2016NOAA CHIEF SCIENTIST’S ANNUAL REPORT

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Table of Contents Table of Contents

Foreword by Dr. Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., CMarSci..................................................................................................... 5

Introduction: A snapshot of NOAA’s Research and Engagement......................................................................... 7

Portfolio Logic .................................................................................................................................................. 7

Why NOAA Invests in Research...................................................................................................................... 7

What Kind of Research NOAA Supports......................................................................................................... 8

Where NOAA Invests in Research................................................................................................................. 10

What Principles Guide NOAA Research ....................................................................................................... 10

How NOAA Research Transitions into Operations, Applications, Commercialization, 

and Utilization....................................................................................................................................... 11

What is the Budget for NOAA Research ....................................................................................................... 13

Theme Chapters

Integrated Earth System Processes and Predictions................................................................................ 16

El Niño Rapid Response Campaign Yields New Discoveries on Weather Phenomena................ 17

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Utilized to Improve Hurricane Forecasts.............................................. 17

Model Enhancements Improve Timeliness and Resolution of Weather Forecasts............................. 18

Wind Forecast Research Optimizes Renewable Energy Efforts......................................................... 19

Hurricane Surge Forecasting to Better Predict Flooding in Coastal Communities............................ 20

Last Place on Earth Where CO2 Exceeds More Than 400 ppm......................................................... 20

Better Prediction of Harmful Algal Blooms........................................................................................ 21

Advancing Research on Blue Carbon.................................................................................................. 21

Global Climate Model Revealing Changing Ocean Conditions......................................................... 21

Fish Species Response to Climate Change Off the Atlantic Coast ..................................................... 22

Warm Blood Makes Opah an Agile Predator ...................................................................................... 22

Environmental Observations and Data...................................................................................................... 24

Next Generation Satellite Provides Enhanced Observational Capabilities......................................... 25

New Frontier of Using DNA to Study Marine Life............................................................................. 26

Coral Reef Outlook to Predict Future Bleaching Events..................................................................... 26

Ocean Exploration Activities Reveals New Discoveries .................................................................... 26

Assessment of Whale Health Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles........................................................ 27

Utilizing Electronic Monitoring and Reporting to Improve Commercial Fisheries........................... 27

Utilizing Ocean Sensors on Marine Mammal Satellite Tags .............................................................. 28

Evaluation of Sea Lion and Seal Response to Unoccupied Aircraft Systems.................................... 28

Autonomous and Piloted Aircraft Support Search and Rescue .......................................................... 28

Advancement of Shoreline Mapping Techniques ............................................................................... 29

Gravity Data from Unmanned Aircraft to Improve Floodplain Management.................................... 29
Expansion of Oblique Aerial Imagery Collections to Provide Insight Before and After 

Extreme Weather Events............................................................................................................ 30

Development of Low Cost Sea Temperature Sensor........................................................................... 30

Engaging Citizen Science to Improve Weather Forecasts Worldwide................................................ 31

NOAA Instrumental in Creating Citizen Science Website...................................................................31

Increased Satellite Capability to Monitor Global Sea Levels............................................................. 32

Key for Revolutionizing Space Weather Forecasts............................................................................. 32

Future Satellite for Global Weather Forecasts..................................................................................... 33

Accessibility of All NOAA Data through Partners.............................................................................. 34

Decision Science, Risk Assessment, and Risk Communication............................................................... 36

Sustainable Management and Resilience of U.S. fisheries in a Changing Climate............................ 37

Assessing the Vulnerability of the California Current Ecosystem to Ocean Acidification ................ 37

Tools and Expertise Help U.S. Aquaculture Industry Expand ............................................................ 38

Tools to Meet Challenges of a Changing Climate............................................................................... 38

Weather-Ready Nation Helps to Build Ready, Responsive, and Resilient Communities.................. 39

Forecasting a Continuum of Environmental Threats........................................................................... 39

Tracking Previous Events and Forecasting Potential Floods.............................................................. 40

Mapping Living Marine Resources Supports Development of Offshore Renewable Energy ........... 40

Promoting Nature-based Shorelines to Protect the Coast.................................................................... 41

Climate Vulnerability Assessment of Northeast Fish and Shellfish.................................................... 41

Impact of Ocean Noise on Marine Life ............................................................................................... 41

Technical Guidance on Anthropogenic Sound in the Ocean............................................................... 42

Water Prediction........................................................................................................................................... 44

Increased Capability in Water Prediction Nationwide......................................................................... 45

Tracking Precipitation to Provide Flash Flooding Forecasts at the Neighborhood Level.................. 45

Better Toxin Detection for Harmful Algal Blooms............................................................................. 46

In-situ Water Collection Instrument Sequences Samples in Real-time............................................... 46

Arctic .............................................................................................................................................................. 48

Innovative Technology for Arctic Exploration .................................................................................... 49

Forecasting Sea Ice............................................................................................................................... 49

Distributed Biological Oceanography ................................................................................................. 50

Using Infrared and Color Instruments to Monitor Marine Mammals in the Chukchi Sea................. 50

Monitoring of Northern Fur Seal Foraging Behavior ......................................................................... 51

Insights into the Prince William Sound Fisheries Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill ................. 51

Role of Springtime Arctic Clouds in Determining Autumn Sea Ice Extent ....................................... 52

Climate Prediction Center Experimental Seasonal Sea Ice Prediction............................................... 52

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Bibliometrics.............................................................................................................................................................. 54

Methodology................................................................................................................................................... 55

Main NOAA Research Areas ......................................................................................................................... 56

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences ............................................................................................. 56

Marine and Freshwater Biology........................................................................................................... 58

Oceanography....................................................................................................................................... 60

Environmental Sciences....................................................................................................................... 62

Fisheries ............................................................................................................................................... 64

Ecology................................................................................................................................................. 66

Geo-Sciences........................................................................................................................................ 68

NOAA’s Scientific Workforce .................................................................................................................................. 70

Scientific Awards and Achievements............................................................................................................. 70

Department of Commerce and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Awards ............ 71

External Awards.................................................................................................................................... 78

Scientific Integrity .......................................................................................................................................... 82

Laboratory and Program Science Reviews.................................................................................................... 85

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research ................................................................................... 85

National Marine Fisheries Service....................................................................................................... 85

National Ocean Service........................................................................................................................ 88

National Weather Service..................................................................................................................... 89

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service ..................................................... 90

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................. 92

Glossary ...................................................................................................................................................................... 94

Contributors and Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 98

Table of Contents Table of Contents

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Why should you read this report?

This is the first Chief Scientist’s Annual Report produced by the National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA is a science-based service

agency. Our mission of science, service, and stewardship depends critically on a

sustained and impactful investment in research and development. 

As the nation’s environmental intelligence agency, with a legacy reaching back

more than 200 years, our portfolio of research is a rich blend of disciplines, 

methods, and objectives. NOAA provides the weather forecasts, marine fisheries

management, nautical charts, sea ice predictions and solar storm warnings for the

nation, among many other daily products and services ... and all for less than 

5 cents per day for each American citizen.

More than simply documenting the diversity and quality of our research, this report

focuses first on the impact that our scientific investments have on the lives, livelihoods, and lifestyles of all American

citizens. The links are clear between our research outputs and resulting outcomes, in terms of economic, environmental,

and societal resilience. 

