National Ocean Service Program Offices

NOAAs National Ocean Service is composed of eight program offices. Summary information for each of these offices is provided below.

Program Offices

Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services
Looking for information on tides? The Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, also known as “CO-OPS,” is where you want to head. CO-OPS and its predecessors have gathered tide information along our nation's coasts for over 200 years.
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
Science provides the foundation for making wise decisions about the use of our ocean and coastal resources. At the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, scientists are conducting and supporting the research, monitoring, and assessment needed to help manage coastal ecosystems and society’s use of them.
National Geodetic Survey
While we may tend to think of the Earth as a round, smooth globe, in reality its shape and surface are quite complex. This complexity provides challenges when trying to determine the latitude, longitude, or elevation of a point on the Earth's surface. Figuring all of this out is part of the science of geodesy. At the National Ocean Service, geodesy is the business of the National Geodetic Survey.
Office for Coastal Management
The Office for Coastal Management helps communities adapt to a changing coast with the delivery of data, tools, and training in the Digital Coast, and through the National Coastal Zone Management Program, the National Estuarine Research Reserves, the Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the National Coastal Resilience Fund. This office builds resilience and ecosystem health with these activities and investments, and grows the next generation of coastal leaders through its fellowship programs.
Office of Coast Survey
The Office of Coast Survey (OCS) is the nation's nautical chart maker. OCS collects, manages, and compiles the data and information necessary to maintain the national suite of more than 1,000 nautical charts.
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Did you know that around the U.S., there is a network of marine sanctuaries designed to preserve and protect some of our nation’s most valuable underwater places? Managed by the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the national marine sanctuary system includes 13 sanctuaries and one national monument.
Office of Response and Restoration
When oil and chemicals are released into the environment, they are not only unsightly—they are also harmful to us and to other living things. Within NOAA, the Office of Response and Restoration is tasked with providing the science and information needed to support the U.S. Coast Guard during spills and in coordinating with federal, state, and tribal natural resource trustees to restore coastal resources damaged by those spills.
U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System
When it comes to monitoring our nation’s ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes, the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (U.S. IOOS^®) plays a key role. Composed of partners from federal, regional, private sector, and academic organizations, IOOS is a network of tools to track, predict, manage, adapt, and respond to changes in our marine environment in order to protect lives, property, and the environment.

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National Ocean Service Program Offices

Program Offices

Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services

National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

National Geodetic Survey

Office for Coastal Management

Office of Coast Survey

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Office of Response and Restoration

U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System

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Last updated:

06/16/24

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