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NOAA : PMEL : TAO Project Office : El Niño Theme Page |
| What is the purpose of the El Niño Theme Page? | |
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Access to the most recent El Niño observational and forecast data |  |
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During the past decade, numerous ocean observing systems have been
developed and deployed in response to specific operational and research
requirements (e.g. TAO Array, sea level gauges, ocean drifters, and
ship observations). In addition, images from remote sensing systems,
gridded global climatologies, numerical simulations, and forecast
products are routinely generated and distributed by a mix of government
and university organizations throughout the world. Although these data
and information products are generally available from most institutions
and, ultimately, from national data centers, there is currently no
one-stop system that provides access for browsing and downloading on a
routine basis.
These Web Pages demonstrate how widely-distributed information and graphical products describing the status and impact of El Niño events may be accessed using World Wide Web technologies. This project draws heavily upon existing Home Page developments both within and outside NOAA by creating a single, hyperlinked resource that enables any user to browse and interact with the most recent observational data and El Niño forecasts, as well as relevant scientific analyses and historical perspectives. This El Niño Theme Page illustrates a vision of how existing and future ocean observing systems may be combined into a virtual network providing easy access to important environmental products. We believe this effort is a forerunner of how climate data might be accessed and presented to Internet customer of the future. Nancy Soreide, nancy.n.soreide@noaa.gov Michael J. McPhaden, michael.j.mcphaden@noaa.gov |