Shaped by science: NOAA Corps

 

By Rear Adm. Chad M. Cary, Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps

For more than 200 years, the service now known as the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps has provided the nation with environmental intelligence to arm decision-makers and the public with credible data. The data collected is used to better inform policy creation, supercharge the economy, and provide warfighters with a decision advantage. It is used by those responsible for man­aging natural resources, for a better understanding of our Earth systems, and for providing scientific leadership.

The NOAA Corps is administered under the Department of Commerce. Its 366 officers have STEM backgrounds and are either mariners or aviators, operating the agency’s fleet of 15 research ships and 10 aircraft. The officers provide technical and operational exper­tise, as well as rapid response capacity for national emergencies.

Then: The start of NOAA Corps

In the years following the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson determined that it was necessary to explore and map the land and coast. In 1807, he signed a bill creating the “Survey of the Coast” to provide nautical charts to the maritime community for safe passage into American ports and along our extensive coastline.

After several years as part of the Department of the Navy, the civilian U.S. Coast Survey was established in 1832, with Ferdinand Hassler as superintendent. Coast Survey has been the nation’s chart­maker ever since.

In the ensuing years, the young agency tackled additional responsibilities. In addition to conducting hydrographic surveys and producing nautical charts, the U.S. Coast Survey conducted the first systematic study of the Gulf Stream and designed tidal pre­diction machines. It established the geodetic connection between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. They also mapped the coastline to aid Union forces during the Civil War.

The agency’s name later changed to the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey, which then established its Commissioned Corps. The offi­cers continued to add value to the daily lives of Americans and were integral in several historic events. During the height of the Great Depression, the Coast and Geodetic Survey organized surveying parties and field offices that employed over 10,000 people, includ­ing many out-of-work engineers. In World War II, more than half of the officers were transferred to bolster other services. They served as hydrographers, artillery surveyors, cartographers, army engineers, intelligence officers, and geophysicists in all theaters of the war. Civilians on the home front produced more than 100 million maps and charts for the Allied Forces. Ultimately, 11 members of the Coast and Geodetic Survey gave their lives during the war.

Once NOAA was created in 1970, the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Commissioned Corps became the NOAA Corps. Today, the NOAA Corps is the smallest of the country’s eight uniformed services, but its mission is larger than ever before.

Now: Acquiring environmental data to support America’s economy

Creating and maintaining the nation’s nautical charts remains a cornerstone of the NOAA Corps mission. Today, the agency sup­ports nearly $5.4 trillion in economic activity generated by U.S. ports each year. Ensuring safe, efficient navigation remains a central focus, and NOAA nautical charts contribute $2-3.4 billion to the U.S. economy each year.

Modern cargo ships operate on increasingly narrow margins of error to navigate safely through ports and waterways, down to inches. Add to that a seafloor that is constantly changing due to storms, currents, and infrastructure projects. Yet 44% of U.S. waters are not mapped to modern standards.

A NOAA-led federal task force calls for U.S. waters to be fully mapped by 2040, as part of the Seabed 2030 project. NOAA Corps officers, primarily working from NOAA’s fleet of research vessels, map the ocean throughout the year. This summer, a focused effort is underway in the Great Lakes, including in Western Lake Erie, one of the shallowest areas in the Great Lakes. Despite being a highly trafficked area by commercial and recreational vessels, it has not been surveyed since the 1940s.

Enabling safe maritime commerce is not the only way that NOAA data supports the country’s Blue Economy — goods and services dependent on the ocean and coastal waters. In 2023, U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries generated $319 billion in sales and supported 2.1 million jobs. NOAA Corps officers and crew on our fisheries research vessels support collecting data that facil­itates science-based conservation and management for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, marine mammals, endangered species, and their habitats.

