NOAA - Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R)

websites -

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/
Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) The Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) is focused on developing new approaches to spill response and restoration in marine and estuarine environments through research and synthesis of information. [leaves OR&R site]

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http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/
DARRP is a NOAA multi-office effort involving the Damage Assessment Center, Office of General Counsel for Natural Resources, and Restoration Center. OR&R's Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) is responsible for assessing the impact to NOAA trust resources from releases of oil and hazardous materials to achieve the goal of restoration. DAC staff determines what resources have been injured and lost to the public, and identifies resources that should be restored.

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NOAA’s Oil Spill Response Effort in the Gulf of Mexico

As the nation’s leading scientific resource for oil spills, NOAA has been on the scene of the BP spill from the start, providing coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations.

We have mobilized experts from across the agency to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico’s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish and other endangered marine life.

NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S. Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally:

* NOAA is predicting the oil spill’s trajectory and the path of the layers of oil floating on the surface. OR&R experts are conducting aerial surveys to update trajectory maps and visually track the movement of the spill.
* NOAA’s National Weather Service is providing regular weather forecasts to a joint federal command center in Louisiana to facilitate operations planning and response efforts.
* Experienced marine mammal spotters from NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center are participating in surveillance flights flown by the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations to assess the species and populations that may come in contact with the spill.
* NOAA also is using experimental satellite data from our Satellite Analysis Branch to survey the extent of spill-related marine pollution.

As a major partner in the federal response to this evolving incident, NOAA will continue to provide the necessary coastal and marine expertise required for sound, timely decision-making and help protect the affected Gulf Coast communities and coastal marine environment.

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Responding to Oil Spills
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic.php?RECORD_KEY%28subtopics%29=subtopic_id&subtopic_id(subtopics)=8

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Serving Communities
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_catalog.php?RECORD_KEY%28topics_chosen%29=topic_id&topic_id(topics_chosen)=3

Working with communities, OR&R addresses critical local and regional coastal challenges.

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Inspiring Students and Teachers Information and activities for students and teachers who'd like to learn more about oil spills or hazardous chemical accidents.
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Helping Revitalize Communities Working locally to help communities revitalize waterfronts through environmental remediation and restoration.
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Supporting Local and Regional Decision-Making Working to support community decisions that promote sustainable uses of coastal resources.
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Featured Publications about Serving Communities Pages on our site that provide access to publications containing scientific information, field guides, and other material.
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Featured Web Portals to sites about Serving Communities Pages on our site that provide information about and access to Web sites of closely-related agencies and programs.