earth system monitor · lion in crop losses (riebsame et al. 1991). agri-culturally important areas...

U.S. DEPARTMENTOF COMMERCE

National Oceanicand AtmosphericAdministration

Vol. 8, No. 4 ● June 1998

EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

A guide toNOAA's data and

informationservices

INSIDE

3News briefs

7An overview of theNOAA/NESDIS dataprocessing systems

and derived productsfor NOAA-KLM

12Project Access:

Community coastalmonitoring for Year

2007

15Data productsand services

DE

PA

RTMENT OF COMMERC

E

★ ★

UN

ITEDSTATES OF AMER

ICA

▲ Figure 1. Annual rainfall for western New Mexico reconstructed from tree-ring chronologies (Grissino-Mayer 1996). When the most severe drought of the 20th century (1950s) is evaluated in the context of thelast 2,000 years, it is clear that a number of droughts have occurred in the past that have exceeded theseverity and duration of the 1950s drought. Most notable is the >30 year drought that occurred in the lastpart of the 16th century.

– continued on page 2

New database of North Americanpaleodrought

Joint project of NGDC, NCDC, and the university research community

Connie A. Woodhouse, Edward P. Gille, andJonathan T. Overpeck1

National Geophysical Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS

Thomas R. Karl and Nathaniel B. Guttman2

National Climatic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS

Drought is one of the most devastating cli-mate-related hazards that impacts societies. Al-though drought is a naturally-occurringphenomenon throughout most parts of theworld, the effects of drought on water resourcesand agricultural production have tremendousrepercussions on the physical, economic, social,and political elements of our society, and rankwith the most severe hazards in terms of mon-etary losses. The drought of 1987-89, althoughnot the worst in history, was the most recent

severe drought in the U.S., resulting in $15 bil-lion in crop losses (Riebsame et al. 1991). Agri-culturally important areas such as the GreatPlains remain extremely vulnerable to drought inspite of advances in long-term weather forecast-ing and agricultural technology. Historically, thisregion has been hit hard by the disastrousdroughts of the 1930s and 1950s, and globalchange predictions suggest this area will experi-ence warmer and drier conditions with increasesin atmospheric CO2 (Overpeck et al. 1990, Rindet al. 1990, Muhs and Maat 1993, Wetherald andManabe 1995, Houghton et al. 1996, Gregory etal. 1997). Our capacity to evaluate the impacts ofdrought and plan for future droughts is basedalmost entirely on our knowledge of droughtsthat have occurred during the period of instru-mental record. The National Climatic Data Cen-

2 June 1998EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

The Earth System Monitor (ISSN 1068-2678) is published quarterly by the NOAAEnvironmental Information Services office.Questions, comments, or suggestions forarticles, as well as requests for subscrip-tions and changes of address, should bedirected to the Editor, Sheri A. Phillips.

The mailing address for the Earth SystemMonitor is:National Oceanographic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS E/OC1SSMC3, 4th Floor1315 East-West HighwaySilver Spring, MD 20910-3282

MANAGING EDITORDr. Anthony R. Picciolo

Telephone: 301-713-3281 ext.140Fax: 301-713-3302

E-mail: [email protected]

EDITORSheri Phillips



ASSOCIATE EDITORRoger Torstenson



DISCLAIMERMention in the Earth System Monitor ofcommercial companies or commercialproducts does not constitute an endorse-ment or recommendation by the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administrationor the U.S. Department of Commerce.Use for publicity or advertising purposes ofinformation published in the Earth SystemMonitor concerning proprietary productsor the tests of such products is notauthorized.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCEWilliam M. Daley, Secretary

National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration

D. James Baker,Under Secretary and Administrator

NA

TIO

NA

LO

CEA

NICAND ATMOSPHERIC

ADMIN

IST

RA

TIO

N

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMER

CE

1World Data Center-A for PaleontologyNOAA/NESDIS/NGDC325 BroadwayBoulder, Colorado 80303E-mail: [email protected]

2National Climatic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS151 Patton AvenueAsheville, N.C. 28801-5001E-mail: [email protected]

Paleodrought database, from page 1ter (NCDC) has thus played a key role inassembling and making accessible theserecords. The droughts of the 1930s and1950s are well-known for their severityand are the yardstick by which otherdroughts are currently gauged. However,instrumental records only exist for 100years or less, and do not reflect the fullrange of drought variability possible.There is evidence for even more extremedroughts over decadal to century timescales (Figure 1). For example, much ofthe present-day vegetation in the west-ern Great Plains serves to stabilize sanddunes and sheets that were deposited bywind and that have been active as re-cently as the 19th century (Overpeck1996, Forman et al.1992, Madole 1994,Muhs and Holliday 1995, Muhs et al.1996).

Historical documents, archaeologi-cal remains, tree rings, and geomorpho-logical data provide evidence for periodsof drought in the past 10,000 years thathave equaled and far exceeded the se-verity of the droughts of the 1930s and1950s. These proxy climate data demon-strate that the natural variability of cli-mate is truly larger than revealed by theinstrumental record (e.g., Figure 1, bot-tom), and also highlight the likelihoodthat future droughts more severe thanthose of the 20th century may occur inthe future. Clearly, more detailed infor-mation about the long-term record ofnatural variability of drought is needed,especially where climate and land usepractices make regions particularly vul-nerable to drought.

Increasing our knowledge of droughtvariability

The Paleoclimatology Group at theNational Geophysical Data Center(NGDC) has teamed up with scientistsat the NCDC and researchers at theLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of

Columbia University, the University ofArizona, and the University of Arkansasto create a new on-line database focusedon drought variability in NorthAmerica. The new database (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/drought.html) com-bines the perspective gained from in situinstrumental data with a network ofdrought records reconstructed from acollection of climatically-sensitive tree-ring chronologies.

At present, the drought variabilitydatabase extends back 300 years andfocuses on summer drought as reflectedby the Palmer Drought Severity Index(PDSI). Data used to calibrate the tree-ring records were obtained from 1036single-station records from the NCDC’sU.S. Historical Climatology Network(USHCN, Karl et al. 1990). The USHCNis a high-quality data set of monthlyaveraged temperature and total monthlyprecipitation records that have beenscreened for length of record, percentmissing data, number of station movesand other station changes that mayaffect the data homogeneity.

The period of record available foreach stations varies, with starting yearsranging from 1831-1913, but most be-ginning in the 1890s. This collection ofinstrumentally-based PDSI records wasinterpolated onto a 2° x 3° grid coveringthe coterminous United States (Figure2a). The tree-ring data used to reconstructPDSI at each of the 2° x 3° grid points(Figure 2a) included 425 tree-ring chro-nologies in North America, many ofwhich are available from the Interna-tional Tree-Ring Data Bank at NGDC(Figure 2b). The tree-ring chronologieswere calibrated with the griddedinstrumental drought data using apoint-by-point regression and weretested for predictive ability with inde-pendent data not used in the calibrationmodels technique (Cook et al. 1996).Details of the actual reconstructionprocess and the quality of the recon-structions can be found in Cook et al.1996 and Cook et al., in review. In gen-eral, the quality of the tree-ring recon-structions is quite good, with an averageof 55% of the variance in the instru-mental PDSI explained by the tree-ringreconstructions.

The gridded instrumental (1895-1995) and tree-ring based (1700-1978)

—continued on page 4

3June 1998 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

News briefsRetreat of the Larsen Ice Shelf

Thermal band Advanced Very HighResolution Radiometers imagery receivedat the National Snow and Ice Data Center(NSIDC) for February 15, February 26, andMarch 23 shows significant changes in theLarsen B Antarctic ice shelf. There appearsto be a retreat of about 5 km along thenorthern portion of the ice shelf front; thefront is significantly more embayed atlatitude 65.6 degrees and northward onMarch 23 image than on February 15. ByMarch 26, the retreat had continued,mostly in the northernmost 25 km of icefront.

The ice shelf area lost in this event isabout 175 to 250 square km. The shelfappears to still be connected to RobertsonIsland in the north, an important pinningpoint. NSIDC researcher Ted Scambosnotes that when taken in the context ofrecent models of the ice shelf, these im-ages may mark the beginning of the endfor Larsen B. The images are posted on theNSIDC website at http://www.nsidc.colo-rado.edu/NSIDC/LARSEN/larsenb.html.