The work of NOAA Corps officers is not just on the water. NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter aircraft are integral to saving lives and property during tropical storms. NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter aircraft collect data that improves hurricane track and intensity forecasts by as much as 20%. Better forecasts mean people and communi­ties save money on storm preparation and potential evacuations. Outside of hurricane season, NOAA aircraft are tasked with col­lecting data to better understand and forecast atmospheric rivers, survey marine mammal populations, map the country’s changing coastline, and monitor snow and water levels.

Uncrewed systems are increasingly being used as data collec­tion tools. Integrating them into more traditional operations can build capacity during data collection, operating for longer periods, and in hard-to-reach locations. They are also being used as force multipliers, collecting complementary data. For example, NOAA’s Lockheed Orion WP-3Ds have been operating for 50 years, but last hurricane season was the first time NOAA sent an uncrewed marine system into a hurricane from the water.

Tomorrow: People, platforms & missions, performance

NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations has historically operated as a lean and high-performing team. We continue to be mission-fo­cused and dedicated to service excellence in both operational and shoreside activities. We are committed to strategic staffing for the NOAA Corps, professional mariners, and civilian shoreside com­plements. We are focused on providing challenging assignments, career progression pathways, critical training, and development to build professional and technical competence, and on fostering a culture of safety and respect.

Our people are key to our success. Reliably meeting NOAA’s science missions also requires functional and innovative platforms– vessels, aircraft, and uncrewed systems. NOAA is undergoing the most significant modernization of ships, aircraft, and uncrewed systems in its history.

In the next two years, we anticipate adding a new oceanographic research vessel and an aircraft to the fleet. Currently, four vessels are under construction for NOAA: Oceanographer (anticipated in 2027) and Discoverer (2028) are oceanographic vessels, and Surveyor (2028) and Navigator (2029) will support the agency’s charting and mapping mission. These vessels are being built spe­cifically for NOAA’s missions and incorporate cutting-edge tech­nology. Surveyor and Navigator are being built from the keel up to incorporate uncrewed systems, including a hangar bay, space for command and control, and infrastructure to maintain and service the uncrewed systems.

NOAA awarded a contract in 2019 to Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. for the purchase of a new Gulfstream G550 aircraft with an option to procure a second. The first of two G550s is expected to join the fleet in early 2027. The pair of G550s will replace NOAA’s existing Gulfstream IV-SP high-altitude jet, which has flown above and around hurricanes to support accurate track and intensity fore­casts since 1996. The two jets will be the most advanced scientific aircraft in the world, delivering missions and projects that support NOAA’s operations and research, and are expected to do so for the next 30 years. NOAA also awarded a contract in 2024 to build a NOAA- specific C-130J Super Hercules, which will eventually replace the two P-3s.

NOAA is also building waterfront facilities that support marine operations. In recent years, NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations has completed construction on a port facility in Ketchikan, Alaska. Two other facilities are nearing completion–a pier facility in Charleston, South Carolina, and a new marine operations center in Newport, Rhode Island.

The longevity of the NOAA Corps depends on adapting tradi­tional agency missions and incorporating our expertise into the coun­try’s current needs and priorities. NOAA is investing in research that supports sustainable deep-sea mining practices and helps partners better understand their marine environments. This year, NOAA Ship Rainier is surveying areas of the Pacific that have never been mapped to modern standards to help identify critical mineral deposits and update nautical charts. NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will map, explore, and characterize the deep waters of the Cook Islands in part­nership with the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority.

Investing in emerging technology can make us more efficient and increase the reliability of the storm data we collect. Better fore­casts mean better community preparedness, which means saving money–and more importantly, lives and property.

Because of the unique skill sets and expertise of NOAA Corps officers and OMAO staff, we are often called upon to help when disaster strikes. It also means anticipating solutions for potential challenges–using our ocean mapping experience in the Arctic as navigable waters increase, supporting other branches of service in collecting environmental data to make informed decisions, and maximizing the return on investment for the nation. I am very proud to serve beside the talented NOAA Corps officers and team, leading, supporting, and delivering NOAA’s missions of service, science, and stewardship.