NOAA News Releases
NOTICE TO NOAA CONTRACTORS
NOTICE TO NOAA CONTRACTORS
October 1, 2025
MEMORANDUM FOR: NOAA Contractors
FROM: Rafael Rivera, Acting Director
SUBJECT: Contract Performance and a Lapse in Appropriations
A lapse in federal appropriations has occurred, which has affected the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce. NOAA operations, including operations performed under contract, have been limited to excepted activities. Access to Government facilities and resources, including equipment and systems, will be limited and personnel necessary to administer contract performance may not be available.
NOAA contracts and purchase orders are authorized to continue to the extent that they are not affected by the lapse in appropriations.
Generally, supply and service contracts that are funded beyond the date of the lapse in appropriation and do not require access to Government facilities, active administration by Government personnel or the use of government resources in a manner that would cause the government to incur additional obligations during the lapse in appropriation may continue.
If a delivery date for a contract falls during the period of a lapse in appropriations, Government personnel may not be available to receive delivery. Contractors will be directed to consult with a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) or Contracting Officer before attempting to make a delivery. Contracts with unexercised options and contracts that are partially funded contain self-limiting terms and conditions that prohibit performance of unfunded work.
Some contracts require access to Government facilities, resources, or require the active participation of Government personnel. These contracts include those for “excepted” and “non-excepted” activities and will likely require individual attention. We are working to communicate directly with each of these contractors. However, there are a large number, and we may not be able to act on each one before attention is needed. Therefore, please communicate with a COR or Contracting Officer or if you believe you have a contract that may require access to Government facilities, resources, or active administration by Government personnel to enable performance during a lapse in appropriations and for information about “excepted” and “non-excepted” status.
If your contract requires access to Government facilities, resources, or active administration by Government personnel, and is determined “excepted,” you will be granted access to facilities through a list maintained by Government security personnel. If you have questions, please contact one of the Contracting Officers provided in Attachment A (below) who will be available during the lapse in appropriations.
Attachment A: AGO Excepted Employee List - Updated 10/2025
Name
Email Address
Primary Phone Number
Satellites
Brooke Bernold
301-276-1583
Sarah McKim (I)
301-367-5101
Keith Long
301-835-9321
MaryAnn Orellana (I)
240-694-5047
Sally Bockh
301-518-1961
Trang Tran (I)
410-567-3332
Suzanna Espinoza (I)
347-816-8208
Weather
Jennifer Roesner
757-613-4229
Chad Hepp (I)
303-578-0397
Jennifer Hildebrandt
757-297-1609
Noah Nielsen (I)
206-526-6034
Tim Wampler (I)
757-441-6563
Dorothy Curling (I)
757-317-0655
Joseph Greene (I)
206-305-5206
IT and HPC
Michael Conroy
808-228-2130
Jeremy Johnson
703-364-8554
Justin Scurlock
816-274-1407
David Marks
301.628.1407
Kyia Fletcher
301-628-1365
Eric Olmstead
301.628.1427
Ships and Aircraft
Dawn Dabney (I)
757-274-4779
Jana Kolb (I)
757-567-6042
Andrew Northcutt (I)
757-506-9690
Ashley Perry (I)
757-506-9548
Fisheries
Sarah Waugh (I)
206-495-2016
Matthew Cogossi (I)
303-548-4374
Aakanksha Bhargava (I)
202-923-5700
Oceans
Stacy Dohse
757-506-6633
Emily Clark
757-613-4210
Heather Coleman (I)
757-483-1508
Atmospheric Research
Molly Tovado (I)
303-578-2646
Facilities
Tania Gates (I)
301-452-5080
Small Purchase
Casey Keating (I)
303-578-2579
Cooperative Institutes
Timothy Carrigan (I)
301-448-6643
Raishan Adams (I)
301-835-9268
Brandi Franklin (I)
301-683-0496
Purchase Card
Jeffrey Hale (I)
301-233-2757
Carla Robison (I)
816-823-1856
Acquisition Systems
Heather Saunders (I)
330-402-5272
Brian Davids (I)
301-628-1340
Administration and Oversight
Rafael Rivera
301-518-0266
Adam Basch (I)
202-617-7666
Binita Sharma (I)
301.835.9341
Meghan Grimes (I)
301-628-1439
Brittany Gibson (I)
202-294-7524
John Sharkey (I)
424-236-0551
shutdown Acquisition & Grants 0 OffHollings undergraduate scholarship application is open
Hollings undergraduate scholarship application is open
NOAA undergraduate scholars complete 10-week summer internship projects that span NOAA's mission. (Image credit: NOAA Office of Education)
Download Image October 1, 2025Applications for the Hollings undergraduate scholarships will close on January 31, 2026.
