The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the federal
agency dedicated to predicting and protecting the nation's oceanic and
atmospheric environment. Its mission is broad in scope: to be the eyes and
ears of science in the atmosphere, in the sky, and under the oceans. The
agency accomplishes its mission through several offices, including the
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service; the
National Marine Fisheries Service; the National Ocean Service; the
National Weather Service; and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric
Research.
NOAA's
budget for fiscal year 2000 is included in the overall funding bill for
the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State. NOAA's budget in FY 1999
was $2.2 billion.
To
continue its long-standing tradition of scientific service to the American
people, NOAA's overall mission in the 21st century is two-fold:
Environmental Assessment and Prediction, and Environmental Stewardship.
Environmental
Assessment And Prediction
NOAA
observes and assesses the state of the U.S. environment, while protecting
public safety and the nation's economic and environmental security through
accurate forecasting, by:
NOAA's
goal is to significantly improve the accuracy and speed of short-range
forecasts. Weather forecasting is more than just telling people to carry
an umbrella on a rainy day. Advance warnings of impending storms can mean
the difference between life and death. By decreasing the time it takes to
get these warnings to the public, hundreds of lives and billions of
dollars in property damage can be saved, improving public safety and
contributing to the nation's economic productivity.
NOAA's
National Weather Service completed its 10-year modernization effort in
June 1999. With the addition of Advanced Weather Interactive Processing
Systems at all 121 forecast offices, meteorologists have improved their
capability to provide more timely and precise forecasts, warnings, and
watches for severe weather. In addition, the five national
centers--including the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., and the
Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.--are equipped with prototype
high-speed computer and communication systems that allow forecasters to
quickly access and compile weather data gathered by radar, satellites, and
automated surface-observing systems. NOAA Weather Radio, a warning network
operating 24 hours a day nationwide, also is being expanded. The network
provides, to anyone who owns an inexpensive special-weather radio, the
same up-to-the-minute area weather reports and emergency information used
by meteorologists and emergency personnel.
Thanks
to significant investments in research and development, NOAA and its
national and international partners have made important strides in
monitoring, predicting, and researching major climate events that affect
weather patterns around the globe. NOAA's scientific advances now make it
possible to predict such climate events as El Niņo, an unusual warming of
the sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, and its
opposite, La Niņa, up to a year in advance.
In
addition, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is now able to predict the
typical weather patterns related to El Niņo and La Niņa for a season or
more than a year ahead of time with increased accuracy. For example, in
June 1997, the Climate Prediction Center correctly predicted that the
United States would experience abnormal weather patterns during the fall
and
winter due to the developing strong 19971998 El Niņo.
Providing
this type of accurate weather information six months in advance enabled
U.S. communities and businesses to better prepare and protect themselves.
Improved El Niņo and La Niņa forecasts can allow people to make
decisions that capitalize on the differences from normal climate. Those
decisions--about crop choices, for example, or reducing inventories of
storable commodities, or using hydropower rather than more expensive
thermal power--either result in lower prices that benefit consumers or
lower costs of production, which benefits producers.
NOAA
continues to expand its investment in research, leading to an increase in
its capability to predict weather for longer periods of time and with more
precise "regionality." Improved forecasts of seasonal and
interannual climate variations, such as El Niņo and La Niņa, can result
in savings amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars a year in the
United States and abroad.
Ensuring
the availability of safe and efficient marine and aeronautical navigation
systems and information is another important NOAA mission. To meet the
growing demand for safe and efficient marine and air navigation that is
essential to many U.S. industries is NOAA's goal, and it does this by
providing accurate navigation information and products that reduce risks
to life, cargo, and property.
NOAA's
National Ocean Service (NOS), for example, is updating its hydrographic
surveys of the nation's busiest and critical waterways, converting many
marine charts from paper to computer-readable digital raster format, and
working toward the next generation of electronic navigation and charting
systems. NOAA must provide these vital services to an expanding maritime
commerce industry that for safety and efficiency requires satellite data
to precisely pinpoint specific positions anywhere in the world. Its work
in integrating accurate charts, global positioning, and real-time
environmental information is just one of many ways NOAA helps boost the
nation's maritime and economic strength.
