In fiscal year 2013, NOAA awarded $27.2 million to sustain critical ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes observing efforts and support innovative marine sensor technologies. Funding for the awards, provided through IOOS, other federal agencies, and NOAA programs, will "sustain those observations and speed the transition of promising new technologies into the ocean, where they can serve our coastal communities day in and day out," says IOOS Director Zdenka Willis.