Education Office of Education 0 OffOnce Upon a Kilobyte: A Brief History of the National Oceanographic Data Center
Once Upon a Kilobyte: A Brief History of the National Oceanographic Data Center
NOAA Heritage Deep Dive:
An in-depth look back at the National Oceanographic Data Center.This story was originally published on NOAA's 200th Anniversary website in 2007.
An in-depth look back at the National Oceanographic Data Center.This story was originally published on NOAA's 200th Anniversary website in 2007.
The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) maintains, updates, and provides access to marine environmental and ecosystem data and information. Collected data include physical, biological, and chemical measurements derived from in situ oceanographic observations and satellite remote sensing of the oceans. This information is used to monitor global environmental changes.
From rudimentary water sampling equipment and techniques to modern-day satellite surveillance, from kilobytes of data to terabytes per day, we have studied our seas. Despite advances to date, we are only just beginning to understand this "last frontier."
The NODC Coastal Water Temperature Guide presents water temperatures and climatological averages for U.S. coastal areas based on observations from NOAA tide stations and National Data Buoy Center buoys. (Image credit: NOAA)Download ImageSince 1960, the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) has been charged with archiving global physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic data. These long-term historical observations have played heavily in environmental impact studies, global climate change studies, and validation of ocean data collected via satellites. Once primarily of national economic and security importance, such data are of increasing interest to the general public. For example, the NODC "Beach Temperature" site is the Center's most popular Web offering and increased hurricane activity over the last few years has increased the interest of "armchair" scientists in surface ocean temperatures.
This article traces the origins of the NODC, telling the story of how we came to be, some of the initial obstacles encountered, and how we got our feet wet without drowning in the data.
A Growing Need for Oceanographic DataThere has always been a curiosity, and certainly a need, to know about our water planet. Between 1872 and 1876, the H.M.S. Challenger undertook the first major attempt to gather systematic global ocean data. Coastal and Gulf Stream data were already being routinely collected by various government agencies by then, and it was becoming obvious that understanding our marine environment, both locally and globally, was in our national best interest. During World War II, the threat of enemy submarines made the need for subsurface water temperatures and salinities critically obvious, as better knowledge of these factors meant better detection capabilities.
The H.M.S. Challenger preparing to sound, 1872. (Image credit: NOAA)Download ImageThe U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries was also increasingly interested in catch statistics and in how the physical parameters of our coastal waters affected economically important species. The loss of the Titanic taught us that we needed to have better data on icebergs.
By the mid-1950s, calls were being sounded for a central repository for these various collections of data, thus leading to the efforts that would eventually result in the birth of the National Oceanographic Data Center.
Public InterestAlthough there was a definite need for oceanographic data for national economic and security reasons, use of such data has increasingly become important to the average citizen. By the early 1900s, Americans began having more free time and more disposable income. Questions such as "I am going to be taking part in a long-distance swim next weekend...will I need a wetsuit?" became increasingly commonplace.
Vacations at the beach and ocean swimming were suddenly very much "in vogue." In 1916, a series of shark attacks along the New Jersey coast sent cries to "do something!" reverberating all the way to Congress and the White House. Unfortunately, knowledge of sharks, especially in U.S. waters, was sorely lacking. Even if such data had existed, there was no central place to look for the information.
Today, the rush to coastal beaches for summer holiday or to the islands for a winter break have many people looking up the water temperatures they are likely to encounter. Recreational sailors, divers, and fishermen want to know about currents and water temperatures to more effectively enjoy their sport. Having these data available in a single location benefits our country and our society in ways we may never have imagined 200, 100, or even 50 years ago.
A Movement to Create a Central RepositoryUntil the advent of satellites, the gathering of most marine data depended upon scientists going out into the field and collecting measurements. All of the great scientific expeditions of the early 20th century, while providing much more data than ever before, still provided only a snapshot of a planet whose surface is covered by more than 70 percent water.
This snapshot was also very fragmented because there was no central repository for collected data. There was no one place for researchers to go to see what data had already been collected and where data were incomplete. No single location existed for researchers to share and compare data.
