U.S. DEPARTMENTOF COMMERCE

National Oceanicand AtmosphericAdministration

Vol. 12, No. 2 ● December 2001

EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

A guide toNOAA's data and

informationservices

INSIDE

3News briefs

5Detecting shoreline

feature change withinports using imagery

8Management of the

Florida Keys Seascape(SEAKEYS)

11Data products and

services

12NSIDC’s Frozen

Ground Data Center

NESDIS‘s Economic Value for the Nation

DEP

ARTMENT OF COMMERC

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★ ★

UN

ITEDSTATES OF AMER

ICA

▲ Figure 1. Cover of NESDIS‘s new consumer-oriented publication.

Allen M. Hittelman and Joy A. IkelmanNational Geophysical Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS

Summarizing our services with respect to public return on investment

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The National Environmental Satellite, Data,and Information Service (NESDIS) is committedto increase our awareness of the benefits andopportunities derived from public and privatesector interfaces. In a continuing effort to im-prove our understanding of the specific eco-nomic impacts of our products and services, wehave produced a 24-page brochure — summariz-ing our services with respect to public return oninvestment. This publication is available onrequest and can also be downloaded via theWeb.

To obtain a copy of this report, contact:

Email: info@ngdc.noaa.govPhone: 303-497-6826Fax: 303-497-6513Web: www.ngdc.noaa.gov

Multifaceted Industry InteractionAs the women and men of NESDIS work

daily to accomplish our mission, we interactclosely with U.S. industry and affect theeconomy in a variety of ways. It is a multifacetedand mutually beneficial relationship. Our roleswith industry can be summarized as follows:

2 December 2001EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

The Earth System Monitor (ISSN 1068-2678) is published quarterly by the NOAAEnvironmental Information Services office.Past issues are available online at http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/General/NODCPubs/

Questions, comments, or suggestionsfor articles, as well as requests forsubscriptions and changes of address,should be directed to the Editor,Roger Torstenson.

The mailing address for the Earth SystemMonitor is:

National Oceanographic Data CenterNOAA/NESDIS E/OC1SSMC3, 4th Floor1315 East-West HighwaySilver Spring, MD 20910-3282

EDITORR. Torstenson

Telephone: 301-713-3281 ext.107Fax: 301-713-3302

E-mail: rtorstenson@nodc.noaa.gov

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 COMMERCEDonald Evans, Secretary

National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration

Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr.,Under Secretary and Administrator

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Economic Value, from page 1

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NOAA/NESDIS/NGDCSolid Earth Geophysics DivisionDavid Skaggs Research Center325 Broadway, Mail Code E/GCBoulder, Colorado 80305E-mail: allen.m.hittelman@noaa.gov

• CustomerNESDIS procures launches, space-

craft, instruments, ground systems,technical services, and commercial im-agery. We depend on the expertise androbustness of U.S. industry to meet ourneeds for improved technology andcost-efficient solutions to accomplishthe mission entrusted to us in service tothe public.• Employer

The NESDIS workforce is an inte-gration of civil service and on-site con-tract employees, with a commitment ofachieving the most efficient workforcestructure possible.• Data, information and service provider

NESDIS provides timely access toglobal environmental data, informa-tion, and assessments used by almostevery sector of society and benefitingall Americans. As a multiplier of effect,the private sector adds enhanced valueto these products and services.• Partner

Beyond the traditional procure-ment relationship, public and privatesector entities work closely in innova-tive ways while addressing some of theNation’s most challenging environmen-tal issues.

As an integral component of theDepartment of Commerce (DOC) andthe National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA), NESDIS iscommitted to maintaining andstrengthening its relationship withbusiness, which in turn promotes jobcreation, economic growth, sustainabledevelopment, and improved livingstandards for all.

Quality environmental informationenhances our national economy

Virtually every sector of theNation’s economy relies upon rapidand reliable access to environmentaldata and information. NOAA’s environ-mental data form the basis for makingdecisions that have far-reaching eco-

nomic consequences on local, regional,and global levels. These data, whichcost billions of dollars to collect, aredistributed to, and used by govern-ment, commerce, industry, science,engineering, and national defense.

NOAA’s satellites and Data Centers-operated by NESDIS-focus upon thedelivery of high-quality scientific infor-mation to U.S. industry to meet itsneeds. The dramatic explosion of af-fordable information technologiesthroughout the 1990s and the growingvalue-added industry have helpedNESDIS reach all economic sectors.