Butterfly population extinctionrates and changes in climate

At over 160 sites from Baja Californiato British Columbia, Dr. Camille Parmesanof the University of California at SantaBarbara (UCSB) has been assessing therelationship between butterfly populationextinctions and changes in climate. Tocontrol for urban effects, Dr. Parmesanused assessments of urban land cover,based upon DMSP-OLS city lightsfrequency, that were provided by theNational Climatic Data Center (NCDC).Preliminary analysis of the urban statisticsindicates that high butterfly populationextinction rates at southern sites are notdue to subtle influences of near-by urbancenters.

WCRP/JCS task group formed onClimate and Cryosphere Project

The Joint Scientific Committee (JSC)XIX, March 16-20,1998 formally endorsedthe establishment of an ad hoc World Cli-mate Research Program (WCRP) taskgroup on climate and cryosphere to for-mulate a scientific and coordinated planfor a WCRP Climate and CryosphereProject. The appointment of the member-ship of the group was entrusted to theArctic Climate System Study (ACSYS)Scientific Steering Group (SSG). The groupshould report progress (through ACSYS)

to JSC XX in March 1999 and deliver afinal proposal for review at JSC XXI inMarch 2000 (again through ACSYS).

This action responds to a proposalsubmitted to the JSC XIX by the ACSYSSSG, deriving from recommendationsprepared by an ad hoc group of the ACSYSSSG, chaired by Roger G. Barry, NationalSnow and Ice Data Center Director, dur-ing the Sixth Session of the ACSYS SSGmeeting in Seattle in November 1997.

DoD transfers control of weathersatellites to NOAA The United States recently achieved amajor milestone in the merger of its civiland military weather satellite programs,when the U.S. Air Force transferred controlof its weather satellites to the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA). The merger was directed byPresident Clinton on May 5, 1994. Opera-tional control of the Defense Meteorologi-cal Satellite Program (DMSP) was passedfrom Air Force Space Command to NOAA,who will operate the satellites from itsSatellite Operations Control Center inSuitland, Md.

NOAA’s Suitland facility will becomethe primary location for providing func-tions associated with command and con-trol of all U.S. weather satellites, includingearly orbit checkout following launch op-erations, satellite state of health mainte-nance, and satellite sensor and payloadmanagement.

NOAA currently operates two polar-orbiting satellites, NOAA-12 and NOAA-14. NOAA-15, launched May 13, iscurrently being checked out. NOAA alsooperates the nation’s geostationaryweather satellites, GOES-8, overlookingthe East Coast and well out into the Atlan-tic Ocean, and GOES-9, overlooking theWest Coast and well out into the PacificOcean, including Hawaii. GOES-10 is cur-rently stored in orbit. With the transfer ofthe Defense satellites, NOAA also is oper-ating five DMSP satellites.

Ocean Community Conference ’98The Marine Technology Society

(MTS), the MTS Washington, DC Sectionand co-participating organizations arepleased to announce the MTS OceanCommunity Conference ’98 (OCC ’98), to

be held from November 16 to 19, 1998 atthe Baltimore Convention Center in Balti-more, Maryland.

The Marine Technology Society isfocusing OCC ’98 on ‘Celebrating 1998,the International Year of the Ocean’(YOTO). Sessions will address four themeswhich are receiving national attention aspart of YOTO: Exploration in the Sea;Energy, Transportation & Communica-tions; Sustainable Use of the CoastalOcean; and the Ocean’s Influence onWeather & Climate. For more information:ITCMS Attn: Vita Feuerstein445 Hoes Lane Piscataway, NJ 08855Call (in U.S. and Canada) 1-800-810-4333Outside U.S. and Canada: (732) 562-6826Fax: (732) 981-1203Internet: www.noaa.gov/public-affairs/MTS98.htmlE-mail: [email protected]

NOAA scientists win prestigiousresearch publication award

Three scientists from the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) have been honored by the Inter-national Association for Great Lakes Re-search for a paper they published in theJournal of Great Lakes Research. Troy L. Holcombe and Lisa A. Taylor,both of NOAA’s National GeophysicalData Center in Boulder, Colo., and DavidF. Reid of NOAA’s Great Lakes Environ-mental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor,Mich., received the award along with col-leagues John S. Warren of the CanadianHydrographic Service, and Charles E.Herdendorf of Ohio State University. The scientists received the association’sprestigious Chandler-Misener Award, whichis presented annually to the authors of thepaper judged to be most notable in theJournal of Great Lakes Research. Their paper,“Lakefloor Geomorphology of Western LakeErie,” presents a discussion of western LakeErie geology, as revealed by new bathym-etry compiled by the authors. The bathymetry and resulting paperare an outgrowth of NOAA’s Great LakesData Rescue Project, carried out atNOAA’s National Geophysical Data Cen-ter, and the Office of Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Research’s Great Lakes Environ-mental Research Laboratory. An agree-ment between NOAA and the CanadianHydrographic Service serves as the basisfor U.S. and Canadian cooperative effortsto assemble new bathymetry for the fourGreat Lakes shared by the two countries.


Paleodrought database, from page 2summer drought series form the basisfor the new NESDIS drought variabilityweb pages at NGDC. Tree-ring recon-structions of PDSI, as well as the instru-mental data for each grid point, can beexamined graphically. Both graphs andnumeric data can be downloaded. Inaddition, maps of U.S. drought patternsfor a given year can be displayed (e.g.,Figure 3). Series of maps, either for theinstrumental or tree-ring data, can alsobe viewed as multi-year animations, sothat the changes in the spatial distribu-tion of drought over time can beviewed and studied. The new NESDIS drought variabilitysite now enables an assessment of themagnitude and general spatial patternsof drought across the coterminous U.S.for each year back to 1700. The set ofdrought reconstructions has provided

information about the long-term tem-poral and spatial characteristics ofdrought. For example, an analysis ofinstrumental data suggests that thecoterminous U.S. can be split upinto nine drought regions (Karl andKoscielny, 1982). When Cook et al. (inreview) examined the spatial patternsof reconstructed drought over the lastthree centuries, they found essentiallythe same nine regions, suggesting thatthese regions have been stable overtime.

These reconstructions also enablean assessment of the severity of 20thcentury droughts in the context of thelast three centuries. When the extreme1950s drought is compared to otherdrought in the past 300 years, recon-structions suggest that a drought thatoccurred around 1820 was similar inlength, and perhaps greater in severity

and spatial extent (Cook et al., in re-view) (Figure 3). A drought of similarmagnitude and extent occurred around1860.

Another study used this set ofgridded drought reconstructions toinvestigate a bidecadal drought rhythmin the U.S. (Cook et al. 1997). Resultsindicate that the bidecadal droughtrhythm has been a feature of droughtin the western U.S. since at least 1700.Frequency domain analyses suggestthat there may be some phase-lockingbetween the extent of area experiencingdrought (as measured by a drought areaindex) and both Hale solar cycleminima and lunar tidal maxima, al-though no mechanisms have yet beenidentified.

Other types of paleoclimatic dataprovide additional information

The current NESDIS drought vari-ability website is just a beginning, andplans exist to add additional centuries-long records and information. The goalwill be to expand the geographic cover-age, sample density, and record lengthscovered. All together, the combinationof instrumental and paleoclimatic datafrom multiple sources can offer a muchmore complete picture of naturaldrought variability than offered by in-strumental data or any one proxysource alone.

Lake, alluvial, and eolian sedi-ments, tree rings, lake level changes,archaeological data, and historical ac-counts all provide evidence for periodsof great drought in the Great Plains andthe western U.S. that surpass droughtsof the 20th century and indicatechanges in the character of droughtvariability over the past 2000 years(e.g., Figure 4).

Proxy data for drought are availablethrough NGDC WDC-A for Paleoclima-tology web page (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/paleodat.html). Paleoclimaticdata containing information aboutprecipitation and drought variability atthis web site include: historical ac-counts, tree-ring chronologies, varvedlake sediments, pollen, lake level, andisotopic data.

AcknowledgmentsThanks to the individuals who helped generatethe NOAA/NESDIS North American Drought

▲ Figure 2. a) Observed climate data were interpolated from 1036 single-stationrecords to the 155 grid points shown in this figure; PDSI was then reconstructed foreach grid point. b) Locations of the tree-ring chronologies used to reconstruct PDSI.



