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NOAA Strategic Goal: Weather and Air Quality

Computer systems developed by the NOAA Research Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) are in operation at all NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) field offices, two of which are located in Indiana. ESRL has been the prime developer of the data ingest and display components of the NWS weather display and text generation system known as AWIPS (Advanced Weather Information Processing System). This system integrates meteorological, hydrological, satellite, and radar data. ESRL also developed the Interactive Forecast Preparation System Graphical Forecast Editor, a system that allows forecasters to display and manipulate forecast depictions of sensible weather (temperature, wind, precipitation, etc.), and use these to generate text and graphical forecasts for the public and other customers. NWS field offices are using this system to produce gridded forecast products, which allows forecasters to convey more information to the customers than they did in the past.

The NOAA Profiler Network (NPN) consists of 35 unmanned Doppler Radar sites located in 18 U.S. states. One NPN site is in Indiana. The NPN provides critical upper-air wind and temperature data to the National Weather Service, other NOAA entities, the military, universities, researchers and forecasters in the private sector. The NPN has been fully operational since 1992. Data from the NPN are directly associated with improved weather forecasting which saves lives and helps protect property. The NPN is particularly important in forecasting tornadoes and NPN data is also used to route aircraft for increased safety and fuel economy. The NPN continuous measurement of winds are used by the U.S. Departments of Defense, Energy, and Homeland Security. For more information visit www.profiler.noaa.gov

NOAA Strategic Goal: Ecosystems

The Marine Instrumentation Laboratory at the GLERL has deployed and is maintaining a real-time network of shore-based meteorological instrument packages including a locations on Lake Michigan, at Michigan City. The meteorological observations obtained from the network are being used in GLERL's Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System to improve nowcasts and forecasts of wind, waves, water levels, and circulation. In addition, the National Weather Service has committed resources to support the network and forecast offices in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Grand Rapids are using the observations to improve marine forecasts and warnings. The Michigan City station measures/records wind speed, wind gust, wind direction and air temperature at 5-minute increments with web updates of this information every 15 minutes at http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/metdata/mcy/.

NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program is a federal-university partnership that integrates research, education, and outreach (extension and communications). Sea Grant forms a network of 32 programs in all U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states, Puerto Rico and Guam. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant works to promote the wise use of Great Lakes resources, primarily along southern Lake Michigan. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant research addresses reducing the spread, introduction, and economic impact of non-indigenous species; improving both the biological and human aspects of the Lake Michigan fishery through attainment, transfer, and application of knowledge of food web and ecosystem dynamics of the lake; supporting ecologically sound and sustainable coastal economic development and land use; reducing non-point pollution stemming from increased land development; and developing a viable aquaculture industry for the region. The public, industry, and policy makers are kept informed on issues related to biological resources, aquaculture, water quality, and coastal business and environment through the Program's extension and outreach services. Extension efforts in both states are enhanced through partnerships with the Cooperative Extension Service at both the University of Illinois and Purdue University. For example, a Tri-State Water Consortium (composed of over 44 governmental, industry, and organizational leaders from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana) will develop a regional plan and a formal policy structure that ensures a sustainable water supply in the Chicago Metropolitan region in the three states. For more information see http://www.iisgcp.org.

NOAA's Undersea Research Program (NURP) is a unique national service that provides undersea scientists with tools and expertise that they need to work in the undersea environment, from the shoreline to the deep sea. Each year, the program supports 200 or more undersea research projects related to NOAA's mission as steward of oceanic resources and environments, including research to support NOAA's management responsibilities in fisheries (stock assessment validation, understanding essential fish habitat), corals, and other coastal resources. NURP is comprised of a network of six regional centers and a national technology institute. NOAA's Undersea Research Center for the North Atlantic and Great Lakes (NAGL), one of the six NURP regional centers, is housed at the University of Connecticut. The NALG Center supports undersea research off the U.S.’s northeastern coast (i.e., Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and the Southern New England Coast including Long Island Sound) and in the Laurentian Great Lakes. The center’s research focuses on ecosystem response to human induced stress such as fishing and pollution and the role of habitat in sustaining fisheries and biological diversity. Underwater diving technologies available through NAGL include occupied submersibles, remotely operated vehicles (ROV's), and Nitrox scuba. For more information see http://www.nurp.noaa.gov/natlan.html.

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Updated June 8, 2006