NESDIS is committed to preservingthe long-term data record of environ-mental conditions, to capturing currentconditions and trends, and to provid-ing these data and information to en-sure that the business sector has thebest available insight to secure the suc-cess of our Nation’s economic future.Records that can be used in past,present, and future applications arekey:• Past

Records of our environment arecrucial to understanding Earth’s evolv-ing nature and sustainable health.• Present

Observations from space and fromground-based systems are essential inhelping society understand our ever-changing environmental conditions,prepare forecasts, and evaluate seasonaltrends.• Future

Trends must be understood to en-sure that our economy will continue tobe prosperous.

NESDIS needs: U.S. industry deliversAs a satellite service, NESDIS pro-

cures launches, spacecraft, instruments,ground systems, technical services, andcommercial imagery. NESDIS Data Cen-ters also receive support from numer-ous and geographically diversecommercial entities. NESDIS dependson the skills and expertise of U.S. in-dustry. Its annual budget for space sys-tems and related services exceeds $500million. From 1990 through 2000, totalestimated contract value for satelliteprograms and associated servicesreached $3.72 billion.

3December 2001 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

News briefsNew Geoid model providesaccurate elevations

A new Geoid model and softwarewith the capacity to provide accurateelevations across Canada was released onOctober 17 by Natural Resources Canada(NRCan) at the GeoSask2001 conferencein Regina, Saskatchewan. The CanadianGravimetric Geoid model (CGG2000) andCanadian Height Transformation Package(GPS•H Package), the latest advance inthe Canadian Spatial Reference System(CSRS), allows direct conversion ofNAD83 (CSRS) GPS ellipsoidal heights tothe more useful orthometric elevations(heights above mean sea level), refer-enced to Canada’s standard vertical da-tum, CGVD28.

Users will now have the capability,depending on the procedures used, toobtain decimetre-level elevations or betterthroughout the country. This capabilitywill result in economic and environmentalbenefits. Vertical data is used for suchapplications as water and watershed man-agement, floodplain mapping and marinesafety. It is also used in GPS-based preci-sion farming, such as controlling un-wanted runoff and stream contamination,and for forestry applications such as mod-eling the spread of wildfires. In order tointegrate and share this data, it must bebased on standardized measurements andreferenced to a national infrastructure.

The CGG2000 model replaces thepreviously adopted GSD95 model.Through advances in the CSRS and prod-ucts such as these, NRCan provides aframework for the greatest possible accu-racy for all spatial positioning and makesthis framework as accessible as possible toGPS users in Canada. The CSRS system isa fundamental building block forGeoConnections, a federal-provincialpartnership for sharing and integratinggeospatial data on the Internet.

The GPS•H Package includes theCanadian Gravimetric Geoid model(CGG2000), HTv2.0, and the new versionof the software GPS•Hv2.1. Subscribers tothe CSRS database can download thepackage free from http://www.geod.nrcan. gc.ca/ (under Products and Ser-vices). It is also available on CD-ROM for$40 in either English or French from thefollowing address:Geodetic Survey Division, Room 440,615 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A0E9 Canada. Telephone (613) 995-4410.

GOES satellite data used tounderstand time scales

A new educational exhibit for theScience Museum of Minnesota is beingcreated with a theme on scales of time.The exhibit will include satellite movieloops spanning from 24 hours up to oneyear using the visible and infrared chan-nels from the GOES Imager, which is ca-pable of scanning the entire United Statesevery fifteen minutes. The exhibit will givevisitors a better sense of the fluid natureof our atmosphere, how storms evolve,move, and interact with fronts and otherstorms over a time frame of hours toweeks. Movement of the jet stream andits ceaseless undulations will also be de-picted using the popular water vaporimagery. All images were provided by theNational Climatic Data Center which willbe credited as the source. The availabilitydate of this new exhibit is not known.

Canada/Mexico/United StatesTroika a big success

The Canada/Mexico/United StateTroika on Monitoring Near-Real TimeClimate Extremes, hosted by NOAA‘sNational Climatic Data Center, was a bigsuccess. The results of the workshop in-cluded the development of a plan thatbegins with an annual extremes monitor-ing product for North America scheduledto be released in time for the WMO An-nual Climate Statement for 2002. Eachcountry was very enthusiastic about thiscooperative effort in monitoring and as-sessing climate extremes, particularly withthe prospect of an eventual system fornear-real time monitoring across all threecountries. The NCDC presentation de-scribed current data and product deliverysystems, future plans for online data to beadded to those systems, the overall datamodel and requirements for the systems,and the factors and impact of the place-ment of data online.

New NGDC image in NationalGeographic ocean atlas

The just-published National Geo-graphic Atlas of the Oceans displays amap of the ocean floor topography asrepresented by NGDC‘s new ETOPO2data base. Peter Sloss of NGDC preparedthe shaded relief image in NationalGeographic‘s requested Miller Projectionusing their required color scheme. Gridlines were then added by the publisher.