▲ Figure 3. The top two sections of this figure contrast the spatial extent of the 1950s and 1820s droughts, here, both reconstructedfrom tree rings. The bottom graph shows the reconstructed record of PDSI for grid point 71, centered in the Texas panhandle (seeFigure 2b). Although a severe drought, the 1950s drought was at least matched in spatial extent, and likely exceeded in severity by the1820s drought. Reconstructions also show the 1860s drought to have been quite severe.


▲ Figure 4. This graph shows a record of salinity in Moon Lake, North Dakota for the past 2,000 years (Laird et al. 1996). The centu-ries after A.D. 1200 are characterized by a climate regime wetter and less drought-prone than the centuries before this time. A numberof proxy records in the western and central U.S. reflect a severe and extensive multidecadal drought at the end of the 12th centurywhich may have been the last great drought of this prolonged dry regime.

Paleodrought database, from page 4WWW pages: Edward Cook, David Meko,David Stahle, and Malcolm Cleaveland. Fordata contributions thus far, we thank HenriGrissino-Mayer and Kathleen Laird. Dr.Woodhouse’s Post-doctoral Fellowship atNGDC is funded by the National ResearchCouncil Fellowship.

ReferencesCook, E.R., D.M. Meko, D.W. Stahle, and M.K.

Cleaveland, 1996: Tree-ring reconstruc-tions of past drought across the cotermi-nous United States: tests of a regressionmethod and calibration/verification re-sults. Tree Rings, Environment, and Human-ity, J.S. Dean, D.M. Meko, and T.W.Swetnam, Eds,. Radiocarbon, Tucson, AZ,155-169.

Cook, E.R., D.M. Meko, C.W. Stockton, 1997:A new assessment of possible solar andlunar forcing of the bidecadal droughtrhythm in the western U.S. J. Climate, 10,1343-1356.

Cook, E.R., D.M. Meko, D.W. Stahle, and M.K.Cleaveland, in review: Drought recon-structions for the continental UnitedStates. J. Climate.

Forman, S.L., A.F.H. Goetz, and R.H. Yuhas,1992: Large-scale stabilized dunes on theHigh Plains of Colorado: understandingthe landscape response to Holocene cli-mates with the aid of images from space.Geology, 20, 145-148.

Gregory, J.M., J.F.B. Mitchell, and A.J. Brady,1997: Summer drought in northernmidlatitudes in a time-dependent CO2

climate experiment. J. Climate, 10, 662-686.

Grissino-Mayer, H.D, 1996: A 2129-year re-construction of precipitation for north-western New Mexico, U.S.A. Tree Rings,Environment, and Humanity, J.S. Dean,

D.M. Meko, and T.W. Swetnam, Eds.,Radiocarbon, Tucson, AZ, 191-204.

Houghton, J.T., L.G. Meira Filho, B.A. Callan-der, N. Harris, A. Kattenberg, and K.Maskell, (eds.), 1996: Climate Change1995—The Science of Climate Change:Contributions of Working Group I to theSecond Assessment Report of the Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cam-bridge University Press.

Karl, T.R. and A.J. Koscielny, 1982: Drought inthe United States: 1895-198. J Climatol.,2, 313-329.

Karl, T.R., C.N. Williams, Jr., F.T. Quinlan, andT.A. Boden, 1990: United States HistoricalClimatology Network (USHCN) Serial Tem-perature and Precipitation Data, Environ-mental Science Division, Publication No.3404, Carbon Dioxide Information andAnalysis Center, Oak Ridge National Labo-ratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 389 pp.

Laird, K.R., S.C. Fritz, K.A. Maasch, and B.F.Cumming, 1996: Greater drought inten-sity and frequency before A.D. 1200 inthe northern Great Plains, U.S.A. Nature,384, 552-554.

Madole, R., 1994: Stratigraphic evidence ofdesertification in the west-central GreatPlains within the past 1000 years. Geol-ogy, 22, 483-486.

Muhs, D.R. and P.B. Maat, 1993: The potentialresponse of eolian sands to greenhousewarming and precipitation reduction onthe Great Plains of the U.S.A. J. Arid Env.,25, 351-361.

Muhs, D.R. and V.T. Holliday, 1995: Evidenceof active dune sand on the Great Plains inthe 19th century from accounts of earlyexplorers. Quat. Res., 43, 198-208.

Muhs, D.R., T.W. Stafford, S.D. Cowherd, S.A.Mahan, R. Kihl, P.B. Maat, C.A. Bush, andJ. Nehring, 1996: Origin of the late Quater-nary dune fields of northeastern Colorado.

Geomorph., 17, 129-149.Overpeck, J. T., 1996: Warm climate surprises.

Science, 271, 1820-1821.Overpeck, J.T., D. Rind, and R. Goldberg,

1990: Climate-induced changes in forestdisturbance and vegetation. Nature, 343,51-53.

Riebsame, W.E., S.A. Changnon, and T.R. Karl,1991: Drought and Natural ResourcesManagement in the United States: Impactsand Implications of the 1987-89 Drought.Westview Press, 11-92.

Rind, D., R. Goldberg, J. Hansen, C. Rosenz-weig, and R. Ruedy, 1990: Potentialevapotranspiration and the likelihood offuture drought. J. Geophys. Res., 95,9983-10004.

Wetherald, R.T. and S. Manabe, 1995: Themechanisms of summer dryness inducedby greenhouse warming. J. Climatol., 8,3096-3108. ■


An overview of the NOAA/NESDIS data processing systemsand derived products for NOAA-KLM


Pamela M. TaylorOffice of Systems Development/Polar ProgramNOAA/NESDIS

Barbara A. BanksOffice of Satellite Data Processingand DistributionNOAA/NESDIS

NOAA/NESDIS has provided opera-tional, satellite-based, meteorologicaland environmental products since thelaunch of the first POES (Polar-orbitingOperational Environmental Satellite) inApril of 1960. In May 1998, NOAAlaunched the first spacecraft, NOAA-K,of its fifth generation of operationalpolar-orbiting satellites. This spacecraft,now designated NOAA-15, carries ad-vanced versions of the POES visible/infrared imager—the Advanced VeryHigh Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR/3), and infrared sounder—the HighResolution Infrared Radiation Sounder(HIRS/3). In addition, NOAA-15 carriestwo new microwave instruments, theAdvanced Microwave Sounding UnitsA and B (AMSU-A and AMSU-B), forproduction of improved atmospherictemperature and moisture profiles andsurface products.

The Solar Environmental Monitor-ing (SEM), Data Collection System(DCS) and Search and Rescue (SAR)packages on NOAA-K, L and M haveminor improvements related to datacontent, storage, calibration and trans-mission capabilities. These space seg-ment improvements and additions areassociated with numerous ground sys-tem upgrades required for the mostefficient processing of the NOAA-KLMdata into quality products. This paperwill overview NOAA/NESDIS’ currentenvironmental polar data processingsystems for the AVHRR and HIRS in-struments, changes to these currentsystems required for NOAA-15 process-

NOAA-KLM Instrumentation changesThe most significant change to the

NOAA-KLM AVHRR/3 is the addition ofa sixth channel (3a) at 1.6 micronswhich will be time-shared with thecurrent Channel 3 at 3.7 microns (3b).This new channel has been added toaid in improved snow and ice discrimi-nation and aerosol detection and isexpected to be used during the daylightportions of the afternoon spacecraftorbits (NOAA-L). However, limited test-ing and data collection of the 1.6 mi-cron channel will be conducted withNOAA-15 during its checkout period toaid in preparations for NOAA-L andselection of the channel switching con-figuration.

Time-sharing of Channel 3 wasselected to allow for access to this newfrequency while maintaining data for-mats. A flag will be set to identifywhich channel is selected. An addi-tional upgrade of the AVHRR/3 is thesplit gains in Channels 1, 2 and 3which increase the sensitivity at lowlight/energy levels. This increased sensi-tivity will improve snow and ice cover-age, aerosol distribution and vegetationindex products.

The NOAA-15 HIRS/3 instrumenthas several upgrades to the currentHIRS/2 on-board NOAA-14 and NOAA-12. First, the calibration sequencing haschanged to remove viewing of the coldinternal target allowing an additionalscan line of data each calibration pe-riod. Secondly, while the HIRS is usedprimarily for temperature sounding,Channel 20 has been upgraded to en-hance generation of radiation budgetproducts. And finally, the instrumenthas been improved to achieve greateroverall detector performance and lowernoise levels (Wrublewski, 1996).

