Contact:
Shauna Bingham
805-382-6149
David Hall
301-713-3066
New Interactive
Touch-Screen Kiosks Offer In-depth Look at NOAA’s Channel
Islands Sanctuary
Santa Barbara and Ventura County residents and
visitors can now explore Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
without getting their feet wet through new state-of-the-art touch
screen NOAA kiosks located at four sites along the coast.
“The new kiosks are a visual and
auditory showcase of what the sanctuary has to offer,” said
Chris Mobley, superintendent of Channel Islands National Marine
Sanctuary. “With the touch of a button, users can learn about
marine life and habitats, and get the latest information about our
education and outreach programs, research projects and resource
protection efforts.”
Developed by the NOAA Office of National Marine
Sanctuaries in partnership with the NOAA National Weather Service, the
kiosks also provide real-time weather and ocean condition reports and
information about the sanctuary’s partners, including museums
and visitor centers.
The kiosks have been installed at the California
Welcome Center in Oxnard, the Ventura Visitor’s and
Convention Bureau, the Ty Warner Sea Center in Santa Barbara, and the
Harbor Patrol office at Santa Barbara Harbor. There are existing units
at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and Channel Islands Harbor. Three
more units are slated for installation in early 2009.
For more information, visit http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/visit/kiosk/kiosk.html.
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary was
designated in 1980 to protect marine resources surrounding San Miguel,
Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara islands. The
sanctuary spans more than 1,456 square miles extending from island
shorelines to six miles offshore, encompassing a rich diversity of
marine life and habitats, as well as rich historic and cultural
resources.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated
to enhancing economic security and national safety through the
prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and
information service delivery for transportation, and by providing
environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.
Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems
(GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70
countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring
network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and
protects.