1 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

Special Presentation to TheCommittee for Climate Analysis, Monitoring, and Services

January 18, 2006

Dr. Ken Crawford, NOAA/NWS/OS&TProject Manager

An Overview of NOAA's Environmental Real-time Observation Network

(NERON)

2 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

Requested NERON Briefing•Illustrate how NERON is organized

•Provide a status on the Climate Reference Network

•Provide a status on the COOP modernization effort

•Illustrate NERON’s relationship to the International Working Group on Earth Observations

3 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON Project Overview

NOAA's Environmental Real-time Observation Network– A national program that collects, processes, &

disseminates land based observations to meet the Nation’s climate, weather, and water needs

– Each modernized station records air temperature & precipitation and has expansion capability for measuring many other variables

– Integrates existing NOAA & many non-NOAA networks that observe a diverse set of atmospheric parameters

4 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON Project Overview (continued)

NERON also modernizes other NOAA observing networks including the Cooperative Observer Network

•Stations collect observations every five minutes • Data transmitted every 15 to 60 minutes• Stations at intervals — on average — of one station

every 400 square miles (20 by 20 statute mile grid) • All stations must have capability to measure other

parameters:– wind, pressure, solar radiation, relative humidity, soil

temperature/moisture, snowfall*, snow depth*, water equivalent*

*manually acquired observations early in NERON, becoming automated with time

5 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON OverviewContribution to IEOS and GEOSS

ISOSISOSISOSISOS

USCRNUSCRNUSCRNUSCRN

Other NOAA Other NOAA Networks/Parameters Networks/Parameters e.g., Solar, Satellite e.g., Solar, Satellite

Other NOAA Other NOAA Networks/Parameters Networks/Parameters e.g., Solar, Satellite e.g., Solar, Satellite

NERONNERON

NERON is a critical component to:

• ISOS: NOAA’s contribution to an Integrated Earth Observing System (IEOS)

• IEOS: The U.S.• contribution to the

international GEOSS program

COOP-MCOOP-MCOOP-MCOOP-M ASOSASOSASOSASOS

OtherOtherNetworksNetworksw/NOAAw/NOAA

StandardsStandards

OtherOtherNetworksNetworksw/NOAAw/NOAA

StandardsStandards

USHCNUSHCNUSHCNUSHCN LegacyLegacyCOOPCOOP

LegacyLegacyCOOPCOOP

Other Other Networks w/oNetworks w/oNOAA Stds.NOAA Stds.

Other Other Networks w/oNetworks w/oNOAA Stds.NOAA Stds.

GEOSSGEOSS

US IEOSUS IEOS

NOAA IOSNOAA IOS

IOOSIOOS IUOSIUOS

6 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 20066

NERON Project MotivationWhy Now?

Integration of surface data via NERON is critical to USGEO activities.

– Addresses all six US GEO near term opportunities (example: surface data needed for a National Integrated Drought Information System)

– Integrated surface data needed to answer questions that address diverse societal benefits

Uncoordinated & separate systems continue to create inefficiencies, incompatibilities, & duplication of effort.

Societal Benefits

• Improve weather forecasting

• Reduce Loss of Life and Property from Disasters

• Protect and Monitor our Ocean Resources

• Understand, Assess, Predict, Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Variability and Change

• Support Sustainable Agriculture and Combat Land Degradation

• Understand the Effect of Environmental Factors on Human Health & Well Being

• Develop the Capacity to Make Ecological Forecasts

• Protect and Monitor Water Resources

• Monitor and Manage Energy Resources

7 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON Project MotivationExamples of Separate Observing Networks to be Integrated

Location of 100 -station USCRN in CONUSSeptember 2005 (100* stations)

* Includes 2 in Alaska

Installed Paired Locations

Installed Single Locations

ASOS/AWOS ~1500 sta.Legacy COOP ~11,000 sta.CRN ~100 stations

Mesonets >1000 stationsGA Partners >250 sta.High Resolution Temp. Initiative Partner 100 sta.

NOAA

Partner-ships

8 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON Strategy for Modernization

100% Requirement: Average density of 1 station every 400 sq. miles (20 mile by 20 mile grid) across the U.S.

1. Where quality partnership stations exist (defined by siting, sensor, and previous maintenance quality):• Leverage with existing networks and their state-of-the-art technologies• Provide limited upgrades and possibly cost-share maintenance at sites

considered critical to describe the variability of the local climate

2. Where non-NOAA partnership stations do not exist: • Perform rigorous site selection from among those that exist — or —• Purchase, install and maintain new surface observing stations

9 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON Strategy for ModernizationThree Critical Components

1. Site Selection in Each 20 by 20 mile Grid •Most critical & complicated task of NERON Modernization Project•Regional Site Selection Teams ‘judge’ which sites to select•Teams use site survey selection standards (developed jointly by

NCDC and NWSH) and a weighted series of GIS layers •Team Membership: Government, State, Private sector partners

2. Data Quality Assurance/Control/Maintenance• Ingest via MADIS•Real-time Quality Assurance (QA) •Post-processing Quality Control (QC) at NCDC•Maintenance dispatch based upon human judgment & QA/QC

3. Decommissioning Stations• Stations not modernized will attrition to closure (e.g., politically

sensitive sites) or be closed (e.g., as ‘poor performers’)

10 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NOAA NOSC

NERON Steering CommitteeTBD

(Budget Approval, Issue Resolution)

NERONProject Office

Line OfficesGoal Leads

W&WClimate

C&T

ScienceScience Field Ops

Field OpsCCB

CCBData Mgmt.

