3. Capabilities
3.2 Science Teams
Science teams provide an integrated end-to-end link between the
scientific research and applications and operational activities in support
of the socioeconomic benefits targeted by NOAA's Strategic Goals. The
science teams develop in-house, national, and international partnerships
and collaborations to fulfill requirements set by the user community. NOAA
capacity building is achieved through leveraging internal and external
funding opportunities and efforts in conjunction partners. Notable
interchange is achieved with NASA and the Department of Defense, the Navy
in particular.
- Sea Surface Temperature
NOAA/NESDIS provides world leadership in delivering global sea surface
temperatures (SST) from the infrared (IR) measurements onboard the NOAA
Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES), and now also from the
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). Pending POES
and GOES near-term satellite systems, IJPS, NPOESS, and GOES-R drive
significant current operational development activities.  The process
begins at the research level on satellite SST retrieval algorithms,
continues through the transition of retrieval algorithms to NOAA
operations, concludes with operational quality assurance and validation
of products, as well as product delivery to users. Historically, the
emphasis has been on infrared SST retrievals; however, most recently,
microwave (MW) SSTs are being explored. Accompanying SST capabilities
include the operational determination of calibration coefficients,
intercomparison and intercalibration of different instruments, and
enhanced atmospheric and aerosol corrections. The SST team provides critical
support to NOAA's Ecosystems, Climate, and Weather and Water Mission
Goals through direct data and products for numerous operational
applications, including fisheries management, protected species, marine
ecosystem monitoring and management (coral reefs in particular),
numerical weather and ocean modeling and prediction, as well as
understanding ocean dynamics and climate variability.
Figure 8. 30 km Sea Surface Temperature data from joint NASA/JAXA TRMM
(Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission) used to observe global weather
and climate patterns.
- Sea Surface Height
The Sea Surface Height Team deals primarily with satellite altimeter data
collected over the global oceans, working with the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-
1, and GeoSat Follow-on (GFO) data streams and preparing for the
operational Jason-2 data stream.  The focus of the team has been on the
transition from research to operations, both in terms of data processing
systems and ocean applications. Capabilities include providing the
definitive data sets for the GFO mission, retracking altimeter data sets
to maximize the extraction of information, and applying the altimetry data
to operational applications, Team projects support four focus areas: altimeter data, ocean dynamics,
marine gravity and bathymetry, and climate. Overall the Sea Surface Height
team addresses NOAA strategic goals by providing high quality global
altimeter data along with applications such as: forecasting El Niņo
events; determining the rate of global sea level rise (Climate Variability
Goal); ocean current analyses (Ecosystems Goal); and mapping the deep
ocean floor and improving the accuracy of bathymetric charts (Commerce and
Transportation Goal).
Figure 9. The crash site (marked by a red dot) of the USN San Francisco
displayed with satellite derived bathymetry and contours. Black dots
traversing the area represent charted soundings.
- Ocean Surface Winds
The Ocean Surface Winds Science Team (OSWST)  is the focal point for
satellite remote-sensing of ocean surface wind products within NOAA.
Efforts and capabilities include addressing product quality and validation
issues and in planning for future missions, such as the ASCAT
(scatterometry) on IJPS and CMIS (passive microwave polarimetry) on
NPOESS. OSWST directly supports operational users, such as the National Weather Service, through
product development, validation, and implementation. Considerable effort
goes toward education on the various remote sensing techniques to improve
product utilization by marine forecasters. OWST activities employ SeaWinds
on QuikSCAT, SeaWinds on ADEOS-II, WindSAT on Coriolis, ASCAT on IJPS,
SSM/I on DMSP, AMSR on AQUA, and ADEOS-II and TMI on TRMM. OSWST is also
leading an effort to quantify the impacts of ocean surface wind vector
data in operational marine nowcasting and forecasting within the Ocean
Prediction Center and the Tropical Prediction Center. The OSWST's major
contribution is to NOAA's Weather and Water Mission Goal.
