NOAA in your backyard: Mid-Atlantic (2024)

State by state listings of NOAA facilities and programs
A summary of NOAA facilities, staff, programs, or activities based in, or focused on, your state or territory.

National Weather Service

School visits•Forecast office tours•Student and educator resources
The National Weather Service provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, itsterritories, adjacent waters and ocean areas.

To find your local Weather Forecast Office (WFO), visit the National Weather Service local contact page and click on your state. There will be a name, email address, and phone number for the WFO that serves your area.
Visit weather.gov and enter your zip code to find your local WFO.

National Estuarine Research Reserve System

Field trips• Professional development• Educator resources
The National Estuarine Research Reserves System protects more than 1.3 million coastal and estuarine acres in 30 reserves locatedin 24 states and Puerto Rico for purposes of long-term research, environmental monitoring, education and stewardship.

Delaware Reserve (DE) – Laurel Sullivan, Education Coordinator:Laurel.Sullivan@delaware.govor DNERRprograms@delaware.gov
Chesapeake Bay Reserve (MD) – Coreen Weilminster, Education Coordinator: cweilminster@dnr.state.md.us
Jacques Cousteau Reserve (NJ) offsite link – Kaitlin Gannon, Education Coordinator: gannon@marine.rutgers.edu
Hudson River Reserve (NY) offsite link – Chris Bowser, Education Coordinator: chris.bowser@dec.ny.gov
Chesapeake Bay Reserve (VA) offsite link – Sarah McGuire-Nuss, Education Coordinator:mcguire@vims.edu

NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

Field trips• Professional development• Educator resources
NOAA’s 14 National Marine Sanctuaries serve as the trustee for the nation’s system of marine protected areas, to conserve, protect, and enhance their biodiversity, ecological integrity, and cultural legacy.

Mallows Bay-Potomac River Sanctuary (MD) – Sammy Orlando, Chesapeake Bay Regional Coordinator: paul.orlando@noaa.gov
Monitor Sanctuary (VA) – Shannon Ricles, Education and Outreach Coordinator: shannon.ricles@noaa.gov

National Sea Grant Program

Professional development• Curriculum• Student and educator resources
Sea Grant is a nationwide network of 34 university-based programs that conduct scientific research, education, training, and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources.

Delaware Sea Grant offsite link – Christopher Petrone, Marine Education Extension Director: petrone@udel.edu
Maryland Sea Grant offsite link – Adam Frederick, Assistant Director for Education: frederic@mdsg.umd.edu
New Jersey Sea Grant offsite link – Diana Burich, Acting Director of Education & K-12 Program Coordinator: dburich@njseagrant.org
New York Sea Grant offsite link – LilliGenovesi,Long Island Sound Outreach Coordinator, NYC: lg543@cornell.edu
Pennsylvania Sea Grant offsite link – Michelle Niedermeier, Pennsylvania Sea Grant Education Lead: mxn14@psu.edu
Virginia Sea Grant offsite link – Lisa Ayers Lawrence, Marine Education Program Leader: ayers@vims.edu

NOAA Marine Debris Program

Lesson plans and curricula• Stewardship projects• Media library
The NOAA Marine Debris Program envisions the global ocean and its coasts free from the impacts of marine debris.

Mid-Atlantic Office – Katie Morgan, Regional Coordinator:katie.morgan@noaa.gov

NOAA Fisheries

Student opportunities• Laboratory facilities•NOAA scientists• Educator resources
The NOAA Fisheries Service is dedicated to the stewardship of living marine resources through science-based conservation and management, and the promotion of healthy ecosystems. They have regional offices and several smaller field offices.

Chesapeake Bay Office (Annapolis, MD) – Bart Merrick, Education Coordinator: bart.merrick@noaa.gov
James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory (Sandy Hook, NJ) – Kathryn Anne Lionetti, Administrative Specialist: kathyrn.loinetti@noaa.gov
Newport News, VA Field Office – (757) 595-2692
Greater Atlantic Regional Office (Gloucester, MA) – Kate Swails, Communications, Outreach, and Education: kate.swails@noaa.gov
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (Woods Hole, MA) – Cheryl Kitts, Communications Specialist: cheryl.kitts@noaa.gov

Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)

Curriculum• Data• Multimedia
The Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) is a national-regional partnership working to provide new tools and forecasts to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect our environment.

Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) (Newark, DE) offsite link – Mar Ford, Director of Engagement & External Relations: mary@maracoos.org
MARACOOS Data Portal offsite link

Chesapeake Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program

Competitive grants for educator watershed training programs
B-WET is an environmental educator program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning in the K-12 environment.

Elise Trelegan, Education Specialist: elise.trelegan@noaa.gov

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) (Princeton, NJ)

Tours• Student internships on climate modeling
Scientists at GFDL develop and use mathematical models and computer simulations to improve our understanding and prediction of the behavior of the atmosphere, the oceans, and climate.

Maria Setzer, Lead for Communications and Outreach: maria.setzer@noaa.gov

Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS) (College Park, MD) offsite link

Student opportunities•ClimateBits videos• Blogs• Undergraduate education
CICS-MD performs collaborative research aimed at enhancing NOAA’s ability to use satellite observations and Earth System models to advance the national climate mission, including monitoring, understanding, predicting and communicating information on climate variability and change.

Debra Baker, CISESS Coordinator: dbaker@essic.umd.edu

National Ocean Science Bowl (NOSB) offsite link

Regional competitions in the ocean sciences
NOTE: The NOSB national office will not host a national finals competition in 2023-24 or 2024-25. Some regional offices will be hosting competitions. Please reach out to contacts below for more details.
The NOSB is a national high school academic competition with regional competitions for student teams to test their knowledge of the marine sciences including biology, chemistry, physics, and geology.

Chesapeake Bay Bowl (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA) offsite link – David Christopher, Regional Coordinator: dmchrist@udel.edu
Bay Scallop Bowl (NY) offsite link – Lori Tsuruda, Regional Coordinator: Lori@pmd.org;Ltsuruda@gmail.com
Shore Bowl (NJ, PA) offsite link – Lori Tsuruda, Regional Coordinator:Lori@pmd.org;Ltsuruda@gmail.com
Blue Crab Bowl (VA) – Regional Co-coordinators: Bethanny Smith: bsmith@vims.eduand Bill Dunn: wdunn@odu.edu

Local NOAA vessels

Follow current science off the Atlantic coast

NOAA Teacher at Sea offsite link (follow teacher blogs onboard the ships)
Marine Operations Center-Atlantic Fleet (Norfolk, VA) – Commanding Officer, Marine Operations Center - Atlantic:co.moc.atlantic@noaa.gov
NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson (Norfolk, VA) – CDR Matthew Jaskoski: co.thomas.jefferson@noaa.gov

Historical and real-time data

Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center
Baltimore/Washington regional climate data
Local tide predictions interactive map
Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS) environmental observations, forecasts and other geospatial information
- Chesapeake Bay North
- Chesapeake Bay South
- Delaware River and Bay
Mid-Atlantic graphical weather forecasts
Chesapeake Bay sea nettle forecast map
Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS)
Real-time Atlantic data offsite link
NWS Blacksburg fire weather briefing page

Local historical weather events and data

NOAA Science on a Sphere® (SOS) locations

Earth systems data projected on a six-foot globe
SOS is a room-sized, global display system that uses computers and video projectors to display data onto a six foot diameter sphere, analogous to a giant animated globe. It was developed by researchers at NOAA to help illustrate complex environmental processes in a captivating way.