noaacoastsurvey – Office of Coast Survey

March 30, 2026March 30, 2026

U.S. continues to close mapping gaps on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters

In 2025, the ocean and coastal mapping community added 70,700 square nautical miles (snm) of new bathymetric data coverage to national repositories. With an ultimate goal of fully mapped U.S. waters by 2040, these additions brought the total down to 44% unmapped.

Progress was made on a number of fronts, but most notably in areas where regional efforts are underway to boost collaborative data acquisition activities and data sharing, in accordance with the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration and Characterization, or NOMEC, Strategy goals.

February 26, 2026

Charting the Arctic: NOAA Ship Fairweather’s 2025 Survey off of Alaska’s Coast

A large white NOAA research vessel (NOAA S 220) docked at a pier, decorated with colorful maritime signal flags. Large grey rocks form a breakwater in the foreground against green ocean water.

By ENS Cullen Hauck

NOAA Ship Fairweather went farther north than ever before for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Port Access Route Study, a multi-year effort to establish new maritime traffic routes, safety zones, and use areas in the U.S. Arctic waters.

February 19, 2026February 19, 2026

Office of Coast Survey: 2025 Year in Review

Since 1807, Coast Survey has endured to keep mariners safe and maritime commerce flowing, under the leadership of now 32 superintendents and directors. 2025 was Coast Survey’s last under Rear Admiral (lower half) Benjamin K. Evans, who was relieved as Director in early 2026 by Rear Admiral (lower half) Christiaan van Westendorp.

Coast Survey is excited for what’s to come under RDML van Westendorp’s leadership–the continued evolution of the National Bathymetric Source program, two new hydrographic ships built from the keel-up to incorporate uncrewed systems, more S-100 rollouts, and more–but wanted to first look back on everything the office accomplished in 2025 to build a strong foundation for a safer, more efficient marine economy.

February 10, 2026

Coast Survey Change of Command: Welcoming Rear Admiral (lower half) van Westendorp, the 32nd Director of Coast Survey

“Since 1807, Coast Survey has been keeping mariners safe and maritime commerce flowing. It’s an honor to be a small part of its history.” – Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., NOAA Administrator and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere

This January, NOAA staff, partners, and friends gathered to witness the change of command and assumption of the 32nd Director of the Office of Coast Survey.

NOAA Corps Rear Admiral (lower half) Chris van Westendorp accepted command of the Office of Coast Survey, relieving Rear Admiral (lower half) Benjamin K. Evans.

January 22, 2026January 27, 2026

Coast Survey Spotlight: Meet Michael Bloom, Navigation Response Team – New London

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a member of the NOAA Coast Survey team? We use the Coast Survey spotlight blog series as a way to periodically share the experiences of Coast Survey employees as they discuss their work, background, and advice.

Michael Bloom, Physical Scientist Technologist

“When you’re surveying, you get to watch the seafloor tell a story.”
Continue reading “Coast Survey Spotlight: Meet Michael Bloom, Navigation Response Team – New London”

September 30, 2025November 18, 2025

The latest expedition in Lituya Bay: NOAA and National Park Service collaborate to update nautical charts

NOAA Ship Rainier charts volatile, glacially active waters in Glacier Bay National Park

By ENS P. Giamportone and ENS N. Greenlaw

In August 2025, NOAA Ship Rainier pulled into Lituya (lih-TOO-yuh) Bay, an inlet tucked within the outer edge of Glacier Bay National Park. The name is of Tlingit origin, meaning “lake within the point,” and the Bay has long been a source of sustenance and shelter. The entrance is narrow and turbulent, and the glacial walls make it vulnerable to rockslides and their following waves.

August 1, 2025

Charting the Yukon River as it freezes and thaws

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey just released major updates to the official navigational charts of the Yukon River—a vital waterway serving many interior communities of Alaska. The Yukon is frozen more than half the year, limiting the window for barges to deliver the fuel, building materials, heavy equipment, and other supplies that cannot be transported by air. NOAA has developed a new process for updating the Yukon charts with the most current shoreline information, which is expected to improve safety and efficiency of navigation on the river and make delivery of vital supplies more reliable.

July 25, 2025August 13, 2025

Surveying the Kuskokwim River, Alaska’s Most Dynamic Waterway

A black U.S. Coast Guard ship, with "U.S. COAST GUARD" written in white on its side and the number "208" on its stern, is docked at a wooden pier. The ship has an orange and white superstructure. In the background, snow-capped mountains rise under a cloudy sky. The water in the foreground is calm.

Alaska’s Kuskokwim River is both unpredictable and essential. Shifting sandbars, variable tides, and seasonal ice dramatically reshape the waterway, requiring frequent updates to the navigational channel. It remains a lifeline for communities like Bethel, Alaska. NOAA’s Coast Pilot describes the waterway as a “maze of shifting sandbars…and blind channels” with navigation conditions that can change daily.

Currently, the U.S. Coast Guard maintains over 50 aids to navigation, or ATONs, along the river to guide vessels. Mariners use these ATONs to travel safely through the channels. The Coast Guard Cutter Aspen requested support from NOAA to provide updated bathymetric data to help them to validate and adjust ATONs–a mission critical function to ensure safe navigation for vessels traversing one of the state’s most dynamic and economically vital waterways.

June 13, 2025June 13, 2025

NOAA releases Long Island Sound survey data to support electric power cable planning

We are pleased to announce the availability of new seafloor mapping data to support energy infrastructure planning in the Long Island Sound!

This survey is the result of a Coast Survey partnership with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) through NOAA’s Brennan Ocean Mapping Fund opportunity, a program that allows non-federal organizations to co-fund projects of mutual interest utilizing NOAA’s contracting and data management expertise. NOAA selected this project in the FY2024 round of the matching fund opportunity.

June 4, 2025June 6, 2025

Coast Survey’s Operational Forecast System informs shipwreck oil spill scenarios

During World War II, the 334-foot, 5,350-ton SS Coast Trader was hit by a torpedo and sank off the coast of Cape Flattery, Washington.

Resting almost 500 feet below the surface, the Coast Trader has an estimated 542 tons of heavy fuel oil remaining in the fuel tanks. The quantity onboard the Coast Trader is equivalent to 60% of the volume of fuel spilled into the Pacific Ocean near Grays Harbor by the barge Nestucca in 1988, which remains one of Washington’s largest and most damaging oil spills.