STATEMENT OF
SCOTT B. GUDES
ACTING UNDER SECRETARY FOR OCEANS AND
ATMOSPHERE
AND ADMINISTRATOR
ON
THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC
ADMINISTRATION
FY 2002 BUDGET
BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE
APRIL 25, 2001
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the Committee, for this opportunity
to testify on the President's FY 2002 Budget Request for the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Let me begin by saying that NOAA, a
key component of the Department of Commerce, plays a vital role in the everyday
lives of our citizens through our numerous contributions to the Nation's
economic and environmental health. In a period of strongly competing Government
priorities, the President's FY 2002 Budget Request for NOAA is $3,152.3 million
in total budget authority for NOAA and represents a decrease of $60.8 million
below the FY 2001 Enacted levels. Within this funding level, NOAA proposes
essential realignments that allow for a total of $270.0 million in program
increases in critical areas such as infrastructure, severe weather prediction,
coastal conservation, living marine resources, and climate.
The funding
requested in the FY 2002 President's Budget Request will allow NOAA to ensure
that our vision for environmental stewardship, assessment, and prediction of the
Nation's resources becomes a reality, and that NOAA will continue to excel in
our science and service for the American people.
From weather forecasting to
fisheries management, from safe navigation to coastal services, remote sensing
to climate research and ocean exploration, NOAA is at the forefront of many of
this Nation's most critical issues. NOAA's people, products and services provide
vital support to the domestic security and global competitiveness of the United
States, and positively impact the lives of our citizens, directly and
indirectly, every single day.
NOAA's mission is to describe and predict
changes in the Earth's environment and to conserve and manage the Nation's
coastal and marine resources to ensure sustainable economic opportunities. NOAA
implements its mission through its line and staff offices: the National Ocean
Service (NOS); the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); the Office of
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR); the National Weather Service (NWS); the
National Environmental, Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS); the
Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO); and Corporate Services
(CS).
Today, the Nation and the world look to NOAA to provide timely and
precise weather forecasts that protect lives and property; to manage fisheries
and protected species; to promote and sustain healthy coastlines; to make
America more competitive through safe navigation; to examine changes in the
oceans; and to inspire and create approaches that will protect and keep our
precious natural resources alive for the generations to come.
NOAA conducts
research to develop new technologies, improve operations, and supply the
scientific basis for managing natural resources and solving environmental
problems. NOAA's comprehensive system for acquiring observations – from
satellites and radars to ships and submersibles – provides critical data and
quality information needed for the safe conduct of daily life and the basic
functioning of a modern society.
NOAA's products and services include
short-term weather and space-weather forecasts, seasonal climate predictions,
long-term global change assessments, environmental technologies, nautical
charts, marine fisheries statistics and regulations, hazardous materials
response information, and stewardship of the Nation's ocean, coastal, and living
marine resources.
NOAA's programs for FY 2002 support several key
cross-cutting initiatives. These cross-cutting initiatives illustrate the degree
to which NOAA's programs are inter-related. Each of the component programs
within a cross-cutting initiative uniquely contributes to NOAA's ability to meet
its mission.
People and Infrastructure
• The request of $73.3 for the People and
Infrastructure cross-cutting initiative brings together the heart of what NOAA
is and does. These are the underlying and interconnecting threads that hold NOAA
and its programs together. Investments in NOAA's scientific and technical
workforce and NOAA's facilities and equipment is essential to the agency
carrying on it's mission into the 21st Century. "People and Infrastructure" is
about investing in the future.
People
• NOAA requests $60.0 million in base adjustments that are
critical to preserve and develop NOAA's human capital, our greatest asset. The
demand for NOAA's scientific work products and services is expected to increase
significantly in FY 2002 and beyond. This trend is evidenced by market responses
to increasingly accurate seasonal forecasts, and protection of life and safety.
