The National Ocean Mapping, Exploration and Characterization (NOMEC) Council

The National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization (NOMEC) Council was formed in June 2020 in response to national imperatives highlighted in the 2019 Presidential Memorandum on Ocean Mapping of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and the Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska "to act boldly to safeguard our future prosperity, health, and national security through ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization." The NOMEC Council coordinates agency policy and actions, as well as develops and implements multi-disciplinary and collaborative approaches needed to advance mapping, exploration, and characterization of the coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes waters of the United States. Critically, part of this effort involves supporting collaboration with non-governmental partners and stakeholders, as well as government-to-government collaborations with Tribal Nations. Codified in 2022 (Pub. L. 117-263; 33 USC 3408), the NOMEC Council reports to the Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee of the Ocean Policy Committee, which provides support and guidance for the Council’s work as appropriate. The Ocean Policy Committee also provides strategic direction and facilitates interagency resolution of policy issues as appropriate.

The NOMEC Council oversees activities of two interagency working groups (IWGs):

Member Agencies

The NOMEC Council includes members from 12 Federal Agencies and Departments, as well as the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System, and is led by three Co-Chairs: two from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and one from the Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey (USGS). An Executive Director and a team of Executive Secretaries support the NOMEC Council and the activities of its two subsidiary bodies, the Interagency Working Group on Ocean and Coastal Mapping and the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Exploration and Characterization.

Members of the Council include:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (co-chair)
United States Geological Survey (co-chair)
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
United States Coast Guard
National Science Foundation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Department of Defense
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Department of Transportation
White House Office of Management and Budget
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Regional Campaigns - Get Involved!

With the 2023 U.S. announcement of newly delineated Extended Continental Shelf (ECS), over 288,000 square nautical miles (approximately 1 million square kilometers) of seafloor - an area about twice the size of California - have been added to U.S. interests, expanding the scope of the NOMEC Council's work to cover an area of approximately 3.9 million square nautical miles. This vast area is subdivided into regions, where partners collaborate to drive NOAA and its partners to increase survey efficiency, foster cooperation, and encourage the open sharing of data. For more information on Regional Campaigns and how to get involved, see the IWG-OCM Regional Campaign webpage:

Regional Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Campaigns

Ocean Policy History Leading to NOMEC

2024

The update to the NOMEC Implementation Plan was published.
2023

The U.S. announces the delineation of its Extended Continental Shelf (ECS), expanding the scope of mapping, exploration, and characterization work conducted by the NOMEC Council.
2022

The NOMEC Council was established in law by the National Ocean Exploration Act (embedded in Pub. L. 117-263; 33 USC 3408).
2021

The NOMEC Implementation Plan was published. The OPC and all subsidiary bodies were codified under the National Defense Authorization Act.
2020

The Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee released the NOMEC Strategy and the related Alaska Coastal Mapping Strategy.
2019

The Trump Administration directed the OPC, in coordination with the Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee (ORM), by Presidential Memorandum to coordinate ocean mapping and exploration, which initiated creation of the NOMEC and Alaska Coastal Mapping Strategies.
2018

The Ocean Policy Committee (OPC) was established with President Trump’s Executive Order 13840.
2010

President Obama issued Executive Order 13547, declaring a National Ocean Policy and establishing the National Ocean Council.
2004

The Bush Administration created the Committee on Ocean Policy (EO 13366) which concurrently established a Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology within the National Science and Technology Council.
2000

President Clinton launched a new era of ocean exploration with recommendations detailed in the Report to the President’s Panel on Ocean Exploration. The Congress established the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy under the Oceans Act of 2000.
1998

Clinton Administration reported on the National Ocean Conference, invigorating ocean policy for the 21st Century.
1983

In 1983, President Regan proclaimed the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
1970

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was founded under recommendation of The Stratton Commission. The Stratton Commission, appointed by the Johnson White House, established a foundational set of recommendations with production of their 1969 report Our Nation and the Sea. Within NOAA sits the Office of Coast Survey, which was first established by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807, beginning a tradition of Federal mapping in the National interest.