The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has appointed Capt. David A. Score to commander of the agency's Marine Operations Center-Atlantic in Norfolk, Va., which manages the day-to-day operations of the nine research and survey ships in NOAA's Atlantic fleet.
Each year these NOAA ships conduct dozens of missions to assess fish and marine mammal stocks, conduct coral reef research, collect seafloor data to update nautical charts, and explore the ocean.
Score, who joined the agency in 1990, was commanding officer of NOAA vessel Gordon Gunter, which conducted key research missions during the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill response, including missions to detect subsurface oil and study marine life in the Gulf of Mexico.
He replaces Rear Adm. Michael S. Devany, who served as the center's commanding officer since June 2009