HMT is focused on improving quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE)
and quantitative precipitation forecasting (QPF) in mountainous areas in order to
improve hydrologic forecasts and warnings. This demonstration
project uses the Hydrometeorological Testbed (HMT) approach which has been
proposed to address the nation's regions that are most vulnerable to
fresh-water flooding. HMT will accelerate critical research and development
and its transition to operations. HMT seeks to improve the use of existing
NOAA observational, modeling, and human infrastructure, identifying critical
gaps in NOAA's current observing and modeling capabilities, and recommending
solutions to those gaps based on proof-of-concept results.
IOOS is a national partnership to improve the observation and understanding
of the world's oceans. ETL contributes to this
effort by conducting technology evaluation to
determine the type of Doppler wind profiler best suited to coastal and
marine applications, meeting one goal of IOOS to improve the nation's
capability to measure coastal winds.
In a series of cruises, ETL has deployed a wide range of instruments to study
stratocumulus clouds and air-sea interaction in subtropical cloud belts. Stratus
clouds play an important role in keeping subtropical oceans cool and in this
region have a large direct effect on the winds and currents impacting weather
and climate.
SEARCH is a national effort to observe and quantify
changes in the Arctic environment. With a mission to understand and
predict changes in the Earth's environment, and to conserve and manage
coastal and marine resources to meet the Nation's economic, social and
environmental needs, NOAA has a particularly important role to play in SEARCH.
NOAA has initiated its contribution to SEARCH with seed activities that
address high priority issues relating to the atmospheric and the
cryosphere. The three primary foci of the current program are the
implementation of the Arctic Atmospheric Observing Network, Arctic Sea
Ice Observing Network, and Arctic Change Detection and System Analysis.
Preliminary work begins in 2005 to support the Intensive Operation Period (IOP) in 2006.
The goal of the study is to provide a better
understanding of the chemical, meteorological, and atmospheric transport processes that
determine ozone and fine particle distributions, and to develop new scientific understanding
that will assist policy makers in devising optimal management strategies for ozone and
particulate matter.
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