COOP Modernization:

BuildingThe National Cooperative Mesonet

October 2003

COOP Modernization…Three Aligned Goals

1. To automate the technology used in the COOP network

2. To establish a high-quality infrastructure to integrate surface observations from a wide range of platforms

3. To build the National Cooperative Mesonet

Vision for the Modernized COOP…

Be a modern network that can serve the nation as a backbone of the National Cooperative Mesonet and the sustaining factor around which all surface environmental monitoring networks are integrated to save lives, enhance national security, protect property, support transportation, energy and agriculture, and promote the economic well-being by providing the highest-quality possible real-time weather, water, and climate information, and possibly air quality and biochemical hazard data.

Scope of the COOP Modernization…

• Many modernized stations with high quality sensors and standards maintained at accepted professional levels

• An integrated network — termed the National Cooperative Mesonet — that is expandable and adaptable to meet future observing needs

• Rigorous quality assurance of network data in real time through a single operations monitoring facility

• Provide 5-minute observations transmitted at hourly intervals to better sync with WSR-88D scans, evolving asynoptic models, products from numerical weather prediction, and the verification of accuracy in these tools

• Mesoscale data for public/private sector NWP applications• Opportunities for the private sector to develop thousands of

value-added applications• Emphasis on partnering with the public & private sector• New Legacy: Accurate Data — Reliably Available

System Concept…

• Baseline Measurements: Automated sites provide observations of air temperature and precipitation with manual input of snowfall/snow depth/water equivalent

• Enhanced Measurements: Automated sites provide observations of air temperature, precipitation, and manual data plus possible observations of wind speed and direction, solar radiation, soil temperature and soil moisture, air quality and biochemical data, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity

• Evolving site configurations — Based on new requirements within NOAA and/or the requirements and support from NOAA’s partners

• Human observers — while valued in the modernized COOP — may not be present at some automated sites

The Integrating Role…

• As many complementary measurements as possible from other networks (both federal and non-federal) will be integrated through the COOP’s Central Facility.

Spatial Density of the Sites…

• Located at a spatial resolution of one COOP site within each 20 (nautical) mile by 20 mile grid square

• Based on the geographic area of the CONUS, the modernized COOP will require ~7500 automated sites

• Because of rugged terrain and large wilderness areas, only ~500 automated COOP sites are recommended for Alaska and Hawaii

• Thus, ~8000 sites are required — subject to operational, budgetary and socio-geographical limitations

• Legacy sites not automated:– Continue to report in their current mode– Maintained by the staff at WFOs

Mission Requirements Met by COOP Modernization…

• Improved accuracy of sub-county level forecasts and warning products

• Improved verification information for the next generation of storm-scale numerical weather prediction models

• Improved real-time river modeling and basin calibration along with improved flood and drought monitoring

• Significant reduction in the real-time biases that accompany radar estimates of precipitation

• Improved grid analyses of precipitation and temperature:– Essential to realize the potential of the gridded forecast

environment– Essential to link climate monitoring and prediction products with

societal trends

Categories of Observing Sites…

• Category-1 — New sites where a contractor installs and maintains automated equipment

• Category-2 — Current COOP sites where a contractor replaces and maintains new automated equipment

• Category-3 — Existing sites with non-NWS equipment owned by a variety of partners whose platforms fulfill a spatial requirement of the modernized COOP (e.g., a CRN site)– Equipment installed/maintained by the COOP Partner– Must meet established WMO/NWS standards for siting,

sensor performance, data availability, data quality, routine maintenance, and required metadata

– Quality-based support incentives are one means to attain climate-quality data from non-federal observing platforms

• Category-4 — Existing COOP sites that are not automated, but instead, are supported by the NWS (i.e., the WFOs) as legacy COOP sites

Critical Component — A Central Facility…

• Independent 24 x 7 unit responsible for:– Data ingest and data integration– Quality assurance monitoring– Dissemination of data with quality assurance flags– Maintain metadata files– Initiate trouble tickets/maintenance actions– Track resolution of maintenance– Provide performance metrics to management– Building block for the National Cooperative Mesonet

• Quality assurance meteorologists and systems analysts– Inform Program Manager of network performance– Resources required for the central facility will be partially

offset by improved efficiencies in management/maintenance of the modernized COOP

Essential Partners…

• AASC and other professional organizations– Climatologists– Public/private-sector meteorologists

• USDA, DOI and the Western Governors’ Association– Drought monitoring and water management

• USDOT– Transportation monitoring

• Homeland Security– Further enhance modernized COOP sites

• EPA– Air quality and dispersion modeling

• U. S. Army Corps of Engineers– Flood basin monitoring

• Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)– Applied research

Where Do We Go From Here…

• Establish a Program Office for COOP Modernization• Establish ASAP:

– External Advisory Board– COOP Steering Committee– Regional Site-Selection Teams (2-year task lies ahead)

• Quarterly meetings begin during the Fall of 2003• Issue an RFI during the First Quarter of FY2004• Establish the Central Facility just before the

modernization begins• Start publicizing the COOP modernization at the first

opportunity (AMS in 2004)

The Bottom Line on COOP Modernization…

• The COOP Modernization Plan, built around COTS hardware, is a technologically wise and economically sound investment for the nation — IF:– Established standards of WMO/NWS are not compromised– The technology foundation is built on quality and not on

quantity– Quality and timeliness of the COOP data is maintained

through a central facility

Management Issues:Establish Program Managers…

• Modernization & Acquisition Program Manager (in place)– Oversees acquisition and transition activities of the COOP

modernization• Operational Program Manager

– Responsible for day-to-day management of the legacy COOP and the automated COOP network, which begins with commissioning the first automated site

Management Issues:Establish Regional Site-Selection Teams…

• Organized around the domain of NWS Regions• Multiple groups to recommend sites and site

configurations to a configuration control board• Core membership:

– Field managers at WFOs and RFCs– Regional COOP Managers– Appropriate State and Regional Climatologists– Representatives from NCDC and NWS Headquarters– Representatives from public/private sector partners

• Arduous Tasks:– Formal recommendations on Category-3 sites (first task)– Formal recommendations on the Category-1/Category-2 sites– Recommend only one automated COOP site per national grid

square

Management Issues:Network Maintenance…

• Category-1 and Category-2 Sites — Performed by a national contractor but overseen by the central facility

• Category-3 Sites — Determined by the platform owners but annual performance is reviewed on a case-by-case basis

• Category-4 Sites — Remains the responsibility of local WFOs

High-Level Schedule

High Resolution Temperature Program(Demonstration Phase)

Deliverables• Modernize 200 COOP Sites In New England

– Improved Temperature and precipitation measurements: COTS Sensors

– Improved Telecommunications: hourly reports to NOAA Server via GOES DCS

• Accessible by forecast models and WFOs

• Gridded, high resolution temperature forecasts to 48 hours– Ensemble forecasts on 32 km grid stored on operational

NOAA server– Covers Northeast US; includes 8 cities from FY02 pilot

study