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NOAA King Air aircraft team surveys the coast of the U.S. Virgin Islands

The crew of NOAA King Air 350 CER N68RF conducted coastal mapping missions for NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) in the U.S. Virgin Islands during a two-week mission earlier this year. The team used the aircraft's onboard remote sensing technology to collect shoreline imagery prior to hurricane season. The imagery will serve as a baseline in the event that any of these areas are damaged by a hurricane or tropical storm this coming season.

NOAA Twin Otter aircraft crew surveys right whales

Last month, the crew of NOAA DHC-6 Twin Otter N48RF wrapped up its right whale survey season off the southeast coast of the United States. The crew of NOAA Corps pilots and scientists sighted 10 new mom/calf pairs, indicating there is hope for the endangered species. Today, researchers estimate there are only about 400 North Atlantic right whales in the population, with fewer than 100 females remaining.

NOAA Hurricane Hunters fly north for the winter...for science

When hurricane season concludes, some hurricane hunters fly north for the winter. The NOAA Hurricane Hunters and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Reserve Hurricane Hunters swapped their summer mission for a winter project from January to March 2020.

NOAA deploys aircraft to support weather satellite data validation project

NOAA deployed one of the agency's two Lockheed WP-3D Orion "hurricane hunter" aircraft (N42RF) to Shannon, Ireland on Jan. 23 to support an ongoing NOAA Satellite and Information Service project to measure ocean surface winds in winter storms over the North Atlantic. The project helps NOAA calibrate and validate data collected by weather satellite sensors. The project also helps scientists and engineers improve the quality and consistency of satellite-based weather data.

Two new oceanographic vessels will join the NOAA fleet

NOAA is in the process of acquiring two new oceanographic ships as part of the agency’s fleet rebuilding effort. Once in service, the new ships will support a wide variety of missions, ranging from general oceanographic research and exploration to marine life, climate and ocean ecosystem studies. The first ship, to be named Oceanographer, will be homeported in Honolulu. The second ship, to be named Discoverer, will be assigned a homeport at a future date.
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer tied up to the pier

NOAA launches major field campaign to improve weather and climate prediction

On January 7, NOAA launched a six-week scientific campaign from the island of Barbados in the Caribbean, using multiple human-piloted and autonomous vehicles, buoys, radar and computer modeling to investigate how the ocean, atmospher, and shallow clouds work together to create the weather and climate we live in. Called ATOMIC, or the Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign, the mission is the U.S.