NOAA HOLDS SATELLITE DATA USERS CONFERENCE FOR THE AMERICAS
Future NOAA Satellite Improvements Affect All Users

The environmental satellite arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will hold a five-day conference in Miami for all users of NOAA satellite data to exchange ideas about the impact of future NOAA satellite systems. The conference will focus on data users in North, Central, and South America and those operating their own satellite data receiving stations. NOAA is an agency of the Commerce Department.

The conference, known as the Satellite Direct Readout Conference for the Americas, will be held at the Kovens Conference Center in Miami, Dec. 9-13. NOAA satellite data are available to all countries and users throughout the Western Hemisphere and are used to support a variety of meteorological, oceanographic, terrestrial, solar, climate and other specialized data collection activities and services.

“During the next several years the NOAA satellite system will undergo significant change and technological improvement,” said Scott Gudes, deputy undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA’s third highest ranking official who will give a welcoming address on Monday the 9th. “These changes will affect everyone using the NOAA satellites, particularly those who receive data directly. In the near future, users will have to modify or replace current receiving equipment and basic processing software as the next generations of NOAA satellites begin operation. We’re hosting this forum to help our customers prepare and plan for change.”

The conference will bring together users of the NOAA GOES geostationary and POES polar orbiting satellites, potential users of the forthcoming METOP polar orbiting satellite comprising part of the Initial Joint Polar-Orbiting Operational Satellite System, and the future NOAA NPOESS national polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system.

The conference is of particular interest to national hydrometeorological agencies in the Americas and Caribbean, and any government or private organization using satellite direct readout data. Foreign government agencies throughout the Americas have been invited to participate. Representatives from 34 countries, including most of the Latin American weather services, will attend. Simultaneous Spanish/English translation service will be available.

NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NOAA Satellite and Information Services) is the nation’s primary source of space-based meteorological and climate data. NOAA Satellite and Information Services operates the nation's environmental satellites, which are used for weather forecasting, climate monitoring and other environmental applications such as fire detection, ozone monitoring and sea surface temperature measurements.

NOAA Satellite and Information Services also operates three data centers, which house global data bases in climatology, oceanography, solid earth geophysics, marine geology and geophysics, solar-terrestrial physics, and paleoclimatology.

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 our nation’s coastal and marine resources.

For detailed conference information visit:

http://noaasis.noaa.gov/miami02/.

To learn more about NOAA, please visit:

http://www.noaa.gov.

To learn more about NOAA Satellite and Information Services, please visit:

http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov.