Labs & Programs - NOAA Research

Research Labs

The NOAA Research Laboratories conduct an integrated program of research, technology development, and services to improve the understanding of Earth's atmosphere, oceans and inland waters, and to describe and predict changes occurring to them. The laboratories and their field stations are located across the country and around the world.

Program Offices

Located in NOAA Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, our six Program Offices select, fund, and manage high-priority, competitive research that includes assessments, decision support, outreach, education, and capacity building activities. These offices also support and foster collaboration within NOAA’s labs and across the environmental science community to advance understanding of the Earth system and foster the application of this knowledge in risk management and resilience efforts.

Cooperative Institutes

The NOAA Cooperative Institutes are academic and non-profit research institutions that demonstrate the highest level of performance and conduct research that supports NOAA’s Mission Goals and Strategic Plan. Many of the Cooperative Institutes are collocated with NOAA research laboratories, creating a strong, long-term collaboration between scientists in the laboratories and in the universities.

Results-Driven Research Networks

As the primary research and development organization within NOAA, NOAA Research explores the Earth and atmosphere from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean.

We enable better forecasts, earlier warnings for natural disasters, and a greater understanding of the Earth providing unbiased science to manage the environment better, nationally and globally.

Our role within NOAA is to provide products and services that describe and predict changes in the environment. Research results allow decision makers to make effective judgments in order to prevent the loss of human life and conserve and manage natural resources while maintaining a strong economy.

We have an internal network of labs, programs and offices to manage and conduct research. We also have several formal partnerships with Cooperative Institutes to enhance our research capabilities.