Afghanistan data reference listIn support of events occurring in

Afghanistan, the National Climatic DataCenter (NCDC) has developed a com-prehensive bibliography of the data,climatologies, and research that theNCDC has or is currently performing forSouthwest Asia. NCDC has developednumerous and very detailed climate sum-maries for Afghanistan and surroundingcountries over the years. The Center hasextensive data bases containing observa-tional data for these areas and is also de-veloping satellite products that couldbe useful. Knowledge of these data,climatologies, and research could avoidduplication of efforts to develop the sameinformation. This could save valuable timeand resources that could be used insteadto build upon the existing informationbase. NCDC is planning the developmentof an Afghanistan Climate web page thatwill provide an easier mechanism toassimilate the information. Due to thesensitive nature of the information, thisbibliography will not be externally publi-cized at this time. For public distribution,NCDC will continue to maintain a re-cently developed web page that containsmore general summaries and information:http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/afghan/afghan.html.

Increase in solar activityAlthough Solar Cycle 23 peaked in

April 2000, a secondary peak of activity isoccurring, consistent with earlier solarcycle behavior. In the last year the Na-tional Geophysical Data Center has moni-tored more than 17 X-level solar flares. InApril 2001 the greatest solar X-ray flareever recorded occurred. More recently,several X-level flares and large coronalmass ejections caused environmentaleffects on Earth, including the impact ofsatellites with high-energy protons, blind-ing them temporarily. While the Ulyssessatellite observes the Sun calming downat tis high latitudes with the solar polarfields reversing, at the lower latitudessome enormous sunspot regions are stillemitting high energy particles from flares.A Cosmic Ray Ground Level Event (GLE)followed by a major Forbush decreasewas detected on November 4.

4 December 2001EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

Economic value, from page 2

NESDIS provides jobs and opportu-nities for regional economic growththrough employment and contracts.NESDIS comprises 830 Federal employ-ees and 530 contractor support mem-bers. This dedicated team worksdiligently to ensure timely access toglobal environmental data.

NESDIS is eagerly harnessing thebest research and development, produc-tion, operations, and innovative busi-ness solutions that U.S. industry offersto ensure continuity and improvementof our critical services.

Commercial remote sensing: licensingand advocacy

NESDIS has regulatory authority tolicense private, remote-sensing spacesystems. On behalf of the Secretary ofCommerce, NESDIS-through a respon-sive, predictable, licensing program-hasissued 17 licenses covering more than40 satellites. NOAA plays an integralrole in the Federal government’s policyto support and enhance U.S. competi-tiveness in this exciting new sector ofthe space and information community.These new commercial sources ofgeospatial information will contributeto wide-ranging civil, commercial, andmilitary applications.

As a separate and independentfunction from licensing, NESDIS is pro-viding NOAA with leadership in acquir-ing data as the commercial remote-sensing industry develops. Industrydata have helped NOAA with the acqui-sition of ocean color information toassist in the effective management offisheries, space-based synthetic apertureradar data for operational ice forecast-ing, and high-resolution imagery forcoral reef monitoring.NOAA’s eyes on the environment

As the Federal Government’s lead-ing provider of environmental data,NESDIS supports the goals of e-govern-ment. Our award-winning, Web-basedservices benefit society by providingtimely information to a broad segmentof the U.S. economy. These serviceshelp:

• Insurance companies resolve claimsmore rapidly• Energy companies manage utilitiesmore effectively• Engineers develop safer constructioncriteria• Community planners address envi-ronmental impacts• Public safety providers improve theirlevel of services.

Industry interacts with NESDIS onnumerous levels-developing state-of-the-art technology for NOAA’s satelliteprograms, constructing observationnetworks, building vast warehouses ofdata, and transmitting and displayinginformation to millions of users. Indus-try uses NESDIS data to develop value-added products such as weatherderivatives that help manage weather-related risks.

Day and night, NOAA scientistsmaintain their vigil, monitoringchanges detected by satellites hoveringabove Earth and from land, ocean, andatmospheric-based observing systems.In partnership with industry andacademia, NESDIS develops critical in-formation streams, which are sharedworldwide to sustain life and empowerhealthy economies.