NOS
also provides navigators, coastal resource managers, and port and harbor
users with tide predictions, tidal current tables, and real-time water
levels and currents, and has helped develop comprehensive Physical
Oceanographic Real-Time Systems (PORTS) in some major U.S. ports to aid in
the safe and cost-effective shipping of $500 billion worth of cargo
annually.
NOAA's
time-tested expertise in environmental science, forecasting, and ocean and
coastal surveys makes it the logical choice for coordinating the
scientific information needed during responses to oil and hazardous
materials spills. As their name implies, NOAA pollution-response
Scientific Support Coordinators orchestrate all science-based activities
during and after a spill and provide vital weather, tide, current, and
environmental information to spill-response decision-makers. The
coordinators also create computer models to predict the path and impact of
spills and to help in the development of realistic plans and scenarios for
pollution-response drills and training. As a designated natural resource
trustee, NOAA also helps determine spill-related damages to natural
resources so that restoration can be started and compensation can be
sought from the party or parties responsible.
Environmental
Stewardship
NOAA
carries out the second part of its mission--to protect the nation's ocean,
coastal, and living marine resources while assisting their economic
development--by, among other things:
More
than one-fifth of the world's most productive marine waters lie within
U.S. territorial waters--from which commercial fishermen brought to port
in 1998 approximately 9.2 billion pounds of fish and shellfish worth $3.1
billion. In addition, the marine recreational catch was 135.5 million
pounds of fish. (More than twice that amount of fish is caught and
released as part of a nationwide angler conservation program.)
The
vast U.S. fishery resources and the essential habitats of fish can be
rapidly destroyed if harvesting is not carefully controlled or if
underwater habitats go unprotected. But with proper management healthy
stocks can be rebuilt and maintained. Diminished fish populations can be
restored, moreover, to bring greater wealth to the nation's coastal
communities. Fisheries that are sustainable over the long term allow U.S.
citizens to reap the greatest economic and social benefits, including
recreational enjoyment and a continuing supply of high-quality seafood.
Sound
scientific research is the prerequisite for maintaining sustainable
fisheries. To help ensure productive future harvests, National Marine
Fisheries Service scientists study the life history, stock size, and
ecology of economically important fishes, and the effects of climate and
ocean processes on fish populations. The information developed is used by
fishery managers to set annual quotas on the tonnage of fish of various
species that can be harvested.
There
have been numerous notable recent successes in the management of
sustainable fisheries: The striped bass fishery off the Atlantic Coast has
recovered; the tuna and swordfish stocks fished in the waters of the
Western Pacific under U.S. jurisdiction remain healthy and yield enormous
returns to the nation; and the management of North Pacific groundfish
stocks has kept that fishery the most productive and wealthiest in U.S.
waters. In addition, the Fisheries Service has made significant progress
in restoring many depleted fish stocks such as New England groundfish,
Gulf of Mexico red snapper, and Atlantic bluefin tuna.
Many
marine animals protected by federal law--e.g., whales, dolphins, sea
turtles, and many stocks of salmon--are affected by fisheries and other
human activities as well as by environmental change. The National Marine
Fisheries Service seeks to reduce the impact of these activities on
protected species while ensuring the viability of valuable fisheries. The
agency is a major force in protecting marine species around the globe. The
Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act are essential
tools used by Fisheries Service managers in their stewardship of marine
animals. Notable successes have come from effective management: (a) Recent
legislation has led to international cooperation that allows
"dolphin-safe" tuna to be harvested, while ensuring the health
of dolphin stocks; (b) the California gray whale became the first marine
mammal to be removed from the list of endangered species; and (c) many
endangered and threatened Pacific salmon stocks are now under federal
protection.
