These data represent Seasonal Mangagement Area locations where regulations implement speed restrictions in shipping areas at certain times of the year along the coast of the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. The purpose of the regulations is to reduce the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries to endangered North Atlantic right whales that result from collisions with ships as designated by 73 FR 60173, October 10, 2008, Rules and Regulations. Sunset clause removed 78 FR 73726, December 9, 2013

These data show the location of ocean observing assets within U.S. waters, and the physical parameters generally collected at each platform or gauge.

These data represent the average monthly wind speed and direction at the surface of the ocean. Source data includes values from January 1, 1979, to December 31, 2010, at hourly temporal resolution, with a spatial resolution of 0.313 degrees latitude x 0.312 degrees longitude. Values for wind speed are in meters per second and wind direction in degrees from True North.

These data show the 17 national marine sanctuaries in the United States. The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to designate and protect areas of the marine environment with special national significance due to their conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, scientific, cultural, archeological, educational or esthetic qualities as national marine sanctuaries.

These data show the location of aquaculture operations within coastal and offshore waters of the United States. Aquaculture types may include aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and aquatic plants. Records were acquired from multiple sources, however source data was not available from all coastal states.

This dataset summarizes 2015 Ocean Economy employment statistics for the U.S. coastal states by breaking down each ocean economic indicator per each ocean sector. The dataset also provides percent employment and percent GDP by sector. This percentage is a percent of the ocean sector compared to the total Ocean Economy for each state. This information was harvested from the Economics: National Ocean Watch (ENOW) time-series data on the ocean and Great Lakes economy, derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. ENOW data measures four economic indicators: Establishments, Employment, Wages, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for six economic sectors that are dependent on the oceans and Great Lakes, including: Marine Construction, Living Resources, Offshore Mineral Extraction, Ship and Boat Building, Tourism and Recreation, and Marine Transportation.

Since 1995, PSB has been conducting line-transect aerial abundance surveys over waters ranging from North Carolina to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Nova Scotia, Canada, and from the coastline to slightly beyond the EEZ.

Regulated Navigation Areas (RNA) as outlined in 33 CFR Part 165 are established to regulate vessels and their movement within a specific area. The District Commander can issue an RNA to control vessel traffic in a place determined to have hazardous conditions. RNAs usually prescribe what type or size of vessels may enter an area or in what manner they must navigate. RNAs differ from Safety and Security Zones in two respects. First, only District Commanders are authorized to establish RNAs while Coast Guard Captains of the Port may not. Second, Safety and Security Zones are typically transitory in nature, responsive to a temporary safety or security concern on the water. They are meant to control access to an area, but they could also be used to control access based on compliance with specified temporary operating conditions within the Safety or Security Zone necessary for the purpose of the zones creation. RNAs are usually created where a more permanent solution to a safety or environmental concern is required. They principally regulate the operation of vessels permitted inside the area, but may also establish control of access to an area if necessary.

These data represent the location of Danger Zones and Restricted Areas within coastal and marine waters, as outlined by the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the Raster Navigational Charts (RNC). The CFR defines a Danger Zone as, "A defined water area (or areas) used for target practice, bombing, rocket firing or other especially hazardous operations, normally for the armed forces. The danger zones may be closed to the public on a full-time or intermittent basis, as stated in the regulations." The CFR defines a Restricted Area as, "A defined water area for the purpose of prohibiting or limiting public access to the area. Restricted areas generally provide security for Government property and/or protection to the public from the risks of damage or injury arising from the Government's use of that area." Other features in this dataset include: Danger Area, Missile Testing Area, Naval Operations Area, Prohibited Area, Restricted Airspace, Test Area, and Torpedo Testing Area. Authoritative information relating to these data may be found in Title 33, Chapter II of the CFR (Part 334).

Monthly and annual U and V vectors were summarized for 14 unique depth levels from daily means using the HYCOM and NCODA Global 1/12-degree Reanalysis. The U vector (m/s) is to the East and the V vector (m/s) is to the North. Current magnitude (m/s) was calculated using the daily U and V vectors. Descriptive statistics of mean, variance, standard deviations, minimum, and maximum were calculated for each month from the twenty years of data using the daily means (1992-2012). Mean, variance, and standard deviation was calculated for the annual summary period (1992-2012). The mean direction in degrees (with 0 = North) was calculated from the summarized U and V vector means, and represents the direction that the current is moving toward. The 1/12-degree global HYCOM+NCODA Ocean Reanalysis was funded by the U.S. Navy and the Modeling and Simulation Coordination Office. Computer time was made available by the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program. The output is publicly available at http://hycom.org.