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News and stories

Phytoplankton Monitoring Network: 20 years of citizen science

April 22, 2021

Phytoplankton communities collected during the NOAA Fisheries September 2019 Northern California Current Ecosystem Cruise. Large type Psuedo-nitzchia chains look like grains of rice, while Asterionellopsisglacialis and Chaetoceros debilis are in spiral chains. This image shows a magnified view of phytoplankton communities: large type Psuedo-nitzchia chains look like grains of rice, while Asterionellopsisglacialis and Chaetoceros debilis are in spiral chains.

#EarthDay 2021: Rediscover and connect with nature just outside your door

April 18, 2021

A great year to 'think global, act local' and help preserve the natural world in your neighborhood

Early morning rainbow along the south shore of Maui taken on July 29, 2019 in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

'What's that in the water?' Using citizen science to better understand marine debris

April 8, 2021

A citizen scientist collects and analyzes water samples for microplastic debris in Florida.

NOAA finalizes Citizen Science Strategy

January 15, 2021

Plan joins set of integrated science and technology strategies

A collage of citizen science activities including measuring snow with a precipitation gauge, tracking magnetic data on a cell phone, and fishing.

Old Weather 'time machine' opens a treasure trove for researchers and citizen scientists alike

October 9, 2019

Citizen scientists needed to pore over historical documents

This painting by James Gale Tyler depicts the crew of the USS Jeanette abandoning ship in 1881 after more than a year trapped in Arctic ice. Barometric pressure observations from the ship's log comprise some of the data used to reconstruct global weather in the updated 20th Century Reanalysis dataset released by NOAA on Oct 9, 2019. [This public domain image can be found on Wikipedia at https://bit.ly/30WwNcV]

Citizen scientists take to the streets to map the hottest spots in 10 U.S. cities

July 24, 2019

Summer sunset and the "Ed Koch"(Queensborough) Bridge in New York City as seen on June 6, 2011.

Citizen science volunteers give time and data to national marine sanctuaries

April 19, 2019

Beach Watch volunteers collect data on birds and marine mammals.

6 ways you can be a citizen scientist for NOAA

April 11, 2019

Volunteers measure juvenile oysters to restore them to the Great Bay Estuary.

Celebrate the power of the crowd this Citizen Science Day

April 9, 2019

Second graders from an elementary school in Memphis, Tennessee work together to classify images on Steller Watch, a citizen science project in which volunteers review images of Steller sea lions from the remote Aleutian Islands.

Podcast: Citizen scientists help monitor marine life during Sanctuary Ocean Count

March 22, 2019

A humpback whale surfaces near the island of Maui.

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