NOAA-15 also carries the firstAMSU instruments dedicated to theimproved generation of temperatureand moisture profiles, particularly incloudy regions. The AMSU-A is a cross-track microwave sounder which re-places the current 4-channel MSU and3-channel SSU instruments and is com-

NOAA-15 carries new instrumentation for climatological monitoring and global weather forecasting

NOAA/NESDISOffice of Systems Development E/OSD4700 Silver Hill Rd., Stop 9909, Rm 3301Washington, DC [email protected]

ing, and the new product systems de-veloped for the AMSU-A and AMSU-Binstruments. These systems include thosenecessary for processing operational prod-ucts in the following disciplines:• cloud cover imagery;• global and local sea surface

temperatures;• aerosol distributions;• radiation budget;• atmospheric temperature and

moisture;• ozone concentrations;• the hydrological cycle (precipitation

rate, cloud liquid water, total precipi-table water), and;

• surface parameterization (sea ice,snow cover and vegetation index).

Solar products generated from the SEMand services provided by the DCS andSAR packages are not included in thisoverview.

Current status/plansNESDIS’ current operational polar -

orbiting assets include a primary after-noon orbiter, NOAA-14 (launchedDecember, 1994) and a supplementaryand back-up morning orbiter, NOAA-12(launched May, 1991). NOAA-15 wassuccessfully launched on a Titan II onMay 13, 1998 from Vandenberg AirForce Base, CA into a morning orbit(0730L) to replace the aging NOAA-12spacecraft. In 2003, the first Europeanpolar orbiter, METOP-1, will carryNOAA’s baseline set of instruments andassume fulfillment of NOAA’s morningmission (0930L).

In addition, the first NOAA-DoDconverged polar-orbiter (NPOESS) willbe launched late in the next decade andwill fulfill the afternoon mission.Therefore the orbits and plannedlaunch dates of the remaining POESsatellites are as follows in Table 1:

NOAA-L PM Dec 1999NOAA-M PM Apr 2001NOAA-N PM Dec 2003NOAA-N’ PM Jul 2007

▲ Table 1. Orbits and planned launchdates for remaining POES satellites.


NOAA-KLM products, from page 7prised of a thirteen channel AMSU-A1(temperature sensing) and two channel(window/surface) AMSU-A2 unit. Pro-cessed in conjunction with the HIRS,the AMSU-A will significantly enhancethe NESDIS temperature soundingproducts and independently allow forproduction of new surface and hydro-logical products based on experiencegained from the DMSP (Defense Meteo-rological Satellite Program) microwaveimager (SSM/I).

The AMSU-B is a five channelcross-track sounder and is the first dedi-cated microwave moisture sounder tobe flown on a NOAA polar-orbiter. Inaddition to providing high resolutionatmospheric moisture profiles, this in-strument will be used to produce pre-cipitation and surface products fromtwo window channels. NOAA-15, dueto its morning orbit, does not carry anSBUV instrument. This instrument isplanned to be on-board NOAA-L and,most likely, NOAA-M. These NOAA-KLM instrument changes have resultedin significant modifications to existingpre-processing and product generationsystems and the need to develop newproduct systems for processing of theAMSU datastreams.

Polar product processing Figure 1 is an overview of theplanned NOAA/NESDIS data and prod-uct processing systems for NOAA-KLM.Global, orbital data from each of theinstruments are merged into the space-craft datastream by the on-board pro-cessors (Manipulated Information RateProcessor [MIRP], TIROS InformationProcessor [TIP], AMSU InformationProcessor [AIP]), which is then recordedfor future playback on one of five on-board digital tape recorders (DTRs).Upon overflight, this data-stream isread out by a NOAA Command andData Acquisition (CDA) site (WallopsIsland, VA or Fairbanks, AK) and re-layed via a communications satellite tothe NESDIS Satellite Operations ControlCenter (SOCC) in Suitland, MD. TheSOCC performs quality control andinstrument health and safety monitor-ing and then transmits the datastreamto the NESDIS Central EnvironMentalSatellite Computer System (CEMSCS).

New NOAA-15 data ingestorsdecommutate the data into two Level

1A datasets; one unique for the AVHRRdata and another containing all re-maining instrument data (AIP 1A).

These 1A datasets are then pro-cessed to individual instrument Level1B* (“1B Star”) datasets which containearth-located, time-tagged instrumentcounts with calculated calibration pa-rameters appended. All new Level 1Aand 1B Pre-Processors have been devel-oped for NOAA-15. The AVHRR data-stream generates two Level 1B* datasets:the GAC (Global Area Coverage) data at4 km resolution and selected LAC/HRPT(Local Area Coverage/High ResolutionPicture Transmissions) datasets at 1 kmresolution.

The Level 1B* datasets are new forthe NOAA-KLM processing and areuncompressed data used solely by theinternal follow-on product processingsystems. A Level 1B* to Level 1B Trans-lator has been developed to provideNOAA-K 1B instrument formats, com-parable to formats from previous POESsatellites, for archive purposes and ex-ternal user access. The translation canalso be reversed to allow for any futurerequired reprocessing of the archiveddata. Changes to the AVHRR and HIRS1B* formats and the new AMSU-A andAMSU-B 1B* formats are available inthe NOAA-K Polar Orbiter Data UsersGuide (Kidwell, 1997).

After generation of the Level 1B*datasets numerous product processing

systems are initiated, as shown in Fig-ure 1. The current NOAA-12 andNOAA-14 product network is comprisedof ten product systems requiring vary-ing degrees of modifications to inter-face to and process the NOAA-KLMinstrumentation. These modificationsrange from minor upgrades (IMAGES,OCNMAP, SGRMAP, GVI, SST, AERO-SOLS, RBPGS, OOPS, IMS) to completeredevelopment (ATOVS) along with theaddition of two new systems (MSPPSand AMSUB). Upgrades to the productdistribution and archive systems arealso required.

In order to consolidate some sys-tem functions and reduce redundancy,particularly in Level 1B dataset access,two pre-product processing subsystemsare initiated each orbit. These includethe IMGMAP (Image Mapping) andMUT (Multi-Unit Tasking) subsystems.IMGMAP accesses each AVHRR GAC/HRPT/LAC 1B* dataset and applies thecalibration parameters for generation ofintermediate files containing channelalbedos and radiance/brightness tem-peratures needed for the mapped andswath imagery (IMAGES and SGRMAP),CoastWatch SST (OCNMAP) and GlobalVegetation Index (GVI) systems.

In a similar manner, the MUT ac-cesses the AVHRR GAC and HIRS Level1B* datasets, calibrates the data andgenerates full resolution orbital retriev-als of global sea surface temperatures

▲ Figure 1. NOAA-KLM polar product systems.


– continued on page 10

and aerosol distributions for their asso-ciated mapping systems (SST andAEROSOL, respectively). Both IMGMAPand MUT have been modified to readin the new Level 1B* formats and adjustfor the instrument changes in non-linear calibration (AVHRR) and addi-tional scan lines of data (HIRS). Thefollowing overviews each of the twelveNOAA-KLM product systems includingtheir data input, major processingsteps, and suite of output products.

Image Map System (IMAGES)IMAGES accesses the lower resolu-

tion (GAC - 4 km) intermediate filesfrom IMGMAP each orbit and updatesgridded images of Channel 1 and 4during the day and Channel 4 at night.These images are mapped to both polarstereographic (5.9 km) and mercator(9.8 km) [40N - 40 S] projections. Fromthis system 11.9 km resolution WEFAXproducts, 7-Day Composites and End-of-Day product files are generated. Thissystem primarily uses the afternoonspacecraft for imagery production buthas already been modified to interfaceto NOAA-15 data for immediate backupto NOAA-14 and preparation forNOAA-L.

Ocean Map (OCNMAP)OCNMAP is the CoastWatch or

Coastal Sea Surface Temperature Sys-tem. OCNMAP uses primarily the highresolution AVHRR LAC and HRPT inter-mediate datasets from IMGMAP forgeneration of local SST (1.5 km) andregional SST (4-6 km) product files forselected CoastWatch nodes. LimitedAVHRR GAC data are also used to pro-duce these products. A non-linear SSTalgorithm using channels 3b, 4, and 5is used to compute the nighttime SSTswhile the daytime algorithm uses onlychannels 4 and 5 (Sapper, 1998).

