NOAA will receive funds to build a new laboratory building in Beaufort, North Carolina after structural damage forced the closure of the original, 62-year old building. The previous structure housed the majority of the lab space on campus, as well as offices for about half of the lab’s staff.
The new laboratory space will allow NOAA to continue its mission of providing state of the art research and resource management tools in coastal North Carolina and across the United States. The new laboratory building will be built above the floodplain and designed to withstand future storm and flooding events. In the meantime, NOAA has been busy updating and renovating other campus buildings to accommodate staff and operations displaced by the closure of the original building. These renovations include new staging space for uncrewed systems (such as Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and drones), a renovated dive locker for SCUBA equipment, a new greenhouse for research on marine organisms, and additional administrative office spaces, temporary laboratory spaces and improved infrastructure.
These comprehensive upgrades and temporary solutions ensure that NOAA will maintain its critical research and service delivery while building a foundation for greater resilience and innovation in the future.
Established in 1899, the Beaufort Lab is the nation’s second-oldest federal marine science laboratory, predating NOAA by over 70 years. Its unique location offers unrivaled access to the most diverse coastal habitats of any NOAA facility, situated just miles from ecosystems that represent the entire U.S. East Coast’s biodiversity, the country’s second-largest estuary, and the Gulf Stream. The new laboratory space will allow NOAA to continue and expand our research and services nationwide encompassing:
- Researching, monitoring, and forecasting harmful algal blooms
- Deploying uncrewed systems for underwater habitat mapping and coral restoration
- Serving as a research hub to effectively manage fisheries and inform conservation of marine resources for South Atlantic fisheries management
- Evaluating the performance of natural infrastructure for coastal protection
- Managing the Rachel Carson National Estuarine Research Reserve and providing opportunities for education, research, and compatible traditional uses
Learn more about the NOAA Beaufort Lab here.