The quality of the research conducted and sponsored by NOAA is high, and in many cases, represents the gold 

standard for scientific investigation. Our researchers (federal employees and contractors), and our partners in 

academia, industry, and the non-profit sectors, are some of the most highly recognized and top-achieving scientists 

in the world. 

In short, this report provides a singular cross-section of the research investments that are impacting our lives and our

planet. The report provides an excellent representation of how taxpayer investments are paying off in both immediate

and long-term benefits. That’s why I hope even the casual reader will take the time to look at the many examples of

impactful research presented in this Chief Scientist’s Annual Report for 2016.

Rick Spinrad, PhD, CMarSci

Chief Scientist

December 2016

Foreword Foreword

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Enriching Life Through Science

Reaching from the surface of the sun to the depths of

the ocean floor, the mission of the National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) depends on a

strong research foundation for understanding the complex

systems that define our planet. 

This understanding ultimately provides a range of users

with the information and intelligence needed to protect

lives, support livelihoods, and enhance lifestyles. From

providing the daily weather forecasts that help safeguard

communities, to informing fisheries management that

keeps our nation fed and fishermen’s jobs secured,

NOAA’s products and services affect more than one-third

of America’s gross domestic product and help protect 

people and property.

The Portfolio Logic Model

Like an investor administering financial holdings, NOAA

manages its Research and Development (R&D) portfolio

to ensure that we are serving the American public 

effectively while appropriately balancing investments

across the agency’s diverse mission responsibilities. The

strategy for doing so is defined by NOAA’s portfolio

logic model: the why, what, where and how of NOAA’s

R&D investment.

Why NOAA Invests in Research

NOAA’s investment in research is 

critical to continually improving the

quality, reliability, and costeffectiveness of the products and 

services it provides to end users. 

These products and services are 

developed through a dynamic 

engagement between the agency and its

users: stakeholders communicate their

needs to NOAA, sparking new research 

initiatives or improvements to current services, while

NOAA continues to improve research and services to

meet the needs of the people who depend on them. 

By integrating research conducted internally with work

from our partners, including cooperative institutes, 

universities, other government agencies, and the private

sector, NOAA can transform basic conceptual research

into the data, tools, and information our stakeholders 

rely on. 

In short, we view the concept for this investment as a 

focusing effort in which we balance a broad base of

research investments to serve a wide diversity of 

end users.

NOAA's Mission: Science, Service 

and Stewardship

1. To understand and predict changes in 

climate, weather, oceans and coasts

2. To share that knowledge and 

information with others 

3. To conserve and manage coastal and 

marine ecosystems and resources “Bow-tie” concept borrowed from UK Met Office.

NOAA’s Research Portfolio

Introduction Introduction
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What Kind of Research NOAA Supports

NOAA’s R&D addresses the needs of the user 

community while advancing fundamental scientific 

understanding. Our R&D portfolio must allow the 

flexibility to consider contributions to the scientific

knowledge base separately from (albeit related to) 

enhancing applicability. 

In the context of the classical treatment by Donald Stokes

[Stokes, 1997], we strive to position our investment 

primarily in “Pasteur’s Quadrant,” while including 

critical investments aimed primarily at either advancing

fundamental understanding or enhancing applications.

NOAA strategically invests in a mix of research 

projects across the risk-reward spectrum. We pursue a

range of projects, from low-risk projects that result in 

incremental gains (e.g., periodic improvements to our 

already-existing storm prediction models) to high-risk

projects with high potential gains but less certainty of

success (e.g., exploratory research). 

This sets NOAA on the cutting edge of R&D while still

ensuring that we meet the needs and expectations of 

our users.

Donald Stokes proposed the above chart in his 1997 book

Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological 

Innovation. This chart portrays that, while some research

largely focuses on fundamental understanding (Bohr’s

quadrant, upper left) or application (Edison’s quadrant,

lower right), it is possible for research to be highly relevant

for both fundamental understanding and real-life 

applications (Pasteur’s quadrant, upper right). The majority

of NOAA research strives for this dual relevance as 

reflected in Pasteur's quadrant.

VORTEX2 field command vehicle with tornado in sight. 

LaGrange, Wyoming.

Scientific staff on the NOAA Ship OSCAR ELTON

SETTE sorting a mid-water trawl catch.
All Six NOAA Line Offices Provide a Unique 

Contribution to NOAA R&D

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), also known as NOAA Fisheries, is

responsible for the stewardship of the nation's ocean resources and their habitat.

Their main goals are to ensure productive and sustainable fisheries, safe sources

of seafood, the recovery and conservation of protected resources, and healthy

ecosystems — all backed by sound science and an ecosystem-based approach to

management. The sound science behind these goals is largely carried out by

NMFS’s regional science centers and laboratories.

The National Ocean Service (NOS) works to provide science-based solutions

through collaborative partnerships to address evolving economic, environmental,

and social pressures on our ocean and coasts. NOS program offices address the science of ocean and coastal

resources, tides, the complexity of Earth’s surface, coastal resilience, nautical chartmaking, marine 

sanctuaries, responses to oil and chemical spills, and ocean observation and monitoring.

The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) aims to provide timely access to

global environmental data from satellites and other sources to promote, protect, and enhance the nation's

economy, security, environment, and quality of life. Their research activities involve operating the NOAA 

National Data Centers, providing data and information services including Earth system monitoring, performing

official assessments of the environment, and conducting related research.

The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) seeks to use rigorous research to better understand the

complex systems that support our planet. OAR runs several NOAA research laboratories and the National Sea

Grant College Program, as well as heading offices focused in ocean exploration, climate, weather and air 

quality, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and ocean acidification.

The National Weather Service (NWS) works to provide weather, water, and climate data, as well as forecasts

and warnings for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy. NWS carries

out developmental activities to transition research advancements from NOAA and external research community

into enhancements to NWS operational warning and forecast services to build a Weather-Ready Nation.

The Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) does not have an internal R&D agenda but instead 

supports the research of other line offices by providing, managing, and operating the aircraft and marine 

vessels necessary to carry out this research.

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Introduction Introduction
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Where NOAA Invests in Research

NOAA maintains both intramural and extramural 

research investments. There is not a singular formula nor

operational concept for distributing research support 

inside and outside of the agency. 

Some programs invest the majority of their R&D funding

internally, at labs and science centers with federal 

employees. Other programs invest the majority of their

funding to external R&D partners, at universities, 

industry, and other research institutions. 

Moreover, in many cases, programs invest with a 

distribution of R&D funds intramurally and extramurally.

In the past, NOAA analyzed the balance of investment

[Fluharty et al., 2006; MacDonald et al., 2006]. Most 

recently, NOAA issued Strategic Research Guidance in

2015 [NOAA, 2015] and 2016 [NOAA, 2016a], and

NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-115A

[NOAA, 2016c]. 

This guidance indicates that the principles around which

the determination should be made about where to invest

research funding are based on the expected time to 

maturity of research (for which external investments

allow flexibility and ‘course-corrections’ through grants

and contracts), and applicability to regulatory functions

(for which direct engagement between the users and 

researchers might be most easily accommodated through

internal investments). 

Conceptually, this means that a balance of considerations

for mission relevance, time to maturity, and need for 

flexibility indicate the balance of intramural and 

extramural investment as shown below.