More
than half of the U.S. population lives in the nation's coastal areas. Over
a third of all U.S. jobs are in those same areas, and numerous major U.S.
industries--tourism, transportation, commercial fishing,
recreation--depend on healthy coastal areas for their economic prosperity.
The nation's coasts, however, are experiencing greater stress each year.
Rapid population growth, combined with increasing demand on these limited
areas, can lead to the loss or damage of these fragile and sometimes
irreplaceable resources.
The
National Ocean Service provides the nation with reliable and timely
information to promote the sensible and sustainable use of coastal
resources. Under the Coastal Zone Management Act, NOS builds partnerships
with states and communities to balance competing demands for coastal
resources so that they may be wisely used for business, commerce,
recreation, and residential purposes today, while being protected for
future generations.
Through
the National Marine Sanctuary and National Estuarine Research Reserve
programs, NOAA ensures the long-term enjoyment, preservation, and study of
these unique natural and cultural areas. Today, 18,000 square miles of
ocean and coastal waters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are protected
under the sanctuary program, and 440,000 acres across a wide range of
coastal and estuarine habitats are protected as research reserves.
In
April 1998 NOAA announced a partnership with the National Geographic
Society and the Richard & Rhonda Goldman Fund to launch a five-year
project of deep-water exploration and public education in NOAA's national
marine sanctuaries. In 1999, Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society
explorer in residence, began leading expeditions to each of the 12
sanctuaries, using the newly designed DeepWorker, a one-person submersible
capable of exploring to depths of 2,000 feet. The Sustainable Seas
Expeditions have the potential to produce stunning new scientific
discoveries and extraordinary educational experiences. The data gathered
from the expeditions, moreover, will provide stronger foundations for
marine research and more appropriate marine-conservation policies. The
ultimate success will be in: (a) the project's overall impact on
dispelling ignorance about the sea; and (b) producing a national ocean
ethic that will secure a sustainable future for the seas.
Coastal
habitats, such as estuaries and reefs, also provide food and shelter for
marine and anadromous fish and shellfish during important stages of their
life cycles. The National Marine Fisheries Service is a major force in
maintaining the health of marine ecosystems by leading research programs
designed to restore and create fish habitats, reviewing coastal
development and water projects that may alter or destroy habitats, and
recommending measures to offset the impact of development.
NOAA's
mission is to restore and maintain coastal ecosystems critical to the
current and future state of the nation. This mission will be achieved by
making the most advanced scientific data available to policymakers so they
can make better and more informed decisions. By continually assessing the
coasts, monitoring their health, and predicting the effects human and
natural forces have on these ecosystems, NOAA ensures that all Americans
benefit from the long-term management of the nation's shorelines.
At
the Forefront of Research
Research
drives improvements in NOAA's environmental products and services which
protect life and property and promote sustainable economic growth. The
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) is NOAA's primary
research and development unit. Work is conducted in a network of federal
laboratories, colleges and universities, and other scientific
institutions. Research focuses on enhancing the public's understanding of
a variety of events, such as severe storms, the ozone hole, climate
change, El Niņo/La Niņa, fisheries productivity, undersea research, and
the health of coastal ecosystems. OAR applies this research to develop
innovative technologies and observing systems.
OAR
consists of 12 federal environmental-research laboratories, 11 joint or
cooperative institutes, 29 Sea Grant colleges and universities, six
National Undersea Research centers, and the Office of Global Programs.
Through
OAR's research efforts, NOAA remains at the forefront of modeling,
environmental observations, and outreach efforts. Scientists are
developing models to predict weather and climate change, the tools needed
to sustain fisheries resources and biodiversity, methods used to monitor
air quality, systems to reduce coastal hazards, and techniques for
discovering marine life that could have biomedical or industrial
applications.
Observing
the Environment
Describing
the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the Earth's
environment is a fundamental activity for NOAA. NOAA's vision for the
future requires a modern, integrated, and comprehensive system that uses
U.S. environmental satellites and a highly specialized fleet of aircraft
and oceangoing ships.
