We are committed to the privacy of our visitors. We collect no personal information about you when you visit our website unless you choose to provide that information to us.
The specific practices outlined in this privacy statement apply to Web sites maintained by or on behalf of the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. Other organizations within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may have slightly different practices, though the overarching commitment to your privacy will always be the same. You are encouraged to review the privacy policies of other organizations when visiting their Web sites.
Some of our Web pages contain links to Web sites outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including those of other federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations. Please be aware that when you follow a link to another site, you are then subject to the privacy policies of the new site. Information concerning the Privacy Act can be found on the following Web site: http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference-Shelf/FOIA.shtml
Here is how we handle information about your visit. When you browse through this website, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store information such as the following concerning your visit:
- The Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a university's domain);
- Your IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our website;
- The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
- The date and time you access our site;
- The pages you visit; and
- If you linked to our website from another website, the address of that website.
We use this information to help us make our site more useful to visitors—to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use.
Information ProtectionFor site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. If such monitoring reveals evidence of possible abuse or criminal activity, such evidence may be provided to appropriate law enforcement officials. Unauthorized attempts to upload or change information on this server are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act or other law.
Information That You Voluntarily ProvideWe do not collect personally-identifiable information unless you choose to provide it to us. If you provide us with personally identifiable information, for example by sending an e-mail or by filling out a form and submitting it through our website, we use that information only to respond to your message and to help us provide you with the information and services that you request.
Submitting voluntary information constitutes your consent to the use of the information for the stated purpose. When a user clicks the "Submit" button on any of the Web forms found on our site they are indicating voluntary consent to use of the information they submit for the stated purpose. We do not collect or use information for commercial marketing.
How Information is UsedThe information we collect is used for a variety of purposes (e.g., comments on proposed rules, license applications, to respond to requests for information about our regulations and policies and to fill orders, and analyzing user logs periodically to determine the traffic through our servers, the number of pages served, and the level of demand for pages and topics of interest.). We make every effort to disclose clearly how information is used at the point where it is collected so that our users can determine for themselves whether they wish to provide the information.
All information being transmitted on any OMAO website will be protected consistent with applicable law including, but not limited to, the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Freedom of Information Act.
Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes and are scheduled for regular destruction in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration General Schedule 20.
Sharing of InformationWe may share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency. In other limited circumstances, such as responses to requests from Congress and private individuals, we may be required by law to disclose information you submit. Before you submit personally identifiable information, such as on an online form, you will be advised as to the purpose and how the information will be used.
We may also share information collected during your visit with non-federal entities, but only if your inquiry requires accessing data from that external entity. All of our sites that require such external access will be clearly identified to help you make an informed choice.
Retention of InformationElectronically submitted information is maintained and destroyed according to the principles of the Federal Records Act and the regulations and records schedules approved by the National Archives and Records Administration, and in some cases information submitted to us may become an agency record and therefore might be subject to a Freedom of Information Act request. OMAO websites do not maintain any Privacy Act System of Records as defined by the Privacy Act.
Links to Other SitesThis site may have links to the websites of other federal agencies. There may be links to private organizations, with their permission. Once you go to another site, you are subject to the privacy and security policies of the new site. It is always a good idea to read the Privacy Policy of any website that you visit.
OMAO.noaa.gov does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information contained in a linked site. We also do not endorse the organizations or individuals maintaining sites that we link to, any views they express, or any products/services they offer.
Cookies"Cookies" are small bits of text that are either used for the duration of a session ("session cookies"), or saved on a user's hard drive in order to identify that user, or information about that user, the next time the user logs on to a website ("persistent cookies"). This website uses cookies to track session information and user preferences.
This site uses Google Analytics, a tool that provides basic information about website visitors. Please note that this third party service will place a file on your computer so that it can recognize if you visit omao.noaa.gov in the future. See below for more information.
Interaction with ChildrenThis website may offer educational content to children under 13. No personally identifiable information is collected from them unless voluntarily submitted as a request for information or services. The information collected is used to respond to user inquiries or to provide services requested by our users.
Dispute ResolutionIf for some reason you believe this site has not adhered to these principles, please notify the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration OMAO Web Administrator by e-mail at webmaster.omao@noaa.gov. If our Web pages are not fully in compliance with our stated policies, they will be corrected.
Third-party Social Media ToolsThe Office of Marine & Aviation Operations maintains official pages or accounts on several third-party websites in order to better engage with the American public and promote awareness of Office of Marine & Aviation Operations activities, events, news, and information (a list of these tools is highlighted below). Your activity on those third-party sites is governed by the security and privacy policies of the third party sites. Users of third-party sites are often sharing information with the general public, user community, and/or the third-party operating the third-party site. You should review the privacy policies of third-party sites before using them and ensure that you understand how your information may be used. You should also adjust privacy settings on your account on any third-party site to match your preferences.
FacebookFacebook is a social networking website where users can connect and interact with other people. The Office of Marine & Aviation Operations Facebook page features up-to-date OMAO news and information articles. Please note that you are subject to Facebook's privacy policy when visiting our Facebook page.
InstagramInstagram is a mobile photo-sharing service. The images that we share via the Office of Marine & Aviation Operations Instagram account are copies of those that appear in the OMAO website image repository. Please note that you are subject to Instagram's privacy policy when visiting our Instagram page.
YouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing service. The videos we share on the Office of Marine & Aviation Operations YouTube Channel are copies of those that appear in the OMAO website video repository. Please note that you are subject to YouTube's privacy policy when visiting our YouTube page.
FlickrFlickr is a photo-sharing service. The images that we share on the Office of Marine & Aviation Operations Flickr page are copies of those that appear in the OMAO website image repository. Please note that you are subject to Flickr's privacy policy when visiting our Flickr page.
TwitterTwitter is a microblogging service to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of short, frequent posts. We typically tweet once or twice a week to keep you abreast of what's new in the Office of Marine & Aviation Operations. Please note that you are subject to Twitter's privacy policy when visiting our Twitter page.
Google AnalyticsThis site uses www.google.com Google Analytics, a third-party web measurement and customization technology as defined and organized by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), "Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies" (PDF, 105kb, OMB M-10-22). Google Analytics places a small file on your computer, commonly called a "cookie," so that it can recognize your computer if you visit omao.noaa.gov in the future. This cookie does not collect personal identifying information. This is considered a Tier 2 service in the OMB guidance.
Google Analytics does not collect personally identifiable information through their cookie and does not combine, match, or cross-reference omao.noaa.gov information with any other information. Please review Google's privacy policy for additional information.
Visitors who choose to disable this web measurement will still have full access to omao.noaa.gov. While the details vary from browser to browsers, most modern browsers can be set up to accept, reject, or request user intervention when a site asks to set a cookie. Google Analytics uses a cookie that begins with: _utm
Leaflet Maps / Google Earth / Google Maps / ESRI MapsMaps on this website are a combination of free-to-use Google latitude/longitude references processed by the open source Leaflet JS library code which displays free ESRI OpenStreetMap tiles.
Office of Marine & Aviation Operations data presented using ESRI maps are in the public domain from location data provided by Google. The map information and photographic imagery contain trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos, domain names, and other distinctive brand features. This does not imply an endorsement of ESRI, Leaflet, Google, Google Maps, or Google Earth products or services by the Office of Marine & Aviation Operations. Please note that you are subject to Google's privacy policy when using this service.