NOAA partnerships are vital to the agency’s R&D 

efforts, allowing for collaboration with leading 

universities, federal agencies, private companies, NGOs,

and other science innovators, as well as the mutually 

beneficial sharing of facilities, equipment, and 

staff expertise. 

Key mechanisms for partnerships include Cooperative 

Institute (Prospectus for Cooperative Institutes in the 21st

Century -CI21 [NOAA, 2016d]) and Cooperative Science

Center agreements with universities; the Sea Grant

network; extramural grant programs; contracts; 

Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with

the private sector; and more.

What Principles Guide NOAA Research

NOAA strives to direct, formulate, and evaluate all

agency research in light of the following eight 

principles through the NOAA Administrative Order

(NAO) 216-115A: mission alignment, transition 

readiness (NAO 216-105B [NOAA, 2016b]), research

balance, optimized partnerships, sustained facilities and

infrastructure, workforce excellence, scientific 

integrity, and accountability. 

These principles, grounded in communication within the

agency and between our partners, work together to 

uphold NOAA’s high-quality research, development,

services, and products.
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How NOAA Research Transitions into 

Operations, Applications, Commercialization,

and Utilization (R2X)

It is essential to ensure there is 

transition of research and 

development to maintain our 

capability of meeting mission 

requirements across all 

NOAA missions. 

In the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 President’s Budget, NOAA

proposed the creation of the Research Transition 

Acceleration Program (RTAP). RTAP is designed to 

support the acceleration of mature R&D activities to the

“mission-qualified” level (Readiness Level 8, RL 8) in

one to three years. This pace is significantly reduced from

historically longer transition times, which have taken

decades in some cases.

NOAA’s RTAP will improve the process and provide 

the needed resources to accelerate the transition of

NOAA’s R&D outputs into operations, applications, 

commercialization, and other uses for societal benefits,

which we call R2X. The full description of NOAA’s 

re-engineered transition process is defined in NAO 

216-105B. In the end, these process and resource 

improvements will continue to strengthen the culture 

of transitioning R&D at NOAA.

Currently, NOAA line offices are conducting a 

limited range of highly successful transition activities.

The activities listed below highlight just a few of the

R&D projects that have been selected to move from

research to operations, applications, and policy.

Establishing an Operations-to-Research 

Infrastructure (S4) to Facilitate Research-toOperations Transitions of Multiple Scientific 

Projects Aimed at Improving NOAA 

Modeling Systems

• NOAA and academia established an infrastructure 

called S4 to engage the broader research 

community in the use of NOAA numerical modeling 

systems. This infrastructure was composed of a 

supercomputer, a user support mechanism, and a 

software configuration management system, 

models porting. 

These scientists are working on improving satellite 

data utilization in NOAA numerical modeling 

systems in order to facilitate their Research to 

Operations (R2O) transitions. Through S4, 

researchers from government, private sector, and 

academia have access to a variety of NOAA 

numerical models including ocean, weather, air 

quality and land, which allow them to perform their 

research in an operational-like environment and 

therefore greatly facilitate their R2O transition effort 

and mature their technical readiness level.

• A multitude of NOAA systems benefited from the 

S4, including the Global Forecast System/ Gridpoint 

Statistical Interpolation (GFS/GSI) system for global 

weather forecasting, the Hurricane Weather 

Research and Forecast (HWRF) for hurricane 

prediction, the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model 

(HYCOM) system for ocean prediction, North 

American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) 

for land assimilation, and prediction and Weather 

Research and Forecasting model coupled to 

Chemistry (WRF-Chem) system for air quality.

Introduction Introduction

Currently, NOAA line offices are conducting a 

limited range of highly successful transition 

activities. The activities listed below highlight just a

few of the R&D projects that have been selected to

move from research to operations, applications,

and policy.

Establishing an Operations-to-Research 

Infrastructure (S4) to Facilitate Research-toOperations Transitions of Multiple Scientific 

Projects Aimed at Improving NOAA 

Modeling Systems

• NOAA and academia established an infrastructure

called S4 to engage the broader research 

community in the use of NOAA numerical 

modeling systems. This infrastructure was 

composed of a supercomputer, a user support 

mechanism, and a software configuration 

management system, models porting. 

These scientists are working on improving 

satellite data utilization in NOAA numerical 

modeling systems in order to facilitate their 

Research to Operations (R2O) transitions. 

Through S4, researchers from government, 

private sector, and academia have access to a 

variety of NOAA numerical models including 

ocean, weather, air quality and land, which allow 

them to perform their research in an operationallike environment and therefore greatly facilitate 

their R2O transition effort and mature their 

technical readiness level.

• A multitude of NOAA systems benefited from the 

S4, including the Global Forecast System/ 

Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GFS/GSI) 

system for global weather forecasting, the 

Hurricane Weather Research and Forecast 

(HWRF) for hurricane prediction, the Hybrid 

Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) system for 

ocean prediction, North American Land Data 

Assimilation System (NLDAS) for land 

assimilation, and prediction and Weather 

Research and Forecasting model coupled to 

Chemistry (WRF-Chem) system for air quality.
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Transitioning Optical Technologies to Improve 

Surveys for Red Snapper and Other Reef Fishes

• Current fish surveys conducted in the Gulf of 

Mexico provide measures of observations per unit 

effort that can be compared over space and time, 

enabling the generation of relative abundance 

indices. While relative abundance indices are 

considered good indicators of biomass trends, these 

indices do not give an accurate estimate of the 

overallstock size. 

This research 1) develops a capability for estimating 

true local density for red snapper and other fish 

species from video surveys, 2) classifies the seabed 

and other habitat parameters to estimate stock 

conditions, and 3) generates absolute abundance 

estimates aimed at reducing uncertainty in the stock 

assessment and improve NOAA Fisheries ability 

to monitor the status of red snapper and other 

reef fish.

• Operationalizing these optical technologies will 

provide total abundance estimates of red snapper 

and other reef fishes, reducing scientific uncertainty, 

improving the stock assessment and providing for 

more sustainable fishery yield.

Operationalizing a Forecast System for Lake Erie

Harmful Algal Blooms

• The goal of transitioning the Lake Erie forecast 

system from demonstration at the National Centers 

for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) to operations 

at the Center for Operational Oceanographic 

Products and Services (CO-OPS) is to establish an 

operating capability for twice-weekly bulletin 

forecasts that provide information on the current 

size, density, and location of the Harmful Algal 

Bloom (HAB) along with a 72 hour forecast of 

transport projection. 

The transition plan documents the steps necessary 

to achieve that objective without additional 

resources to base budgets and articulates the 

observations/data streams required to support the 

sustainment of operational requirements of the 

forecast system.

• By providing sustained operational semi-weekly 

bulletin forecasts of potential threats to public water 

supplies, stakeholders are better able to make 

effective and timely water treatment decisions so as 

to avoid major impacts such as the Toledo water 

crisis of 2014. 

North American Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME)

• A multi-model ensemble prediction system

comprised of operational and research climate 

models developed and demonstrated via NOAA 

Climate Test Bed (CTB) was transitioned to NWS 

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) as an operational 

seasonal prediction tool. Uniquely, the product 

makes operational use of research climate models 

to form the ensemble forecast.

