NOAA ISSUES RESEARCH PLAN, VISION TO GUIDE FUTURE STUDIES

NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, issued two documents to guide the long and short-term direction of its research. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“We now have a five year plan and a 20 year vision to ensure NOAA’s research supports our mission goals,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “A comprehensive understanding of the behavior of the oceans, coasts and atmosphere is needed to make the best decisions. Research is the foundation of that understanding.”

NOAA’s four mission goals are: ecosystems, climate, weather and water, and commerce and transportation.

The two documents address growing challenges as well as the need to integrate NOAA’s research across the agency. The plan and vision are available online: http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/Reports.htm and http://www.spo.noaa.gov

The five year plan and 20 year vision were developed by the NOAA Research Council, a committee of senior scientists from across NOAA. The five year plan focuses on short-term outcomes, such as creating an Earth system model, developing the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS), studying ocean phenomena, and improving climate predictions and projections.

The NOAA Research Council recognized that environmental information is used in making many more decisions now than in the past.

In the future, improved tropical storm forecasts and warnings will better protect life and property along the nation’s growing coastal areas. Additionally, people will use long-term forecasts to decide the location and season for their vacation.

“Throughout this new century, the world will increasingly depend on NOAA’s detailed and reliable environmental information to make the best decisions affecting societies and economies,” Lautenbacher said. “The short-term plan and the long-range vision ensure that NOAA will be positioned to provide that information.”

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through research to better understand atmospheric and climate variability and to manage wisely our nation's coastal and marine resources.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov