Research: Products and Services
Programs
NOAA Environmental Software Infrastructure and Interoperability Group (NESII) – develops a range of software products to support research and operations in the Earth system sciences. It includes the development team for the Earth System Modeling Framework, the leading U.S. software framework for building and coupling together modeling components; the Earth System Curator project, which collaborates with a host of global partners to deliver metadata services for CMIP5 and other model intercomparison projects; the team developing a Common Model Architecture for U.S. global operational weather forecasting; and the Global Interoperability Program, a NOAA effort to encourage the sharing of infrastructure across related environmental disciplines, and the integration of tools to create end-to-end workflows. These and other projects in the NESII group form a critical part of the national infrastructure for Earth system modeling and data services.
Research for Renewable Energy Development – Renewable energy sources depend on improved atmospheric information to be economically viable and successfully integrated into the U.S. electrical grid system. Further, proposed ocean-based renewable energy technologies, including hydrokinetic energy and ocean thermal energy conversion, will require research and information about ocean conditions and processes before they can be developed. NOAA can contribute to the development and integration of renewable-energy sources into the U.S. energy system through better atmospheric and oceanic observations, models, forecasts, and analysis tools.
Products
Datasets, experimental forecasts, and observations produced at ESRL.
Seasonal Climate Forecast Guidance - Experimental
A tool for forecasters and researchers to assess the impact of climate
forecasts on forecasts of temperature and precipitation.
Climate Products Interactive Plotting and Analysis Tool
ESRL provides public access to a number of climate data sets maintained
for research purposes through this interactive, web-based plotting and
analysis tool.
Ground-Based GPS Meteorology Network
The Ground-Based GPS Meteorology project, consisting of more than 300
GPS water vapor observing systems, provide near real-time integrated
precipitable water vapor (IPW) measurements for weather forecasting,
climate modeling, observing system calibration and validation, and
research. This project also provides raw GPS measurements to the
NOAA Continuously
Operating Reference Station Network
and the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS)
MADIS provides value-added, quality-controlled
observational data from
sensors around the world, for the purpose of supporting meteorological research.
MADIS also develops software to improve access to observational data.
NOAA Profiler Network
Housed at ESRL, the National Weather Service manages, operates, and
maintains the
NOAA Profiler Network, consisting of 35 wind profilers located in the
central United States and Alaska. Wind profilers are upward-looking,
highly-sensitive, Doppler radars that can measure the
winds above the site. They are specifically designed to
measure vertical profiles of horizontal wind speed and direction.
Precipitation Anomalies Product: Current and Anticipated
A program to monitor current precipitation anomalies across
the United States and generate experimental forecasts as to anomalies
occuring over the
next 2 weeks to 6 months.
Rapid Update Cycle/Rapid Refresh Numerical Weather Model
The Rapid Update Cycle Model is a numerical weather model
developed to provide the high-resolution weather simulations necessary
for aviation forecasts. Experimental forecasts are generated at ESRL
to continue development of the model, while the National
Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) uses a production version
to issue operational forecasts.
Services
Services provided by ESRL to support the research and operational functions of NOAA and other partners.
Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS)
The Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) provides the most complete source of aviation-related weather information on the Internet. In addition to providing conventional products and observations, ADDS provides state-of-the-art graphical forecasts for icing, turbulence, and convection, along with advanced interactive methods for viewing those forecasts. ADDS was developed jointly by ESRL, NCAR's Research Applications Laboratory, and the NWS Aviation Weather Center. Funding was provided by the FAA's Aviation Weather Research Program.
Climate Products Map Room
The Climate Products Map Room supports real-time climate
monitoring efforts by providing access to
short-term operational
weather products from the National Centers for Environmental Predicition
(NCEP) and long-term research-oriented climate products produced from
in-house data sets. The Map Room is used by researchers to:
- Disseminate global climate products depicting slow oscillations of the climate system (time scale greater than 30 days).
- Interpret the current state of the climate system using El Niño/ Southern Oscillation (ENSO) as a framework.
- Produce experimental predictions of important variables describing the slow climate oscillations.
- Transfer useful monitoring and forecasting products to NCEP's Climate Prediction Center for public dissemination.
Real-Time Verification System (RTVS)
RTVS provides feedback on forecast quality to forecasters, model
developers, and managers. The RTVS group also participates in developing and
enhancing verification methods. A Network-Enabled Verification Service (NEVS) is under development. NEVS will replace the RTVS in 2011.
Western States Climate Portal
Climate information supporting the Water in the West Program.
Systems
Hardware, software, instrumentation and networks developed and maintained at ESRL to further research and operational objectives.
FX-Net: A Meteorological Workstation for Remote Users
FX-Net is a network-based meteorological workstation that provides
access to the basic display capability of an AWIPS workstation, the
workstation used by the National Weather Service, via the
Internet. FX-Net is intended to be an inexpensive PC workstation system
for use in a variety of forecast, training, education, and research
applications where the full capabilities of a Weather Forecast Office Advanced type system are not required.
Science On a Sphere (SOS)®
Science On a Sphere™ is a revolutionary system for communicating NOAA's science to the public, fostering science education, and aiding scientific visualization. The system presents a three-dimensional representation of the Earth's global features as if they were viewed from space.