The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a US scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather,monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions,charting the seas,conducting deep-sea exploration,and managing fishing and protection of marine mammals and endangered species in the US exclusive economic zone. The agency is part of the United States Department of Commerce and is headquartered in Silver Spring,Maryland.
Oceanography,also known as oceanology,sea science,ocean science,and marine science,is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science,which covers a wide range of topics,including ecosystem dynamics;ocean currents,waves,and geophysical fluid dynamics;plate tectonics and seabed geology;and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers utilize to glean further knowledge of the world ocean,including astronomy,biology,chemistry,geography,geology,hydrology,meteorology and physics. Paleoceanography studies the history of the oceans in the geologic past. An oceanographer is a person who studies many matters concerned with oceans,including marine geology,physics,chemistry,and biology.
BRP Gregorio Velasquez is Philippine Navy's first oceanographic research vessel. It was built by the United States Navy as USNS Melville (T-AGOR-14) for university support of Navy programs. The ship was operated as the research vessel R/V Melville by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography for oceanographic research. As the R/V Melville,it was the oldest active vessel in the academic research fleet,collectively known as the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) (UNOLS). The US Government confirmed on 17 November 2015 that the Melville was to be transferred to the Philippine Navy as Excess Defense Articles (EDA)s. The vessel was officially transferred to the Philippines on 28 April 2016 and was commissioned into active service at the same time with the Philippine Navy.
R/P FLIP was an open ocean research platform owned by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) and operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The platform was 108 meters (355 ft) long and was designed to partially flood and pitch backward 90°,resulting in only the front 17 meters (55 ft) of the platform pointing up out of the water,with bulkheads becoming decks. When flipped,most of the buoyancy for the platform was provided by water at depths below the influence of surface waves,hence FLIP was stable and mostly immune to wave action,similar to a spar buoy. At the end of a mission,compressed air was pumped into the ballast tanks in the flooded section and the platform,which had no propulsion,returned to its horizontal position so it could be towed to a new location. The platform was frequently mistaken for a capsized ocean transport ship.
The Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO),located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi,is an echelon IV component of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC) and comprises approximately 1,000 civilian,military and contract personnel responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to all elements within the Department of Defense.
George Washington Littlehales was an American oceanographer and civil engineer,known for his work with the Hydrographic Office.
Timothy James McGee is a retired officer of the United States Navy.
Conrad Charles Lautenbacher Jr. is a retired Navy Vice Admiral,was the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere within the United States Department of Commerce and the eighth administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He was appointed to the position on December 19,2001 and resigned effective October 31,2008 in anticipation of a new White House administration. He was born in Philadelphia.
The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (COMNAVMETOCCOM) or CNMOC,serves as the operational arm of the Naval Oceanography Program. Headquartered at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi,CNMOC is an echelon three command reporting to United States Fleet Forces Command (USFLTFORCOM). CNMOC's area of responsibility is globally distributed,with assets on larger ships,shore facilities at fleet concentration areas,and larger production centers in the US.
Thomas Washington (T-AGOR-10) was a Robert D. Conrad-class oceanographic research ship delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1965. The ship was owned by the Navy but assigned to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography,University of California,La Jolla,California and operated as R/VThomas Washington from delivery to inactivation.
NOAAS Discoverer,originally USC&GS Discoverer,was an American Oceanographer-class oceanographic research vessel in service in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1966 to 1970 and in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 1996.
USNS Marie Tharp (T-AGS-66) is a Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship operated by the Military Sealift Command of the United States Navy. The seventh ship in her class,Marie Tharp is named for oceanographer Marie Tharp;the ship was renamed in 2023 from Maury.
Michael S. Devany is a former vice admiral in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps who last served as the deputy under secretary for operations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from January 2,2014 to April 2016. He previously served as director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps from August 13,2012 to January 1,2014,succeeding RADM Jonathan W. Bailey. As deputy under secretary for operations,he was NOAA’s chief operating officer. VADM Devany was responsible for the day-to-day management of NOAA’s national and international operations for oceanic and atmospheric services,research,and coastal and marine stewardship. He is a key advisor to the under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere/NOAA administrator on NOAA program and policy issues. Devany was the first NOAA Corps officer to achieve the rank of vice admiral since VADM Henry A. Karo in 1965,and the second NOAA Corps officer overall. Devany retired from NOAA in April 2016 after over 30 years of combined uniformed service.
Karen Kohanowich is a retired U.S. Naval officer and ocean research and technology program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER). She was NOAA's Acting Director of the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) from 2006 to 2009,and served in various roles at OER,including Acting Deputy and Undersea Technology director,until retiring in 2018. In July 2006,she became an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 10 crew.
Gerd F. Glang is a former NOAA Corps rear admiral who last served as the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Coast Survey. In this position,he also concurrently served as the U.S. National Hydrographer and as one of the commissioners of the Mississippi River Commission. He was appointed by Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank on August 13,2012,after nomination by President Barack Obama,and confirmation by the U.S. Senate. He retired from the NOAA Corps on August 26,2016 after over 32 years of combined uniformed service.
David William Titley is a professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University and the founding director of their Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk. He was also NOAA's chief operating officer from 2012 to 2013. Before assuming these positions,he was a rear admiral in,and the chief oceanographer of,the U.S. Navy,in which he served for 32 years. He is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
Brian Bentley Brown is a retired United States Navy vice admiral and navigator who last served as commander of the U.S. Naval Information Forces from June 2018 to May 2021. Brian became the second naval officer to assume the NAVIFOR office since it was established. In 1990,he served as a surface warfare officer and was subsequently transferred to the navy's operational arm oceanography command. He was also appointed as the chief of the Navy Space Cadre. As a navigator and administrator,he served aboard aircraft carriers,including USS La Salle and USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Nancy A. Hann is a rear admiral in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. Hann is the commanding officer of the corps and director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). Hann previously served as the deputy director.
Richard William Spinrad is an American oceanographer and government official serving as the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He also concurrently serves as Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
Andreas Buchwald Rechnitzer was an American oceanographer. With Carl Hubbs,he discovered the striped yellow butterfly fish that served as the logo of the Birch Aquarium. He helped develop the first SCUBA diving training program for ocean scientists,which included such innovations as ditch-and-don,buddy breathing,and the buddy system. He was a member of the US Navy Office of Naval Research team that negotiated the purchase of the bathyscape Trieste,and was the scientist in charge of Project Nekton in 1960,during which the Trieste entered the Challenger Deep,the deepest surveyed point in the world's oceans. For this he received the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He joined the scientific staff of the Chief of Naval Operations,where he was the Oceanographer of the Navy from 1970 to 1984,and was the Senior Scientist at Science Applications International Corporation from 1985 to 1998.
