The NOAA collection spans centuries of time and much of the natural
world from the center of the Earth to the surface of the Sun.
NOAA is descended from the oldest physical science agencies in the
United States Federal Government including the Coast Survey (1807),
Weather Service (1870) and Fish Commission (1871).
The NOAA of today carries on the work begun by these agencies under
the auspices of the National Ocean
Service, the National Weather
Service, the National Marine
Fisheries Service, the Office
of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and the
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.
Because of this broad base of scientific expertise and the geographic
range under which NOAA science and observations are conducted, the
NOAA collection includes thousands of weather and space images, hundreds
of images of our shores and coastal seas, and thousands of marine
species images ranging from the great whales to the most minute plankton.
The geographic range of NOAA work encompasses polar region to polar
region and much of the World's oceans. On any given day NOAA personnel
could be chasing tornadoes, flying into hurricanes, battling stormy
seas, tagging turtles and whales, taking scientific readings at the
South Pole, monitoring the health of coral reefs, or engaging in virtually
any task that can be thought of related to monitoring our environment
and the health of our planet.
Restrictions for Using NOAA Images
Most NOAA photos and slides are in the public domain and CANNOT be copyrighted.
There is no fee for downloading any images on the NOAA Photo Library. Educational use is encouraged as the primary goal of the NOAA Photo Library is to help all understand our oceans and atmosphere so as to be better stewards of our environment for future generations.
A few photos in the NOAA Photo Library that are known to have copyright restrictions are so noted in the caption information associated with those images.
Credit MUST be given to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce. Where a photographer is noted, please credit the photographer and his/her affiliated organization as well.
Downloading Images
If you wish to download an image, click below the image caption on High Resolution Photo. This will download a high resolution "jpg" image that can be saved by rightclicking your mouse for printing or manipulation within a graphics software program.
