NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

This 4th of July, the NOAA Heritage Program reflects on how our agency honors the U.S. flag on Independence Day and throughout the year. Check out these historic photos and learn more about NOAA’s flag regulations, plus some interesting historical tidbits! https://lnkd.in/e_dc2iVc

A warm welcome and big congratulations to our 2026 scholars!

NOAA’s two P-3 Hurricane Hunters, affectionately known as Kermit and Miss Piggy, are 50 this year! The NOAA Heritage Program’s Curator, Mark Weber, went “On the Heritage Trail” to visit @noaa-marine-and-aviation-operations’ Aircraft Operations Center in Lakeland, Florida to discuss some of the P-3s most interesting artifacts with veteran Flight Engineer Dan Tyson. Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/ebeitPTC

April is #CitizenScienceMonth, and NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has launched a new, searchable catalog of citizen science projects to connect volunteers with research opportunities across the country! It’s easier than ever to discover and participate in projects that are fun, educational, and contribute to NOAA’s scientific mission. Find a project that works for you and get started: https://lnkd.in/eF-4Ft35 #ActsOfScience

NOAA releases first images of nodules from waters near American Samoa. New images and samples were collected during 2026 efforts to map and characterize the seafloor in federal waters off American Samoa. https://lnkd.in/eZM99Zpu

The tidal level records at the Honolulu geophysical observatory were really on a roll in the 60s! This bank of recording instruments recorded coastal water level observations at remote sites throughout Pacific Basin on large rolls of paper. They were part of the U.S. Tsunami Warning System, which NOAA and its predecessors have been running for more than 50 years. Today NOAA has much more advanced recording and analysis tools to monitor for tsunamis and the earthquakes and other phenomena that cause them so that we can provide timely and accurate tsunami messages, but these old analog recorders did their job admirably in their time. Catch up with the NOAAstalgia series at https://lnkd.in/eDrN4JvV. (Credit: NOAA)

This diving helmet from around 1940 didn't seal while in use. Instead it used a hose to pump in air, creating a pocket inside the helmet.The diver had to be extremely careful to stay upright so that the helmet wouldn't flood with water. In the oldest known diving photo from NOAA's past, circa 1940, a U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey (a predecessor of NOAA) diver suits up to cut a cable fouling the propeller of the Survey Ship Lydonia. A skiff alongside the coastal survey ship Lydonia is used as the dive platform. A chief petty officer (left) and crewman in the boat lowered the helmet over the diver's head. These shallow water diving helmets were held onto the diver's shoulders by their weight (note the rectangular lead weights on the helmet's collar) and were used without the special gear and diving suits required with deep sea diving rigs. A compressor on the ship's deck fed air to the diver via a hose affixed to the right side of the helmet. A Jacob's ladder is rigged to the boat at the diver's left to assist him in getting in and out of the skiff. This simple diving equipment was well-suited to the kind of work being done in the photo — unfouling props and rudders, inspecting hulls for damage, and similar tasks — in water up to 60 feet deep. Shallow water helmets of this type were phased out as SCUBA diving equipment became commonplace after World War II. Catch up with the series at https://lnkd.in/eDrN4JvV. (Image credit: Family of Captain David M. Whipp, U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey)

Did you know that Thomas Edison helped researchers study fish? He designed the lighting plan for the government’s first ship to sport all electric lights, including some for attracting and observing fish and other marine animals underwater. That ship was NOAA predecessor U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries’ steamer Albatross. Learn more about how the Albatross got those lights at: https://lnkd.in/ei3x9cq5

With it being our nation's 250th anniversary, there’s been a lot of talk about America's founders… Here’s one of NOAA's! Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler was the first superintendent of the U.S. Survey of the Coast--one of NOAA's predecessor agencies. In 1811, he was charged by the U.S. government with leading a hydrographic survey of the U.S. coast, which measures the physical properties of our ocean, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas. These surveys ensure safe navigation and other maritime activities. Under his leadership, the Coast Survey also began creating nautical charts, designed a tidal prediction machine, and much more. In 2012, a NOAA surveying ship was named for him. (Image credit: NOAA Central Library) NOAA National Ocean Service NOAA Coast Survey

Scientist C.V. Hodgson and his U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) team drive through half-melted hail to conduct Triangulation along the 104th Meridian. (The USC&GS was a precursor agency to NOAA.) Triangulation consists of tracing a series of triangles across a large area, then using the known measurements of two sides and one angle of the triangle to calculate the third side's measurement. The USC&GS used this method to determine the distances and relative positions of points spread over large regions of the United States. This survey made latitude observations on the 104th meridian across Colorado, Utah, and Nevada with the help of a USC&GS truck that had a 30-horsepower gasoline engine and 1.5 tons of carrying capacity. It only went 25 mph, but it shaved five months off missions. Previous survey parties made the long trek walking or on horseback, with mules carrying supplies. Catch up with the series at https://lnkd.in/eDrN4JvV. (Image credit: U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey; Season's Report Hodgson 1913)