• As part of the Weather Ready Nation vision, such 

forecasts and applications stemming from NMME 

hold the promise of providing early warning of and 

mitigation to high-impact weather events.

Automated High-resolution Ensemble-based 

Hazard Detection Guidance Tool

• The overarching goal of this work is to transition a 

well-tested system for generation of ensemble postprocessing hazard guidance products to operational 

status in the National Weather Service. 

A direct outcome of the project improves the 

ensemble hazard guidance tool for operational 

forecasters, thereby reducing the ensemble 

information overload problem and enabling a more 

efficient and accurate characterization of forecast 

uncertainty. Ultimately, the National Weather 

Service’s weather guidances will become more 

useful and higher quality. 

• This tool will improve forecast 

accuracy of high-impact weather 

features such as rainbands, snow 

bands, low ceilings etc.; and will 

enhance forecasters’ ability to 

communicate forecast uncertainty.
13

What is the Budget for NOAA Research?

NOAA’s Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) Enacted budget 

included approximately $560 million, or 10% of the

agency’s total budget, to support R&D — where R&D is

defined as all research and development activities not 

including facilities and equipment. 

This continues a five-year trend of increased support 

for R&D, highlighting NOAA’s efforts to keep up with 

increased stakeholder demand for environmental 

intelligence and services in the face of a changing planet.

Note: Budget figures exclude equipment and facilities

spending but include both intramural and extramural 

investments, unless otherwise specified. All numbers were

acquired from the NOAA Budget Office.

NOTE: OMAO supports the research of other line offices

through providing, managing, and operating the aircraft

and marine vessels necessary to carry out this research.

Where Does it Go?

NOAA’s R&D activities are

supported by all line offices

and numerous programs. Almost 60 percent of NOAA’s

FY16 R&D budget supported

internal R&D efforts, 

including those at NOAA labs

and science centers. The remaining 40 percent was set

aside for extramural 

research, enabling partnerships and collaborations with

non-NOAA entities. 

Over the past five years, NOAA has been dedicating an

increasing percentage of our resources to extramural 

research, which shows the importance NOAA places on

external partnerships in fulfilling our R&D mission.

Note: All graphs exclude facilities and equipment from

R&D budget calculations.

Introduction Introduction
14

References

Fluharty, D., M. Abbott, R. Davis, M. Donahue, 

S. Madsen, T. Quinn, J. Rice, and J. Sutinen 

(2006), Evolving an Ecosystem Approach to 

Science and management Throughout NOAA 

and its Partners, 85 pp, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C.

MacDonald, A. E., R. Fulton, M. Kenny, S. Murawski, 

P. Ortner, A. M. Powell, A. Sen, and L. Uccellini 

(2006), Research Location in NOAA: Physical 

and Social Sciences, 72 pp, National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C.

NOAA (2015), 2015 Strategic Guidance 

Memorandum, p. 9, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C.

NOAA (2016a), 2016 Strategic Guidance 

Memorandum, p. 8, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C.

NOAA (2016b), NOAA Administrative Order 

216-105B - Policy of Research and Development 

Transitions, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, Washington, D.C.

NOAA (2016c), NOAA Administrative Order 

216-115A - Research and Development in NOAA,

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, Washington, D.C.

NOAA (2016d), Prospectus for Cooperative Institutes 

in the 21st Century (CI21), p. 24, Washington, D.C.

Stokes, D. E. (1997), Pasteur's quadrant: Basic science 

and technological innovation, Brookings 

Institution Press.

N OAA has a broad set of predictive responsibilities, reflected in its

large and highly diverse modeling enterprise. Models are essential

tools for enhancing scientific understanding, making predictions and

projections, and ensuring informed decision-making to meet NOAA’s 

mission needs. For example, NOAA uses models for the following:

● Developing and improving weather, air quality, and ocean forecasting 

● Providing predictions and projections of atmospheric, hydrologic, cryospheric, and oceanic 

dynamics and composition over a range of temporal and spatial scales 

● Developing hazard mitigation such as tsunami and oil spill trajectory models, and ecological 

forecasting models for harmful algal blooms, hypoxia and ocean acidification 

● Supporting ecosystem-based management of marine resources including understanding and 

predicting associated socio-economic impacts 

Model development and improvements depend on a continued understanding of earth system processes,

developed through targeted field and laboratory studies as well as the exploitation of new types and

sources of data.

While a single report outlining the scientific work and achievements of NOAA researchers throughout the

past year would fill many volumes, this NOAA Chief Scientist’s Annual Report highlights a small but 

representative fraction of the critical work NOAA does every day. The research depicted in this chapter

highlights some of the data, tools, products, and services that NOAA’s research activities provide, giving 

us critical insights into the complex and diverse integrated earth systems that impact our country and 

our planet. 

16
El Niño Rapid Response Campaign Yields New

Discoveries on Weather Phenomena

From January-March 2016, NOAA scientists and 

partners led by the Earth System Research Laboratory

(ESRL), pulled together a major field effort that 

analyzed the mechanics of an El Niño event in 

unprecedented detail in order to gather data to improve

weather forecasts thousands of miles away. 

NOAA’s team, along with NASA, the U.S. Air Force,

and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, studied a

major wind-driven precipitation event to give forecasters

a detailed look at an “atmospheric river” as it reached

the U.S. West Coast. This resulted in the discovery of

new, complex distributions of moisture in the tropics

and subtropics that were not well-represented in 

operational model analyses or satellite measurements. 

This research had never been done with a major El Niño

and will ultimately help NOAA researchers understand

the first link in the chain that produces, among many

other weather impacts, extreme precipitation events on

the West Coast. 

During the campaign, the NASA Global Hawk UAS 

(Unmanned Aircraft System) and NOAA Gulfstream jets

flew 100,000+ miles, the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown

logged 3,000 miles, and 725 meteorological sensors 

(sondes) were launched from Christmas Island for 

comprehensive data collection. Overall, the campaign

discovered new, complex distributions of moisture in the

tropics and subtropics that were not well-represented in

operational model analyses or satellite measurements.

Preliminary observed data for the 2016 event show a

much different impact on California rains than those that

happened in 1983 and 1988. 

Perhaps most surprising is that Southern California has

become even drier despite high expectations for rain this

time around. Initial studies suggest the addition of data

collected by the campaign could improve model 

characterization of the atmospheric river and downstream

weather forecasts for Alaska and the western and central

United States. 

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Utilized to Improve 

Hurricane Forecasts 

After Hurricane Sandy, Congress provided funding to

NOAA and NASA through the Disaster Relief 

Appropriations Act of 2013, to study the effectiveness of

high altitude, long endurance unmanned aircraft system

in maintaining weather forecast skill for dangerous

oceanic storms, in the event data are missing from our

polar-orbiting weather satellites. 

Leading-Edge Research for Improved Forecasts

Integrated Earth System Integrated Earth System 

Processes & Predictions Processes & Predictions

17

“NOAA/ESRL’s Physical Sciences Division has

managed to pull together a major field effort that

will analyze the mechanics of this El Niño in truly

unprecedented detail.” 

- Bob Henson, Weather Underground
Flying at 60,000 feet, the Global Hawk UAS passes over

most storms at sea and provides a full three-dimensional

picture of an oceanic storm. In 2015 and 2016, the 

project team flew the Global Hawk over tropical storms

Erika and Fred, and three Pacific storm systems. 

