National Weather Service Professional Development Series Professional Competency Unit

Producer: Tom Ainsworth, WR MSD

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Description of Job Duty Competency to be Achieved

Understand and apply how the provision of marine weather services helps to fulfill the NWS mission and international obligations will help personnel provide a consistent level of service for a common purpose throughout the agency.

Description of Need

Marine customers are generally more exposed to weather elements and take longer to carry out preventative measures. Marine weather support is enhanced through an understanding of NWS obligations and customer requirements for weather services addressed in this PCU.

Specific Job Task Skills and Knowledge

1. The mission of the National Weather Service's Marine Services Program is to provide
current and accurate information for decision-making by marine and coastal interests on
and near the U.S. coastal and offshore waters, the Great Lakes, and the open oceans to:

1. ensure the safety of life and protection of property
2. facilitate and promote international and interstate commerce by improving the
   efficiency of operations on the waters
3. enhance the quality of life for the United States
   

2. The Marine and Coastal Services Branch(OS21) of the National Weather Service
(NWS) Headquarters is responsible for oversight of the Marine Services Program.

3. Offshore and High Seas Warnings and Forecasts, in graphic and text format, are
provided by the Marine Prediction Center (MPC), and the Tropical Prediction Center
(TPC) of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and by the marine
prediction unit at the National Weather Service's Weather Forecast Office (WFO)
Honolulu.

4. Coastal and Great Lakes warnings and forecasts are issued by 46 coastal and Great
Lakes NWS forecast offices (WFOs).

5. The collection of weather observations is vital to accurate weather forecasting, and
especially so over the waters where weather stations are few and far between. Thousands
of vessels worldwide are Volunteer Observing Ships (VOS), sending observations every
few hours which are used by marine forecasters and computer modelers to improve the
accuracy of the forecasts. The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) of the NWS maintains
59 buoys in the oceans and the Great Lakes.

In addition, the Navy-NOAA-USCG National Ice Center (NIC) , WFO Cleveland, and
WFO Anchorage, prepare analyses that are used by specified NWS offices in issuing
Sea/Lake Ice Forecasts.

6. Marine forecasts are also issued as needed to aid in search and rescue operations, the containment and cleanup of oil spills or support to other disasters such as plane crash recovery operations.

*Source: Year of the Ocean Discussion Papers, Office of the Chief Scientist, NOAA, 19

Instructional Components

Instructional Component 1.1: Web base training and video

Instructional Component 1.2: Web base training including images of ships.

Instructional Component 1.3: Web base training

Instructional Component 1.4: Web base training

Instructional Component 1.5: Web base training

Instructional Component 1.6: Web base training

Return to Marine Weather Services PDS page