Additional parameters included onthe product file are the channel bright-ness temperatures and albedos and thecloud masks used to derive the SST. Toachieve the required coverage the highresolution data from both the after-noon and morning polar orbiters areprocessed in the CoastWatch system.This system has been modified to allowfor processing from the upgradedNOAA-15 AVHRR/3.

Stretched Gridded Products (SGRMAP)Each orbit of AVHRR GAC Level

1B* data is currently accessed directlyby the SGRMAP system. After the appli-cation of calibration parameters andgeometric corrections to the data, it ismerged with a lat/long grid and coast-line databases for production of fullorbital swaths of the 4 km data for eachof the five imagery channels.

Upgrades are underway to interfacethis system to the intermediateIMGMAP files to consolidate calibrationprocesses and for processing of the ad-ditional Channel 3a. This system pri-marily uses the afternoon spacecraft forimagery production but is being modi-fied to interface to NOAA-15 data forimmediate backup to NOAA-14 andpreparation for NOAA-L.

Global Vegetation Index (GVI)The GVI system reads the AVHRR

GAC Level 1B datasets directly for ac-cess to the daylight portions of eachorbit. Orbital maps at 16 km resolutionare generated which include counts forChannels 1 and 2, brightness tempera-tures for Channels 4 and 5 along withthe solar zenith and scan angles. Dailymaps representing the highest differ-ence between channels 1 and 2, i.e., thesimple difference vegetation index (as-sociated with clear sky conditions) dur-ing the given day are then generatedfor each 7-day period (Mon - Sun) fol-lowed by the weekly composite of eachof the above parameters.

The “Third Generation” GVI in-cludes a cloud flag based on channel 4for those retrievals remaining cloud-contaminated (Tarpley, 1998). Nonlin-ear calibration corrections are appliedto channels 4 and 5 and post launchcalibrations applied to channels 1 and2. The final set of weekly products alsoinclude Precipitable Water and Normal-ized Difference Vegetation Indices.

Due to sun angle constraints theGVI system uses only the afternoonpolar orbiter. Upgrades are planned tohave the GVI system interface to theintermediate IMGMAP files to consoli-date calibration processes and to pro-cess data from the NOAA-L AVHRRincluding the new 1.6 micron channel.

Sea Surface Temperature (SST)The global Sea Surface Temperature

(SST) system accesses the AVHRR GAC

intermediate retrieval files from theMUT along with the HIRS data forcloud-screening. Like the OCNMAPsystem, a non-linear SST algorithm us-ing channels 3b, 4, and 5 is employedto compute the nighttime SSTs whilethe daytime algorithm uses only chan-nels 4 and 5.

An 8-day observation file is up-dated every six hours and is used toproduce the following final productfiles (Sapper, 1998): a) Daily Global SSTField (100 km); b) Bi-Weekly RegionalSST Field (50 km); c) Bi-Weekly LocalSST Field (14 km); and d) MonthlyMean Field (250 km). This system pri-marily uses the afternoon spacecraft forSST production but has already beenmodified to interface to NOAA-15 datafor immediate backup to NOAA-14 andpreparation for NOAA-L.

Aerosols (AEROSOL) The AEROSOL system accesses theAVHRR GAC intermediate files fromthe MUT and generates weekly aerosoloptical thickness retrievals over theocean from Channel 1 radiances. Asingle channel algorithm, under clearsky conditions, uses a radiative transfermodel to scale the upward radiances toan aerosol optical thickness (Kidwell,1997). This system is actually embed-ded within the SST system to make useof the HIRS cloud-clearing processingand for future availability to correct thecomputed SSTs for aerosol contamina-tion (Sapper, 1998). Like the SST sys-tem, an 8-day observation file isupdated every six hours and is thenused to produce global Weekly Analysisand Monthly Mean fields, both at hori-zontal resolutions of 100 km.

Due to sun angle constraints theAEROSOL system currently uses onlythe afternoon polar orbiter. Only lim-ited (latitudinal) products would beavailable from the morning orbiter.Preparations are underway for upgradesto this system for processing of theNOAA-L AVHRR data.

Radiation Budget Product GenerationSystem (RBPGS) The current Radiation Budget Prod-uct Generation system (RBPGS) directlyaccesses both the AVHRR GAC andHIRS Level 1B datasets for generation oftop-of-atmosphere (TOA), outgoing


longwave (OLR) and short wave ab-sorbed radiation (SWAR) products. Thissuite of products is divided into day(ascending) and nighttime (descending)products and also include histograms ofboth the OLR and SWAR parameters.The output products include monthly,seasonal and annual polar stereo-graphic and linear lat/lon (2.5 degree)maps of SWAR and OLR (Sapper, 1998).

This system generates operationalproducts from both the POES afternoonand morning orbiters. Upgrades to theRBPGS system for the NOAA-KLM instru-mentation include the production capabil-ity of daily 1 degree equal area maps ofAVHRR GAC OLR and SWAR, a new HIRSOLR and associated histograms.

Ozone (OOPS) Ozone products are made from theSBUV instrument which is flown onlyon the afternoon POES satellites. TheOperational Ozone Product System(OOPS) system first accesses the TIP 1Bdataset (see Figure 1) and strips out theSBUV data to form the SBUV Level 1Bdataset. This is the only system whichgenerates its own Level 1B data fileversus production by one of theCEMSCS preprocessors. This systemalso accesses the temperature profilefiles (see ATOVS section) needed in thecalculation of the final Level (1000 to .3mb), Layer (1000 to .01 mb) and TotalOzone products contained in the Prod-uct Master File. Orbital and daily prod-ucts are generated from the nadir-viewof the instrument at a 200 km resolu-tion. A historical file is also generatedwhich contains information on thecharacterization of the instrument.

Currently, operational products arebeing generated from the NOAA-14satellite. System upgrades are plannedfor the processing of the SBUV datafrom NOAA-L.

Interactive Multi-sensor Snow and IceMapping System (IMS)

Since 1966, NOAA/NESDIS hasbeen producing a weekly NorthernHemisphere snow and ice extent prod-uct using the POES AVHRR GAC data asits primary input. Additional sourcesinclude data from the NOAA GOES,Japanese GMS and EuropeanMETEOSAT geostationary satellites.These data are used to obtain enough

clear-sky imagery over a week’s periodto manually identify the snow and icecoverage. This very manual and timeintensive procedure, along with a needto improve both the temporal and spa-tial resolution of the weekly product,has led to the development of the Inter-active Multi-sensor Snow and Ice Map-ping System (IMS) as described inRamsay, 1998.

The IMS became operational inNovember of 1997, producing a moreaccurate daily digital product at a 23km (vs. 190 km) horizontal resolution.This system allows for access, overlayand analysis of additional data sourcessuch as the DMSP SSM/I and POESAMSU snow and ice products. The addi-tion of the microwave data, which aregenerally unaffected by cloud cover,

was crucial to allow for daily productgeneration. This workstation-basedsystem has also decreased map produc-tion time from 10 hours to less thanone hour.

The IMS is currently undergoing a15-month validation period duringwhich both the weekly and daily prod-ucts will be generated, compared andvalidated over two northern hemi-sphere snow seasons. This system,while not being developed directly forNOAA-KLM, is being updated to accessthe data from the AMSU products fromthe Microwave Surface and Hydrologi-cal Product System (MSPPS) and fromthe upgraded AVHRR/3, particularly foruse of the new 1.6 micron channelwhich will improve the discriminationbetween snow and clouds.

Temperature retrieval (ATOVS) The Revised TIROS Operational Ver-tical Sounding (RTOVS) replaced the

TOVS in October 1997 for both theNOAA-14 and NOAA-11 sounding in-strument suites (the NOAA-12 HIRSdegraded beyond operational use inJune, 1997). This system’s primary in-put data are the HIRS, MSU and SSULevel 1b datasets and the first inclusionof the AVHRR data to aid in cloud de-tection. Ancillary databases of snow/icecoverage, SST, forecast temperaturefields, and daily radiosondes data arealso accessed by this system. On anorbital basis the RTOVS system pro-duces a variety of products to includechannel radiance data, temperature andHIRS-based moisture Level (40) andLayer (15) retrievals from the surface to.01 mb at a resolution of 40 km. In ad-dition, the HIRS system also produces aHIRS-based Total Ozone product alongwith cloud and radiation budget prod-ucts (Casey, 1998).

