The U.S. Navy has one of the most active and vital operational oceanography programs in the world. With a greater understanding of wave mechanics, scientists can improve wave forecasts in oceans around the globe....

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Predation by otters keeps urchin populations in check, allowing kelp -- a favorite food of urchins -- to flourish. But what if otters were harvested to near extinction for their fur? The resulting overabundance of urchins would decimate the kelp forest, leaving little food or shelter for fish and invertebrates. And so it may go, as declines in these species are likely to affect others....

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With greenhouse warming, rainfall in the South Pacific islands will depend on two competing effects -- an increase due to overall warming and a decrease due to changes in atmospheric water transport -- according to a new study. In the South Pacific these two effects sometimes cancel each other out, resulting in highly uncertain rainfall projections....

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Nearly three quarters of the coast along the Delmarva Peninsula is very likely to experience beach and dune erosion as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall, while overwash is expected along nearly half of the shoreline....

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Storm response crews from the U.S. Geological Survey are installing more than 150 storm-tide sensors at key locations along the Atlantic Coast -- from the Chesapeake Bay to Massachusetts -- in advance of the arrival of Tropical Storm Sandy....

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October 27 marks the 40th anniversary of the landmark Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), which began a new era in the U.S. and for NOAA by recognizing the importance of safeguarding our nation’s coasts, estuaries, and oceans. The act led to NOAA working with state partners to balance economic development and environmental conservation, and helps to ensure that future generations have access to our nation’s nearly 100,000 miles of shoreline.

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Late last month, Nova Southeastern University officially opened its new Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park. The 86,000-square-foot research facility is now the largest in the nation dedicated to the study of coral reef ecosystems. The center will host coral specialists from across the globe, and make it possible for groundbreaking coral research to continue in the controlled setting of a state-of-the-art laboratory.

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In the future, warmer waters could significantly change ocean distribution of populations of phytoplankton, tiny organisms that could have a major effect on climate change. In a new study, researchers show that by the end of the 21st century, warmer oceans will cause populations of these marine microorganisms to thrive near the poles and shrink in equatorial waters....

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Japan's "triple disaster," as it has become known, began on March 11, 2011, and remains unprecedented in its scope and complexity. To understand the lingering effects and potential public health implications of that chain of events, scientists are turning to a diverse and widespread sentinel in the world's ocean: fish....

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A new article urges cautions against continuing traditional fisheries management....

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