DECEMBER 30, 2015 -- Another year has gone by, and we've stayed plenty busy: responding to a leaking California pipeline.

Examining the issue of wrecked and abandoned ships.

Preparing a natural resource damage assessment and restoration plan for the Gulf of Mexico.

Removing 32,201 pounds of marine debris from Hawaii's Midway Atoll.

You can read more about what we accomplished in the last year, but keep in mind we have big goals for 2016 too. We're aiming to:

1. Be better models. This spring, we are planning to release an overhaul of our signature oil spill trajectory forecasting (GNOME) and oil weathering (ADIOS) models, which will be combined into one tool and available via an online interface for the first time.
2. Tidy up. Our coasts, that is. In the next year, we will oversee marine debris removal projects in 17 states and territories, empowering groups to clean up coastal areas of everything from plastics to abandoned fishing gear.
3. Use or lose. Nature and wildlife offer a lot of benefits to people, and we make use of them in a number of ways, ranging from recreational fishing to birdwatching to deep-seated cultural beliefs. In 2016 we'll examine what we lose when nature and wildlife get harmed from pollution and how we calculate and make up for those losses.
4. Get real. About plastic in the ocean, that is. We'll be turning our eye toward the issue of plastic in the ocean, how it gets there, what its effects are, and what we can do to keep it out of the ocean.
5. Explore more. We'll be releasing an expanded, national version of our DIVER data management tool, which currently holds only Deepwater Horizon data for the Gulf of Mexico, allowing us and our partners to better explore and analyze ocean and coastal data from around the country.
6. Get artistic. Through our NOAA Marine Debris Program, we are funding projects to create art from ocean trash to raise awareness of the issue and keep marine debris off our coasts and out of our ocean.
7. Break ground on restoration. Finalizing the draft comprehensive restoration plan for the Gulf of Mexico, following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, will bring us one step closer to breaking ground on many restoration projects over the next several years.
8. App to it. We are working on turning CAMEO Chemicals, our popular database of hazardous chemicals, into an application (app) for mobile devices, making access to critical information about thousands of potentially dangerous chemicals easier than ever.
9. Train up. We pride ourselves on providing top-notch training opportunities, and in 2016, we already have Science of Oil Spill classes planned in Mobile, Alabama, and Ann Arbor, Michigan (with more to come). Plus, we've introduced a brand-new Science of Chemical Releases class, designed to provide information and tools to better manage and plan for responses to chemical incidents.
10. Get strategic. We are updating our five year strategic plan, aligning it with NOAA's Ocean Service strategic priorities [PDF], which are coastal resilience (preparedness, response, and recovery), coastal intelligence, and place-based conservation.