Similar increases in demand for NOAA's products and services are expected from
the national energy community and other potential user communities. To ensure
NOAA's mission capacity is adequate to respond to these demands, NOAA must
continue to invest in its people.
• This investment will ensure NOAA's programs are maintained at the current services level. These are "must-pay" bills like pay raises, benefits, inflation, and rent. Failure to receive these adjustments in any given year results in program dislocations and minor cutbacks. Failure to receive these adjustments over time has a cumulative erosive effect that can be programmatically devastating. Consequently, these adjustments to NOAA's funding base are essential for NOAA to continue meeting core mission-related requirements and the expectations of the American public.
Infrastructure
• NOAA's facilities and information technology
infrastructure directly and immediately impacts the ability of NOAA's program
offices to satisfy mission demands. The condition, readiness and vulnerabilities
of this infrastructure have direct consequences on human welfare, economic well
being, and the advancement of the state of the sciences. To ensure mission
capacity, NOAA requests infrastructure funding of $73.3 million in the following
key categories: critical systems, construction, maintenance and repair, and NOAA
program support.
Systems
• NOAA requests a total of $7.5 million for the National Weather
Service (NWS) Telecommunications Gateway (NWSTG) Backup, to provide critical
infrastructure protection. This investment will enable NOAA to acquire the
equipment and facility infrastructure necessary to ensure continuity of
operations at the NWSTG. The NWSTG is the Nation's critical telecommunications
hub for collecting, processing, and distributing weather data and information.
The data processed by the NWSTG are used by hundreds of customers worldwide but
the current NWSTG facility, located in NWS headquarters in Silver Spring, MD has
no operational backup and is therefore a single point of failure vulnerable to
natural disasters, human error, computer viruses, hacker attacks, and terrorism.
This investment will mitigate these risks and will enable NOAA to comply with
Presidential Directives on critical infrastructure protection and continuity of
government operations.
• NOAA requests a total of $0.3 million to begin to address the critical single point of failure for NOAA's satellite products. This investment will fund a study to evaluate the backup capabilities for critical satellite products and services currently delivered from Federal Building 4 in Suitland, MD. This initiative is essential to address the potential for a catastrophic outage, which would prevent the delivery of critical satellite data and products to the NWS. In the event of such an outage, approximately 85 percent of the information used in weather forecast models would be lost, seriously limiting the ability to make accurate weather forecasts. This would be particularly dangerous if data was not available during times of severe weather events.
• NOAA requests a total of $4.6 million to ensure Continuity of Critical Facilities for Satellite Operations. This investment will allow NOAA to address deficiencies and risks associated with the infrastructure of the NOAA environmental satellite command and control centers at Wallops, VA and Fairbanks, AK. This initiative forms a cohesive approach to resolving known infrastructure problems by reducing facilities' threats and risks, and completing the renovation/repair of the Satellite Operations Control Center. These problems could jeopardize NESDIS' ability to control the Nation's environmental satellite systems and potentially lose in-orbit assets.
Construction
• The total request of $12.0 million for National Weather
Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office Construction represents an increase of
$2.5 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will
ensure the continuation of critical facility modernization efforts in the NWS.
In FY 2002, NWS plans to finalize construction of the new Weather Forecast
Office in Caribou, Maine and complete the new Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in
Palmer, Alaska. NWS also plans to complete modernization of the weather offices
in Hilo, Hawaii and Kotzebue, Alaska.
Maintenance
• The total request of $4.6 million for Weather Forecast
Office (WFO) Maintenance represents an increase of $0.3 million above the FY
2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will allow NWS to fund recurring
maintenance contracts and address a backlog of over $7.0 million in deferred
maintenance repair actions. WFOs provide forecasters with modernized facilities,
supporting the advanced technology systems and the provision of weather service
to the public. As the WFOs continue to age, the facilities require a significant
investment in recurring and cyclic maintenance, including replacement of major
facility support systems such as power backup and heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning. The request will allow NWS to protect the $250 million capital
investment in modernized facilities in accordance with GSA and private industry
standards.
