Feature Archive

Features: June 2011

aerial view of sill

Preserving the 'Life Mud' of a California Estuary

At the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), a 1,700-acre tidal salt marsh inland of Monterey, California, kismet recently came calling in the form of a $4.5 million grant from NOAA through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grant made possible the recent construction of an experimental underwater retaining wall, called a “sill,” that’s designed to slow the fast tidal currents that are stripping a portion of the estuary of its mud bottom in a process known as tidal scour. More...

NOAA survey ship

World Hydrography Day is June 21

World Hydrography Day, celebrated in maritime countries around the world, is a time to recognize the ocean surveyors who map the oceans. Thanks to hydrographers — in NOAA, in other federal agencies, and in private industry — this nation's safe and efficient maritime transportation system supports increased trade and economic growth for American industry and agriculture. More...

telescope

Historic NOAA Space Observatory 'Recycled' into Maryland Green Space

In a charming residential neighborhood off the noisy main drag of Gaithersburg, Maryland, about a half-hour's drive northwest of Washington, DC, a place where NOAA scientists once gazed into space has found new life as a public green space. More...

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