NESDIS Delivers:• Improved global weather observations• Data for improved constructiondesigns• Estimates of crop, range land, andforest health• Fuel savings for maritime and airtransportation• Increased efficiency of U.S. fishingfleets• Search and rescue information• Volcanic ash cloud monitoring forairline safety• Improved Great Lakes navigationduring ice season• Better water management in thewestern U.S.• El Nino sea surface temperaturemeasurements• Tracking capabilities to managemigratory birds and marine mammals• Early forest fire detection• Global drought watch• Data for climate studies• Ozone hole monitoring• Solar storm warnings ■

5December 2001 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

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Detecting shoreline feature change within portsusing high-resolution satellite imagery

Susan Vidal, Doug Graham, andMaryellen SaultRemote Sensing DivisionNational Geodetic SurveyNOAA/NOS

The National Geodetic Survey(NGS) a program office in the NationalOcean Service of the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration(NOAA), is tasked with providing shore-line and associated data for mappingour nation’s 95,000 miles of coastline.The Remote Sensing Division (RSD)within NGS, conducts photogrammet-ric surveys to photograph and whenprioritized, compile shoreline and asso-ciated data for application to the Officeof Coast Survey’s nautical charts. Theupdate cycle for a nautical chart variesfrom as often as every 6 months to asinfrequently as 12 years depending onfactors including the rate of culturaland natural changes. This shorelinedata is available to the coastal GIS com-munity through the National GeodeticSurvey Shoreline Data Explorer website.

The Coast and Shoreline ChangeAnalysis Program (CSCAP), managed byNGS, acquires contemporary high-reso-lution imagery to evaluate ports. Theimagery is accurately georeferenced andcompared with the nautical chart todetect changes. The analysis of thesediscrepancies is used to determinewhich ports or areas within a port re-quire expensive photogrammetric sur-vey mapping.

CSCAP procedureImagery with the highest spatial

resolution is required to detect changeswithin ports. To date, NGS has evalu-

ated four primary sources of high-reso-lution satellite imagery: SPOT, IRS,SPIN2, and IKONOS. The spatial resolu-tion of SPOT (SPOT, Inc.) and IRS(SpaceImaging, Inc.) panchromaticimagery (10 and 5 meters respectively),is not adequate to detect a significantnumber of charted features withinports. SPIN2 (Aerial- Images, Inc.) pan-chromatic imagery has a 2 meter spatialresolution which allows for identifica-tion of many more shoreline featuresthan are visible on IRS or SPOT imag-ery. SPIN2 imagery is orthorectified,although not necessarily accuratelygeoreferenced. The newest source ofhigh-resolution satellite imagery isIKONOS (SpaceImaging, Inc.). NGSacquires IKONOS panchromatic “geo”imagery (1 meter spatial resolution)that has been map oriented (aligned toconform with a map projection usingsatellite ephemeris data), but notorthorectified by the vendor. AlthoughIKONOS and SPIN2 imagery provideadequate spatial resolution, they arenot georeferenced accurately enough bythe vendor for direct use in shorelinechange analysis.

When NGS receives satellite imag-ery ( IKONOS “geo” or SPIN2), there isa shift of up to 30 meters from the ac-tual geographic position of the scene(Figures 1a and b). This shift must becorrected in order to be able to makemeaningful comparisons with othershoreline data. This is accomplished byNGS personnel through “re-geo-referencing” the satellite imagery usingtwo-dimensional polynomial or rubbersheeting transformations.

Georeferencing satellite imagerywithin CSCAP involves three steps.First, reference information (GroundControl Points or GCPs) is obtainedfrom maps or from GPS observations.The most accurate reference maps cur-rently available for port areas are either

raster scanned T-Sheet shoreline manu-scripts produced by NOAA or vectordigital cartographic feature files pro-duced by NGS, NOAA (Byrnes et.al.,1991, Crowell et. al., 1991). At thepresent time, raster T-Sheets are notgeoreferenced when NGS receivesthem, so georeferencing must be thefirst step when they are used for refer-ence data.

The next step is to register the im-agery to the reference map. Corre-sponding points that are clearly visibleon both the image and the referencemap are chosen as GCPs. Since two-dimensional polynomial transforma-tions are being used, the GCPs as wellas the features of interest must be at ornear the same elevation, in this case,sea level. After the appropriate GCPshave been selected, those with the larg-est RMS errors are eliminated from thetransformation. As the selection ofGCPs narrows, an even distribution ofpoints across the image must be main-tained. The combination of polynomialorder and numbers of final GCPs hasvaried for SPIN2 imagery from first or-der polynomial and 7 high quality con-trol points at Detroit, MI, to rubbersheeting and over 60 control points atCharleston, SC. Results for IKONOSimagery have been much more uni-form. Typically, first and second orderpolynomial transformations using 20 to40 control points have yielded satisfac-tory results. After georeferencing hasbeen completed, the resulting image ischecked for positional accuracy.

