Environmental assessment and prediction—to observe and assess the state of our environment, while protecting public safety and the United States' economic and environmental security through accurate forecasting.
Environmental stewardship—protect ocean, coastal and living marine resources while assisting their economic development.
Various forerunner organisations existed [1], but NOAA was created within Dept of Commerce in 1970 combining Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, U. S. Weather Bureau, Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Environmental Data Service, National Satellite Center, Research Libraries, among others. In 1975 GOES-1, NOAA's first owned and operated geostationary satellite was launched. In 1977 the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) deployed the first successful moored equatorial current meter - the beginning of the Tropical Atmosphere/ Ocean (TAO) array. in 1979 NOAA's first polar-orbiting environmental satellite was launched. In 1982 the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) was established. In 1983 NOAA assumed operational responsibility for LANDSAT satellite system. In 1984 the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere program (TOGA) programme began. After this, see [1].
