Computer simulations of the natural world help inform decision making and save lives. We work closely with federal, academic, and international communities to advance the state of hurricane modeling, inform sound economic investment in observing systems, and understand the impact of resource management decisions.

AOML works with our partners to describe the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle. Using ships of opportunity, we monitor carbon as it moves between the ocean and the atmosphere. We also look at the impact of increasing amounts of carbon in the ocean, which causes ocean acidification.

We fly into storms to directly observe the processes that drive intensity change, employ new technology such as ocean gliders and unmanned aircraft to observe where humans cannot safely go, and get these observations into our evolving and improving hurricane models like the Hurricane Weather Research Forecast (HWRF) model to help NOAA provide the best forecasts possible.

AOML leverages data from its ocean observing systems to examine  patterns of change in ocean features and how these patterns of change can explain, and even predict, severe weather events such as hurricanes. We also study how the ocean can influence seasonal patterns such as extreme temperatures and drought.

AOML designs, optimizes, and maintains key ocean observing systems with global partners to monitor ocean currents and other properties. We study how ocean changes affect climate and marine ecosystems and build on the current state of knowledge by maintaining valuable, long-term datasets of ocean changes over time to improve earth system predictions.

AOML takes an ecosystem-based approach to describing how the physical, chemical, and human environment is connected to and influences marine species. We consider impacts and relationships to coastal systems such as coral reefs and economically important fish stocks managed by our NOAA and state partners, so that they can best manage resources.