Getting StartedIn 1954, Dr. Oscar Elton Sette, of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, attended the second annual Eastern Pacific Oceanic Conference (EPOC). It was at this conference that Dr. Sette first put forth the call to establish a central location for storage and dissemination of oceanographic data. It was another five years before that suggestion was acted upon.
O. E. Sette, Director of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Laboratory in 1929, examining larval mackerel. (Image credit: NOAA)Download ImageIn April of 1959, the National Academy of Sciences Coordinating Committee established a Working Group on Oceanography. This group recommended that "a National Oceanographic Data Center be established at the U.S. Navy Oceanographic Office in Suitland, Maryland. That this center be financed, administered, and policies of operations determined jointly by the Navy, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries."
Legislative ActionLater that year, Senator Magnuson (D-WA) sponsored a bill proposing the "establishment of a national oceanographic records center to assemble, prepare, and disseminate all scientific and technical oceanographic and closely related data..." The bill also recommended formal international cooperation in the marine sciences and suggested the center be created within the Department of Commerce.
A bill was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives in May 1960 to "establish within the...Coast and Geodetic Survey a National Oceanographic Data Center...The function of the [NODC] shall be to acquire, assemble, process, and disseminate all scientific and technological and oceanographic and related environmental data, including but not limited to physical, biological, fisheries, hydrographic and coastal survey, meteorological, climatological, and geophysical data."
The NODC Is Born The original NODC logo, displayed over a variety of exhibits during the official NODC dedication ceremony, reflects the various agencies that contributed to this new organization. (Image credit: NOAA)Download ImageNeither of these bills were acted upon or passed into law; however, the Interagency Committee on Oceanography submitted similar recommendations to the Federal Council for Science and Technology. On December 23, the NODC was officially established with an interagency charter signed by the Navy, the Departments of Interior and Commerce, the National Science Foundation, and the Atomic Energy Commission. The deed was done!
Data SharingAlthough a national data repository was endorsed by such prestigious organizations as the EPOC and the National Academy of Sciences, there was considerable trepidation among individual scientists. There was a prevailing "every scientist for him or herself" attitude that precluded much data sharing. Lack of standardization was part of the reason; scrambling for funding was another. Scientists tended to trust only their data, and they were not thrilled with the idea of using conglomerated data from a government entity. Convincing scientists to submit and share their data for the common good was a challenge that needed to be overcome.
Lack of standardization on any front became rapidly apparent. Scientists were not consistent with one another in how the data were collected, what units data were recorded in, or what media were used. The fledgling Data Center was now faced with photographs, coding sheets, punch cards, publications, log sheets, strip charts, glass slides, magnetic tapes, etc. Wave and ocean current data arrived in a variety of codes and from a wide spectrum of recording instruments. Ice data submissions arrived as digital data, as descriptive information, and as photographs taken from a variety of angles. The challenge was to digitally store these various data, and somehow be able to retrieve them as needed.
NODC Advisory Board meeting, September 8, 1970. Included in the photo are Dr. Thomas Austin, NODC Director, and Annette Farral, both seated to the right. (Image credit: NOAA)Download ImageFortunately, the NODC Charter also established an Advisory Board to "afford...an effective means of formulating, expressing, and transmitting joint policy and technical direction to the said Data Center." This Board included one member from each of the sponsoring governmental agencies and two non-voting members from the National Academy of Sciences.
With the help of this Advisory Board and members of the oceanographic community at large, standardized data formats were created for a variety of data. Computer processing was developing rapidly. Soon it was much easier to share and compare data collected by various scientists and programs. Over time, it became obvious that commonly shared data was cost-effective and a time saver. And, as marine research became more sophisticated, a hard truth slowly dawned on researchers: their independent disciplines of biology, chemistry, meteorology, etc., were all interrelated. Having access to a variety of data collected by experts in other fields which was quality controlled was actually good!
Now, scientists thought, if only we could get ships to every spot in the ocean, multiple times, and if only computers could store unlimited amounts of data...
