User:Oceanexplorer

In the United States the Office of Ocean Exploration Research (OER) is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) run under the auspices of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR).

NOAA Ocean Explorer is an educational Internet offering for all who wish to learn about, discover, and virtually explore the ocean realm. It provides public access to current information on a series of NOAA scientific and educational explorations and activities in the marine environment. The site provides a platform to follow explorations in near real-time, learn about exploration technologies, observe remote marine flora and fauna in the colorful multimedia gallery, read about NOAA’s 200-year history of ocean exploration, and discover additional NOAA resources in a virtual library.

The site offers several categories of content. In Explorations, visitors can follow a series of featured NOAA ocean expeditions that will describe a rich array of exploration activities. Projects provides information on related exploration activities and events. The Gallery contains a colorful offering of images, audio and video. The Technology section offers descriptions and photos of the various technologies used in ocean exploration. In the History pages, you can trace NOAA's 200-year history of ocean exploration and that of its forerunners. Visitors will be able to locate additional information and reference material regarding NOAA ocean exploration in the Library. The Education section provides direct access to standards-based lesson plans and professional development opportunities for educators. About Ocean Explorer provides a description of the Web site.

The site is built with contributions from a broad range of authors, including marine scientists, resource managers, educators, students, historians, artists, musicians, creative writers, policymakers, and others.

The mission of OE has four components:
 * Mapping the physical, biological, chemical and archaeological aspects of the ocean;
 * Understanding ocean dynamics at new levels to describe the complex interactions of the living ocean;
 * Developing new sensors and systems to regain U.S. leadership in ocean technology;
 * Reaching out to the public to communicate how and why unlocking the secrets of the ocean is well worth the commitment of time and resources, and to benefit current and future generations.