NOAA: Making Waves

How does the National Ocean Service help Santa on his journey around the country? Tune in to this special holiday edition to find out.

What does the National Ocean Service have to do with your Thanksgiving dinner? We bring you the answer in this special holiday edition of Making Waves.

Harmful algal blooms. They're called HABs for short. Heard of them? If you live in a coastal area or near the Great Lakes, chances are you have, but you may know them by the more popular name 'red tide.' HABs are caused by microscopic algae -- tiny plants in the ocean -- that grow out of control. As they bloom, they produce powerful toxins that kill fish and make shellfish dangerous to eat. In this episode, we take a look at three stories about how NOAA is addressing this serious problem.

Join us for a talk with one of the key people behind 'WaterLife: Where the River Meets the Sea,' NOAA's first major foray into the world of educational gaming.

In recognition of World Maritime Day, celebrated in the U.S. on Oct. 16, we're joined by the director of NOAA's Coast Survey to talk about nautical charts and the maritime transportation system. Want to know what nautical charts have to do with Thomas Jefferson, mine sweepers, and the stuff you buy in a big box store? Just how big are some of the ships plying our waterways these days? What effect might rising sea levels have on the future of shipping? Find out in this special edition of Making Waves.

Could a deadly toxic chemical produced by Euglena Sanguinea, a type of algae known for well over a century -- algae that you may have even seen before under a microscope in your High School biology class -- someday be used to treat cancer?

Battle of the Atlantic Expedition:

NOAA leads an underwater archeology project to find World War II shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina.

New Gulf Marine Sanctuary Report:

A new report finds that the coral reefs in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary are doing quite well, but are at risk of future threats.

A High Tide Mystery off the Atlantic Coast:

NOAA's Tides and Currents office is investigating the causes behind an unusually high tide in June that stretched from Maine to Florida.

nowCOAST:

An online interactive map from NOAA's Office of Coast Survey provides an amazing amount of near real-time weather forecasts and ocean surface observations for all of the U.S.

Texas Wetlands Restoration Project Completed:

NOAA's Damage Assessment, Remediation and Restoration Program just completed shepherding a major coastal restoration project -- over 2,500 acres of wetlands -- near Port Arthur, Texas.

In this episode, we head north to Kachemak Bay, Alaska, for Hydropalooza 2009. No, this isn't a rock concert on the water, and you can't get a T-shirt, but for the people up in Alaska taking part in Hydropalooza this month, it's like a festival--a festival of data collection in the Bay.

2009 Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Size Measured:

The size of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is slightly smaller than expected this year, but it's still going to be severe.

NOAA Funding Helps Manage New England Red Tide:

NOAA provides emergency funding to support sampling, mapping, and forecasting of a massive red tide in New England.