Oceanographic Data Management Today "C'mon in - the water's fine!" As more and more Americans enjoy the recreational opportunities available along our coasts, interest in the holdings of the NODC have grown. (Image credit: Mary B. Hollinger)Download ImageIn a few short decades, early dreams of data that covers the globe and is stored in easy-access computer systems is a reality. Digital data storage is no longer an issue. Satellites are providing unprecedented coverage, not just of weather, but of sea surface temperatures, ocean waves, and even the shape of the ocean bottom. The historical in situ data archived by the NODC has proven invaluable in calibrating and verifying satellite data. These long-term data collections are critical to studies of climate change. NODC Beach Temperature tables gather information from NOAA buoys and tide stations, to help people plan their recreational activities. We have come a long way from the Challenger days!
Contributed by Mary Hollinger, NOAA's National Environmental, Satellite, Data, and Information Service
Works ConsultedAbram, R. (1997). National Oceanographic Data Center: 35 Years of Oceanographic Data Management, Science, and Services. Internal Publication.
Cuzon du Rest, R. (1996). History of NODC. NODC unpublished manuscript.
NODC. (1961). Annual Reports of the NODC (beginning with November 1960–June 1961). Washington, DC.
NODC. (1969). Introduction to the National Oceanographic Data Center brochure. Publication G-1. General Series 1969.
Ocean & Coasts HeritageDiving into ghost shark systematics: My summer as a NOAA Hollings Scholar
Diving into ghost shark systematics: My summer as a NOAA Hollings Scholar
An undetermined ghost shark species observed during a 2016 ROV exploration of the Mariana Trench. (Image credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research)
Download Image September 30, 2025Northeastern University student Lei Curtis reflects on their Hollings internship experience with the National Systematics Laboratory.
Education 0 OffLessons from gulls: My experience creating a collaborative research program for seabird colony monitoring
Lessons from gulls: My experience creating a collaborative research program for seabird colony monitoring
Claire on the research vessel doing disturbance monitoring and population plot surveys at one of the research sites, Gull Island, a remote island only accessible by boat where one of the kittiwake colonies is located. (Image credit: Claire Labuda)
Download Image September 30, 2025My name is Claire Labuda, and I am currently majoring in fish, wildlife, and conservation biology at Colorado State University. For my Hollings internship under the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, I created a disturbance monitoring program for Black-legged Kittiwake colonies at Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Kittiwakes are an important indicator species, as their health reflects the health of nearshore fish populations which are of high economic and sustenance value for coastal communities. I spent the summer creating my own research protocol and program to quantify human and predator disturbance levels at the three colonies at the reserve. I then paired this data with reproductive success and breeding behavior between sites to better understand what may be causing differences between colonies, and how human impact plays a role. This data will serve as an important baseline, as now the reserve can continue this monitoring program every year to track how increased industrialization and changing environmental patterns will be affecting the colonies. I also aimed to get the community involved by developing citizen science opportunities within the research program.
This internship has given me invaluable hands-on research experience. I learned the trials and errors of being the first person to create a research program from the ground up. I learned the importance of collaboration and seeking input from experts in the field, as I had the opportunity to work with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) biologists that gave me insight on how to create my protocol. And, I learned how to develop and promote my own community outreach initiatives and the best practices to invest a community in local research. After undergoing this internship, I hope to apply what I’ve learned by continuing researching seabirds while creating community-based conservation practices.
Claire Labuda, 2024 Hollings scholarClaire is a class of 2024 Hollings scholar and is majoring in fish, wildlife, and conservation biology at Colorado State University.
Education Office of Education Hollings Scholarship Scholar blog Internship line office: NOS Science communication piece 2025 interns Project summary Takeover Tuesday 1 OffReflections on my internship experience: Piloting data collection to empower sustainable aquaculture
Reflections on my internship experience: Piloting data collection to empower sustainable aquaculture
A thick-horned nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis) with eggs resting on a piece of seaweed. Ruby saw several nudibranch species on the oyster cages the team pulled, but this one was "by far" Ruby's favorite.
Download Image September 30, 2025Hello! My name is Ruby Kresge. I’m an undergraduate at the University of Alaska Southeast majoring in fisheries and ocean sciences and a 2024 Hollings scholar. This summer, I had the opportunity to help pilot data collection methods for a bivalve aquaculture nutrient removal calculator in Puget Sound during my internship at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington.
When bivalves like oysters, clams, and geoducks are harvested at commercial farms, the nutrients stored in these shellfish are removed too. In many environments, nutrient removal is an ecosystem service since surplus nutrients can lead to harmful algal blooms, dead zones, or other negative environmental effects. Eventually, this calculator will allow shellfish growers to quantify how much nitrogen and phosphorus they’re removing at harvest. In addition to helping farmers navigate the permitting process, we can combine this tool with existing nutrient concentration data from different regions to determine if removing nutrients has a positive, negative, or neutral ecosystem impact at a particular farm site.