The
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)
operates the nation's geostationary and polar-orbiting environmental
satellites and manages the processing and distribution of the millions of
bits of data and images these satellites produce daily. The prime customer
is NOAA's National Weather Service, which uses the data to create daily
forecasts and, when necessary, special advisories for the public and the
media.
NOAA's
operational environmental satellite system is composed of two types of
satellites: (a) geostationary operational environmental satellites (GOES)
for national, regional, short-range warning and "now-casting";
and (b) polar-orbiting environmental satellites (POES) for long-term
global forecasting. Both types of satellites are needed to provide a
complete global weather-monitoring system.
GOES
satellites provide the kind of continuous monitoring necessary for
intensive data analysis. They circle the Earth in geosynchronous orbit,
which means they orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a speed
matching the Earth's rotation. This allows them to hover continuously over
one position above the surface of the Earth. The geosynchronous plane is
about 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth, high enough to allow the
satellites a full-disc view of the Earth. Because they stay above a fixed
spot on the surface, they provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric
"triggers" preceding and/or related to severe weather conditions
such as tornadoes, flash floods, violent thunderstorms, and hurricanes.
When these conditions develop, the GOES satellites monitor their effects
and track their movements.
GOES-8
overlooks North and South America and most of the Atlantic Ocean; GOES-10
monitors North America and the Pacific Ocean basin. The two operate
together to send a full-face picture of the Earth, day and night.
Complementing
the geostationary satellites are two polar-orbiting satellites: NOAA-14,
launched in December 1994, and NOAA-15, launched in May 1998. Constantly
circling the Earth in sun-synchronous orbit (450-nautical-mile altitude),
these satellites support large-scale long-range forecasts and are assigned
numerous secondary missions. They circle the Earth in an almost
north-south orbit, passing close to both poles. One crosses the equator at
7:30 a.m. local time, the other at 1:40 p.m. local time. Operating in
tandem, the two satellites ensure that data for any region of the Earth
are no more than six hours old. The polar orbiters monitor the entire
Earth, tracking atmospheric variables and providing atmospheric data and
cloud images. They track weather patterns affecting the weather and
climate of the United States. They provide visible and infrared radiometer
data for imaging purposes, radiation measurements, and temperature and
moisture profiles. Their ultraviolet sensors also measure ozone levels in
the atmosphere and are able to detect the "ozone hole" over
Antarctica from mid-September to mid-November.
The
use of these satellites in search-and-rescue operations has been
instrumental in saving an estimated 10,000 lives since the inception of
the Search and Rescue Satellite Tracing (SARSAT) system.
In
addition to GOES and POES, NOAA now operates satellites in the Defense
Meteorological Satellite Program from its Satellite Operations Control
Center in Suitland, Md. This center is the primary site responsible for
controlling various functions associated with command and control of all
U.S. weather satellites. The transfer of operations from the Air Force to
NOAA represents an interim step toward development of a single integrated
satellite system designed to meet civilian as well as military needs. In
1999, contracts were awarded for an Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite and a
Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), an advanced high-spectral-resolution
infrared sounder that will fly aboard satellites of the future. The first
satellite in the new system will be available for launch in 2008, after
NOAA and the Defense Department have completed the operations projected
for the satellites currently in the pipeline.
In
addition to observing the environment, NESDIS manages, through its
national data centers, the largest collection of atmospheric, geophysical,
and oceanographic data in the world. From these sources it develops and
provides environmental data for forecasts, national security purposes, and
weather warnings to protect life and property. It also contributes to the
national economy by providing environmental data useful for decisions
about energy distribution, the development of global food supplies, and
the management of natural resources.
Office
of Marine And Aviation Operations
Since
NOAA's creation, a large percentage of its oceanographic, atmospheric,
hydrographic, fisheries, and coastal data has been collected by NOAA ships
and aircraft. This fleet of platforms is managed and operated by the
Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, an office made up of civilians
and officers of the NOAA Commissioned Corps, a uniformed service of the
United States. In addition to carrying out research and monitoring
activities critical to NOAA's mission, NOAA ships and aircraft provide
immediate-response and damage-assessment capabilities for dealing with
natural disasters such as hurricanes and unpredictable events such as oil
spills.