• NOAA's request of $3.6 million for Facilities Maintenance, Repairs and Safety represents an increase of $1.7 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will allow for remediation of NOAA's deteriorating facilities. NOAA's capital assets, totaling 496 installations spread across all 50 states are valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The majority of these facilities are over 30 years old, and 29 percent are over 40 years in age. To date, renovations have been relatively few, and maintenance has been chronically deferred. NOAA has already identified a project backlog of over $50 million in maintenance and repair, and this continues to grow as a comprehensive facility assessment unfolds. Major systems in many facilities are in imminent danger of failure, or are well past their useful lives. These requested funds will help address this backlog of facilities maintenance, repair and safety.
• The total request of $5.0 million for Boulder Facilities Operations represents an increase of $1.0 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This provides funds for rent charges levied by the GSA which owns and operates the facility. This is a "must pay" bill, without which the science programs would bear the burden.
Support
• The President's Budget request for FY 2002 includes $2.3 million
for the Cooperative Observer Network, which represents an increase of $1.9
million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment supports a
nationwide network of over 11,000 volunteer operated weather observing sites
used by NOAA to maintain the Nation's climate record and to provide data to
local NWS field offices. These sites are staffed by citizens dedicated to
maintaining climate records and assisting the NWS. In a recent report, the
National Research Council recommended that NOAA take immediate steps to sustain
and modernize this critical network. NWS plans to replace 900 rain gauges and
200 temperature sensors in FY 2002. This is the first of an anticipated 3 year
rescue effort which will result in the total replacement of 2700 rain gauges and
5000 temperature sensors.
• The total request of $14.2 million for Aircraft Services represents an increase of $2.4 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will provide an additional 300 flight hours for data collection for a total of 1970 flight hours. Of these additional flight hours, 150 flight hours are specifically for hurricane surveillance and for severe winter storms. Another 150 flight hours will support measurements of ocean winds during high windspeed conditions, which are critical to planning for future satellite sensors. These flying hours will enable NOAA to more efficiently use its heavy aircraft and to maintain pilot proficiency during data collection under severe weather conditions.
Maintain Satellite Continuity and Severe Weather Forecasts
• Critical to
meeting our 21st Century mission is the continuity of NOAA's Satellites and
Severe Weather Forecasts. In order to ensure our success, the FY 2002
President's Budget Request includes a total of $712.3 million, of which $127.1
million is new funding. The programs that comprise this initiative are
summarized in the preceding table and the program descriptions below.
Satellite and Data Services
• NOAA's total request of $65.0 million for
Environmental Observing Services represents an increase of $14.3 million above
the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment supports the operations of
all of the NESDIS satellite systems, the ingesting and processing of satellite
data, and the development of new product applications required for continuity of
operations. NESDIS provides satellite command and control services on a 24 hours
per day, 365 days per year schedule. Funding is required to keep up with
increases in labor costs, software licensing, communications, and ground system
maintenance. Requirements have expanded due to greater demands on operations and
control, greater amounts of data requirements for new products, requirements for
more advanced software and the development of improved products, and increased
demand to support users.
• The total request of $146.3 million for Polar Orbiting Satellites represents an increase of $9.6 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will allow for the continuation of spacecraft production (NOAA K-N'). It will also allow for completion of the instruments for the European Meteorological Operational (METOP) satellites which is expected to replace NOAA's morning polar orbiting satellite during calendar year 2005. Funding is included for upgrading and replacing aging and deteriorating ground systems to allow for continuation of operations for the Polar K-N' series through the end of its lifetime in about 2012. These ground systems are needed in order to communicate with the satellites until the last of the series is decommissioned. In addition, funds provide for replacing and upgrading the aging product generation and distribution system.
