What are Climate Services and What Will They Look Like

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What are Climate Services and What Will They Look
Like?
Art DeGaetano Director NOAA Northeast Regional
Climate Center Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric
Sciences Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
2008 AMS Summer Community Meeting
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PRODUCTS AND TOOLS ARE THE FRUITS OF CLIMATE
SERVICES
DATA ARE AT THE CORE OF CLIMATE SERVICES
CLIMATE SERVICES BRANCH TO REGIONAL AND LOCAL
LEVELS
CLIMATE SERVICES MUST BE ROOTED IN USERS
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The way a team plays as a whole determines its
success.  You may have the greatest bunch of
individual stars in the world, but if they don't
play together, the club won't be worth a
dime.  Babe Ruth
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NOAA Regional Climate Centers
Regional hubs for user-centric climate services,
interdisciplinary climate research, applications,
and education that provide a regional focus to
addressing societal needs.














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RCC Functions

• Contractual obligations
• data systems, user service and monitoring
• Near-real time relational database system,
• web-based information resources.
• Infrastructure capabilities grow from user and
  partner
• interests and needs.
• Efficiency and robustness
• Program versus individual centers
• Leverage infrastructure to support applied
  research

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ARSCO

• To satisfy the current and growing needs for
  climate services, climatological expertise must
  be readily available at the local level. ARCSOs
  have the best understanding of the climate of
  their state, and the ability and knowledge to
  provide climate data and information to users.

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ARSCOs

• Infrastructure
• connect to data archives at the NCDC, RCCs, and
  other locations.
• Multiple dissemination pathways,websites
• Services
• provide data and information to users, both
  printed and on-line
• Research
• relationships between climate and human
  activities that impact their state
• Outreach
• evaluate the needs of the user community
  adjusting and developing products and services as
  required. Educate state citizens people of their
  states on current and emerging climate issues
• Awareness
• promote its program as well as regional and
  national programs
• Media Contacts
• cultivate print and broadcast media contacts
• Monitoring and Impact Assessments
• monitor current climate conditions, evaluate
  potential future
• impacts and place events in historical
  perspective

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Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments

• RISAs support research that addresses complex
  climate sensitive issues of concern to
  decision-makers and policy planners at a regional
  level.

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RISA Expertise
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Government Partners

• NOAA
• Local/Regional Forecast Offices
• NEDIS, NWS OAR, etc.
• Other Federal Agencies
• USDA, BLM, NPS, etc.
• NASA, NSF
• Data, research dollars, models etc.
• National Drought Mitigation Center
• State Government

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Private Industry

• Big Industry
• Northrup Grumann
• Investment Banking
• Consultants
• Agricultural, Meteorological, Engineering
• Media
• The Weather Channel, local stations

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So unlike Bugs No one group can play all the
positions!
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Our collective vision for National Climate
Services should build on existing partnerships.
Our goal should be to excel in our positions, but
to play as a part of the team.
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Gettin' good players is easy.  Gettin' 'em to
play together is the hard part. 
Casey Stengel
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Partnering in Data
Regional Data Network from the High Plains RCC
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Partnering with SCs
Hybrid Coop/CoCoRaHS Precip Maps
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Partnering with NWS

• xmACIS (NWS Field Office Use)
• Applied Climate Information System
• Data query tool for NWS local climate
• research/local product development,
• and to answer customer climate record
• inquiries
• Complete historical climate database
• with near real-time update

• NOWData (Public Use)
• Self-service tool
• Subset of xmACIS
• Free, limited access
• Current year and Normals
• Portal for ACIS and
• NCDC information

http//www.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfobtv
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Partnering with NWS/NCDC/Private Industry

• ThreadEx (Open Use)
• Consistent daily temperature and precipitation
  extremes

http//threadex.rcc-acis.org/
Likely to be a several different sites
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Partnering with NWS/NCDC

• Datzilla (Partner Use)
• Data discrepancy reporting
• 400 registered NOAA users

