Oceans, Space & Science News
Founded in 1995, ARGO.net covers oceans, space, water, and the wider sciences with timely news, clear explainers, statistics, and data-driven stories.
VDatum is NOAA software that converts elevation data from one reference surface, or datum, to another. The transformation allows soundings, land surveys and tidal heights to line up within a common vertical framework, which is essential where a small height difference can move a mapped shoreline by many feet. NOAA’s introduction to VDatum and coastal…
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Ocean observing data helps people describe what the sea is doing now, anticipate what it may do next and understand how it is changing over years. Measurements of currents and waves feed weather forecasts alongside records of water properties. The same data supports navigation, environmental response and search planning. The value comes from combining many…
The National Spatial Reference System is the coordinate framework that lets measurements made across the United States fit together. It defines position, height and orientation through reference stations linked with survey marks and geophysical models. Surveyors use the system so that a bridge position aligns with other work, including property records and flood maps. NOAA’s…
A Natural Resource Damage Assessment is the legal and scientific process used to determine how pollution or another harmful event injured public natural resources, then plan restoration that compensates the public. It can follow an oil spill or hazardous-substance release. Ship groundings can also trigger the process. The assessment is separate from emergency cleanup, although…
The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a U.S. network of protected coastal sites used for long-term science and monitoring, alongside education and stewardship. Each reserve pairs NOAA with a state or territorial partner, sometimes through a local institution. Together, the sites let researchers compare estuaries across regions while local teams apply the findings to…
Nature-based solutions use ecosystems or processes that resemble them to reduce hazards and solve practical problems. Along a coast, the term can describe protecting an existing marsh, rebuilding an oyster reef or placing clean sediment where a barrier island is eroding. These projects are planned infrastructure, with performance goals that can include lower waves, less…
The Mariner’s 1-2-3 Rule is a conservative way to draw a hurricane danger area on a nautical chart. A navigator adds 100 nautical miles to the forecast storm position at 24 hours, 200 miles at 48 hours and 300 miles at 72 hours, then adds the forecast radius of 34-knot winds at each point. The…
The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System, known as IOOS, is a national network that connects coastal and ocean measurements collected by many organizations. It combines data from buoys and satellites with tide-gauge records. Coastal radar, underwater vehicles and other platforms feed the same compatible services that people can find and use. Its value comes from…
GRAV-D is NOAA’s program for Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum. Its airborne surveys measured small variations in Earth’s gravity across the United States and its territories. Those data help define a more accurate national reference for height, allowing satellite positioning to produce elevations tied to the direction water naturally flows. The…
Earth’s oceans show that life can persist without sunlight and under crushing pressure. Organisms also survive inside ice or amid chemistry that would harm humans. Those habitats give astrobiologists tested examples of how organisms obtain energy and survive at environmental limits. They also help mission teams decide which measurements could reveal habitable conditions on distant…
Oceans beyond Earth probably exist on several worlds beyond Earth, although most known examples are hidden beneath ice rather than spread across a planet’s surface. Evidence points to global or regional reservoirs inside moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Ancient Mars and Venus also preserve signs that liquid water once shaped their surfaces, while some distant…
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Chemical Engineer and Editorial Contributor
Chemical engineer with experience in lab methods, GMP systems, process monitoring, and safety. Covers chemistry, health, environmental measurement, and human-centered science.
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Geology graduate with experience interpreting scientific, geological, and natural-hazard data. Covers earth systems, environmental science, GIS, and monitoring-based research.
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Public school teacher and science educator with academic training in general science and biology. Covers biology, health, science education, and foundational topics that connect classroom science with real-world discovery.
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