Final image georeferencing accu-racy is the combination of errors pro-duced during reference map creation,reference map georeferencing, and im-age registration. Reference data errorsrange from about 0.5 meters for GPSpositions to less than 1.5 meters for T-sheets compiled during the 1970s and

NOAA’s Coast and Shoreline Change Analysis Program

NOAA/NOSNational Geodetic Survey1315 East West HighwaySilver Spring, Maryland 20910E-mail: susan.vidal@noaa.gov

6 December 2001EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

▲ Figures 1 a,b. Top image of San Diego, CA depicts IKONOS image registration before regeo-referencing. The image and nautical chart are not accurately registered.Bottom image depicts registration after re-georeferencing. The image and nautical chart are accu-rately registered. Some features are charted but are not visible on the imagery while other featuresappear to be newly constructed.

7December 2001 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

Shoreline feature change, from page 5

1980s (Crowell, et.al., 1991). To illus-trate typical accuracy of imagegeoreferencing using the process de-scribed above, the following additionalerrors were computed for an IKONOSimage of Tacoma, WA:

The same Tacoma, WA IKONOSimage was compared with an indepen-dent source of higher accuracy. In thiscase, 33 GPS observation check pointswith an average horizontal accuracy of

within 2 to 5 meters of true geographicposition.

With limited funding resources forFederal Government mapping, CSCAPprovides a cost effective means to up-date nautical charts within selectedports. Areas of interest could be ex-panded to include port approaches andopen coastal areas given dedicatedfunding. CSCAP is currently used as aplanning tool to help set priorities indetermining which regions requirephotogrammetric mapping. Features ofsignificant change may be extractedfrom the CSCAP georeferenced imageryand applied to the nautical chart until amore accurately controlled survey canbe conducted. CSCAP provides reliableand contemporary updates that pro-mote national commerce by improvingsafe navigation within our ports.

ReferencesByrnes, M., McBride, R., and Hiland, M., 1991.

Accuracy Standards and Development ofa National Shoreline Change Data Base.Coastal Sediments >91 Proceedings, pp.1027-1042.

Crowell, M.; Leatherman, S. and Buckley, M.,1991. Historical Shoreline Change: ErrorAnalysis and Mapping Accuracy. Journal ofCoastal Research, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 839-852.

Federal Geographic Data Committee, 1998.Geospatial Positioning Accuracy Standards, Part 3: National Standards forSpatial Data Accuracy. Available online:www.fgdc.gov/standards/status/sub1_3.html. ■

0.495 meters were analyzed. RMS Xerror was 1.69 meters, RMS Y error was1.86 meters, and total RMSE was 2.51meters when distinct points visible onthe image were compared with the GPSpoint data supplied by the Office ofCoast Survey Navigation Services Divi-sion field operations. The circular errorat the 95% confidence level for thisimage is 4.34 meters, when computedaccording to National Standard for Spa-tial Data Accuracy procedures (FederalGeographic Data Committee, 1998).Because two-dimensional georefer-encing techniques were used, theseaccuracy assessment statements areonly valid for points at or near sealevel.

After the imagery has beengeoreferenced, it is then used for com-parison to the raster Nautical Chart orvector Electronic Navigational Chart.Much of the imagery that NGS has ob-tained was received only a month ortwo after the acquisition date. This im-agery provides an excellent means forcomparing “current” conditions withthe representation of the shoreline onthe charts. NGS personnel view theimagery as a base layer in a GIS alongwith the raster or vector chart. Descrip-tions of differences between the chartand image are recorded along with thegeographic location of each discrep-ancy.

Source of Errors RMS X Error RMS Y Error Total RMS Error

T-sheet Georeferencing 0.19 meters 0.46 meters 0.49 meters

Image Registration 2.20 meters 1.80 meters 2.80 meters

Combined RMS Errors 2.39 meters 2.26 meters 3.29 meters

Future activitiesNGS will evaluate new sources of

imagery for CSCAP as they becomeavailable. Efforts will continue to assessthe accuracy of image georeferencingand mono shoreline compilation frompanchromatic satellite imagery. Withthe release of high-resolution satellitesensor models, NGS could investigatestereo softcopy compilation that wouldimprove overall positional accuracy andfeature identification.

ConclusionThe Remote Sensing Division (RSD)

of the National Geodetic Survey man-ages the Coast and Shoreline ChangeAnalysis Program (CSCAP) to makemore efficient use of its remote sensingresources to map our nation's coastline.CSCAP uses high-resolution contempo-rary imagery such as 2 meter SPIN2orthorectified imagery, and 1 meterIKONOS non-orthorectified imagery todetect shoreline changes when com-pared with nautical charts.

