The U.S. Government is closed. This site will not be updated; however NOAA websites and social media channels necessary to protect lives and property will be maintained. To learn more, visit www.commerce.gov. For the latest forecast and critical weather information, visit www.weather.gov. 

The U.S. government is closed. This site will not be updated; however, NOAA websites and social media channels necessary to protect lives and property will be maintained. To learn more, visit commerce.gov. 

For the latest forecasts and critical weather information, visit weather.gov.

Monitoring Elephant Island in Alaska

large, arching rock with one wide side and one thin side.Can you see the ‘elephant’? NCCOS researchers at Kasitsna Bay Lab in Alaska spent the week scrambling through the intertidal surveying invertebrates and algae for the Gulf Watch Alaska long-term monitoring program. The program was started as a response to the 1989 Exxon Valez oil spill, and has provided valuable baseline data on coastal habitats across Alaska. This particular Gulf Watch site is called Elephant Island because of the distinctive pachyderm-like shape of the rocks. Can you see it now?