These 24-hour Global Hawk flights carried NASA remote

sensors and successfully demonstrated first-use of an 

automatic UAS dispensing system for sondes (sensors)

dropped into the hurricane. NOAA and NASA are now

evaluating the impact of real-time weather data gathered

by the Global Hawk UAS on weather prediction models

used by the National Weather Service. 

While data gathered by Global Hawk is still being 

analyzed, it appears that when satellite atmospheric 

moisture and temperature data are missing, similar Global

Hawk data may improve two-day storm predictions of

Atlantic Ocean tropical cyclone track and intensity, and

predictions for storms impacting Alaska and the central U.S.

Additionally, another

small unmanned aircraft,

the Coyote (launched

from NOAA’s Hurricane

Hunter P-3 aircraft), 

collects data in the 

hurricane boundary layer

where manned aircraft

cannot fly. A 2016 

upgrade to the P-3 

antennae now allows the Coyote to fly ten times further

than before, up to 50 miles, from the P-3 aircraft while

collecting and transmitting continuous observations.

NOAA also has the ability to transmit real-time data 

collected from its instrument package to NOAA’s 

National Hurricane Center (NHC) for the first time,

including data from a new infrared sensor to measure sea

surface temperature, which is a vital parameter for 

understanding the lifecycle and intensity of hurricanes. 

NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological

Laboratory (AOML) is currently working with a Coyote

to evaluate the temperature, relative humidity, and 

pressure instrumentation, as well as improve measurements

of heat fluxes near the eyewalls of hurricanes, an undersampled aspect of hurricanes that could improve NOAA’s

ability to predict changes in hurricane intensity.

Model Enhancements Improve Timeliness and

Resolution of Weather Forecasts

On August 23, 2016, NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid

Refresh (HRRR) and Rapid Refresh (RAP) models 

received significant updates. The HRRR is an hourly 

updated model that covers the lower 48 United States at

3km resolution and uses radar assimilation to provide the

short-range precipitation forecast component for the 

National Water Model. The RAP is an hourly updated

model covering all of North America at 13-km resolution.

18

“The FAA has long supported [NOAA’s] numerical

modeling research and the most recent 

operational transition of the HRRR to NWS 

operations improves aviation forecasts at air 

terminals and aloft, reducing air traffic delays,

which cost the airline [industry] billions of 

dollars annually.” 

- Steve Abelman, Federal 

Aviation Administration

Photo credit: NASA
Integrated Earth System Integrated Earth System 

Processes & Predictions Processes & Predictions

These upgrades enable more effective assimilation of 

surface, radar reflectivity and lightning, and cloud 

observations — resulting in significant improvement in

timing and location of thunderstorm forecasting. These

models show improved boundary-layer physics that can

be applied to energy applications and aerosol-aware

cloud microphysics that remove significant biases in the

current operational models. 

The upgrades significantly increase use of polar-orbiting

and GOES (geostationary) satellite data, adds National

Centers for Environmental Prediction’s (NCEP) first 

assimilation of lightning data, and pushes hourly 

forecasts out an additional 3 hours (from 15 to 18 hours

for HRRR and from 18 to 21 hours for RAP) to help the 

National Weather Service (NWS) extend lead-times for

high-impact events such as thunderstorms.

The HRRR is the first model to produce 15-minute snapshots that are updated every hour with resolution sharp

enough to predict individual thunderstorms. Using grid

points about two miles apart, the HRRR can aid forecasters

to pinpoint neighborhood-sized threats such as potentially

tornado-producing storms, heavy precipitation that can

lead to flash flooding, and abundant snowfall. The HRRR

was developed by NOAA’s Earth System Research 

Laboratory and version 1.0 was put into NWS operations

in the fall of 2014.

Wind Forecast Research Optimizes Renewable

Energy Efforts

As part of the Atmospheric Science for Renewable 

Energy (ASRE) effort with the Department of Energy

(DOE), NOAA’s Earth System Research Lab is seeking

to improve forecasts of wind turbine-height winds. More

accurate short-term forecasts of atmospheric conditions

help the industry make these power sources more reliable,

efficient, and easier to integrate onto the power grid. 

To support this effort, the second Wind Forecast 

Improvement Project (WFIP2) is taking place in 

Oregon’s rugged Columbia River Gorge through the

spring of 2017. WFIP2 builds on the first WFIP, 

conducted in the Great Plains and Texas in 2011 and

2012. In both projects, new public- and private-sector

weather observations were fed into NOAA’s RAP and

HRRR hourly weather prediction models.

The first WFIP showed that integrating new observations

into the RAP and HRRR models and improving model

physics made wind forecasts up to 15% more accurate in

areas with flat terrain. WFIP-2 is now extending this

project to rugged terrain to see if it can accurately predict

winds between the ground and the tips of the wind 

turbine blades and then integrate this data into an even

higher-resolution 750-meter HRRR “forecast grid.”

These high-resolution weather data will enable ASRE

scientists to develop a model that can support optimized

energy systems that use large amounts of wind and 

solar power.

19

“NOAA’s continual advancement of forecast skill

improves the stability of our electric grid, and 

directly reduces the cost of integrating more 

renewable energy into our resource mix.” 

- Dr. Jim McCaa, Manager, Vaisala 

Energy Advanced Applications
Hurricane Surge Forecasting to Better Predict

Flooding in Coastal Communities

The Hurricane Surge On-demand Forecast System

(HSOFS) is a hurricane storm surge forecast system that

predicts flooding in coastal communities using data from

an advanced high-resolution storm surge model. 

HSOFS simulates water levels as hurricanes track across

the Western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico and

cover the coast from Texas to Maine, including Puerto

Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The model was successfully implemented for operational

use on NCEP Central Operations’ high performance 

computing system. The model grid and testing were 

originally developed in a project with Architecture, 

Engineering, Consulting, Operations, and Maintenance

(AECOM) and Riverside Technology, Inc., and further

testing and transition to operations was performed in

partnership with NOAA. 

HSOFS will be used near the time prior to hurricane

landfall in order to provide additional guidance to the 

National Hurricane Center on flood risks, thereby 

protecting coastal communities with advance flood warnings.

Last Place on Earth Where CO2 Exceeds More

Than 400 ppm 

On May 23, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the Earth’s 

atmosphere exceeded 400 parts per million (ppm) at the

South Pole, locking in levels of heat-trapping gas not

seen for millions of years. Since before the Ice Age,

measurements taken at NOAA’s atmospheric observatories

on Mauna Loa and at the South Pole both indicate that

CO2 will not fall below 400 ppm. NOAA researchers

now estimate it will not dip below this level during our

lifetime and probably much longer.

Over the course of the year, CO2 levels rise during fall

and winter and decline during the Northern Hemisphere’s

summer as terrestrial plants consume CO2 during 

photosynthesis. However, plants capture only a fraction

of annual CO2 emissions, so for every year since 

observations began in 1958, there has been more CO2 in

the atmosphere than the year before. Passing the 400 ppm

milestone is thus a symbolic but nonetheless important

reminder that human activities continue to reshape our

planet in profound ways. 