NGS personnel improve the initialgeometric accuracy of the imagery sup-plied by the vendor to meet require-ments for identifying shoreline changesthrough two-dimensional techniques.Well-defined points near the shorelineplane of reference are chosen from anaccurate base map (NOAA’s geo-referenced raster T-Sheets or vectordigital cartographic feature files) orfrom GPS observations. The imagery isthen rectified to conform to the geom-etry of these reference points, resultingin imagery that is georeferenced to

8 December 2001EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

J.Chris HumphreySEAKEYS Field ManagerFlorida Institute of OceanographyKeys Marine Laboratory

Management of the Florida Keys SeascapeSustained ecological research of the SEAKEYS environmental monitoring program

Table 1.

Station ID FWYF1 MLRF1 LONF1 SMKF1 SANF1 DRYF1 NFB

Station Location Fowey Rocks Molasses reef Long Key Sombrero reef Sand Key Iowa Rock N.W. Florida Bay (lat. & long.) N 25°35’25" N 25°00’36" N 24°50’36" N 24°37’36" N 24°27’25" N 24°38’18" N 25°05’00"

W 080°05’48" W 080°22’48" W 080°51’42" W 081°06’36" W 081°52’42" W 082°51’42" W 081°05’00"

Site Depth 2 meters 1.5 meters 2 meters 2.5 meters 4 meters 6 meters 3.5 meters

Sensor Depth 1 meters 1 meters 1 meters 1 meter 1,3 meters 1,3 meters 1 meter

Oceanographic CT CT CT; water level; CT; water level; CTD; CT; CTD CT; water level; Instruments 1m (PAR) 1m (PAR) 1,3 meter (PAR) Trans.; Fluor (4/99)

Trans.; Fluor. Trans.;Fluor 4/99 (4/99)

Sensor Falmouth Falmouth Falmouth,Bartex, Falmouth,Bartex, Falmouth,Li-cor Falmouth Falmouth, Manufacturer Li-cor,Wetlabs Li-cor,Wetlabs Greenspan, Bartex

Data on the 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 2,4 Internet*

*Internet sites

1. National Data Buoy Center (meteorological, sea temperature, and water level data only) http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov 2. Coral Page/ Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/cman 3. National Weather Service (meteorological, sea temperature, and water level data only) http://nws.fsu.edu/buoy 4. University of South Florida http://comps.marine.usf.edu/nfb

Ecological processes vary greatlyfrom environmental managementscheme time scales. The life long argu-ment of which happens first and theensuing causes have always been up forinterpretation. One’s perception on aday to day basis may actually be a lotdifferent than the true environmentaltrends. Long-term data sets have alwayshelped put some black and white or

“real” trends into the gray areas of re-source management.

The SEAKEYS environmental moni-toring program, an oceanographic ex-tension to the meteorologicallyoriented Coastal-Marine AutomatedNetwork (C-MAN) of NOAA, has accu-mulated an unparalleled long-termdatabase of meteorological and oceano-graphic data from the Florida Straitsand Florida Bay. SEAKEYS was orga-nized in 1991 by the Florida Institute ofOceanography (FIO) with initial fund-ing from the John D. and Catherine T.MacArthur Foundation and continuingfunding from the South Florida Ecosys-

tem Restoration, Prediction and Model-ing (SFERPM) program, which is admin-istered by the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration (NOAA).The SEAKEYS network is comprised ofsix C-MAN stations and one CoastalOcean Monitoring and Prediction(COMP) station in cooperation with theUniversity of South Florida’s College ofMarine Science. The COMP station isthe northwestern most station of theSEAKEYS network and the southernmost link to the COMP system. To-gether, the two near-real time systemscreate an unprecedented coverage ofthe Florida Keys environment (Table 1).

9December 2001 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

▲ Figure 2. Wind stress response during Hurricane Irene.

— continued on page 10

Daily near-real time SEAKEYS data areavailable to researchers via NOAA’sCoral Health and Monitoring Program(CHAMP) web site at http://www.coral.noaa.gov, while historical data areavailable at http://www.neptune.noaa.gov.

Regional monitoring: oceanographicpatterns

Severe conditions reported by theSEAKEYS stations include HurricanesAndrew, Georges, Irene, tropical stormMitch, Storm of the Century, andthe1998 Ground Hog Day storm. Dur-ing such meteorological events themodeling community has gained in-sight into wind stressors in the FloridaKeys environment. For example, windevents during Hurricanes Irene andFloyd show similar wind stress re-sponses under similar conditions. (Fig-ures 1,2). The monitoring network wasalso designed to track patterns andtheir changes between average yearsand extra ordinary occurrences. Duringthe summer of 1993 record floods oc-curred in the Mississippi river eventu-ally resulting in depressed salinity inthe Loop current in the Gulf of Mexicoand hence the Florida Current. Abruptdrops in salinity were recorded at all ofthe SEAKEYS network C-MAN stationsduring the month of September (Ogdenet. al., 1994). The 1997-98 El Nino andLa Nina Southern Oscillation events(ENSO) were captured and quantifiedusing the SEAKEYS Oceanographic dataFor example, sea temperatures peakedat 32.1 C in 1998, a full degree centi-grade warmer than the year before. Seatemperatures were also two degreescentigrade cooler than the year beforeat the same site during winter condi-tions (Figure 3).

