NOAA: US Agency for Oceanic and Atmospheric Science

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a US governmental agency dealing with oceanic and climatic issues. NOAA was formed in 1970 under the Nixon administration from three previously existing organizations: the US Coast and Geodetic Survey, formed in 1807; the Weather Bureau, formed in 1870; and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries (COF), formed in 1871. The Geodetic Survey and Weather Bureau were combined in 1965 to form the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA); after the 1970 enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act, the ESSA joined with the COF to become NOAA.

These three original organizations played foundational roles in establishing American science and typified some of the important debates in the history of American science, namely the civilian-versus-military rivalry to control US science. The first efforts to chart oceanic conditions and resources began in 1807 with the Survey of the Coast, established by Thomas Jefferson. The survey’s work involved the establishment of a coordinate system and the monitoring of weather and oceanic conditions such as tidal patterns. Prior to the Civil War, the Survey of the Coast, later renamed the Geodetic Survey, and the US Navy’s Hydrographic Office, established in 1832, both developed expertise in surveying and mapping oceanic conditions and sometimes worked in cooperation, with the only major difference being that the Navy was in charge of mapping underdeveloped foreign lands. Conflict escalated between the two organizations as to who should take over the mapping of new territories acquired after the Civil War. The battle culminated in 1900 when Congress granted the Geodetic Survey independent authority to conduct oceanic research.

Given the central role of weather in transportation and communication, creating an organization entirely devoted to weather research and prediction was a priority for the US government in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. In 1870, a Joint Congressional Resolution created the Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce, requiring the Secretary of War “to provide for taking meteorological observations at the military stations in the interior of the continent, and at other points in the States and Territories . . . and for giving notice on the northern [Great] lakes and on the seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and marine signals, of the approach and force of storms” (Hughes 1970). The agency was placed under the Secretary of War because “military discipline would probably secure the greatest promptness, regularity, and accuracy in the required observations” (Hughes 1970). However, the agency came under civilian control in 1890 when Congress passed an act transferring meteorological responsibilities to the newly created US Weather Bureau in the Department of Agriculture; it was later transferred to the Department of Commerce in 1940. The Army and Navy then created their own weather stations. Since its creation, the Weather Bureau, and later the National Weather Service (NWS) (renamed in 1970), has provided crucial support to many government initiatives, including the building of the Hoover Dam, the invasion of Normandy, and sending astronauts to the moon.

The COF was the first conservation agency in the United States; this emphasis has remained a fundamental element of NOAA’s activities. In 1847, naturalist Louis Agassiz

sailed on the US Coast Survey Steamer Bibb to study the fish and fauna off the East Coast. Based on these initial surveys, the COF was created in 1871 to protect, study, manage, and restore fish. In 1882, the USS Albatross, the first government research vessel built exclusively for fisheries and oceanographic research, became the first in a fleet of research vessels. At the same time, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, became the site of the first marine fisheries research lab; today, it hosts one of NOAA’s five fisheries science centers. The COF later became the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the primary manager of US waters. The NMFS derives its power from the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which established federal authority over a 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coastline.

Today, NOAA maintains a strong focus on scientific research, dissemination, and conservation. NOAA has three primary goals: (1) to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts; (2) to share this knowledge and information with others; and (3) to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. NOAA works toward its mission through six major offices: the NMFS; the NWS; the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS); the National Ocean Service (NOS); the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR); and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). Given NOAA’s immense research capacity, the agency collaborates internationally to address issues ranging from El Nino to climate change through efforts such as the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

FURTHER READING: Hughes, Patrick. 1970. A Century of Weather Service: A History of the Birth and Growth of the National Weather Service 1870-1970. New York: Gordon and Breach.

Manning, Thomas. 1988. U.S. Coast Survey vs. Naval Hydrographic Office: A 19th Century Rivalry in Science and Politics. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

Slotten, Hugh Richard. 1994. Patronage, Practice and the Culture of American Science: Alexander Dallas Bache and the U.S. Coast Survey. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.