• Funding in the amount of $156.6 million is included in NOAA's budget request for the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) represents an increase of $83.4 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will allow for the convergence of NOAA's Polar program, the Department of Defense's (DOD) Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and National Aeronautic and Space Agency's (NASA) research and development into a single satellite system that will save the United States Government millions of dollars over the life of the program. NPOESS is essential to meeting both NOAA's requirements in weather forecasting, oceanography, climate and search and rescue services as well as the DOD's National Security mission. NOAA has only three remaining current generation satellites on the ground to use until the first NPOESS satellite is delivered in late 2008. NPOESS needs to stay on schedule as provided for in this FY 2002 Budget Request to help ensure that polar data continuity is maintained. NPOESS satellites are critical for weather forecasting, climate observations, U.S. military operations on a worldwide basis, and search and rescue operations.
• The total request of $293.3 million for the Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellite (GOES) Program represents an increase of $3.1 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will fund the spacecrafts and launch services, including the launch vehicle and launch control personnel. Funding is necessary to maintain continuity of geostationary operations.
• NOAA requests a total of $1.2 million for the Commercial Remote Sensing Licensing Program. This investment will ensure the timely review and processing of satellite license applications. Under the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (as amended in 1998), NOAA is charged with licensing and enforcing licenses of the U.S. private sector remote sensing industry. Funding will be used to establish a program to provide technical support for such reviews, support of an industry advisory mechanism, and computer infrastructure. Major monitoring and compliance activities will include review of quarterly licensee reports, on-site inspections, audits, license violation enforcement, and implementation of shutter control in national security and foreign policy crisis situations.
• The total request of $31.4 million for Data and Information Services - operational activities represents an increase of $6.5 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment is for core operational activities and will increase the Data Centers capacity to ingest, process, and archive data as well as continue the rescue of valuable environmental data. Requirements have expanded due to growing customer demands for data and products, and increased data management has become a necessity as the volume of new data continues to grow. Combined with other funding for fisheries oceanography, habitat characterization, the climate reference network, climate database modernization, and environmental data systems modernization, these funds support NESDIS' Data and Information sub-activity request.
Severe Weather Forecasts
• The total request of $3.7 million for the U.S.
Weather Research Program (USWRP) represents an increase of $2.2 million above
the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment in research will improve
the accuracy of hurricane landfall predictions for location, intensity, and
rainfall estimates. Decreased error and uncertainty in hurricane forecasts will
save lives and will help reduce the length of coastline recommended for
evacuation during these powerful storms. This will allow localities to avoid
millions of dollars worth of unnecessary preparations, and, at the same time,
encourage those in the warned areas to have greater confidence in the accuracy
of the warnings. The USWRP is a partnership between NOAA, other Federal
Agencies, and universities.
• NOAA's total request of $5.1 million for Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) represents an increase of $1.3 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will complete the acquisition of 346 new ASOS dewpoint sensors. The existing dewpoint sensors fail on average every ten days and have the highest failure rate in the ASOS suite of sensors, and consequently are in need of replacement. These funds will also complete the acquisition of 346 new ASOS processor units which are needed because the current processors are over capacity. Lastly, these funds will allow NOAA to begin acquisition of the all-weather precipitation gauge necessary for climate record continuity and aviation safety. In FY 2002, NOAA will acquire 115 all-weather precipitation gauges.
• The FY 2002 total request of $5.9 million for the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) - Environmental Modeling Center represents an increase of $1.7 million above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will sustain operations at NCEP's Environmental Modeling Center (EMC). The EMC develops the computer models and other numerical forecast products which provide the basic guidance that forecasters use in making weather and climate forecasts. Today, the EMC is overly dependent on external sources of funding for its operations, degrading its ability to transfer proven weather forecasting science into NWS operations. The National Research Council in its report From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction: Crossing the Valley of Death, states "Almost all of the Nation's operational weather and climate guidance products come from EMC, which does not presently possess the necessary resources to transfer many of the U.S. advances in observations and modeling to operations." In FY 2002, NWS plans to provide direct base support for its suite of operational forecast models, including the aviation, regional, and global models.