Multifaceted use structureThe SEAKEYS network has long

been known for its reliable and some-times lone existent data in the FloridaKeys. The SEAKEYS program’s presencehas become an essential tool forweather forecasters, marine sanctuarymanagers, hurricane research staff,physical oceanographers, modelers,

▲ Figure 1. Wind stress response during HurricaneFloyd.

10 December 2001EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

Florida Institute of OceanographyKeys Marine LaboratoryP.O. Box 968Long Key, Florida 33001E-mail: humphrey_j@popmail.firn.edu

remote sensing platforms, emergencymanagement, law enforcement, andcommercial shipping traffic. Several ofthe SFERPM models use the SEAKEYSnetwork data. One of the many modelsthat use the SEAKEYS network isNOAA’s Coral Reef Early Warning Sys-tem (CREWS) (Hendee, et.al. in press).CREWS, which utilizes the near real-time hourly data from six SEAKEYSstations, is an online expert systemwhich monitors environmental condi-tions on the reef that are theoreticallyconducive to coral bleaching. If theseconditions occur, alerts are sent via e-mail to researches and posted to theWeb at http://www.coral.noaa.gov/sferpm/seakeys/es. CREWS, coupled with

NOAA’s space-based Sea Surface Tem-perature (SST) derivations, utilizeSEAKEYS data to extend the predictivecapabilities through ground truth mea-surements within the Florida Keys re-gion.

Monitoring of the Florida KeysCoastal environment is important forscientific, economic, and managementreasons.The SEAKEYS program’s in-volvement in these projects shows itscommitment to understanding theFlorida Keys environment. By continu-ing to upgrade and improve programabilities and capacities to monitor theenvironment, the SEAKEYS should bebetter equipped to assist users in an-swering future management questions.

ReferencesOgden, J.C., J.W. Porter,N.P. Smith, A.M.

Szmant,W.C. Jaap, D.Forcucci.1994.A Long-term Interdisclinary study of theFlorida Seascape. Bull. Mar.Sci.54(3):1059-1071.

Hendee, J.C., E. Mueller, C. Humphrey, and T.Moore. 2001. A data-driven expert systemfor producing coral bleaching alerts atSombrero Reef in the Florida Keys. Bulletinof Marine Science 69(2): 673-684. ■

SEAKEYS, from page 9

▲ Figure 3. SEAKEYS oceanographic data was used to quantify the 1997-1998 ENSO events.

11December 2001 EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

Data productsand services

CONTACT POINTS

National Climatic Data Center(NCDC)

828-271-4800Fax: 828-271-4876

E-mail: Climate Services -orders@ncdc.noaa.gov

Satellite Services -satorder@ncdc.noaa.gov

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

National Geophysical Data Center(NGDC)

303-497-6826Fax: 303-497-6513

E-mail: info@ngdc.noaa.govWWW: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/

National Oceanographic Data Center(NODC)

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

E-mail: services@nodc.noaa.govWWW: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/

NOAAServer Data Directory301-713-0575

Fax: 301-713-0819E-mail: help@esdim.noaa.gov

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

NOAA Central LibraryReference Services:

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

E-mail: reference@nodc.noaa.govWWW: http://www.lib.noaa.gov/

Reagan National Airportoperations decision

Rainer Dombrowsky of NationalWeather Service Headquarters contactedthe National Climatic Data Center andrequested wind rose data for ReaganNational Airport, just outside of Washing-ton, DC. The airport was closed on Sep-tember 11 following the terrorist attacks,and the Federal Aviation Administrationneeded the data to make decisions aboutfuture operations at the airport. Becauseof its proximity to the White House, Capi-tol, and significant national monuments,the airport remained closed even afterother airports were allowed to reopen.Overnight NCDC produced a new 1991-2000 ten-year monthly, seasonal, andannual day-night wind rose tabulationand provided it to Mr. Dombrowsky. OnOctober 2, President Bush announcedthat Reagan National Airport would re-open under new restrictions. Planes canfly in and out of the airport only duringthe hours from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.,and flight patterns that follow thePotomac River near the White House,Capitol, Pentagon, and CIA were tempo-rarily prohibited.Contact: NCDC

