NOAA’s Precision Marine Navigation program launches new website
The homepage for Marine Navigation
A recently launched website from NOAA’s
Precision Marine Navigation (PMN) program will improve the use and accessibility of NOAA’s marine navigation products and services. The website,
Marine Navigation, includes links and short descriptions to NOAA’s various navigation resources, providing a one-stop shop that mariners can visit to get the data they need. Designed for shipping professionals and recreational boaters alike, the PMN program hopes the website will become a valuable tool to support all mariners in their navigation planning and decision making processes. While a variety of data products, observations, and forecasts are provided by NOAA, this new website will act as a central hub for all marine navigation resources, directing users to the most relevant data source or tool based on their need. For more information contact
marinenav.team@noaa.gov.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy transits the Northwest Passage
Coast Guard Cutter Healy conducts Arctic patrol in support of
the Office of Naval Research, 2018 (Credit: U.S. Coast Guard)
In August and September 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter
Healy transited the Northwest Passage. The last cutter to transit the Northwest Passage was in 2017. This rare transit provided members of the University of New Hampshire’s
Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center (CCOM/JHC) the opportunity to collect data, helping to fill gaps in current hydrographic coverage in the passage and in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
Healy is a heavy icebreaker designed to conduct a wide range of research activities, including the collection of echo sounder data. The mapping team’s goal was to transit over areas in U.S., Canadian, and Greenland waters where modern bathymetric data is sparse or non-existent.
Dr. Larry Mayer, from CCOM/JHC, the chief scientist on the trip, determined priority areas with the help of the Canadian Hydrographic Service and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. CCOM/JHC and NOAA scientists
Brian Calder,
Paul Johnson,
Kevin Jerram,
Colin Ware, and
LT Patrick Debroisse were sonar watch standers and data processors during the transit. In addition, there were scientists from the University of Alaska at Anchorage, Oregon State University, and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Read more on this spotlight in the
Coast Survey blog. For more information contact
Patrick.J.Debroisse@noaa.gov.
Staff Updates
2021 Bronze Medal Awards
The Department of Commerce Bronze Medal is the highest honor award granted by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. The award recognizes federal employees for superior performance and is awarded to individuals, groups (or teams), and organizations.
RDML Shepard Smith for supporting the largest interagency fuel-removal operation ever conducted on a World War II wreck in the United States.
Sergey Vinogradov,
Liujuan Tang,
Gregory Seroka,
Georgios Britzolakis, and
Edward Myers for developing the Global Extratropical Surge and Tide Operational Forecast System to provide storm surge and tidal water level guidance.
Patrick Keown for enabling NOAA data to be widely accessible, at great cost-avoidance, through award and implementation of innovative, no-cost contract vehicles.
The
NOAA Distinguished Career Award honors contributions on a sustained basis and a body of work, rather than a single defined accomplishment. In addition, this award recognizes significant accomplishments across all NOAA program areas and functions that have resulted in long-term benefits to the bureau’s mission and strategic goals. The NOAA Distinguished Career Award for 2021, goes to
RDML Richard T. Brennan, Jr. for sustained leadership, excellence, and dedication to NOAA, Coast Survey, and the hydrographic community.
Airlie Pickett
LTJG Airlie Pickett recently reported to the University of New Hampshire and began classes at the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center in the Ocean engineering: Ocean Mapping Masters program. A 2017 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, she completed her ensign tour aboard NOAA Ship
Rainier before reporting to MOC-A as the operations manager. During that role she augmented aboard NOAA Ship
Thomas Jefferson as the acting operations officer in 2020-21, as well as NOAA Ship
Ferdinand R. Hassler as the navigation officer. Airlie is looking forward to experiencing a hurricane season on land for a change, and seeing what the Granite State has to offer.