• NOAA requests a total of $3.8 million for Data Assimilation and the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation. This request comprises $3.0 million for data assimilation and $0.8 million for the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation. The investment for data assimilation will allow NOAA to improve data assimilation and modeling at the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Data assimilation is the collection and processing of weather observations (satellite, aircraft, radar, data buoys, upper-air balloons) for use in operational numerical weather prediction models. These models are the foundation for all short and medium range and severe weather forecasts including aviation, marine, hurricane, rainfall, and severe weather. This critical funding request aims to improve forecasts through the use of enhanced satellite data and other data-sets in the NCEP prediction models, leveraging one of the Nation's largest capital investments in global and environmental observing systems. Investment in data assimilation ensures that the large investment in observing systems and computers has maximum benefit for the public.
• In addition to data assimilation, $0.8 million will be used to establish the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation with NWS, NESDIS and NOAA Research in order to accelerate and improve the use of satellite data in forecast models. The core scientific staff and computing facilities of this "virtual" Center will consist of current NOAA resources. This request will allow for NOAA to accelerate the use of current and future satellite data in NWS weather and climate prediction operations. In addition to the NOAA contributions, NASA, with a similar level of support, will be a partner in a coordinated national effort to realize the full potential of the vast quantities of new satellite data that are becoming available. This center will make more effective use of NOAA remotely sensed data as well as integrate NASA, Department of Defense, and international satellite data into NOAA's operational models.
Climate Services
• From the storms of next week to the drought of next
season to the potential human-induced climate change over the coming century,
issues of climate variability and change will be continue to be a major issue
for the Nation. Whether responding to the ongoing drought in the Pacific
Northwest and its effect on power generation and endangered salmon, or in
determining how much atmospheric carbon dioxide is taken up by the North
American biosphere, these questions influence users from the Western water
manager to the shapers of national policy. The challenge is to extend the
research successes, maintain the observational backbone, and improve the
capability to provide useful information services to our customers. Improved
climate predictions will enable resource managers in climate sensitive sectors
such as agriculture, water management, and energy supply to alter strategies and
reduce economic vulnerability. Building on the understanding of the Earth's
climate system that has resulted from the Nation's strong scientific research
and numerical modeling programs, this Climate Observations and Services Program
will begin the transition of research data, observing systems and understanding
from experiments to applications, and from basic science to practical
products.
• NOAA maintains a balanced program of focused research, large-scale observational programs, modeling on seasonal-centennial time scales, and data management. In addition to its responsibilities in weather prediction, NOAA has pioneered in the research and operational prediction of climate variability associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). With agency and international partners, NOAA has been a leader in the assessments of climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, and the global carbon cycle. NOAA scientists have been leaders internationally in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It maintains national coordination through participation in the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
• The agency-wide Climate Observations and Services activity represents a
partnership that allows NOAA to facilitate the transition of research observing
and data systems and knowledge into operational systems and products. During
recent years, there has been a growing demand from emergency managers, the
private sector, the research community, decision-makers in the United States and
international governmental agencies and the general public to provide timely
data and information about climate variability, climate change and trends in
extreme weather events. The economic and social need for continuous, reliable
climate data and longer-range climate forecasts has been clearly demonstrated.
NOAA's Climate Observations and Services Initiative responds to these needs. The
following efforts will be supported by this initiative:
Continuing
Climate Services
• The total funding request for NOAA's Continuing Climate
Services is $11.0 million. These continued investments will allow NOAA to build
on the climate activities started in FY 2001.
• NOAA's FY 2002 budget request includes $3.0 million for the Climate Reference Network. In order to ensure NOAA's capability to monitor very long-term changes of temperature and precipitation, a climate reference network consisting of several hundred stations must be developed by making use of the historical data from the best sites in the network of 11,000 cooperative observing sites. This climate reference network will build on data from stations identified as those with the longest environmentally stable records, most dedicated observers, and most reliable data with few interruptions.