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Partnering with NWS/NCDC

• WxCoder III (COOP Use)
• Internet observation entry system

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Partnering with Federal Agencies

• AgACIS (Custom NRCS data and products)

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Partners with RISAs
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Partnering in Applied Research
Trend Identification in Twentieth-Century U.S.
Snowfall The Challenges Kenneth E. Kunkel, 
Michael A. Palecki,  Kenneth G. Hubbard,  David
A. Robinson,  Kelly T. Redmond, and David R.
Easterling Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic
Technology SERVICES A Modern Applied Climate
Information System Kenneth G. Hubbard,  Arthur
T. DeGaetano, and Kevin D. Robbins Bulletin of
the American Meteorological Society Winter
Orographic Precipitation Ratios in the Sierra
NevadaLarge-Scale Atmospheric Circulations and
Hydrologic Consequences Michael Dettinger, 
Kelly Redmond, and Daniel Cayan Journal of
Hydrometeorology  
RCC ARCSO - NCDC
RCC - RCC
RISA - RCC
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Some thoughts for continued growth and
improvement that may capture and nourish the
ideas, energy, talent and commitment of the AASC


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Data will remain the core of climate services

• Historical climate data essential but not
  sufficient
• Past to present to future
• Expand thinking beyond climate . ecological,
  social and economic data
• Data encompass more than observations
• Quality, quantity, scale, uncertainty
• Climate to weather and back again
• Decisions do not obey arbitrary time bounds
• Decision Support instead of raw values

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Enhanced integration and consistency across
datasets
Unnamed ARSCO
CLIMOD product Daily Data Month
January 2007  Day  Max  Min  Avg
 Precip   1 53 36 45 0.08 2 39 31 35 0.00 3 4
9 35 42 0.00 4 57 44 51 0.03 5 57 50 54 0.95 6
56 41 49 0.28 7 43 32 38 0.13 8 44 30 37 0.15
9 34 28 31 0.05 10 29 21 25 0.02
2007  01 01 53 36 44.5 0.08 2007 
01 02 39 31 35 0.00 2007  01 03 49 35 42
0.00 2007  01 04 57 44 50.5 0.02 2007 
01 05 57 50 53.5 0.95 2007  01 06 56 41 48.5
0.29 2007  01 07 43 32 37.5 0.13 2007 
01 08 44 30 37 0.15 2007  01 09 34 28 31
0.05 2007 01 10 29 22 25.5 T
NWS LCD
DY MAX MIN AVG WTR 1 53
36 45 0.08 2 39 31 35 0.00 3
49 35 42 0.00 4 57 44 51
0.03 5 57 50 54 0.95 6 56 41
49 0.28 7 43 32 38 0.13 8 44
30 37 0.15 9 34 28 31 0.05 10
29 21 25 0.02
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Enhanced integration of networks
ASOS
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Enhanced integration of networks
add Coop
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Enhanced integration of networks
Add MADIS
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Move ahead with scACIS development and use

• Agreement on what components are essential
• A prioritized wish list of additional features
• Input into design specs for new products
• A commitment to adopt scACIS
• Use versus abuse
• Mechanisms to facilitate in-house SC development
  of state-specific products
• RCC commitment to lowering the programming bar
  for access to ACIS data

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On the forefront of climate to decision making

• Build upon acquired stakeholder trust
• Trust the team not a particular player
• Shared information, tools and solutions
• Funding will continue to be at a premium
• Proactive, evolutionary approach
• Grounded in tried and true methods
• Understand changing hazards, consequences,
  adaptations and assets
• challenges and opportunities

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Potential for expansion to go from climate to
weather and back again!
Potential utility for climate change impact
assessment on ground and estuary water quality
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• The RCCs and AASC share a long common history of
  climate services on behalf of society.
• How will NOAA utilize this partnership to deliver
  climate information and services that answer
  social needs in a changing environment?