Like
strings of pearls, there are hundreds of islands, atolls, and rocks
strung across the tropical regions of the World Ocean. Many of these
are among the great islands and archipelagoes of the Earth such as
the major islands of the Hawaiian and Philippine Islands; others are
mere rocks which are the last remnants of once great volcanic islands;
and others are patches of sand with a few trees and bushes here and
there. NOAA and its ancestor agencies have worked on and amongst many
of these islands charting azure seas, observing and protecting the
marine birds and mammals who make their homes in these sometimes remote
areas, studying pristine reefs in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands,
and even monitoring changes in our atmosphere such as at Mauna Loa,
the largest mountain on Earth. Join the scientists, sailors, and surveyors
of NOAA and its ancestor agencies as they visit and work on many of
the tropical islands of our planet...