Ruby holding two of the Pacific oysters (Crassostera gigas) we collected for sampling. Many of these oysters were held together by biofouling organisms like sea cucumbers, scallops, chitons, barnacles, and mussels.(Image credit: Ruby Kresge)Download ImageTo collect some of our Pacific oyster (Crassostera gigas) samples, we traveled to the Northwest Fisheries Research Station in Manchester, Washington. These oysters were the largest we sampled all summer, with one being 11 inches long! The cage the oysters were growing in was covered in biofouling, and we were able to see a ton of marine species up close and personal. As a mollusc enthusiast, my favorite were the thick-horned nudibranchs (Hermissenda crassicornis). They were so colorful and graceful! Getting to see all of these critters firsthand was a great reminder of how diverse our marine ecosystems are. It’s exciting to know that my efforts this summer have helped lay the groundwork for a tool that will assist shellfish growers in sustainably developing the bivalve aquaculture industry while also protecting these vital marine habitats.
Ruby Kresge, 2024 Hollings scholarRuby is a class of 2024 Hollings scholar and is majoring in fisheries and ocean sciences at the University of Alaska Southeast.
Education Office of Education Hollings Scholarship Scholar blog Internship line office: NOAA Fisheries Science communication piece 2025 interns Project summary Takeover Tuesday 1 OffInto the unknown: My internship studying the ecology of Trena Lake
Into the unknown: My internship studying the ecology of Trena Lake
Amy (left) and Nyrobi Whitfield collecting bathymetric data at their research site, Trena Lake. Prior to their work this summer, no known ecological research has been conducted at the lake, so every survey they conducted was full of surprises! (Image credit: Amy Deatherage)
Download Image September 30, 2025Hi everyone! My name is Amy Deatherage, and I’m an EPP scholar studying global environmental science at the University of Hawai?i at M?noa. This summer, I interned at the Kasitsna Bay Lab in Seldovia, Alaska, which is a laboratory under the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS).
My research project this summer was on the Trena Lake Complex — a local water body in Seldovia whose ecology has never been researched before. While Trena Lake used to be fully freshwater, following the 1964 Alaska earthquake, regional land subsidence of around two meters caused a tidal connection to the bay during high tides.
Throughout the summer, we conducted many kinds of field surveys in Trena Lake, including both oceanographic surveys and biological surveys. From plankton tows to beach seines to crab traps, every survey we conducted at the lake was super exciting because we never knew what to expect! For example, after we analyzed data from oceanographic moorings that we deployed in the lake, we learned that Trena Lake is much saltier than we expected, with salinity comparable to the ocean. We also learned that Trena Lake has some regionally unique and surprising organisms, such as bubble snails. It also seems that Trena Lake may also be a nursery for herring - not only did we find adult herrings in our beach seines, but we also found herring eggs throughout the lake, both along the lake’s shores and in the middle of the lake!
Amy and Nyrobi doing a beach seine at their research site, Trena Lake. Their summer internship projects were each about the unique ecology of Trena Lake, a freshwater lake turned tidal lagoon located in Seldovia, AK.(Image credit: Amy Deatherage)Download ImageLife at the Kasitsna Bay Lab was amazing. From conducting exciting field research, to caring for and learning about the touch tank creatures housed in the wet lab, to meeting and learning from graduate students and other scientists staying at the lab, I am so grateful for all the fantastic opportunities and experiences I had this summer.
Amy Deatherage, 2024 EPP scholarAmy is a class of 2024 EPP scholar and is studying global environmental science at the University of Hawai?i at M?noa.
Education Office of Education EPP/MSI Scholar blog Internship line office: NOS Science communication piece 2025 interns Project summary Takeover Tuesday 1 OffYou are what you eat! My internship studying Atlantic cod and striped bass diets in New Hampshire
You are what you eat! My internship studying Atlantic cod and striped bass diets in New Hampshire
Clara (left) and grad student Sidney Axtell performing gastric lavage on an Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Stomach contents were then recorded in whirl packs and analyzed back in the lab to understand what Atlantic cod are eating in New Hampshire waters.