Detailed coastal relief of Floridaand Gulf of Mexico on CD-ROM

The National Geophsical Data Centerhas distributed three additional volumesof the Coastal Relief Model series, cover-ing the Florida and Gulf of Mexico coast-lines. Volume 3, Florida and Eastern Gulfof Mexico, covers the east and westcoasts of the state of Florida. Volume 4,Central Gulf of Mexico, covers the statesof Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.Volume 5, Western Gulf of Mexico, cov-ers the Texas coast. Each of the volumesintegrates land topography with offshorebathymetry into a geographic 3 arc-sec-ond grid, which is managed by theGEODAS software which is on each CD-ROM. Any common web browser may beused to access the data and images. Soft-ware enables users to create custom-sizedgrids of areas within the coastal zone at avariety of resolutions and in several com-mon grid formats. Five CD-ROMs arecurrently available covering the U.S. Eastand Gulf Coasts. See http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/coastal/coastal.html formore information.Contact: NGDC

Climatological report for 2002Winter Olympics

The National Climatic Data Centerhas completed a technical report describ-ing the climatology for the venues of the2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City,along with other areas of northern Utah.The 26-page report includes a climato-logical narrative; nine data tables/summa-ries showing the February means andextremes for temperature, precipitation,snowfall, and snow depth; and six con-toured analyses of temperature, snowfall,and snow depth. The report has beenprovided to NOAA Public Affairs and tothe National Weather Service, for inclu-sion in their package of materials for theGames. The report will also be placedonline for free access.Contact: NCDC

Ice Ages slide setA slide set on The Ice Ages covering

the causes of the Pleistocene ice sheets isnow available through the NOAA/NGDCPaleoclimatology Program website athttp://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/slides.html where the slide set can be pur-chased or accessed online. The slide settraces the history of investigation of theice ages, from the discovery of glacialerratics and moraines in the 1800s torecent investigations of the glacial-inter-glacial cycles using evidence found in icecores and deep sea sediments. The setincludes photos of evidence of glaciers,pictures, graphs from ice cores and ma-rine sediment cores, and pictures illustrat-ing changes in the Earth‘s orbit.Contact: NGDC

Comprehensive snow climatologyThe National Climatic Data Center

has prepared the most comprehensivesnow climatologies ever for the UnitedStates. The data base consists of snowclimatology and return period statisticsfor over 5,000 cooperative stations in thecontiguous United States and Alaska. Itwas created under a grant from the Fed-eral Emergency Management Agency toprovide an objective basis for declaringfederal snow disasters. The snowclimatologies can be accessed via the weband will be updated operationally. Theweb page address is: http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/monitoring/snowclim/mainpage.html.Contact: NCDC

NGDC posts GIS interface for peerreview

A preview of the Geographic Informa-tion Systems ArcIMS interface, to theNGDC Index to Marine and LacustrineGeological Samples database, is now ac-cessible at http://map2.ngdc.noaa.gov/website/sample_index/. NGDC managesthe Sample Index for twenty internationaloceanographic institutions and govern-ment facilities, which provide data andoversight. The original Index to MarineGeological Samples database was recentlyexpanded to include data for lake samplesat the newly-formed Lacustrine ResearchCenter, funded by the National ScienceFoundation, at the University of Michigan.Additional ArcIMS user interfaces toNGDC‘s marine geology data files areunder development by NGDC‘s MarineGeology and Geophysics Division in col-laboration with the Geospatial Data team.Contact: NGDC

12 December 2001EARTH SYSTEM MONITOR

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Penalty for Private Use $300

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The World Data Center (WDC) forGlaciology at Boulder and the NationalSnow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) haveplayed an active role in implementingthis strategy by developing and distrib-uting the first Circumpolar Active-LayerPermafrost System (CAPS) CD-ROMincluding the Global GeocryologicalDatabase (GGD). Now, the WDC, incollaboration with the InternationalArctic Research Center (IARC), is devel-oping this Web site to help expand andfurther improve access to frozen groundrelated data and information.

Frozen ground data and metadatacontributions are being sought. TheGGD may be browsed to determinecurrent frozen ground data holdingshere and around the world. The frozenground data page lists the WDC’s cur-rent frozen ground data holdings (http://nsidc.org/frozenground/index.html). ■

NSIDC’S Frozen Ground DataCenter seeks assistance

Permafrost underlies about 24%and seasonally frozen ground underliesup to 60% of the surface of the North-ern Hemisphere. Data and informationon frozen ground collected over pastdecades and in the future are critical forfundamental process understanding,environmental change detection,impact assessment, model validation,and engineering applications. However,much of this information remainswidely dispersed and relatively unavail-able to the science and engineeringcommunity, and some data are in dan-ger of being lost permanently.

The International Permafrost Asso-ciation (IPA) has developed a strategyfor data and information managementto meet the requirements of the coldregions science, engineering, and mod-eling community.