The annual growth rate of atmospheric CO2 measured at

NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii jumped 

3.05 ppm during 2015, the largest year-to-year increase in

56 years of monitoring. Part of last year’s jump was 

attributable to El Niño, the cyclical Pacific Ocean 

warming that produces extreme weather across the globe,

causing terrestrial ecosystems to lose stored CO2 through

wildfire, drought and heat waves. Last year was the

fourth consecutive year that CO2 grew more than 2 ppm

— which set another record. 

20
Integrated Earth System Integrated Earth System 

Processes & Predictions Processes & Predictions

The last time CO2 hit 400 ppm in Antarctica was several

million years ago during the early Pliocene epoch, during

which the Earth underwent “significant change in climate

that had major global and regional implications,” and 

was then preceded by small changes in atmospheric 

CO2 concentration.

Better Forecasts for Harmful Algal Blooms

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

(NCCOS) continues to improve the nation’s ability to

forecast, detect, and mitigate the impacts of harmful algal

blooms (HABs). HABs occur when colonies of algae —

simple plants that live in the sea and freshwater — grow

out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on

people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. 

NCCOS and its partners predict when and where HABs

will occur through delivering HAB forecasts for Lake

Erie, the Gulf of Maine, and the Gulf of Mexico. In 2016,

the early season projections for Lake Erie were improved

by adding a Maumee River flow forecast model from the

National Weather Service, substantially reducing the 

uncertainty of those projections. 

NCCOS also established an initial operating capability at

NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products

and Services (CO-OPS) for the production of the twiceweekly Lake Erie HAB bulletin, a capacity that will be 

finalized in 2017.

Advancing Research on Blue Carbon

Blue carbon, or the carbon

captured and stored in coastal

and ocean ecosystems, has

been gaining attention 

internationally and 

domestically in recent years,

advancing NOAA’s 

involvement in understanding

this form of carbon capture. 

In 2015, NOAA and Restore America’s Estuaries 

established the Coastal Wetland Carbon Working Group.

This group is working towards conducting a baseline 

assessment of U.S. blue carbon stocks and incorporating

coastal wetlands into the U.S. greenhouse gas inventory

2017 submission, as blue carbon has historically been left

out of greenhouse gas inventories. 

NOAA is working towards an approval of the Verified

Carbon Standard (VCS) methodology for coastal wetland

restoration, which enables global coastal wetland 

restoration projects to generate carbon offset credits to be

bought and sold on the voluntary carbon market. 

These projects all work towards a higher degree of 

incorporation of the important role of blue carbon into

our understanding of the planet’s carbon balance in the

face of a changing climate.

Global Climate Model Revealing Changing 

Ocean Conditions

Historically, global climate models have been too coarse

to represent accurately the Gulf Stream position in the

Northwest Atlantic. Thus, temperature projections in this

region were based on unrealistic regional ocean circulation

data. NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab (GFDL)

high-resolution global climate model is now capable of

accurately resolving water mass circulation in this area,

increasing confidence in warming projections of the

Northwest Atlantic Ocean.

21
Scientists from GFDL and their colleagues examined the

effect of increasing atmospheric CO2 on ocean temperature

in the Northwest Atlantic using four models with varying

resolutions. Their findings, based on output from four

global climate models of varying ocean and atmospheric

resolution, indicate that ocean temperature in the U.S.

Northeast Shelf is projected to warm twice as fast as 

previously projected and almost three times faster than

the global average. 

Furthermore, the highest-resolution model also shows a

northerly shift of the Gulf Stream and a retreat of the

fresh polar current, contributing to the increase in 

temperature over the region. The highest resolution

GFDL model, CM2.6 , matched the Northwest Atlantic

circulation and water mass distribution most accurately.

These findings illustrate that prior climate change 

projections for the region may be far too conservative.

Fish Species Response to Climate Change Off 

the Atlantic Coast

NOAA researchers recently studied a variety of marine

fishery species grouped by similar depth and temperature

distribution and evaluated the pace and magnitude of 

climate change effects for these bottom-dwelling fish

found on the U.S. Northeast Shelf. 

Nearly 70 species were classified into four distinct 

“assemblages,” a group of species sharing a common 

environmental niche — in this case temperature, depth,

and seasonal movement. It was found that those groups

have similar responses to the effects of climate change. 

Additionally, interactions between individual species in

those groups may be affected by the amount of available

habitat, predator-prey relationships, and competition for

food resulting from shifts in range and distribution. This

study represented an important advancement in the 

understanding of changes in fish assemblages in 

recent decades. 

Along the Mid-Atlantic Bight, economic impacts will be

felt as shifting distributions of traditionally harvested

species alter patterns of their availability to local fishing

communities. Ultimately, the results are lost access to

stocks managed with species-specific quotas and rising

fuel and travel costs as vessels seek out species in more

distant areas.

Warm Blood Makes Opah an Agile Predator

Research by NOAA Fisheries has revealed the opah

(Lampris guttatus), or moonfish, as the first fully warmblooded fish that circulates heated blood throughout its

body, similar to mammals and birds, giving it a 

competitive advantage in the cold ocean depths. 

22
Integrated Earth System Integrated Earth System 

Processes & Predictions Processes & Predictions

Fish that typically inhabit such cold depths tend to be

slow and sluggish, conserving energy by ambushing prey

instead of chasing it. But the opah’s constant flapping of

its fins heats its body, speeding its metabolism, 

movement, and reaction times, scientists reported this

year in the journal Science. 

Satellite tracking showed opah spend most of their time at

depths of 150 to 1,300 feet, without regularly surfacing.

Their higher body temperature should increase their 

muscle output and capacity, boost their eye and brain

function, and help them resist the effects of cold on the

heart and other organs. 

While mammals and birds typically maintain much

warmer body temperatures, the opah is the first fish found

to keep its whole body warmer than the environment.

That warm-blooded advantage turns the opah into a highperformance predator that swims faster, reacts more

quickly, and sees more sharply.

23
N OAA uses a wide range of sensors and platforms to conduct 

sustained and experimental observations of phenomena ranging

from solar flares to undersea earthquakes that are essential to

NOAA’s environmental intelligence mission. As the only federal agency with

the operational responsibility to provide weather, water, ocean, climate, and

ecosystem forecasts, NOAA is charged with collecting accurate, timely, and comprehensive observations of

the Earth and its surrounding space. 

These activities generate greater than 20 terabytes of data each day (more than twice the data of the entire

printed collection of the United States Library of Congress), which, in turn, NOAA utilizes to produce useful

environmental intelligence for society. These data, and the intelligence derived from these data, are critical

tools that support government decisions and policies, scientific research, and the economic, environmental,

and public health of the United States. 

Data science efforts within NOAA span the entire data exploitation spectrum including acquisition, quality

control, metadata cataloging, validation, reprocessing, storage, retrieval, dissemination, and production of

useful intelligence and products for society. To support NOAA’s data management efforts, advances in 

signal processing (e.g., compression, sampling, thinning) are needed in order to keep pace with the scale

at which NOAA is generating and collecting environmental data. Furthermore, NOAA is also investigating

and leveraging emerging developments in high-performance data access, storage and computing, data

mining, natural language processing, and machine learning. 

Innovative processing techniques and R&D are being investigated to extend sensor capabilities to extract

new products from measurements and find ways to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of measurements. To

support improved data applications, NOAA continues to make advances in the current capabilities to couple

‘traditional’ datasets (e.g., physical, chemical, and biological) and fuse those data with ‘non-traditional’ data

(e.g., social, behavioral, and economic) and ‘unconventional’ sources (e.g., citizen science). 

