arcano, Jr.

Director, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

NOAA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) NOAA Science Advisory Board is the only Federal Advisory Committee with responsibility to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on long- and short-range strategies for research, education and the application of science to resource management and environmental assessment and prediction. Members are appointed by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator.

SAB activities and advice provide necessary input to ensure that NOAA science programs are of the highest quality and provide optimal support to resource management, and environmental assessment and prediction.

Because of the breadth of subject matter that the group addresses, they frequently consult with additional experts on specific topics. Standing working groups of expertise are established for topics deemed to be of long-term interest for NOAA.

The Ocean Exploration Advisory Working Group Ocean Exploration Advisory Working Group is one such group of experts. The OEAWG consists of approximately nine individuals from academia, government, industry, and other ocean-related institutions. Members are selected by the Chair of the SAB in consultation with the members of the SAB, the Director of the Ocean Exploration Program, and the Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere.

The Report of the President's Panel for Ocean Exploration, "Discovering Earth's Final Frontier: A U.S. Strategy for Ocean Exploration," (2000) outlined a vision and a strategy for establishing a national program focused on exploring the world's unknown ocean. The report also provided specific recommendations for mapping and characterizing little known ocean areas and phenomena, developing new sensors and systems to accelerate the pace of ocean exploration, and disseminating the results in new and novel ways to enhance our understanding of the ocean and ocean issues. In response to this report, NOAA established the first federal program deliberately focused on ocean exploration.

In 2009, recognizing the success and value of ocean exploration, Congress officially authorized the NOAA Ocean Exploration Program in Public Law 111-11, Title XII (Oceans), Subtitle A (Ocean Exploration), Part I (Exploration). Similar to the Report of the President's Panel, this law called upon the NOAA program to continue to develop and engage in partnerships with other government agencies, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and private industry to truly establish a dedicated national ocean exploration program that will catalyze future research and better inform ocean resource management decisions.

On May 7-8, 2012, a 13-member Ocean Exploration Review Panel conducted the first-ever formal, independent review of the NOAA Ocean Exploration Program. The review was administered under the auspices of, and reported to, the NOAA Science Advisory Board. This review provided a unique opportunity to consider the Program as it has evolved over the past ten years and to make recommendations to position it for even greater success in the future.

The Science Advisory Board accepted the Review Panel's final report during its November meeting, commending NOAA for establishing an innovative ocean exploration program, and encouraging NOAA leadership to continue to lead and support the establishment of a national program as initially envisioned by the President's Panel. The Science Advisory Board referred the report recommendations to NOAA leadership for further action.

Program Review documents and the full report may be downloaded below.

          Fred Gorell
          NOAA/OAR/OER
          1315 East-West Highway, SSMC3
          Silver Spring, MD  20910

          phone: (301) 734-1021
       

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Revised: January 07, 2013 at 2:35 PM Central

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