Download Image September 30, 2025Hello! My name is Clara Oxford and I am a marine science major at Eckerd College! This summer I had the opportunity of working at the NOAA Office of Coastal Management with NOAA affiliates University of New Hampshire and the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GBNERR) for my Hollings internship. For my project, I was looking at the diets of Atlantic cod and striped bass found in New Hampshire coastal waters. Both Atlantic cod and striped bass are popular and important fish species in the Gulf of Maine that are seeing declines in populations. Tracking the diets of these fish therefore could help us understand declining populations and inform management decisions.
So how would we actually look at the diets of these fish? We can do this by using gastric lavage, a non-lethal flushing of the stomach with seawater. In casual terms, we ultimately make the fish throw up what they’ve eaten so we can analyze what’s been consumed. Don’t worry, this is completely safe and does not harm the fish.
Previous Slider Item Stomach contents from an Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) after gastric lavage was performed on the commercial fishing boat. Contents include fish parts, unidentified fish, and a comb jelly. Contents will be place in a whirl pack and analyzed back in the lab.(Image credit: Clara Oxford)Download Image Stomach contents from an Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) being groups to the lowest taxonomic groups before being weighed back in the lab. Stomach content groups include, Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), rock, unidentified fish parts, unidentified fish.(Image credit: Clara Oxford)Download Image Stomach contents from a striped bass (Morone saxatilis) after gastric lavage was performed on the boat. Four large squid and remaining squid parts flushed out of stomach. This was the first time large squid were found in the striped bass stomachs.(Image credit: Clara Oxford)Download Image Next Slider ItemOnce we collect the stomach contents, we analyze them back in the lab by sorting them into categories. The goal is to sort the contents into the lowest identifiable taxonomic group. Just like humans, diet can inform us about energy gain. Seeing what type of food these fish are consuming can help understand their energetics and growth. For example, seeing more fish in the diet would imply they are consuming more energetically dense food, which allows for growth and reproduction.
In the upcoming months, the University of New Hampshire fish and movement ecology lab will begin using bomb calorimetry to determine the exact energy gain from prey items. Overall, when looking at diet composition it is critical to use multiple metrics of biodiversity to further our understanding.
Clara Oxford, 2024 Hollings scholarClara is a class of 2024 Hollings scholar and a marine science major at Eckerd College.
Education Office of Education Hollings Scholarship Scholar blog Internship line office: NOS Science communication piece 2025 interns Project summary Takeover Tuesday 1 OffWhat’s the charge? My internship researching black carbon aerosols in Boulder
What’s the charge? My internship researching black carbon aerosols in Boulder
Megan with the NOAA twin otter aircraft in the hanger before an air quality research mission. (Image credit: Megan Neumann)
Download Image September 30, 2025Hi! I’m Megan Neumann and I study meteorology, chemistry, and physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. I spent my summer Hollings internship working at the NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory in the Atmospheric Composition and Chemical Processes group.
My research was on the electrical charge of black carbon aerosol, with specific focus on the differences between charged and neutral particles. Understanding the charge of aerosols is important because it can impact how they behave in the atmosphere, including how well the aerosols attract condensation of water vapor and what chemical processes they take part in.
I spent most of my summer working in the lab, sampling aerosols and carrying out exciting experiments! I had the amazing opportunity to work with a variety of equipment and instruments throughout my internship, expanding my knowledge of aerosol research techniques.
Living and working in Boulder is an outstanding experience for an early-career atmospheric scientist. With so many research centers along the front range of the Rockies, it’s simple to make valuable connections across many research subjects and disciplines!
Megan Neumann, 2024 Hollings scholarMegan is a class of 2024 Hollings scholar and is studying meteorology, chemistry, and physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Education Office of Education Hollings Scholarship Scholar blog Internship line office: NOAA Research Science communication piece 2025 interns Project summary Takeover Tuesday 1 OffNOAA-supported expedition to explore deep waters of Cook Islands
NOAA-supported expedition to explore deep waters of Cook Islands
During the NOAA-supported Deep-Sea Habitats of the Cooks Islands Expedition on Exploration Vessel Nautilus, scientists will use Ocean Exploration Trust’s remotely operated vehicle Hercules, seen here, to explore sites on the Manihiki Plateau. (Image credit: Image courtesy of Ocean Exploration Trust)
September 29, 2025 Research ocean exploration expeditions Deep dives 0 Off