• Also included in NOAA's request of $1.0 for improving the Availability of Climate Data and Information: $1.0 million. As the observational capabilities increase and the observing networks expand, it is essential that data management and dissemination systems are in place to make the resulting data and information widely and easily accessible to public and private sector decision makers. During recent years, NOAA has struggled to respond adequately to questions from industry, the general public, and the Government regarding potential changes in weather and climate events. NOAA is developing the required infrastructure to assemble, develop, and communicate the data, information, and knowledge about the trends, likelihoods, and future expectations of climate and weather events.
• The request for funding for Baseline Observatories is $2.0 million. Funding for this activity is for operations at NOAA's remote manned Global Atmospheric Baseline Observatories, measuring up to 250 different atmospheric parameters relevant to the study of climate change at: Barrow, AK; Mauna Loa, HI (since 1957); American Samoa; and the South Pole, Antarctica (also since 1957). These observations are critical to the collection and continuity of the world's longest atmospheric time series, supplying the scientific community with information on the state and recovery of the ozone layer, global carbon dioxide, and other trace gases impacting the global climate.
• NOAA's request for Ocean Observations in FY 2002 is $5.0 million. NOAA maintains the sustained global observing and data stewardship system necessary for climate research and forecasting as well as the long-term monitoring system necessary for climate change detection and attribution. The observation network is based on a set of "core" observations (e.g., temperature, surface wind stress, salinity, sea level, carbon dioxide), consisting of both in-situ and remotely sensed measurements, that have been identified in NOAA and other national and international reports as needed to satisfy research and operational climate requirements.
Regional Assessments, Education and Outreach
• NOAA requests a total of
$1.9 million for Regional Assessments, Education and Outreach. This investment
will allow for regional assessments, education and outreach related to climate
variability. The impacts of climate variability from season-to-season or
year-to-year manifest themselves on regional and local levels. The goal is
utilization of climate variability information by regional and local managers
and decision-makers to maximize economic gain and mitigate potential harmful
impacts.
Weather-Climate Connection
• NOAA requests a total of $0.9
million for Weather-Climate Connection. This investment will assist in
understanding predictions variability beyond the El Niño Southern Oscillation
(ENSO) and predicting the weather-climate connection. As during El Niño, other
sub-seasonal tropical fluctuations can also lead to shifts in the Pacific storm
track, affecting the paths of storms approaching the U.S. west coast, and
influencing weather across the entire country. Sub-seasonal
tropical-mid-latitude interactions thereby provide a potentially important
additional source of predictability beyond ENSO. NOAA will expand its diagnostic
and modeling efforts to understand the relationship between sub-seasonal
tropical variability and changes in the frequency, location and intensity of
extreme weather events over the U.S., and document the structure of variations
in tropical rainfall on weekly to monthly time-scales, as well as air-sea
interactions in both tropical systems and in mid-latitude oceanic and
land-falling storms.
Carbon Cycle
• NOAA requests a total of $2.3 million for the Carbon Cycle.
This investment, as part of a multi-agency effort, will allow NOAA to establish
a network of more densely spaced airborne and tall-tower based sampling sites
over North America. The U.S. scientific community recently completed a plan for
an integrated carbon cycle science program which aims to quantify, understand
and project the evolution of global carbon sources and sinks in order to better
predict future climate.
