National Ocean Service

For more information, please visit: 

www.noaa.gov and www.oceanservice.noaa.gov

Positioning America for the Future.

Coastal watershed counties were home to 163.8 million 

people in 2010, approximately 52 percent of the United 

States population. This number is expected to increase by 

more than 15 million by 2020. Through the National Ocean 

Service (NOS), NOAA is the lead Federal agency responsible 

for promoting the sustainable, safe, and efficient use of our 

Nation’s coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes resources. NOS’s 

science-based products and services are positioning 

America’s coastal communities, economies and ecosystems 

for the future of economic growth and environmental 

change.

NOS has identified three priorities that reflect our statutory 

mandates and missions:

Place-based Conservation

NOS works to conserve marine areas and preserve 

economic benefits of special places through its coastal 

management and place-based conservation programs. 

NOS provides leadership for state and local coastal 

management efforts across the nation and is the primary 

conduit for data and services at NOAA to support 

informed coastal decision making. NOAA’s national 

marine sanctuaries are America’s primary instrument for 

place-based conservation of special marine places in 

offshore areas.

Coastal Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Resiliency 

In light of increasing threats to our coasts, NOAA’s 

preparedness, response, recovery, and resiliency activities 

have become a national priority. From oil spills and vessel 

groundings to hurricanes and marine debris, NOS provides 

world-class science and services in support of healthy 

coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems.

Coastal Intelligence

Whether it is the Nation’s nautical charts, environmental 

monitoring or socioeconomic tools, NOS and its partners 

integrate science and services to provide actionable 

intelligence. Informed decision makers, both public and 

private, are able to make informed choices on their use and 

stewardship of coastal resources.

NOAA National Geodetic Survey employees take survey observations 

to a radio telescope operated by the National Radio Astronomy 

Observatory using a high precision tacheometer. Credit: NOAA

NOAA archaeologist photographs a wreck site in 

the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. 

Credit: NOAA NOAA scientists and their partners deploy an 

Environmental Sample Processor to detect harmful 

algae and their toxins. Credit: NOAA
NATIONAL OCEANIC & ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

For more information, please visit: http://www.noaa.gov/budget

FY 2015 Budget Request Highlights

The FY 2015 President’s Budget request for NOS is $519,412,000. NOAA’s National Ocean Service is positioning America for a 

future of higher intensity coastal storms, increased demands on the marine transportation system, changing sea levels leading to

coastal flooding, and heightened offshore and coastal development.

In FY 2015 NOS is making critical investments in products, services, and capabilities that will improve the resilience of the

Nation’s coasts to immediate hazards and long term risks, all of which are linked through complex relationships among 

geophysical features, ecosystems, and human activity. The program changes noted below are with respect to the FY 2015 Base

(= FY 2014 Enacted + Inflationary Adjustments). Highlights include:

Mission Critical Infrastructure

• Shoreline Topographic/Bathymetric LiDAR (+ $4.0M) Working with interagency partners, NOAA will expand the initiative 

toward a national topographic/ bathymetric elevation dataset to inform navigation safety, coastal storm preparedness, and 

stewardship of ecological resources.

Services to Enhance Community Resilience

• Capacity to Respond to Extreme Events (+ $5.0M) In response to increasing frequency and intensity of coastal inundation 

events, NOAA will provide products and services that translate existing data and observations into actionable intelligence for 

state and local decision makers.

• Regional Coastal Resilience Grants (+ $5.0M) NOAA will establish a competitive grant program to promote coastal 

communities’ resilience to extreme weather events and climate hazards. This funding will fill a gap in the current state-centric

structure of the Coastal Zone Management Grants by prioritizing actions that bring together partners on a regional scale.

• Ecological Forecasting (+ $4.0M) NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) will develop and 

operationalize ecological forecasts for harmful algal blooms (HABs), hypoxia, pathogens, and species distributions.

• Coastal Ecosystem Research and Development (+ $6.0M) NCCOS will expand its competitive grant program to fund 

extramural research and applied science to inform decisions that are critical to the stewardship of ecological resources.

• Arctic Oil Spill Preparedness (+ $1.3M) NOAA will make investments to fill critical gaps in the Nation’s capabilities in the 

Arctic: oil spill modeling, identification of sensitive ecological resources, preparedness of local responders, and other science 

gaps. 

Scientific and Programmatic Innovation

• Marine Sensor Innovation (+ $1.0M) NOAA will expand and accelerate the development and implementation of new marine 

sensor technologies to enhance the Nation’s understanding of coastal stressors, such as ocean acidification and ecological 

change.

In addition to these increases, the FY 2015 Budget request maintains robust support for NOS’s partnership-based approaches to 

creating coastal intelligence, improving the resiliency of coastal and great lakes communities and economies, and employing 

place-based approaches to resource conservation.