Lastly, in light of exponentially increasing computational demands and the goals of the White House 

National Strategic Computing Initiative, NOAA seeks to connect its high-performance computing 

capabilities with this expanded data analytics capability as well as augment its petascale computing 

systems and capabilities toward the exascale.

Listed within this chapter are a few representative examples of the many

ways NOAA has leveraged and improved its observational assets and

data to make groundbreaking discoveries and provide improved 

environmental intelligence for its stakeholders and the American people. 

24
Next Generation Satellite Provides Enhanced

Observational Capabilities

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R

Series (GOES-R) is the nation’s next generation of 

geostationary weather satellites in support of NOAA’s

R&D Enterprise. These satellites, beginning with the 

successful launch of the first of the GOES-R satellites,

GOES-16, on November 19, 2016, will provide continuous

imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s Western

Hemisphere, total lightning data, and space weather 

monitoring to provide critical atmospheric, hydrologic,

oceanic, climatic, solar and space data.

The GOES-R series will significantly improve the 

detection and observation of environmental phenomena

that directly affect public safety, protection of property,

and our nation’s economic health and prosperity. 

The satellites will provide advanced imaging with 

increased spatial resolution and faster coverage for more

accurate forecasts, real-time mapping of lightning 

activity, and improved monitoring of solar activity. In six

months, this new satellite will send back more weather

data than all U.S. weather satellites combined over the

last 41 years. 

The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) will collect three

times more data and provide four times better resolution

and more than five times faster coverage than the 

current GOES. 

The Geostationary Lightning Mapper, or GLM, will map

total lightning (in-cloud and cloud-to-ground) continuously

over the Americas and adjacent ocean regions. 

Research has shown that lightning flash rate increases can

be a predictor of impending severe weather and total

lightning data from GLM has great potential to increase

lead-time for severe thunderstorm storm warnings. 

Additionally, scientists will explore how new and 

improved sensors on GOES-R will enhance NOAA 

products to inform aviators of developing severe weather

and flight icing conditions to help enhance aviation

weather forecasts.

The satellites will also host a suite of instruments that will

provide significantly improved detection of space

weather for more accurate monitoring of energetic 

particles responsible for 

radiation hazards, improved

power blackout forecasts, 

increased warning of 

communications and 

navigation disruptions, 

and more. 

Providing More Accurate, Timely, and 

Comprehensive Observations

Environmental Environmental 

Observations & Data Observations & Data

25

“[GOES-R] puts [the U.S] on top of the food

chain when it comes to weather satellites

around the world. Nobody has anything like

this.” – Al Roker, Today Show 8/25/16

The GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) is installed 

onto the GOES-R spacecraft at Lockheed Martin in Littleton,

Colorado, on October 13, 2014.
New Frontier of Using DNA to Study Marine Life

‘Omics is a simple term to describe advanced biological

tools, including, for example, genomics, metabolomics,

and proteomics. 

A new program at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and

Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) is using ‘omics to

study genes and proteins to better understand how marine

organisms and ecosystems remain healthy. 

AOML is constructing an experimental

aquarium to finely manipulate 

ecosystem stress for identification of

genes that allow some corals to 

resist bleaching. 

In 2016, routine field sampling 

began in the Florida Keys to better 

understand the microbiome — microbial

communities critical to coral health. 

Moreover, over 19 million DNA sequences have been 

incorporated into characterization of plankton 

communities in the California Current to understand the

capacity of food webs to support fish stocks. 

In 2016, three California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries

Investigations (CalCOFI) cruises collected samples for

‘omic analysis, and upcoming research will test whether

an automated underwater vehicle (AUV) can deliver such

samples to reduce costs and increase sample coverage,

which is needed for NOAA model and forecast missions. 

Coral Reef Outlook to Predict Future 

Bleaching Events

NOAA Coral Reef Watch has developed a forecast that

significantly enhances NOAA’s capability for predicting

coral bleaching events. 

The newest version of the Four-Month Bleaching 

Outlook provides more than fourfold increase in 

resolution (now 0.5° x 0.5°, formerly 1.0° x 1.0°) and

more accurate predictions of environmental conditions. 

Since the start of this current and longest, most 

widespread global coral bleaching event, Coral Reef

Watch’s Four-Month Bleaching Outlook has successfully 

predicted mass bleaching events all over the globe. 

In conjunction with Coral Reef Watch’s daily 5km 

satellite global coral bleaching thermal stress products,

marine resource managers and scientists are using this

outlook to help them prepare for, communicate about,

monitor, and respond to bleaching on their local coral

reefs. For example, in 2010, Thailand and Malaysia

closed numerous dive sites in response to the severe

bleaching they had observed. 

In 2016, Thailand closed ten sites in May, well before the

peak of the bleaching season, in part due to NOAA's

Four-Month Outlook of severe bleaching.

Ocean Exploration Activities Reveals 

New Discoveries

The Campaign to Address Pacific monument Science,

Technology, and Ocean NEeds (CAPSTONE) is a 

strategic ocean exploration initiative to gather baseline 

information about U.S. marine protected areas in the 

Central and Western Pacific. 

These marine national monuments and national marine

sanctuaries encompass over 100 million square miles of

emergent land, coral reef, ocean, benthic communities,

and maritime heritage resources, all within the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone. 

26

(Photo credit: R. Vevers, XL Catlin Seaview Survey)
Environmental Environmental 

Observations & Data Observations & Data

While NOAA and other federal agencies are charged with

their management, little is known about these protected

areas. NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and 

Research (OER) worked closely with counterparts across

the agency and with the external science community to

identify CAPSTONE priorities and to plan expeditions to

document the geologic history, natural resources, deep

sea biogeography, and vulnerable marine habitats of this

vast undersea wilderness.

During the 2015 and

2016 CAPSTONE 

expeditions, OER and

its partners in NMFS,

NOS, NESDIS, and

OMAO mapped

154,440 square miles

of seafloor, discovered

hundreds of potentially

new species of flora and fauna, and collected hundreds of

biological and geological samples. 

Scientists from around the world participated in 

CAPSTONE from shore in real-time through 

telepresence. Similar results are expected for the final

CAPSTONE expedition in 2017. Ocean exploration 

partners (such as the Schmidt Ocean Institute) are 

expected to contribute to CAPSTONE in 2018 

and beyond. 

As a result, U.S. marine protected area managers, and 

the scientists that support them, have rich new 

“environmental intelligence” for decision-making.

Assessment of Whale Health Using Unmanned

Aircraft Systems

The Marine Mammal and Turtle Division at NOAA’s

Southwest Fisheries Science Center has successfully 

integrated an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) 

component into whale status assessments. A small, 

unmanned hexacopter is now being used to provide 

diagnostic information on whale health and condition. 

Over the past year, more than 300 flights have been 

successfully conducted for the collection of overhead

photogrammetry images from a number of protected

whale populations. 

Notable projects include a photogrammetric assessment

of the body condition of all 81 individuals in the 

population of endangered Southern Resident killer

whales and the collection of whale blow samples to 

study respiratory diseases in endangered North Atlantic

right whales. 

