Notes from the Field | Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

We have been busy across the National Marine Sanctuary System! Join us behind the scenes for a look at research taking place above and below the water. Learn fun facts about scientific instruments and techniques, get updates on long-term monitoring projects, and meet some of our staff, partners, and volunteers who make it all happen! Be sure to check back each week for the latest field notes.

2025

a group of people pose for a photo on the deck of a ship with an oil rig in the background

Battling Invasive Lionfish in the Gulf: Citizen Scientists Join the Fight

scuba divers hold onto torpedo-shaped devices with propellers as they glide above the reef making observations

New Tools Help Divers Survey Reefs in Papahānaumokuākea

A pod of orcas swims closely together at the ocean surface, their black-and-white bodies and tall dorsal fins visible against calm blue water

Studying Southern Resident Killer Whales in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

a boy holds a fishing rod and smiles while an older gentleman teaches him how to bait the hook

Go Fish! Exploring the Role of Fish in Marine Ecosystems

a group of girls learn about Stellwagen Bank from an instructor holding a map onboard a sailing vessel

Sailing Into STEM with Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

a large crane hauls a large fishing net out of the ocean onto the deck of a research vessel

"Weeding" Marine Debris out of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

man preparing supplies in a laboratory for filtering water samples

Surveying Life Above Davidson Seamount in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Two fluffy, mottled brown and white juvenile ospreys are nestled in a stick nest. One bird is larger and has its beak open, while the smaller one looks toward the viewer. The nest is high above calm water, with a distant treeline and clear sky visible in the background.

Osprey Banding at Mallows Bay

purple urchins being offloaded from a big white box with use of heavy machinery, surrounded by piles of compost soil.

Surf to Turf! Sea Urchins From Marine Sanctuary Restoration Project Recycled as Compost

three people holding intertidal monitoring equipment on a rocky intertidal beach

Oceanographic Moorings and Intertidal Monitoring in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

spectators gather around a circular training pool with a buoy in it, and the flags of many different nations fly on poles in the background

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Hosts MATE ROV World Championship

Children and instructors standing in water posing for a photo

Girl Scouts Investigate Life in a Protected Seagrass Meadow

people on stage at an event as a person in an army uniform speaks at a podium to a crowd

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Hosts Michigan's Next Generation Drone Competition

four people on the stern of a green fishing vessel with the name 'Mary Elizabeth, Scituate, MA' painted on the back.

NOAA and Fishermen Work Together to Identify Shipwrecks in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

a cylindrical instrument wedged between two cinder blocks sits on the seafloor

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary partners with Scripps Institute of Oceanography

a fish on a coral reef with soundwave graphical elements overlaid to represent fish chorusing

Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar Creates New Lesson Plan on Fish Chorusing

A woman helps a young girl learn about various shipwreck artifacts displayed on a table

Honoring Military Children at Monitor National Marine Sanctuary

Three people wearing bulky, red, full-coverage bodysuits float in the water next to a life raft.

Saving the Lives of Fishermen at NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

An orange circle with light green areas highlighted with numbers.

Mission: Iconic Reefs Measures Coral Larval Settlement in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

underwater view of a whale tail entangled in several lines

Two Humpback Whales Freed of Entangling Gear off Maui

2024

a person holding a handful of brown/green seaweed blades in their hand

Helping Kelp in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

the blades of large brown kelp sway in the currents underwater

Kelp Restoration: Exploring Options With Heat Resistant Kelp

four people on a boat hold up sample baggies containing snails

Florida Keys Volunteers Pluck Pesky Snails From Reefs-1,009 Snails and Counting!

a scuba diver holds onto a diving bell suspended by cables in the water column

Marine Debris Removal, Coral Sampling, and More With Navy Saturation Divers

The head, top jaw, and baleen of a humpback whale appear above the waters surface

Scientists Study Whale Baleen to Monitor Synthetic "Forever Chemicals" in Ocean

a scuba diver photographs a large, cylindrical object on the seafloor

Shipwreck Discovered in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: Star of the Sea foundered in 1911

Two scuba divers apply a toothpaste-like paste to the edges of a white patch on a brain coral.

Tissue Samples Show Coral Disease at Flower Garden Banks is Not Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

researchers on deck preparing to deploy a new data buoy

Sanctuary Installs New Data Buoy in Lake Michigan

two people on deck in their dive gear

Channel Islands Divers Support Research on Acoustics, Giant Kelp, and Bioplastics

Over 1,000 Volunteers Help Sanctuary Count Koholā

ROV arm collectiong marine rubble

Oldest Recorded Rhodoliths Discovered in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

two people on the side of a boat

ACCESS: 20 Years of Monitoring!

whale breaching the surface of the water

Real-Time Notifications Help Right Whales

diver taking a water sample underwater

First Water Sampling Event of the Year

diver installing a hydrophone on the ocean bottom

Listening to Boat Traffic and Fish Spawning

2016-2017

birds fliying over the ocean

Birdwatching in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

orca breaching

Understanding Sanctuary Soundscapes: A Q&A with Carol Bernthal and Sarah Fangman

a graphic depicting ships, animals, weather and earthquakes creating noise in the ocean

Understanding Ocean Noise Reddit "Ask Us Anything"

two people conducting research on a rocky shoreline in a tidepool

The Biology Bus: A Q&A with Nancy Foster Scholarship Alumna Dr. Nyssa Silbiger

A white mat of unknown material coats a dying sponge

NOAA scientists report mass die-off of invertebrates at East Flower Garden Bank in Gulf of Mexico

view of the bow of a ship with waves crashing over

Sentinel Sites in Action

Nautilus at sea

2016 Nautilus Expedition

whales breaching

A Noisy Ocean: A Q&A with Dr. Leila Hatch

volunteers on a beach looking at birds

Seabirds as Sentinel Indicators of Ecosystem Health

anenome and kelp forest

The State of Monterey Bay: An Interview with Dr. Jennifer Brown