Photo: William Zhang//Unsplash
In June 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it was receiving $3.3 billion in funding as part of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. NOAA’s plans for the money covered a comprehensive list of programs and initiatives, ranging from things like a $600,000 grant program calling on citizen scientists to conduct independent research on climate change to massive sums aimed at preparing coastal communities for the expected impacts of climate change and more.
On Wednesday, the administration made its latest announcement addressing specific plans for part of the $3.3 billion: data gathering. To be exact, $101.5 million will be spread across most of the nation’s coastal regions in order to beef up the information gathering efforts of coastal communities.
“We are giving communities, particularly frontline and underserved communities, the tools and information they need to build resilience to devastating weather and climate disasters,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “With this $101.5 million investment, NOAA’s IOOS will be able to improve and deliver critical information and tools to help coastal communities become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.”
Ocean observations provide critical data and information that we rely on — like weather forecasts and water quality information. Maritime industries, like this aquaculture farm, need timely, high-quality ocean, coastal and Great Lakes data for informed decision making. Photo: NOAA
The $101 million will be spread across 12 different regions or programs in the U.S. and U.S. territories including Alaska, California, the Gulf of Mexico, Mid-Atlantic, the Northeast, the Northwest, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
While most regions received $5 million, the Mid-Atlantic’s $48.8 million award is largely dedicated to establishing a national headquarters, so to speak, for all of the IOOS Regional Associations. More than $43 million is being used there “to build capacity and expertise in support of ecosystem change management and place-based planning, water level and wave observation and monitoring, optimization of product development and delivery and equitable service delivery,” the administration explained on Wednesday.
“Ocean, coastal and Great Lakes data and information are vital to building coastal resilience to the impacts of climate change,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “With this historic investment, the IOOS Regional Associations will introduce transformational change by expanding the network of community partners, growing the data user community and building the capabilities needed to better serve their regions.”