To process the new and high vol-ume AMSU data available from NOAA-15, a new Advanced TOVS (ATOVS) hasbeen developed. This system will accessthe NOAA-KLM AVHRR GAC, HIRS andAMSU-A Level 1B* datasets along withthe same ancillary databases as theRTOVS system. An upgraded processingarchitecture, along with optimizationof the AMSU data for cloudy regionswhere HIRS data is contaminated, willresult in a more efficient and accurateatmospheric profiling system.

RTOVS currently produces opera-tional products from both the after-noon and morning polar orbiters.Upon checkout of the ATOVS systemNOAA-14 data will continue to be pro-cessed by the RTOVS system whileNOAA-15 data will be processed by theATOVS system.

Microwave Surface and HydrologicalProduct System (MSPPS) A new NESDIS polar product systemhas been developed to provide a suiteof surface and hydrological productsfrom NOAA-15 and follow-on AMSU-Aand AMSU-B instruments. While theseinstruments’ “sounding” channels willallow production of advanced atmo-spheric temperature and moisture pro-files through the ATOVS and MoistureRetrieval (AMSUB) systems, they alsoinclude several microwave “imaging”channels.

After accessing the new AMSU-Aand AMSU-B Level 1B* datasets the

NOAA-KLM products, from page 9


imaging channels will be used to pro-duce initial (Day-1) Snow Cover, Sea IceConcentration, Rain Rate, Total Precipi-table Water and Cloud Liquid Waterproducts based on the AMSU-A instru-ment. Day-2 products include produc-tion of Ocean Surface Wind Speed,Snow Depth, Soil Moisture and ShelterTemperature, along with the originalDay-1 products using AMSU-B. Algo-rithm development for these productswas built upon the heritage of theDMSP SSM/I products with adjustmentsfor different instrument scanning ge-ometry (cross-track vs. conical), field ofview resolutions and channel polariza-tion (Ferraro, 1998).

These products, along with theAMSU-A and AMSU-B brightness tem-peratures, will be available in full in-strument resolution orbital files (45 and15 km nadir, respectively). In addition,the derived products will be available in1/8th mesh polar stereographic dailyand weekly mapped files.

The MSPPS system will initiallyproduce operational products fromonly NOAA-15, after an extensive vali-dation period. With the launch ofNOAA-L, and the second suite of AMSUinstruments, the MSPPS will produceoperational products from both themorning and afternoon POES satellites.

Moisture retrieval (AMSUB) The AMSUB Moisture Retrieval Sys-tem is also a new system developed forNOAA-15. The ATOVS system was origi-nally designed to provide simultaneousretrievals of both temperature and mi-crowave based moisture products buthas been separated into individual sys-tems, ATOVS and AMSUB, to ease theimplementation of the extensiveATOVS system.

The AMSUB system is largely basedon the NESDIS operational DMSP SSM/T2 system due to its efficiency, accuracyand similarity to the SSM/T2 instru-mentation. AMSUB will generate chan-nel radiances, fifteen Level MixingRatios from the surface to 300 mb,three Layer Precipitable Water valuesand a Cloud Liquid Water parameter.Initial (Day-1) products will be pro-duced orbitally at one-half, or 30 km,resolution.

Future upgrades include possiblemerging of the ATOVS and AMSUBsystems and product generation at the

full (15 km) resolution. Additional sys-tem specifications can be found inCasey, 1998. The AMSUB system willinitially produce operational productsfrom only NOAA-15, after an extensivevalidation period. With the launch ofNOAA-L, and the second suite of AMSUinstruments, AMSUB will produce op-erational products from both the morn-ing and afternoon POES satellites.

NOAA-15 check-out and validationAfter the launch of NOAA-K on

May 13, 1998 (Figure 2), NASA is con-ducting a two-month On-orbit Verifica-tion (OV) period before satellitehandover to NOAA. The OV will consistof a variety of tests to assess the perfor-mance of the numerous spacecraft sub-systems and each of the instruments. Atlaunch plus 4 months (September,1998) generation of the Level 1Bdatasets is expected to be validated fol-lowed by operational performance ofthe current AVHRR and HIRS basedsystems (IMAGES through RBPGS) atlaunch plus 6 months (November,1998). New systems of ATOVS, MSPPS,and AMSUB will undergo more exten-sive validation periods with expectedoperational performance within 12-15months after launch.

▲ Figure 2. NOAA-15 was successfully launched on May 13, 1998 into a near-polar,0730 ascending orbit, 516 miles above the earth on a U.S. Air Force Titan II rocket. Thisis the first image taken from the NOAA-15 AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radi-ometer), captured minutes after visible channels were established. Further informationmay be obtained online at: http://poes2.gsfc.nasa.gov/campaign/.

ReferencesCasey, L.W., H.J. Bloom, A.L. Reale, 1998:

Current Status and Enhancements of theAdvanced TOVS (ATOVS) Software Systemsin Preparation for Launch of NOAA-K, Pre-prints 14th IIPS, Phoenix, AZ, Amer. Me-teor. Soc., paper 3.10.

Ferraro, R., N. Grody, F. Weng, D. Moore,1998: Microwave Surface and PrecipitationProducts for the AMSU, Preprints 14th IIPS,Phoenix, AZ, Amer. Meteor. Soc., paper3.12.

Kidwell, K., NOAA Polar Orbiter Data UsersGuide, 1997.

Ramsay, B., 1998: An Overview of NOAA/NESDIS’ Interactive Multisensor Snow andIce Mapping System, Preprints 14th IIPS,Phoenix, AZ, Amer. Meteor. Soc., paper3.11.

Sapper, J., 1998: An Overview of SelectedNESDIS AVHRR-Based Product ProcessingSystems, Preprints 14th IIPS, Phoenix, AZ,Amer. Meteor. Soc., paper 3.9.

Tarpley, D., G. Gutman, S. Olson, 1998: AnOverview of the NOAA/NESDIS GlobalVegetation Product Processing System,Preprints 14th IIPS, Phoenix, AZ, Amer.Meteor. Soc., paper 3.12.

Wrublewski, T.E., 1996: Overview of Changeswith the NOAA-K Polar Environmental Satel-lite and their Effects on Users. ■


Michael CraneNODC Liaison for Southeast U.S.NOAA/NESDIS

The economic and operationalrequirements of the coastal ocean re-gime in terms of data managementhave become more focused in terms ofdetails and timeliness. Project ACCESS(Accelerated Coastal Community Envi-ronmental Science Service) is a plannedlong-term, multi-agency ocean moni-toring program that is designed to sup-port the information needs of theinfrastructure community. Near-realtime data values will be collected, pro-cessed and delivered among the partici-pants. The flow of data will bemaintained as a dynamic process froma series of underwater sites and thendistributed to the community.

Project ACCESS is being con-structed to maintain an ocean monitor-ing network which measures thefundamental parameters of ocean tem-perature, salinity, the velocity profile,turbidity, visibility, surface velocitiesand the wind field at each of the nodesof the network. A grid of nodes will bedetermined from the requirements ofthe infrastructure community that re-ceives the data from the monitoringsites and executes the mission of theorganization based in part on thesevalues.

Transmission of data from thenodes would be supported by a varietyof cables and radio transmission sites.The Internet is the path for the deliveryof the data. New nodes will be added tothe network as participants define therequirements and the means of finan-cial support. The implementation is acooperative model where a “need” ismatched with a “contribution”.

Some of the values can be usedimmediately as presented in the sce-narios above. Some will be used follow-

ing a series of analyses using data fromseveral years of data collection. Moni-tored ocean parameters would belinked directly to the needs of the in-frastructure community. The partici-pants in the project would span theFederal agencies, state agencies, localgovernmental agencies, port authori-ties, ocean operators and emergencymanagers. A roster of potential partici-pants is listed in “ACCESS Constitu-ents” (Appendix).

The geographic footprint of theprototype project is the ocean regionin south Florida which stretches fromthe shoreline to the Gulf Stream, andSebastien Inlet to Key Largo. Approxi-mately one hundred fifty miles of lin-ear coast, the region is defined interms of the coastal community andthe operational limitations. A manage-able scale is one consideration in se-lecting the prototype region.