NOAA
Corps officers--all of whom are scientists and engineers--provide NOAA
with an important blend of operational, management, and technical skills
that support the agency's science and surveying programs both ashore and
at sea. Corps officers serve in NOAA's research laboratories and program
offices throughout the United States and in remote locations elsewhere
around the world--a NOAA Corps officer serves as station chief at the
South Pole in Antarctica, for example.
NOAA's
Ship and Aircraft Fleet
The
15 research and survey ships in the NOAA fleet are highly specialized
platforms ranging in size from the 274-foot oceanographic research vessel
Ronald H. Brown, capable of exploring the deepest ocean, to smaller ships
such as the 90-foot hydrographic survey ship Rude, which is responsible
for charting shallow bays, inlets, and coastal waters. The nine
fisheries-research vessels, three hydrographic-survey vessels, one
coastal, and two deep-water oceanographic-research vessels in the NOAA
fleet operate primarily within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United
States; however, the deep-water oceanographic vessels operate worldwide.
NOAA also has begun to charter commercial research vessels and to use
university vessels to meet the needs for the vast amount of data NOAA
scientists require to fulfill the agency's mission.
The
Rainier and Whiting are highly capable platforms used for conducting
coastal hydrographic survey operations both in remote areas (e.g., Alaska)
and along well-traveled waterways. In 1998 the Rainier was outfitted with
shallow-water multibeam systems and an accompanying Silicon Graphic Origin
2000 computer system. These systems and a high-speed network are being
used to create high-resolution three-dimensional terrain models of the
ocean floor. The picture-like images generated from the bottom allow
hydrographers to carry out a complete analysis of the area and to detect
all navigational dangers. Using the hydrographers' data, chartmakers can
create and update nautical charts with far greater precision. The Rainier,
one of the most productive hydrographic survey platforms in the world,
carries six aluminum survey launches and three small boats to support tide
gauge shore stations and dive operations. With its state-of-the-art
side-scan survey equipment, the Whiting is the most advanced hydrographic
vessel sailing the U.S. East Coast.
In
July 1996, the Rude, using side-scan sonar, located--within 48 hours--95
percent of the TWA Flight 800 wreckage later recovered by the U.S. Navy.
At the time of the tragedy the Rude was conducting hydrographic surveys in
New York Harbor and Long Island Sound. In July 1999, Rude once again was
in the national spotlight, along with Whiting, when they used their sonar
technology to scan the seafloor for the downed aircraft of John F. Kennedy
Jr. It was the Rude that located the wreckage, enabling Navy divers to
recover the victims.
NOAA's
fisheries-research ships provide a level of data-collection capability not
found anywhere in the U.S. domestic fleet. All NOAA fisheries ships can
simultaneously operate oceanographic/environmental equipment and fisheries
stock-assessment sampling gear. A prime example of this dual capability is
the Miller Freeman, a stern trawler capable of: (a) towing various bottom
and mid-water trawls; (b) deploying a host of oceanographic instruments;
(c) collecting fisheries data through use of hydro-acoustic techniques;
and (d) providing laboratory space and berthing for visiting scientists.
The Miller Freeman's primary mission is to provide a working platform for
the study of the ocean's living resources.
In
1999 NOAA completed conversion of the Gordon Gunter, the former USNS
Relentless. Conversion to her present configuration--with modern
navigation electronics and oceanographic winches, sensors, and sampling
equipment--began in 1998. A custom-designed marine mammal observation and
survey station also was installed, making the Gordon Gunter the
best-equipped acoustically quieted vessel engaged in this work. The final
stages of the ship's conversion to a stern trawler (with 1,490 square feet
of dedicated laboratory space) were completed in August 1999. The Gordon
Gunter is the second largest fisheries research vessel in the United
States.