Figure 10. WindSAT image of Hurricane Jeanne. A purple thru blue scale
indicates highest to lowest wind speeds.
- Ocean Color
The Ocean Color Science Team (OCST) provides high quality, continuous and
consistent ocean color data for the user community by calibrating and
validating present and future ocean color sensors by providing a
foundation reference, calibrated to National Institute for Standards and
Technology (NIST) absolute radiometric standards, for linking data records
from different ocean color satellite instruments.  This foundation
reference, provided by Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY) located in clear open-
ocean Hawaiian waters, is the only high-quality vicarious calibration
capability in the world and it enables the team to collect quality in-situ
data for calibrating ocean color satellite sensors. Future developments
will extend validation observations into more complex coastal waters. The
Marine Optical Characterization Experiment (MOCE) is a counterpart to MOBY
for developing new and improved satellite ocean color remote sensing
algorithms calibrated and validated by MOBY. OCST utilizes satellite ocean
color data to monitor the environment by identifying climate variability
trends and monitoring significant ecological events through changes in
biogeochemical transformations of carbon. The overall goals of the OCST are to develop
capabilities which fully use ocean color observing satellite systems to
provide quantitative information relating to oceanic biological
parameters, particularly; phytoplankton biomass, important biogeochemical
processes, and the state and magnitude of human activity impacts in
oceanic and coastal waters. Developmental ocean color data is provided
for operational HAB bulletins produced by NOS. The goals of the OCST
support the Ecosystems and Climate Goals of NOAA's Strategic Plan.
Figure 11. Ocean color satellite data is used in producing harmful algal bloom bulletins.
- Sea Ice
 SOCD's
Sea Ice Science Team partners with the National Ice Center's (NIC) Polar
Science Team, providing the Chief Scientist for the joint NOAA - U.S. Navy -
U.S. Coast Guard National Ice Center (NIC), to exploit remote sensing data and
processing assets 1) to develop and validate multi-sensor sea ice products
that respond to the user community's needs, 2) to expand sea ice and cryospheric
research through the use of new technologies and approaches, 3) to provide
science support and expertise for the production and development of analyses
and forecasts of sea ice conditions for customers with global, regional and
tactical scale interests, and 4) to respond to specific operational user requirements.
Operational data and science support is provided for visible and infrared imagery and
data from POES and DMSP satellites and radar "imagery" from synthetic radar
instruments (RadarSat-1, ENVISAT), as well as data from passive (SSMI/S) and
active (QuikSCAT scatterometer) instruments.
The Sea Ice Science Team supports the Ecosystems, Climate, Weather and
Water, and Commerce and Transportation Goals.
Figure 12. Sea ice forecasts provide ice conditions for operational user requirements.
- Sea Surface Roughness
The Sea Surface Roughness (SSR)  Science Team works through partnerships
with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), European Space Agency (ESA), the
National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA), and other organizations with synthetic aperture
radars (SAR). There is currently no domestic SAR satellite; consequently,
the U.S. relies on partners, research programs, and the data purchases to
fulfill its needs. SOCD, however, provides significant leadership and
development of SAR ocean products. Capabilities include efforts leading to
an operational products system for automated ocean product generation from
SAR data, in addition to educated use of SAR imagery
within operational Federal and State agencies through the development of
the SAR User's Manual and the SAR Winds Manual. Additionally, SOCD
develops algorithms and products for high-resolution wind speed and
direction, vessel detection, marine oil spill mapping, sea/lake/river ice
location/type/concentration/motion, ocean feature detection, severe storm
morphology, lower atmospheric boundary layer processes, wave spectra,
significant wave height, and coastal change detection.
The team supports the Weather and Water, Ecosystems, and Commerce and Transportation Mission Goal.
Figure 13. CSA and ESA SAR imagery is used to determine high speed winds.
Return to top
|
