The importance of weather and climate prediction for saving lives and protecting property has never been greater.

With 95,471 miles of U.S. shoreline, and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that is among the largest in the world, the strength of the U.S. economy is reliant on the understanding, health, and sustainable use of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. Growing the American Blue Economy will be an essential element of this effort. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently completed a NOAA Blue Economy Strategic Plan for 2021-2025, which provides a roadmap for applying NOAA’s ocean science and technology (S&T) to expand the economic contributions of our oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes, and fully supporting the actions in this plan will not only accelerate an economic turnaround, but also continue American leadership in ocean S&T.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of society, including seagoing marine science. Advances in technology offer the potential to continue marine science discovery as the impacts of the pandemic persist. Here, Gallaudet and several colleagues describe how these tools are applied at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and how they provide capabilities to move ocean science forward over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The United States has had three operational numerical weather prediction centers since the Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit was closed in 1958. This led to separate paths for U.S. numerical weather prediction, research, technology, and operations, resulting in multiple community calls for better coordination. This article discusses the drivers, the progress, and the future of interagency collaboration. By Timothy Gallaudet and other authors.

The current expedition is the first to ever image the heroic Independence. She was scuttled about 30 miles south of San Francisco in 1951.