Ocean System for Improved Climate Services
• NOAA requests a total of $7.3
million for the Ocean System for Improved Climate Services. This investment will
contribute to the global operational ocean-observing system by enhancing its
present components and establishing new components. Of the $7.3 million
requested, $3.2 million is required to support the U.S. commitment to deploy and
maintain 1000 ARGO profiling floats in the proposed global array of 3,000
floats. This commitment requires a deployment of 280 ARGO floats per year. The
remainder of this request, $4.1 million, supports other observational components
including Arctic Ocean fluxes, ocean reference stations, oceanic carbon, and
augmentation of the volunteer observing ship (VOS) instrumentation. Finally,
investments are to be made for data management and assimilation. Based on a firm
scientific foundation, this ocean observing system is closely coupled with other
U.S. and international observing efforts, and will greatly improve the data
available for understanding climate variation.
Climate Change Assessments
• NOAA requests a total of $0.7 million for
Climate Change Assessments. This investment will continue contributions to
environmental assessments that have become the primary tool to deliver climate
information to governments, industry, the scientific community and the general
public. Over the past two years NOAA has led and contributed to Ozone
assessments under the Montreal Protocol, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), and U.S.
National Assessments. This investment will support NOAA's leadership in assessing climate change and its global impact on the United States and other communities.
High Performance Computing and Communications Program/Geophysical Fluid
Dynamics Laboratory
• The total request of $7.0 million (in the PAC Account)
for the High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program and
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory represents an increase of $3.0 million
above the FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will provide
full-year support for the High performance supercomputer system at NOAA's
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). The system will be used full-time
to attack some of the most difficult but critical obstacles to developing and
testing new and more realistic models for predicting climatic variability,
detecting climate change, and forecasting hurricanes. Expansion of GFDL's
supercomputer is needed to answer questions regarding long-term global warming
and to evaluate various scenarios reflecting different levels of anthropogenic
influences on the atmosphere.
Comprehensive Large-Array data Stewardship System
• The total request of
$3.6 million for the Comprehensive Large-Array data Stewardship System (CLASS)
represents an increase of $1.6 million in the Procurement, Acquisition and
Construction (PAC) Account. This continued investment will afford efficient
management of high volumes of data, including radar and satellite data, as well
as data from radiosondes and ocean data buoys. This data is critical to the
joint U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and the scientific community.
Significant increases in the volume of data require a rapid expansion in storage
capacity, currently located in Asheville, NC. Similarly, telecommunications and
automated access systems upgrades are needed to ensure easy and efficient access
to the data.
Other Key NOAA Programs
• The total request of $14.0 million for Ocean
Exploration represents an increase of $10.0 million above the FY 2001 Enacted
level. This continued investment will help re-establish NOAA's leadership in
this major initiative of ocean exploration and research. Despite covering 70
percent of Earth's surface, the oceans remain largely unexplored and unknown.
Not surprisingly, most of the oceans' resources remain untapped. Our best
scientists believe that fewer than 25 percent of the species that live in the
oceans have ever been identified. Even within America's own Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ), less than five percent of the ocean floor has been mapped in high
resolution. In fact, prior to FY 2001, the United States did not even have a
concentrated program of ocean exploration. As a result, NOAA has pursued a
course of ocean resource management without adequate decision-making data and
information being available to policy makers, regulators, and commercial users
of the ocean's resources.
• However, today we live in an age of technological innovation. There are many opportunities that simply were not available in earlier decades. We now can completely rethink how we might conduct exploration in Earth's oceans. Developments in sensors, telemetry, power sources, microcomputers, and materials science have greatly improved our ability to go into and study the undersea frontier.
• The benefits of such a program of exploration are potentially enormous. For example, gas hydrates comprise more than 50 percent of all of our planet's carbon – and potentially hold more than 1000 times the fuel in all other estimated reserves combined! In addition, there are certain to be other benefits which currently are beyond our ability even to conceive. With 95 percent of the underwater world still unknown and unseen, what remains to be explored may hold clues to the origins of life on earth, cures for human diseases, answers to how to achieve sustainable use of our oceans, links to our maritime history, and information to protect the endangered species of the sea.
• We are stewards of our oceans' resources. Yet, we cannot effectively manage what we do not know. We need to explore the oceans in the same way that the U.S. has successfully explored space. We need to determine what our marine resources are, their relative abundance, and the rates at which they can be used and replenished.
