# Presentation: 945075

## Using FX-Net forAir Quality Forecasting

- Prepared by:
- Matthew Seybold & Michael Woodman, Meteorologists
- Maryland Department of the Environment
- Sher Schranz, Program Manager
- NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory
- The 2005 National Air Quality Conference
- Forecasting Short Course
- San Francisco, CA
- February 13, 2005

## Session Description

- 	FX-Net turns your PC into a meteorological workstation by using the Internet to display basic capabilities of a National Weather Service (NWS) Advanced Weather Information and Processing System (AWIPS) workstation.
- 	This short course introduces the capabilities of FX-Net and its application in air quality forecasting.

## Session Materials

- A.  Demo Workstation with High Speed Internet Connection
- B.  Handouts
- 1.  Agenda
- 2.  EPA Pilot Study Program Outline
- 3.  Key Web Links and Contacts
- FX-Net website
- FTP site address at MARAMA
-     (Procedures, Colors Bars, Wishlist.xls, Tips.xls)
- Online Help address
- Sher Schranz contact info at FSL
- Matthew Seybold contact info at MDE
- Chet Wayland and Scott Jackson contact info at EPA
- Bill Gillespie contact info at MARAMA
- 	  4.  User’s Guide
- C.  Poster Backdrop
- D.  Powerpoint Presentation
- E.  Live Demonstration Procedures
- F.  Overhead Slides (backup in case of powerpoint failure)

## Motivation

- The FX-Net interface makes data access easier for the forecaster.
- Coming from NOAA’s Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL), the project is highly leveraged and includes features that would take an extraordinary effort to accomplish separately in the air quality community.
- If we build a user community, we can improve the tool more effectively and efficiently for air quality applications.

## Course Agenda

**1.  Welcome, Introductions, and Brief History of FX-Net.......... ***(Sher Schranz – 10 minutes)*
- Background and History  (includes two preview screen samples)
- EPA Pilot Study – Kickoff at Maryland Department of the Environment
- Availability to Air Quality Forecasting Community
- Data Sources – Existing Data Sources and Incorporating Additional Data Sources
- Ongoing Tool Improvement
- FTP Site – Wish List and Tips
- Online Help and User’s Guide
**2.  The Interface............................................................... ***(Matthew Seybold – 15 minutes)*
- Framework:   Panels,  Views,  Zoom,  Overlays
- Products:      Model Families,  Radar/Satellite Images,  MOS
**3.  Air Quality Applications................................................ ***(Matthew Seybold – 20 minutes)*
- Ensembles,  CTMs,  Soundings,  Zooming
- Profilers,  Analysis,  Surface Observations,  Pollutant Data,  Satellite Imagery
- Procedures,  Color Bars
**4.  Question & Answer... ***(Matthew Seybold, Michael Woodman and Sher Schranz – 15  minutes)*

## 1.  Background and History

- FX-Net System:
- An Expandable Air Quality
- Forecasting Workstation
- Sher Schranz, Jebb Stewart, Evan Polster
- NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory
- in cooperation with
- Colorado State University
- Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA)

## History

- FX-Net was developed to
- Provide Internet access to AWIPS products
- Emulate the AWIPS user interface
- Run client displays on modest PC hardware
- Work with low or high speed connection
- Serve many users at the same time

## System Description

** ****NOAAPORT**
**(SBN)**
**Receiver**

- Comms
- Processor

**Fire Wall**

**FX-Net**
**Server**

**FX-Net**
**Client**

**Internet**

**Data**
**Server**

**Special Data**
**Ingest**

**FX-Net**
**Client**

**FX-Net**
**Client**

## FIRE WEATHER NWS Incident Meteorologists (IMETS)

- Locally installed servers at Western, Southern, Alaska, and Pacific Regional
- Headquarters Offices.  Serving Operational IMETS, 2002-2003

- NWS IMET using FX-Net to Brief a Fire Fighter at the local Fire Coordination Center during the California Fires, Fall, 2003.

## Air Quality Forecasting

- AIRMAPP: Air Quality Experiment
- University of New Hampshire: FX-Net Operational System
- Plymouth State College: FX-Net Operational System
- Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association (MARAMA):
-     (Operational FX-Net system under evaluation)

- Added:
- National air quality
-    observations
- Local university data sets
- Special local maps
- Air quality model data
-   (in progress)

## FX-Net Pilot Project for

- Air Quality Forecasting (1 of 2)

- The Information Transfer and Program Integration Division of the EPA coordinates with other EPA groups to develop and transfer advanced data delivery systems to state and local air quality agencies concerned with air quality-related information products.
- The FX-Net Pilot Project is designed to provide a strong technical program to support the technology transfer of data delivery systems to state and local air quality forecasters.

- Background and Goals

## FX-Net Pilot Project for

- Project Description
- 18 state, local and EPA air quality professionals are currently evaluating the use of FX-Net as an operational air quality forecasting tool.
- In FY05 more users in different parts of the United States will receive clients for evaluation.
- A new version of the FX-Net Client will be distributed to Pilot Project users. This version will include the NOAA CMAQ model as well as other experimental air quality models.

- Air Quality Forecasting (2 of 2)

## Gory Detail #1 of 2: The Name – “FX-Net”

- The NOAA/FSL project which eventually became the core of the AWIPS software was called FXA - "FSL's X-Windows Alpha" workstation.
- FSL leveraged that effort to create the network accessible workstation now known as FX-Net (_F_SL’s _X_-Windows _Net_work accessible workstation).
- Ironically FSL had to go to great lengths in order to remove all of the X-Windows code from their server.  So the 'X' in FX-Net really should not be there!
- “FX-Net” is no longer a functional acronym...  just a name.

