NOAA's nowCOAST is a web-based tool for viewing coastal and hydrologic data. The tool provides spatially-referenced links to real-time observations and NOAA forecasts for the US seaports, estuaries, coastal ocean, Great Lakes, and rivers. Data types include tides, wave heights, weather, stream flows and water quality. Users navigate the map by selecting locations and stations, then selecting the desired ... Full description.

This site provides access to real-time oceanographic and meteorological data from approximately 70 moored buoys in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Data types include wind, air and sea temperature, precipitation, humidity, pressure, radiation, and salinity. The data can be displayed as a summary, time series, latitude/longitude, section, or 3-D animated plot. Data and graphic displays are updated every ... Full description.

The Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) is a software framework for analyzing and visualizing geoscience data sets collected by the Unidata Program. The IDV may be used to display and analyze satellite imagery, gridded data, surface observations, balloon soundings, radar data and more. Most of the data are provided in real time or near-real time. The IDV can display data anywhere on the globe with a wide ... Full description.

The NOAA Operational Model Archive and Distribution System (NOMADS), is an archive of climate model data. The web site provides access to the data repository at the National Climate Data Center. The web interface allows users to create, display, and download plots, use ftp to download parameters and files, and access the data directly from a desktop computer. The interface is easy to navigate and ... Full description.

This site from William A. Prothero features a collection of oceanography-related earth education materials. There are links to classes, teacher's resources, PowerPoint lectures, CD-ROMs, technical support and various collaborations. This site is hosted by the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara with project funding from the National Science Foundation, ... Full description.

This Flash animated slide show is an illustration of spit formation. It shows how longshore currents pass headlands, slow, and deposit entrained sediment. It also shows how river mud is deposited behind the growing spit which is eventually only covered with water during high tide. Plants begin to grow and thus stabilize the mud. Homes or tourist facilities are often built on sand spits. The user can ... Full description.

America has 95,000 miles of coastline. In this collection of images from NOAA, the user can view images of America's coasts and adjacent coastal regions. Images include early Nineteenth Century sketches and drawings and modern photographs of waves, rocky shores, sandy beaches, marshes, mangroves, seaside villages, and port cities. Full description.

This collection provides a wide array of visual resources and supporting material about the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Visualizations include simple animations, satellite photographs, Quicktime animations and tsunami models. The collection also contains visualizations related to other historical tsunamis and additional resources (beyond visualizations) about tsunamis. Resources can be ... Full description.

This site features QuickTime and Flash animations that illustrate various aspects of ocean-related activity, including normal, El Nino, and La Nina conditions, ocean plant productivity, causes of upwelling, ocean current patterns, and the origin of tides. The animations can be paused and rewound to stress important points. These resources are suitable for use in lectures, labs, or other teaching activities. ... Full description.

This web collection from the "On the Cutting Edge" workshop series will help undergraduate faculty and students use a new approach to teaching and learning oceanography. The site features the use of models, datasets and visualizations in teaching. The site features a collection of data-rich resources, example teaching activities and visualizations that illustrate oceanography topics. Materials from ... Full description.