Scenarios for the year 2007The concept of simultaneous use

by a variety of constituents is pre-sented in the following hypotheticalsituations in the year 2007: Late after-

noon in the fall an oil tanker waits forthe pilot to guide the forty-eight footdraft vessel into Port Everglades, Fla.The tank farm at the port supplies themajority of gasoline products to SouthFlorida. The wind has been blowingstronger within the hour and the pilotchecks the ocean currents at the seabuoy. The resulting vector of wind forcesand ocean current forces is used by thepilot to steer the large vessel throughthe channel.

Simultaneously, further north ofthe port is a community planningmeeting to discuss the plans for wastewater management. A projected growthof 1.5 million people in ten years re-quires a serious decision on the designof an offshore effluent site. The pres-ence of long term ocean currents helpsthe coastal engineers to move the out-fall five miles to the north and threemiles further to the east.

One week later, biologists at thecounty’s environmental resource pro-tection department review the underwa-ter photographs (Figure 1) from thedigital camera mounted near the reeftrack. The turbidity measurements are

Project ACCESS: community coastal monitoringfor Year 2007

Cooperative long-term monitoring program with links to needs of infrastructure community

NODC Southeast Liaison OfficeNOAA/AOML4301 Rickenbacker CausewayMiami, FL 33149E-mail: [email protected]

▲ Figure 1. Digital image of artificial reef off Broward County, Florida; courtesy ofNOVA Southeastern University Oceanography Department.


evaluated for sand deposition and dam-age from a ship dragging the anchorafter a storm from the previous week.

Earlier that morning, the lifeguards have issued a warming for beachrip currents based on forecasts generatedby the National Weather Service. Theforecast office used the pressure gaugedata and the temperature/salinity valuesto determine the effect of wind drivenocean levels on the beach. The U.S.Coast Guard receives a message that aboat has lost power and has a sick crewmember on board. The surface oceanvelocities are checked for the latestmeasurements of the surface back-scatterradar system in the area.

The Port of Miami has an opportu-nity to host larger vessels if the channelis dredged. The authorities and the USArmy Corps of Engineers must evaluatethe options for deepening and widen-ing the channel. One issue is the dispo-sition of the dredge spoils and benefitsof dredging. Ocean current measurementsin the region during the last five yearshave indicated the best seasonal timeframe and the stability of sand migra-tion.

The potential site is well suited forthe purpose because the site minimizesthe risk to the reef track and the otherunderwater structures such as the wastewater outfall pipeline. The dredge spoilsite is located in the former southernanchorage area. The new offshore an-chorage area was created followingwind and current measurement analyses.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineerswas able to capture a sand lens as itmigrated southward offshore and pro-vided a local source of sand for beachrenourishment. This sand lens wasmonitored with high resolution bathy-metric devises calibrated with the tem-perature and salinity measurements madenear-real time.

The summer beaches are favoritespots for local residents and touristsalike. Monitoring of ocean eddies off-shore has indicated the potential foradvection of tropical water that con-tains a large percentage of dinoflagel-lates. The acoustic doppler current metershave tracked a series of eddies and thebiologists have focused their samplingwithin the core of the eddy. Lab analy-sis determines that a significant num-ber of “red tide” species is present.

This week is the start of the sea

turtle hatching time frame and the bi-ologists use the data on the location ofthe eddies to plan the release of thehatchlings. At the same time a tug op-erator checks the ocean currents to helpmanage the fuel consumption as thebarges are steered to the channel en-trance.

Project implementation in 1998The first step is to define the com-

munity, and the infrastructure commu-nity was chosen for two reasons. Thefirst reason is the direct benefits thatwill be used immediately by oceanmonitoring, and the second is the lackof direct support historically. Potentialparticipants were contacted by phonein a preliminary survey. The initial re-sponses were reviewed in terms of theinformation needs and the level of in-terest. Categories of participants weredefined in terms of the type of infra-structure supported. Ports (Figure 2),offshore reefs, beaches, emergency re-sponse, waste water management andother types were selected as areas ofsupport.

Some of the potential participantshave sponsored ocean monitoring aspart of a permit or as a priority taskendorsed by the management of the

agency. The existing monitoring pro-grams are limited to a single site and afinite time period of measurement. As asmall-scale test platform for ProjectACCESS, the U.S. Navy established anocean monitoring plan for the SouthFlorida Test Facility in the marine wa-ters off Broward County.

The participants are separated intotwo groups - one group which wouldreceive the data and another groupwhich would generate the data. Theuser group is the larger one and is morediverse. The generating group includesNOAA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers, the Environmental ProtectionAgency, and state agencies plus theacademic institutions. In some in-stances an agency or institution may bea generator and a receiver of data.

The initial survey is only the firststep. The next step is formal generationof the requirements, and a workshop isthe most efficient method of definingthe written requirements. The format ofthe workshop would have two sections:one section where the user communitypresents its requirements and the sec-ond section with the science commu-nity to provide services for datacollection.

▲ Figure 2. Aerial view of Port Everglades, Florida; courtesy of Port EvergladesAuthority, Broward County, Florida.

- continued on page 14


Representatives of each group ofconstituents outline the needs of datafor that category of infrastructure.Many requirements overlap, and inturn one node can support the dataneeds of several constituents simulta-neously.

The efforts of the workshop wouldresult in a report on specific needs withthe associated response from the scien-tific community and the mechanism topromote further cooperation among allthe constituents. A forum for dialogueand a plan of action would follow thedialogue over time. Specific sites wouldbe identified where measurements arenow being collected and where addi-tional measurements are needed. NOAAwould provide the clearing house mis-sion for the data.

Data collection and distributionThe essential elements of the

project are the systematic collection offundamental oceanographic parametersand the dynamic distribution to theinfrastructure constituents. The work-shop would define the types of param-eters and the specific sites of interest.The next step is to provide instrumentsat the sites in the priority of fundingavailability. Not all sites in the plan canbe completed in the first year. Each sitehas a roster of devices which is neces-sary and sufficient to obtain the moni-toring values.

The radio telemetry system or thecabling system to transmit the data tothe central or regional clearing housefor the data would be located at eachsite. As each data burst is acquired, theinitial processing would be applied tothe parameter. Following the initialprocessing, the data values would thenbe captured for archival and distribu-tion. The participating members will besent a “packet” of data from each site. Aschedule of data transmission is main-tained for each constituent. As definedby the user, data will be transmitted toan FTP site.

After each site has transmitted dataand the data have been processed, thecopy of the data will be indexed at theclearing house and prepared for archi-val. At the same time an entry into thedirectory of data sets will be made onthe web page. The anticipated roster ofmonitoring parameters consists of the

following:• ocean currents measured via an

ADCP device;• ocean temperatures;• ocean salinity;• turbidity measurements;• visibility via a digital camera at reef

sites;• ocean pressure for water level deter-

mination;• surface ocean currents via a backscat-

ter radar technology; and,• wind velocities of the marine atmo-

sphere.A table will reference the roster of pa-rameters at each site, which may in-clude all or some of the parameters.Depending on the data distributionschedule, an automated transfer of datapackets will be made to the distributionlist. Data from all sites will be transmit-ted to the distribution list in order toencourage regional appreciation of theocean variability.

Using the National Data Buoy Cen-ter as a model for data transmissionand archive, the plan is to bundle thedata at each site and transmit the pro-cessed values to the National Oceano-graphic Data Center (NODC) on amonthly basis. The expertise of theNODC is essential in the long-termarchive and the service to any inter-ested party who is not a participant inthe project directly. Local resources willbe optimized to verify the validity andthe operational status of the measure-ment system. The process of document-ing and indexing will be automated topromote efficient and timely data han-dling at the front-end.

Infrastructure community use of dataAs a result of the activities of

Project ACCESS, direct observationssupporting activities would be availableto those groups that have operationalpriorities in the coastal marine waters,such as:• pilots monitoring ocean currents to

assess the drift due to water move-ment;

• waste water managers will haveinformation on the circulation ofcoastal waters (as treatment plantsemit waste water into the ocean);

• emergency managers can plan re-sponses to seasonal storms;

• waterway managers can assess dredg-ing success and select a preferred site

for dredge spoils;• the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can

modify coastal transport models toimprove the sediment transportmodels;

• tug operators can select coastal routesto improve fuel efficiency;

• reef resource managers can observeconditions on the reef directly withunderwater cameras (Figure 3);

• regional planners can select the opti-mal site for future facilities such asharbors, waste water plants, andbridges; and,

• beach and shoreline managers canassess the sources of sand to beused in beach renourishment.

