Taking the Pulse of the Planet from the Sun to the Sea

The earth is a system of systems with the atmosphere, oceans, hydrosphere, and many other parts working together in an interrelated manner. Building an integrated, comprehensive, and sustained Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) to measure and predict our planet's health opens a world of possibilities. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service (NWS) is contributing to GEOSS with observing systems that collect data from the sun to the sea and environmental services that will help reduce adverse social, economic, and ecosystem impacts associated with weather, water, and climate variability, and extreme events such as tsunamis, droughts, floods, and hurricanes. As an operational arm of NOAA, the NWS continues to enhance observing capabilities, improve data assimilation and use relevant data the NWS and others collect. One program, NOAA's Environmental Real-Time Observation Network (NERON) will provide the U.S. with a network of accurate, real-time surface weather data obtained with state-of-the-art measurement, monitoring, and communication equipment. In addition to NOAA's NWS NERON sites, NERON will include environmental data from non-NOAA surface observing systems. The NWS has entered the digital era and its advanced digital services product suite provides a critical tool for improving the production and distribution of information in meeting both U.S. and global needs. The NWS National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) provides a multi-layered mosaic of digital forecasts that is already being adopted by diverse constituencies representing many sectors including academia, the research community, private sector, emergency officials, and the public. Through the NDFD, users can create a wide range of environmental text, graphic, gridded and image products of their own. Over time, NWS will offer a wider array of gridded forecast elements and a larger set of graphical presentations. The purpose of the presentation is to describe how NOAA is helping build GEOSS through its observations, data assimilation and modeling, environmental products and service programs.