Ops

Data Mgmt. Ops

Site Acquisition

& Installation

Site Acquisition

& Installation

Working Groups

Engineering Support

Engineering SupportSystem

Acquisition

SystemAcquisiti

on

NERON Project GovernanceHow the Investment will be Managed

IOOSexisting

IOOSexisting ISOS

planned

ISOSplanned

IOUSplanned

IOUSplanned

IEOSplanned

IEOSplanned

11 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON COOP Modernization Performance Measures

Spatial Coverage — Based on Guidance from 2005• Cumulative number of NERON sites deployed and operational: 593

through FY07, 1,641 through FY10 and 1,811 through FY12.

Timeliness• Within 1 hour of the observation time, 95% of the possible data are

collected and ready for archiving. (Prior to modernization in New England, NERON data not available in real time [i.e., baseline = 0%].)

Quality• Of the data ready for archives, 95% will pass all QC/QA tests.

12 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON Progress to Date

100 operational stations deployed in the NE U.S.

Contract maintenance underway for these stations

Prototype “QA and maintenance decision dispatch system” at work

Expansion of NERON with partners in Georgia, Alabama and Kentucky

~20 other states in the queue!

Air Temperature from Modernized COOP Sites at 8:30 PM EDT on 4/20/05

(Color Fill: Blue = Cold; Red = Warm)

13 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON Progress to Date Administrative Issues

Needs broad NOAA endorsement of NERON ‘governance plan’ shown in Slide 101. Solidifies NERON as NOAA Project, not an agency-specific project

Needs broad NOAA endorsement of NERON plans for Functional Requirements, Site Surveys/Site Metadata, and Site Maintenance:1. Represents NOAA ‘seal of approval’ and high standards2. Defines networks that become part of NERON versus networks that

remain complementary to the NOAA mission

14 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NERON Progress to Date Budget Issues

Limitations: Funds to speed the modernization and add partners — substantial reduction in project $$$

Solutions based upon available funds:1. To meet 100% requirement in average station density

• Upgrade: ~2720 NOAA, ~800 Federal, and ~4480 partner sites• End state is 2025 with 56% partners & $111 million cost-avoided

Looming issues: 1. Earmarks (AL in FY05 and FY06, KY in FY06, MS and MO

in the works)2. Growing number of cities who want modern equipment, will

purchase it, and ask NOAA to close the Legacy COOP site3. Not enough FTEs to keep it all together

15 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

Following the NEC Meeting

January 10, 2006

Some Mid-Course Corrections are Coming

16 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NEC Decisions

Define ISOS

Determine the NOAA role in a “National Mesonet” in the FY09 budget process

Revise the NERON Project to be consistent with the new ISOS definition and a National Mesonet

17 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

Differences Between NOAA ISOS, National Mesonet and COOP Modernization

NOAA ISOS will blend quality-assured data from other NOAA line agencies and from the National Cooperative Mesonet with thousands of users so as to return economic dividends to the economy of the United States.

The National Cooperative Mesonet will grow to be a network of 50,000+ surface observations from public and private partners of NOAA. It will serve as the ‘pathfinder’ for NOAA ISOS.

The modernized COOP network, in combination with the

CRN, will provide data that can be used to detect climate change and initialize futuristic microscale NWP models. The modernized COOP will become the cornerstone of the National Cooperative Mesonet.

18 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

NOAA ISOS — U. S. Pathfinder for GEOSS

Identify current and evolving requirements for a comprehensive U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System.

Prioritize parameters to be observed and, by extension, prioritize legacy and planned observation systems.

Enable scientific and societal/economic benefits from GEOSS.

Expand existing governmental partnerships and develop new long-term partnerships with industry, academia and non-governmental organizations.

19 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

An Integrated Surface Observing System for the U.S.A. (ISOS)

National Cooperative Mesonet

20 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

Steps Along The Way to ISOS A modernized COOP network, a National Mesonet, and an

emerging ISOS provide linkages to:– Private Mesonets (e.g., AWS) whose data are complementary to

the NOAA mission– State-level Mesonets that appear to be valuable partners to

leverage Federal resources– State and local levels — the foci of NIDIS development

Extensible infrastructure for 21st century needs

An observation/data management system that is comprehensive and sustainable.

=> In the end, we minimize ‘stove pipes’, assist with meeting all of NOAA’s strategic goals, provide opportunities for the private sector, and directly support the GEOSS goals.

21 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

Scope of The National Cooperative Mesonet (NCM)

Pathfinder for NOAA ISOS

Establishes a high-quality infrastructure for future expansion

Integrates non-NOAA data from public and private networks

Integrates data from ASOS, CRN and the modernized COOP network

Quality-assures all data and makes it available within minutes of the observation time

22 NOAA’s Environmental Real-time Observation Network (NERON)

January 18, 2006

Questions

NERON Web Sitehttp://www.isos.noaa.gov/