NOAA Awards More Than $700,000 To Florida State University To Improve Forecasting Models

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a $773,500 grant to Florida State University to conduct research on improving seasonal forecasting and applications. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The grant will fund ongoing research efforts to assess the regional impacts of El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation on the Southeast United States using global and regional climate models. Researchers will combine climate forecasts with application models such as dynamical crop forecast and seasonal hurricane prediction and assess their potential applications.

“Climate cycles can have a major impact on various regions of the United States and the world in terms of crop production, health and safety, and many other aspects of daily life. This NOAA grant will support the continued development and improvement of climate forecast models that can help to more accurately anticipate the impacts and prepare for them, “ said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA and the Bush Administration are working to improve the understanding of our environment and work with academic institutions on initiatives like those conducted at Florida State University.”

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 34 years.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through research and the prediction of weather and climate-related variability and change, and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.