Four
oceanographic and coastal research vessels make up the remainder of the
NOAA fleet. The Ronald H. Brown--named after the late Secretary of
Commerce--was commissioned in 1997 and is the nation's most
technologically advanced seagoing research platform. The ship's
meteorological and ocean data-collecting capabilities allow it to sample
continuously from 25 kilometers into the atmosphere to the bottom of the
deepest ocean.
The
Ronald H. Brown is the only U.S. oceanographic research ship equipped with
a Doppler radar for studying storm dynamics at sea. A new and improved
Doppler radar, acquired in late 1998 to provide even greater capabilities,
was used extensively on a 10-month world cruise in 1999 to conduct
research on global climate variability.
NOAA's
fleet modernization program, which started in 1992 and is still far from
complete, already has enhanced scientific data collection, facilitating
sound environmental assessment, prediction, and stewardship. The program
also seeks to optimize the effective use of NOAA's existing ships while
developing outsourcing arrangements, converting suitable ships, or
acquiring new platforms through charter, lease, or purchase. Since the
program began, six older and less efficient NOAA ships have been taken out
of service, and three new ships have been put into service--the
Ka'imimoana and Gordon Gunter (converted Navy T-AGOS ships), and Ronald H.
Brown. Service-life extension upgrades were completed on the fisheries
research vessels Delaware II in 1997 and Miller Freeman in 1999. The
condition and efficiency of the remaining ships in the fleet have improved
significantly since the modernization program started. Congress
appropriated FY 2000 funds to acquire the first of several new
fisheries-research ships built to an acoustically quiet design to enhance
the agency's stock assessment and data-collection capabilities along all
U.S. coasts.
NOAA's
Aircraft Operations Center in Tampa, Fla., manages a fleet of helicopters
and fixed-wing aircraft that operates throughout the United States and
provides unique specialized platforms for NOAA's missions. NOAA aircraft:
(a) conduct snow surveys that aid in flood prediction and water-resource
management; (b) survey coastal damage in the wake of destructive
hurricanes; (c) locate and track marine mammals such as endangered right
whales in the North Atlantic; and (d) update aeronautical charts. NOAA's
two P-3 Orion hurricane hunter aircraft, although aging, continue to be
the workhorses of hurricane research. Their hurricane penetrations provide
critical data for NOAA's prediction models. NOAA P-3s are the only U.S.
government aircraft with hurricane-surveillance capabilities that are
authorized to fly in Cuban airspace. Last fall, NOAA researchers
contributed their expertise (and the P-3's unique capabilities) to a
massive weather research project in Europe to study the effects of
precipitation and wind over the Alps. The knowledge gained will help U.S.
forecasters better predict deadly flooding and clear-air turbulence in
mountainous areas, particularly in the Pacific Northwest and American
Rockies.
NOAA's
newest aircraft is a Gulfstream-IV jet that has been transformed into a
high-technology meteorological platform, the first of its kind in the
world. Its combination of range, payload, ceiling, sensors, and onboard
data-collection capabilities provides information on hurricane steering
currents in the upper atmosphere at a vertical resolution previously
impossible. This has enabled NOAA's National Hurricane Center to improve
hurricane landfall and track forecasts by up to 20 percent and to further
refine storm-intensity forecasts--saving taxpayers millions of dollars by
limiting unnecessary evacuations. This year, new instrumentation aboard
the G-IV will help forecasters determine how much rain a hurricane will
drop on a given area--and, therefore, how much flooding can be expected.
NOAA's
Vision for the Future
NOAA
envisions a 21st century in which its environmental stewardship,
assessment, and prediction capabilities continue to serve as keystones to
enhancing U.S. economic prosperity and quality of life, and the
sustainable use of natural resources.
No
other federal agency working in the natural environment possesses NOAA's
capabilities for the measurement, monitoring, and understanding of the
nation's atmospheric and marine systems. NOAA also possesses America's
largest storehouse of scientific data. The American people will benefit
greatly as more and more of that data is made more accessible, ensuring
that the United States retains the capability to solve problems and
respond to constant changes in the environment.
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