- Source:  Sean Nadine, NOAA/FSL

## Gory Detail #2 of 2:FX-Net Client Requirements

- Windows 2000/XP
- >=1024 x 768 display resolution
- 500 MHz PC
- Minimum of 512 MB RAM
- Three button or “wheel” mouse
- Bandwidth >= 56 Kbs
- An Open Port in the firewall

## Valuable Features (1 of 2)

- NOAAPORT!
- Access to AWIPS without the shift work!
- More time spent on information analysis instead of information gathering
- Already developed technology to accomplish the data overlays that other projects are creating
- AIRNow, FASTNET (Datafed.net), IDEA (MODIS)
- Operational use of CTMs
- WRF_CHEM (current)
- ETA12/CMAQ and MAQSIP-RT (future?)
- Operational review of other projects?
- IDEA (MODIS), WF_ABBA smoke, GASP smoke

## Valuable Features (2 of 2)

- Online help
- Domain choices, zooming, overlays, endless user customization.
- One-stop shopping—combines a multitude of data sources and software applications into one resource.  Until now it was nice just to have a home page containing all of your favorite images and sites.

## Omnipresent web links stored in a single HTML file and kepton hard drive.This is a concise example; at times, we have had layer upon layer of HTML links.  

- Layer Upon Layer of HTML Links. . .

## Introduction Wrap-up

- Background and History
- EPA Pilot Study
- Availability to Air Quality Forecasting Community
- Data Sources – Existing Data Sources and Incorporating Additional Data Sources
- Ongoing Tool Improvement
- MARAMA FTP Site – Wish List and Tips
- Online Help and User’s Guide

## 2.  The Interface Framework

- 5 panels

## The Volume Browser

## Plan View (On a Domain)

- Zoom in and out using left and center mouse clicks.
- Zoom at any time with any data loaded over the domain, cross- section, time-height, or sounding plot.

## Baseline Tool

## Cross-Section (Along a Baseline)

## Time-Height (At a Point)

## Sounding (At a Point)

## The Interface Products

- Everything that AWIPS has can potentially be shown through FX-Net
- Currently, only user-requested products are being retrieved

## Model Families

## Radar

**Notes:**
Can get more specific by using regional radar too.  Determine if thunderstorms will blow the current ozone forecast.

## MOS

## 3.  Air Quality Applications

## Ensembles

- The 500-mb and MSLP ensembles are pre-set.
- You can make your own ensembles and store them in a procedure.

**Notes:**
Can compare different models and see how they differ

## WRF-CHEM and Other CTMs

- Forecast for
- PM2.5
- Ozone
- Plan to add additional models in the future

## Soundings with FX-Net

- Allows site overlays
- 24-hr temperature change
- Shows hodograph speed
- Customize to your preferred “look”

## Sounding Example: Overlay

- Point A = Philadelphia, PA
- Point C = State College, PA

## The sounding is set to the resolution of the data plotted, in this case, ETA.  Rawin soundings have more resolution. 

- Sounding Example: Resolution

## Profiler dataOverlay ability 

- Profiler Data

**Notes:**
An example of profiler data from NJ

## Time-Height (1 of 2)

- Pick your own parameters
- Site overlays
- May view as contours or smoothed images...

## Time-Height (2 of 2)

- RUC80 for Phil
- See morning time boundary layer warm up – two jumps

## Fronts and Pressure

## PM2.5 and Ozone Observations

**Notes:**
What’s the regional load.  Great when used back trajectories or stream lines.

## Data Retrieval Time Comparison

- EXAMPLE  –  2 days of Region III PM2.5
- 			      21 of 105 sites have data
- AIRNOWTECH = 2 minutes 15 seconds
- 	Starting with the click of the “Data Query” button
- 	Mostly due to Site Selector Window
- FX-Net = 9 seconds
- Starting with the click of the “Obs” Menu Item
- FX-Net also allows zooming and provides the entire dataset (national) by default

## Add Surface Meteorology Observations

**Notes:**
All in one.  Can determine how actual 1-hr wx obs affect pollution levels

## Control the Density of Observations

**Notes:**
Can change the density of the obs and the colors of the variables

## Surface Observations and Satellite

## Trajectories & Streamlines

## Procedures and Color Bars

- FX-Net may be customized in great detail
- Preferred overlays and settings may be saved as Procedures for easy recall and sharing with other users
- Color bars may also be customized, stored, and shared with other users

## 4.  Question and Answer

- What do you use in your forecasts that FX-Net does not include?

## Adding color to pressure centers and fronts
Overlaying radar with the other products
Standardization of color bars
User height choices for time-height plots

- Overlaying radar with the other products
- Standardization of color bars
- User height choices for time-height plots

- Challenges for FX-Net

- Done

- Colored fronts and centers

- Done

## Key Web Links and Contacts

- FX-Net website	http://www-tod.fsl.noaa.gov/fxnet.html
- FTP site address at 	Procedures, Colors Bars, Wishlist.xls, Tips.xls
- MARAMA 	http://www.marama.org/Projects/
- Online FX-Net Help address	http://www.uni.edu/storm/fxnet/
- Contacts 	sher.schranz@noaa.gov
- 	mseybold@mde.state.md.us
- 	mwoodman@mde.state.md.us
- 	wayland.richard@epa.gov
- 	jackson.scott@epa.gov
- 	bgillespie@marama.org