Purpose and Function
NOAA plays several specific roles in society, the benefits of which extend beyond the US economy and into the larger global community:
- A Supplier of Environmental Information Products. NOAA supplies information to its customers and partners pertaining to the state of the oceans and the atmosphere. This is clearly manifest in the production of weather warnings and forecasts through the National Weather Service, but NOAA's information products extend to climate, ecosystems, and commerce as well.
- A Provider of Environmental Stewardship Services. NOAA is also the steward of U.S. coastal and marine environments. In coordination with federal, state, local, tribal, and international authorities, NOAA manages the use of these environments, regulating fisheries and marine sanctuaries as well as protecting threatened and endangered marine species.
- A Leader in Applied Scientific Research. NOAA is intended to be a source of accurate and objective scientific information in the four particular areas of national and global importance identified above: ecosystems, climate, weather and water, and commerce and transportation.
Recognizing that it is essential that we understand the challenges that we face as part of the Earth system in order to create appropriate solutions, NOAA conducts an end-to-end sequence of activities, beginning with scientific discovery and resulting in a number of critical environmental services and products. The five "fundamental activities" are:
- Monitoring and observing Earth systems with instruments and data collection networks.
- Understanding and describing Earth systems through research and analysis of that data.
- Assessing and predicting the changes of these systems over time.
- Engaging, advising, and informing the public and partner organizations with important information.
- Managing resources for the betterment of society, economy and environment.
Read more about this topic: National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration
Famous quotes containing the words purpose and, purpose and/or function:
“I think the worst thing this nation could do for humanity would be to leave any uncertainty as to our will, our purpose and our capacity to carry out our purpose.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)
“I beg to assure you that I have never written you, or spoken to you, in greater kindness or feeling than now, nor with a fuller purpose to sustain you, so far as in my most anxious judgement, I consistently can. But you must act.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“It is the function of vice to keep virtue within reasonable bounds.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)