NOAA WEB SITE PROVIDES HUGE INVENTORY
OF EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEMS
Feb.
14, 2005 � Obtaining information on each of NOAA's observing systems
just became easier with the NOAA
Observing System Architecture, or NOSA, Web site. NOAA has been
monitoring the Earth's environment for more than 30 years with tens
of thousands of sensors in more than 100 observing systems—ranging
from satellites to marine sonars to human observations of marine mammal
populations. Before NOAA developed the new Web site, it did not have
a comprehensive description of all of its observing systems. Now, the
agency is providing this information in a one-stop Web site. (Click
NOAA image for larger view of NOAA Observing System Architecture, or
NOSA, Web site. Click
here to view high resolution version, which is a large file. Please
credit “NOAA.”)
Following
an internal program
recommendation, NOAA initiated its first-ever comprehensive review
of all of its observing systems and their interrelationships. This activity
was termed the baseline NOAA Observing Systems Architecture. NOAA constructed
the baseline NOSA with the assistance of all observing system managers
within NOAA. The agency identified 99 observing systems measuring more
than 500 different environmental parameters. Forty of these were termed
"operational" by their program managers.
The NOSA
Web site was designed to provide information that is useful both to
the managers of observing systems within NOAA and to the user who wants
to know more about NOAA's mission and the environmental parameters it
is monitoring and where. The main focus of the site is the ‘Featured
Observing System.’ Each month a NOAA Observing System will be
featured with a description and links to the site for the user to learn
more about that system. The left-hand side of the new Web site contains
detailed information about the NOSA project and related documents, which
describe architecture, programs, and requirements for the projects and
the observing systems.
The geospatial
information of more than 80 of these observing systems was collected
into a geospatial database with the assistance of the observing system
managers. This database forms the basis for the geospatial capabilities
of the Web site. NOSA presents the data in several different ways.
- A page
for each
observing system includes brief descriptions and pictures. The
page also includes a link to the observing system where users can
read more about the observing system. This information was submitted
by observing system managers early in the NOSA project or was collected
for the Strategic
Direction for NOAA's Integrated Global Environmental Observation and
Data Management System.
- Users
also have the option to query the geospatial database by using the
NOSA
Geospatial Database Search tool. This tool supports queries based
on station attributes through the 'Station Search' tool and provides
a display of the information in the database table through the 'Data
Viewer' option. The station search results also provide the user a
link to the observing system Web site along with individual station
links to real-time or near-real time data, where available.
- An interactive
map allows users to display multiple observing systems as layers
and provides access to information about (and data from) specific
stations. The interactive map also contains several non-NOAA observing
systems to allow users to compare station density between both NOAA
and non-NOAA agencies.
- A "Find
Your Place" section enables users to locate observing systems
using Geopolitical Regions of the World, Ecoregions of the World,
Hydrologic Units of the U.S., Weather Service Forecast Zones (U.S.),
United States Counties or United States Congressional Districts. Find
Your Place (FYP) gives users the option of searching based on entering
their particular area of interest or by moving through a hierarchy.
NOAA is
dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through
the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and
providing environmental stewardship of the nation�s coastal and marine
resources. NOAA is part of the U.S.
Department of Commerce.
Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Observing System Architecture
(NOSA)
NOAA
Earth Observing System
Media
Contact:
John
Leslie, NOAA Satellites and
Information Service, (301) 457-5005
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