Internally within the Departmentof Commerce, the program supportsthe agency mission of ocean resourceassessment. The National Weather Ser-vice will have more detailed data onocean currents and sea state to improvemarine forecasts, the National MarineFisheries Service will have environmen-tal context for fishery stock assessmentand sea turtle habitat, the NationalOcean Service will be supported in thesafe navigation mission and the marinesanctuary mandates, and the Office ofOceanic and Atmospheric Research will

▲ Figure 3. Digital image of reef trackoff Southeast Florida; courtesy of NOVASoutheastern University.


Project Access, from page 13


Data productsand services

CONTACT POINTS

National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)704-271-4800

Fax: 704-271-4876E-mail: Climate Services - [email protected] Satellite Services -

[email protected]: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/

National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC)303-497-6419

Fax: 303-497-6513E-mail: [email protected]

WWW: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/

National Oceanographic Data Center(NODC)

301-713-3277Fax: 301-713-3302

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov

NOAA Environmental Services Data Directory

301-713-0572(Gerry Barton)

Fax: 301-713-1249E-mail: [email protected]

WWW: http://www.esdim.noaa.gov/#data-products

NOAA Central LibraryReference Services:

301-713-2600Fax: 301-713-4599

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.lib.noaa.gov/

Geomagnetic data added to SPIDRThe National Geophysical Data Cen-

ter (NGDC) completed the addition of allarchived geomagnetic one-minute datafor the year 1983 to the Space PhysicsInteractive Data Resource (SPIDR) system.The addition included 26 magnetic obser-vatories from North America, Europe,Asia, and the Pacific Area for a total of369 megabytes of data. In total, geomag-netic data sampled at a one-minute inter-val for the years 1983-1997 are nowavailable in SPIDR.Contact: NGDC

NOAA/AVHRR global monthlyvegetation cover CD-ROM

A CD-ROM of the time series ofglobal monthly vegetation cover fromNOAA/AVHRR (Advanced Very High Reso-lution Radiometer) has been produced bythe National Climatic Data Center(NCDC). This new data set was devel-oped by Garik Gutman, Dan Tarpley andAleksandr Ignatov of NESDIS/Office ofResearch and Applications and SteveOlson of Research and Data Systems Cor-poration. In this version (1.0), the ThirdGeneration C-Level Monthly NormalizedDifference Vegetation Index (NDVI) datais presented for each month from April1985 through December 1997 in bothimage and digital form. Viewing is viaweb browser or Navroad, an off-linebrowser included on the CD-ROM.Contact: NCDC

National Geographic Society topublish new satellite atlas

The National Geographic Societyasked several National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration (NOAA) agenciesto cooperate in an effort to produce whatpromises to be one of the best satelliteatlases of the world. The new atlas, en-titled National Geographic Satellite Atlas ofthe World, is expected to be publishedbefore the end of this year. The atlas willfeature many colorful photographs takenby a number of satellite platforms, as wellas a comprehensive introduction summa-rizing the history and importance of re-mote sensing. A description of NOAA’scontribution to remote sensing will alsobe included. The National Climatic DataCenter (NCDC) is providing several of thesatellite images, including full disk GOES-8 and GOES-9 images.Contact: NCDC

World Ocean CirculationExperiment Data on CD-ROM

Global ocean data from a ten-year,$1 billion observation program are avail-able from the National OceanographicData Center (NODC). The World OceanCirculation Experiment (WOCE) DataProducts Committee released Version 1.0of the complete data set at the WOCEConference held in Halifax, N.S. Canadain May. The data set is being distributedby NODC on 13 CD-ROM disks and con-tains over 4.6 gigabytes of data, docu-mentation, and product graphics.

Through the participation of manycountries, organizations, institutions, andindividuals, WOCE (part of the WorldClimate Research Program), obtainedmeasurements of the oceans to providemuch-needed improvements in oceancirculation models for use in climate pre-diction.

The 13 CDs and their contents are:• Data Information Unit - overview andinventories of the WOCE data set;• Hydrographic Program Data - hydro-graphic data (CTD, bottle);• Hydrographic Program Data andProducts - hydrographic data and products;• Upper Ocean Thermal - upper oceantemperature measurements (XBTs);• Subsurface Floats - neutrally buoyantdrifting float tracks;• Surface Velocity Programme - surfacedrifting buoy tracks;• Current Meter Moorings - subsurfacemoored current meter records;• Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers -ADCPdata from underway ships;• Sea Level - hourly, daily, and monthlysea level measurements at tide stations;• Surface Meteorology (Pacific and IndianOceans) - meteorology observations;• Surface Meteorology (Atlantic and South-ern Oceans);• Surface Fluxes - air-sea flux fields; and,• Satellite - sea surface heights fromTOPEX/POSEIDON and sea surface tem-peratures from AVHRR.

WOCE Data Assembly Centers andSpecial Analysis Centers assembled datafrom WOCE principal investigators, re-viewed the data for quality, producedanalyses and products, and created theCD-ROMs. The CDs are designed to beread with a web browser, and containdata, inventories, and documentation.More WOCE data is planned for release asit becomes available.Contact: NODC

Summit Ice Core data availableThe data from the Greenland Summit

Ice Cores are now online and will soon beavailable on CD-ROM. The ice corerecords from the U.S. Greenland Ice SheetProject Two and the European GreenlandIce Core Project represent a data set con-taining some of the highest resolutionpaleoclimate data ever obtained. Compi-lation of these data was a collaborativeeffort involving a multi-institutional teamfrom the World Data Center A for Paleo-climatology at the National GeophysicalData Center (NGDC), the National Snowand Ice Data Center at the University ofColorado, and the University of ColoradoInstitute of Arctic and Alpine Research.The data are available at: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/icecore/greenland/summit/index.html.Contact: NGDC


Address C

orrection Requested

OFFIC

IAL BU

SINESS

Penalty for Private Use $300

40

U.S. D

EPA

RT

MEN

T O

F CO

MM

ERC

EN

ation

al Ocean

ic and

Atm

osp

heric A

dm

inistratio

nPublication D

istribution Facility1315 East-W

est Highw

aySilver Sp

ring, MD

20910-3282A

TTN: Earth System

Monitor

U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research National Environmental Satellite, Data

and Information Service National Ocean Service National Marine Fisheries Service National Weather Service

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Florida Department of EnvironmentalProtection Florida Marine Research Institute Bureau of Beaches and Shoreline

South Florida Water Management District

Saint Johns Water Management District

Federal Emergency Management Agency

State of Florida Emergency ManagementAgency

Governor’s Commission for a SustainableSouth Florida

U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service, Biscayne Bay Geological Survey, Coastal Geology Fish and Wildlife

U.S. Department of Energy

Florida counties Miami-Dade DERM Broward DNRP and Port Everglades Port

Authority Monroe DERM Palm Beach DERM and Public Works Martin Public Works St Lucie Public Works Indian River DE

Cities City of Delray Beach Public Works Miami Port Authority West Palm Beach Port Authority

Utilities Dade Waste Water Broward Waste Water City of Hollywood City of Boca Raton Palm Beach Waste Water Martin Waste Water St Lucie Waste Water Indian River Waste Water Florida Power and Light Sebastian Inlet Tax District

Port Authorities Port of Miami Port Everglades Port of Fort Pierce

Florida Regional Planning Councils South Florida Regional Planning Council Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council

Florida Inland Navigation Authority

Marine Transportation Industry Florida Pilots Association Florida Marine Tug Operators

Florida Beaches and Shoreline PreservationAssociation

Indian River Lagoon Program

have detailed coastal data for appliedresearch projects and the Sea Grant Pro-gram. The NODC will be the centralclearing house for the data so vital tothese agency missions.

A workshop is planned for mid-fallin Miami to gather the requirementsfrom the infrastructure community andto identify the responding agencies and

Project Access, from page 14 institutions. The leader of the planningeffort is Judy Gray, Deputy Director ofthe Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteo-rological Laboratory (AOML). Her teammembers at AOML can answer questionson the planning and the future of theproject. Based on the response of theinfrastructure community, the actionphase could begin in the fall or winterof calendar year 1998. ■

▲ Appendix: Community constituents associated with Project ACCESS.

earth system monitor · lion in crop losses (riebsame et al. 1991). agri-culturally important areas...

Documents