Background When algae grows rapidly and excessively, it is called a “bloom.” Algal blooms can produce toxins invisible to the naked eye. These blooms are harmful because the highly potent toxins of some algae species can cause direct harm to people, animals, fish, and ecosystems. They can also cause indirect harm, such as when blooms decompose and remove oxygen from the water (hypoxia), suffocating fish and other aquatic life. HABs can occur not only in freshwater, but in marine ecosystems as well.  HAB toxins can contaminate drinking water, cause skin and respiratory irritation, and even lead to illness or death…

NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center recently signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Fishtechy, Inc.—a small business that helps anglers accurately measure the size of their catch—to develop the Fishtechy app for commercial and recreational anglers.

Did you know that U.S. companies can license and commercialize NOAA technologies, bringing cutting-edge solutions to the marketplace? Some technologies currently available can help to combat a particularly noxious scourge - Harmful Algal Blooms.

NOAA Office of Marine Sanctuaries and Aqua Satellite Inc. have signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) to develop and use uncrewed systems to explore NOAA marine sanctuaries to optimize collection of ocean data.

When federal researchers and staff create or invent something, they also create intellectual property (IP). As with all federal employees and agencies, NOAA staff are required to report all IP created during the course of their employment through a process called invention disclosure.

On The Triple Point podcast, TPO Technology Transfer Program Manager, Wayne MacKenzie, discusses his career trajectory and his history in the Weather Service, and shared information about NOAA’s public-private partnerships and research to commercialization efforts.

Parikha Mehta has spent the last four months focused on the intersection of intellectual property and climate and environmental technologies while on an employee exchange (known as a detail) at NOAA from the U.S Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Her goal: Help researchers understand the importance of protecting their inventions so that NOAA’s research and technology can better serve the public and inspire future innovation.

Using a converted Cold War-era bomber, NOAA's chemical sciences laboratory is working to decode the makeup of our stratosphere.

The new instrument is smaller, lighter and much more sensitive to low concentrations of nitrogen oxides. NOAA scientist Andrew Rollins was awarded a U.S. Patent for his innovative design in August 2022.

The NOAA Technology Partnerships Office seeks to hire an Applied Technology Program Specialist, The Specialist will encourage the timely disclosure of innovative technologies by NOAA labs; oversee intellectual property protections and technology transfer; develop strategic partnerships between NOAA and industry, academia, other government agencies, and the general public; manage licensing agreements; and perform statistical analysis of technology transfer and cooperative research and development activity. Applications will be accepted through February 13.  For Federal applicants, see this USAJOBS posting for full job description and application instructions:https://www.usajobs.gov/job/702801100#summary For non-Federal applicants, see this USAJOBS posting for full job description and application instructions:https://www.usajobs.gov/job/702801400#hiring-paths Note:…

A NOAA-led team of scientists will be recognized at this year’s 2022 Governor’s Awards for High Impact Research event on December 14 in Denver, Colorado. The event is sponsored by CO-LABS and will honor NOAA and CIRES award recipients for both the Pathfinder Partnership and Technology Transfer award categories. The Technology Transfer Award recognizes research that resulted in a technological solution with widespread and measurable societal use, with related impact on a global challenge or issue. This year’s recipients developed a first-of-a-kind Whole Atmosphere Model and Ionosphere Plasmasphere Electrodynamics Model (WAM-IPE), which allows forecasters to provide better information to the public about…

As part of the ongoing Tonga Eruption Seabed Mapping Project a team of scientists conducted a deep-water survey to better understand impacts of the January 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption on the ocean environment.

When a volcano in the South Pacific Ocean erupted in January 2022, NOAA researchers were well-equipped to study the multi-hazard event by sky and by sea. Key technologies and strategic partnerships made it possible for NOAA to issue warnings that saved lives around the world, while also collecting scientific data that will improve forecasting models and disaster response for future events.

NOAA laboratories regularly partner with private sector companies to conduct work that is mutually beneficial and helps to accomplish the NOAA mission.

A record number of NOAA Cooperative Research and Development Agreements in 2021 has generated scientific and economic benefits Research partnerships are increasingly important as scientists work to address complex global problems like coastal resilience, food security, and climate change.

NOAA PMEL researchers sent ocean drones to the U.S. Arctic to test their remote navigation capabilities close to ice and to collect data on Arctic weather, climate, and ecosystems. The saildrones were equipped to observe oceanic and atmospheric variables that are needed to estimate air-sea fluxes of heat, momentum, and carbon dioxide. Comparing Saildrone data to data obtained through existing collection methods allowed researchers to identify ways to improve ice navigation in the future.

POPS is a low-cost, high-sensitivity alternative to traditional aerosol measurement technologies. For many people, hiking is a peaceful escape from everyday stressors. For Dr. Ping Chen, CEO of Handix Scientific Inc., hiking was a starting point of his success. In 2015, he met NOAA inventor and research physicist, Dr. Ru-Shan Gao, on a trail in Boulder, Colorado. As they walked, Gao proudly spoke about NOAA’s recently-developed Portable Optical Particle Spectrometer (POPS) for aerosol measurement. Chen immediately realized the technology’s tremendous potential and expressed interest in licensing and commercializing the technology with a firm belief that POPS was going to be a…

Device could help protect threatened ecosystems and aid fishing communities The Challenge Over the last 20 years, invasive lionfish populations have dramatically increased throughout the western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. Lionfish have already caused a decline in native species that have significant ecological, cultural, and commercial value. Further impacts on coral reefs and other important ecosystems are anticipated, but not yet fully understood. Fortunately, as the threat of lionfish has intensified, so too have the levels of awareness and concern among not just scientists and fishers, but among members of the public. In recent years, state-sponsored…

Mayday.ai applies artificial intelligence to NOAA satellite imagery to detect natural disasters, starting with wildfires Story originally published on Environmental News Network In 2017, as Kian Mirshahi watched wildfires rage across his home state of California, he wondered if there might be a way to get real-time information to first responders and citizens to help coordinate actions on the ground. More specifically, he wondered if Artificial Intelligence, or AI, might provide a key to faster decision-making. Fortunately, NOAA had recently rolled out two major developments, which provided the fuel for Mirshahi’s innovative drive. In 2016 and 2018, NOAA launched two…