• The FY 2002 budget increase will enable NOAA to fund six major and several minor interdisciplinary voyages of discovery that will map the physical, geological, biological, chemical, and archaeological aspects of parts of the U.S. EEZ. NOAA will conduct missions of exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic Bight, Northwest Hawaiian Islands, Northeast Pacific, California, and the Gulf of Alaska. Education and outreach is a major component of NOAA's Ocean Exploration Initiative. NOAA will carry-out this program relying on partnerships with universities, the private sector, and other agencies. NOAA's Ocean Exploration Initiative will help us to fulfill our national strategic goals to Sustain Healthy Coasts, Recover Protected Species, and Build Sustainable Fisheries.
Marine Environmental Research
• The total request of $11.6 million for
Marine Environmental Research represents an increase of $1.8 million above the
FY 2001 Enacted level. This continued investment will support ongoing operations
at OAR's Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the Pacific
Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). The restored funds will enable AOML's
Remote Sensing Division to reactivate its field measurements that provide data
critically needed for major community health-related decisions in
contaminant-release emergencies in Florida and elsewhere. Coral reef monitoring
activities are also supported. These funds will also enable PMEL's Fisheries
Oceanography program to reverse its 20% reduction in ocean measurements planned
for the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. These funds are important to the
study of the potential influences of climate changes on recent shifts in the
species composition of these ecosystems including declines in salmon and steller
sea lion populations.
• NOAA requests a total of $19.8 million for the Commerce Administrative Management System (CAMS). This investment will allow for the full benefit and value of CAMS to be realized in NOAA. CAMS is in the final stages of completion, expected in FY 2003, and adequate funding will ensure that CAMS is deployed in a timely manner, allowing all modules to progress toward completion. Once fully deployed, CAMS will contribute in significant ways to maintaining a clean NOAA financial audit through systematic controls rather than through labor-intensive manual efforts. It will provide managers with on-line, real-time, and accurate financial information in support of their programmatic missions, and will be legally compliant. Requested funding for CAMS is vital to preserve NOAA's ability to have a satisfactory financial accounts system and allow NOAA and DOC to meet statutory obligations under the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) and the Chief Financial Officer Act (CFO Act).
NOAA's Budget and Financial Management
• For the Fiscal Year 2000, NOAA
received an unqualified opinion on NOAA financial statements from an independent
auditor. The FY 2000 audit represents the second consecutive year NOAA has
received a clean audit and demonstrates the intensive efforts made by NOAA to
improve financial management. NOAA continues to place a high priority on
improving fiscal and financial management in order to increase accountability
and efficiency.
• Over the past several years, NOAA has been working to respond to Congressional concerns stemming from the NOAA budget structure. The Congressional Appropriation Committees have challenged NOAA to make recommendations to simplify its budget structure. NOAA has taken several actions that address the restructuring of its budget and financial management processes. The outcome of these actions is already apparent and demonstrated in its improved budgetary communications as well as in the improved accuracy of its documentation (e.g., sustaining a clean audit and improved timeliness in the distribution of funds). NOAA continues to work toward meeting the challenges of restructuring the NOAA budget and is excited about the improved efficiency a new budget structure will bring.
• As evidenced by NOAA's improving financial and budgetary management, NOAA is doing its part to exercise fiscal responsibility as stewards of the Nation's trust as well as America's coastal and ocean resources. And, in the same way that NOAA is responsible for assessing the Nation's climate, we are responsible for assessing our management capabilities. It is within this broader management context that NOAA continues looking for opportunities to improve. As in past years, NOAA's FY 2002 Budget Request includes measures which track results to the level of public investment. NOAA will continue to leverage its programs and investments by developing those associations that most efficiently and economically leverage resources and talent, and that most effectively provide the means for successfully meeting mission requirements.