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7. Constraints and Enablers

Infrastructure, activities, and issues can act both as enablers and as constraints to achieving science and technology objectives. Specific items to be noted include:

Cooperative Institute for Oceanographic Satellite Studies (CIOSS)

SOCD initiated and provides the base support for the Cooperative Institute for Oceanographic Satellite Studies (CIOSS) at Oregon State University. This cooperative institute serves a major enabler designed to:

CIOSS is designed to

• Extend NOAA's research involving the ocean and its interaction with the overlying atmosphere by developing and using satellite remote sensing methods that better resolve the ocean and the air-sea interface.
• Serve as a focal point for interactions between NOAA and the oceanographic research community, for research activities related to NOAA's mission responsibilities and strategic objectives in the coastal and open ocean.
• Improve the effectiveness of graduate-level education and expand the scientific possibilities and experiences available to graduate students, including participation in joint research programs with NOAA and other government agencies.
• Provide expanded collaborative and training opportunities in satellite ocean-atmosphere remote sensing, modeling and calibration/validation activities for researchers from NOAA laboratories and facilities.

The following five themes of mutual interest to NOAA and OSU will be pursued during the initial five years. The research under these themes will address the highest priority and most relevant issues in oceanographic satellite remote sensing and modeling.

• Satellite Sensors and Techniques: Development of satellite oceanography techniques and applications; evaluation of existing and proposed satellite sensors, algorithms, techniques and applications.
• Ocean-Atmosphere Fields and Fluxes: Development, evaluation and analysis of improved fields of physical and biological parameters in the upper ocean, and of surface parameters and fluxes at the air-sea interface, using combinations of remote sensing, in situ data and modeling.
• Ocean-Atmosphere Models and Data Assimilation: Use of satellite-derived fields to force and evaluate numerical models of the oceanic and atmospheric circulation, including the assimilation of those fields using methods of inverse modeling. For some applications, the ocean models will include components of marine ecosystems.
• Ocean-Atmosphere Analyses: Dynamical and statistical analyses of data sets derived from satellites, models and in situ instruments, in order to increase our understanding of the physical, chemical, biological, geological and societal processes that affect and are affected by the ocean-atmosphere system.
• Outreach: We include three broad Outreach areas, each to be related to CIOSS research and its results.
  1. Formal Education of students (K-12, undergraduate and graduate students), other scientists, resource managers and the general public in aspects of oceanography, surface meteorology and the use of remotely sensed data sets and numerical models. Short courses and training workshops are included in this category, as are workshops designed to develop or evaluate present and planned sensors and techniques.
  2. Informal Education of the same groups in the same subjects, but in contexts outside of the formal educational system, short courses and workshops. This may take the form of web-based material, presentations, forums, and exhibits at public science museums ("free-choice education").
  3. Data Access includes activities that enhance the use of data sets derived from satellites and models by research scientists, students, educators, resource managers and the general public.

Research to Operations

Funds are needed to transition products from research to an operational capacity. When developmental products, funded either by NOAA research base or external funds, are transitioned, it is expected that NOAA will now fund projects via operational funds. However, due to a lack of funds, there have been limitations on the transition of ocean products to operationally-funded processing; thereby creating a constraint on continuing and new research projects because current research funds are otherwise required to maintain the developmental products and support their user bases. By transitioning products from research to operations, more information is available to the user community to make informed decisions.

Calibration /Validation

Calibration and validation efforts are necessary pieces of the satellite data processing scheme, providing known uncertainties in operational satellite data, enabling better assessments and predictions from satellite data. A comprehensive STAR calibration/validation enterprise is required in support of operational and developmental satellite data and products. This is a crucial issue as emphasis is placed on developing and maintaining satellite climate data records (CDRs). Such efforts would also directly support NOAA's satellite contribution to the IOOS National Backbone. A specific concern is continuity of the globally-unique Marine Optical BuoY (MOBY) ocean color vicarious calibration capability, a crucial component for obtaining calibration of satellite ocean color instruments and validation of ocean color data, especially given NOAA's imminent entrance into operational ocean color instruments, data, and products with NPP/NPOESS VIIRS and the GOES-R HES-CW. Calibration issues extend to existing SST data, and pending NOAA operational ocean surface winds and altimetry. Significant calibration/validation capabilities and capacities for calibrating/validating developmental data/products exist within NASA and these will need to transition, in some fashion, to NOAA for operational implementation.

Collaborative Computing Environment

A collaborative computing environment would link heritage, present, and future satellite data types into a system where data can be assessed by the NOAA community for the calibration of instruments, the development and validation of products, and the establishment of climate quality data records. The collaborative system will enable users to contribute to and use from the same working environment to prevent duplicate research and operations, as well as simplify the information technology infrastructure and provide ready access to very large data sets. Such an collaborative environment would lead to efficiencies for both the polar and geostationary operational and acquisition efforts, specifically GOES, POES, Jason-2, NPOESS (through the NPOESS Data Exploitation (NDE) effort), and GOES-R.

Data Processing and Storage

High resolution, near-real-time continuous data products are the wave of the future; ease of availability and expanding user communities increase demand. Due to the increase in data resolution and volume, there is a need for mass storage space and faster processing technology. Systems are in the process of being upgraded to meet requirements. SOCD is preparing to redesign and implement a new Information Technology (IT) infrastructure which will capitalize on data flow efficiency and eliminate redundancy. Software standards and configuration management techniques will be applied. Large computer storage systems are used to archive satellite data for future use, distribution, and climate data record reprocessing.

Data Assimilation

Combining multiple satellite and in situ data sets for ocean model assimilation requires standardization of codes and much testing. Higher-resolution data and added parameters give models a more defined result in ecosystem modeling and forecasting. Data assimilation of satellite ocean remote sensing data enables greater extraction of information for use by decision makers.

Data Fusion

Data Fusion provides enhanced products to expand spatial and temporal coverage. By combining data, more, better, and new kinds of information can be extracted. Enhanced focus should be given to data fusion applications research and product development.

Funding for Applications Research and New Product Development

The funding structure for research and development of applications and products is splintered across numerous acquisition and operations activities. The satellite acquisition and operational satellite programs should engage STAR as the applications research and product development manager for their programs and provide budgetary authority to STAR to accomplish this role. The consolidation of applications research and product development funding authority will lead to synergies, explicitly supporting data fusion efforts as data from multiple satellites are integrated.

Education and Outreach

CoastWatch/OceanWatch maintains an active effective efficient delivery system to aid in the exploitation of satellite ocean remote sensing products by the user community. The outreach website http://coastwatch.noaa.gov/cw_outreach.html, contains links to software, data, tutorials, and collaborative projects, which include the Harmful Algal Bloom Forecasting Project and El Nino Watch. The program supports education activities through interns and K-12 learning. Attending conferences and regional meetings exposes and expands the user community to new and heritage products.

Science Teams are each producing K-12+ learning modules to make the user community aware of the information that can be derived from satellite products. The Sea Surface Roughness Team is participating in the AKDEMO to teach Alaskans the uses of SAR to forecast high velocity winds and sea ice.

SOCD actively engages in hosting numerous undergraduate and graduate interns, including teacher interns, as well as post-doctoral fellows and visiting scientists. Using the CIOSS partnership, SOCD ensures that CIOSS incorporates specific education and outreach efforts in its annual funded proposal.