![](images/main_image.jpg) |
Global atmospheric temperatures are
measured at multiple levels from the lower troposphere
to the stratosphere. The image above shows temperatures
at the 600 MB level using data combined from the AMSU-A
instruments on NOAA-15 and NOAA-16. |
The
DISCOVER Project
The primary objective of the
Distributed Information Services for Climate and Ocean
Products and Visualizations for Earth Research (DISCOVER)
Project is to provide highly accurate, long-term ocean
and climate products suitable for the most demanding Earth
research applications via easy-to-use display and data
access tools. These products are derived from a large network
of satellite microwave sensors going back to 1979. Most
of the products are produced in near real-time (3-12 hours)
on a 24x7 basis and hence are also suitable for some weather
applications. The products include sea-surface temperature
and wind, air temperature, atmospheric water vapor, cloud
water, and rain rate. A key element of DISCOVER is the
merging of multiple sensors from multiple platforms into
geophysical data sets consistent in both space and time.
Information Technology research
goals for DISCOVER include:
- On-line services for data access and visualization
- Interoperability technologies for improved
usability
- Flexible architecture to adapt to changing
user requirements
Information Technology development approach:
- Exploring new technologies
- Integrating them into DISCOVER information
system
- Hardening selected tools and making them
available to the wider community
DISCOVER is data format neutral. Products
are generated in space-efficient binary format. Earth
Science Markup Language (ESML) is used to provide full
descriptions of data syntax. Translators are provided to
convert data to other popular formats as needed. ESML is
the basis for dataset independent services implemented
and planned for DISCOVER
DISCOVER is a follow-on activity to our Passive
Microwave ESIP and SSM/I-SSMIS Pathfinder projects
and build on user interface technology available through
these programs. In addition, DISCOVER contains a Technology
Development component that provides an extended set of
user services and visualization tools to greatly enhance
the utility of the products and increase online analysis
of these data. In particular, event-driven data delivery
are implemented that significantly advance distributed
data capabilities. Our users require these data for their
research and need support of their efforts. We solicit
feedback from our users via user meetings and web-based
communication tools. DISCOVER's flexibility enables it
to adapt to evolving user requirements and make a significant
contribution to the evolution of the SEEDS distributed
data and services environment.
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