Hexacopters have also been deployed from the NOAA

Ship Oscar Elton Sette to calibrate counts of dolphin

schools made by visual observers around the Hawaiian

Islands. Together, these applications demonstrate how

this new technology can both refine traditional 

abundance-based 

assessments and 

provide new data on

whale health to better

understand and 

manage population

changes to meet 

recovery goals and

prevent depletion.

Utilizing Electronic Monitoring and Reporting to

Improve Commercial Fisheries

To monitor annual fish catch limits and improve bycatch

accounting, the National Marine Fisheries Service 

designed and implemented innovative electronic 

monitoring (EM) systems for fishing boats. EM systems

typically consist of one or more cameras positioned to

monitor fishing activities on a vessel, along with several

sensors receiving fishing effort information. 

In 2016, NOAA’s EM research and development focused

on building an EM system using stereo cameras with 

machine vision learning algorithms to automate the 

identification and measurement of individual fish, 

representing a major breakthrough in EM technology. 

27

Sampling whale’s breath using an

unmanned hexacopter.
Another example is a camera chute system, which is

being tested to report the number and weight of halibut

discarded in an Alaska trawl fishery in real time. 

Eight new EM video programs for monitoring bycatch

compliance using single-camera technologies will be

fully implemented by 2018 in the Northeast, the West

Coast, and Alaska. These innovations will help improve

the timeliness, quality, integration, and accessibility of

the data.

Utilizing Ocean Sensors on Marine Mammal

Satellite Tags

This joint effort between NOAA and Wildlife Computers,

funded by the National Cooperative Research Program

and the North Pacific Research Board, developed a 

satellite-linked fluorometer, a device used to measure 

parameters of fluorescence, for pinnipeds (seals and 

sea lions). 

A miniature fluorometer was interfaced with a dataarchiving tag and a satellite transmitter. Pinnipeds 

carrying this instrument serve as ocean-sensing platforms

to record chlorophyll-a and sea temperatures in the water

column in order to index primary production. 

Understanding the foraging ecology of pinnipeds relative

to the spatial and temporal variability of these variables 

is also advantageous for their management and 

conservation. Understanding these factors is important as

changes in primary production, associated with changes

in sea ice due to climate change, are expected to have

cascading effects on food web dynamics in Arctic waters.

Evaluation of Sea Lion and Seal Response to

Unoccupied Aircraft Systems

In 2016, Alaska Fisheries Science Center biologists

worked with the NMFS Office of Protected Resources to

begin an evaluation of the behavioral response of Steller

sea lions and northern fur seals to a small-unmanned 

aircraft system (UAS). 

The UAS, a small six-motor rotor-craft (i.e., hexacopter),

was used to fly vertical transect lines at varying 

decreasing altitudes, and pinniped response was recorded

by ground observers. 

Understanding these disturbance thresholds is important,

as harassment of marine mammals is prohibited by the

Marine Mammal Protection Act without an exemption or

exception. For the research community, these thresholds

can inform permitted UAS activities. 

The need for responsible UAS operation around marine

mammals is also important as UAS ownership becomes

more popular with the general public and within the 

commercial industry. 

Autonomous and Piloted Aircraft Support

Search and Rescue 

NOAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program

Office, working together with representatives of 

AeroVironment Inc., conducted a Search and Rescue 

Exercise, called Arctic Shield, in the waters north of

Alaska in order to test the utility of integrating unmanned

aircraft into a simulated response incident.

Working from the deck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter

HEALY, the research team launched a small unmanned

aircraft, the AeroVironment Puma, to search for a 

simulated missing person stranded in the icy waters. 

28
Environmental Environmental 

Observations & Data Observations & Data

Following the launch, the Puma used both its electrooptical and infrared cameras to locate the simulated 

victim, affectionately named Thermal Oscar, floating in a

survival raft on the water approximately one nautical mile

away from the ship. 

The Puma was able to relay the coordinates to the test

control center on board the HEALY, which then directed

a Coast Guard H-60 and ERA Helicopter to the scene.

Both helos deployed rescue swimmers to simulate 

recovery and then returned safely to shore. The exercise

concluded with a successful net capture of the Puma UAS

and a recovery of the survival raft by the HEALY.

Much of this mission was conducted under the auspices

of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

(CRADA) between NOAA and AeroVironment, which,

in this case, allows NOAA and AeroVironment to jointly

test UAS capabilities in a series of real-life missionbased scenarios. 

The results from these tests will be analyzed by both

NOAA and AeroVironment to improve NOAA’s 

operational capabilities and AeroVironment's products.

Advancement of Shoreline Mapping Techniques 

The NOAA National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is 

responsible for mapping the national shoreline. For the

past several years, NGS has been working to advance the

use of topographic-bathymetric (topo-bathy) LIDAR for

coastal mapping. 

In 2016, NOAA conducted the first surveys of the Florida

Keys using this new technology, which provides 

improved elevation data both above and below the water

allowing for improved accuracy shoreline data products

that make life easier for those living or working on 

the coast. 

The improved elevation information will be used by a

multitude of federal and state agencies for applications 

including nautical charting, coastal inundation modeling,

floodplain mapping, and habitat mapping and 

wetland restoration.

Gravity Data from Unmanned Aircraft to 

Improve Floodplain Management

NOAA’s Gravity for the Redefinition of the American

Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) project is a nationwide effort

to collect gravity data from airborne instruments. 

These measurements are used to create precise estimates

of elevation (up to 2 cm in many places) which are used

to provide more accurate models of water flow on land.

Through a Small Business Innovation Research grant,

NOAA conducted one of the first tests of a gravitymeasurement device on an optionally piloted aircraft in

April 2016; test flights were operated in “unmanned

mode” with a safety pilot aboard. 

An unmanned plane can more easily obtain GRAV-D data

in remote locations and has the potential to greatly reduce

the costs and safety hazards associated with data 

collection in key remote areas such as Alaska. 

Improved accuracy of gravity measurements will provide

an estimated $240 million in annual savings from 

improved floodplain management and an additional 

$282 million in savings from activities that benefit from

more precise elevations, including coastal resource 

management, construction, agriculture, and 

emergency planning. 

29

Map of Free-Air Gravity Disturbance Grav- D

data using Equal Interval in Texas.
Expansion of Oblique Aerial Imagery 

Collections to Provide Insight Before and After

Extreme Weather Events

Over the past five years, NOAA has advanced its 

methods of collecting aerial imagery through the use of

oblique aerial imagery, which allows for the assessment

of damage to vertical structures such as homes and 

office buildings, a capacity that previous imagery 

methods lacked. 

In 2015, NOAA collected oblique imagery in various 

regions across the U.S. to provide a “before” picture of

these areas prior to any natural disasters. The value of this

imagery was showcased during historic flooding events

in 2016 in the Midwest and Gulf Coast where postflooding “after” imagery was collected and could be 

compared to NOAA’s “before” imagery of the 

area pre-flooding. 

This imagery assisted Federal Emergency Management

Agency’s (FEMA) response to these disasters by 

allowing the agency to assess where flood waters may

impact population centers and critical infrastructure. The

imagery also provides a valuable tool for insurers and

homeowners to assess property damage. 

Development of Low Cost Sea 

Temperature Sensor

In 2016, NOAA developed a low cost sea temperature

sensor to be used at coral reefs around the world and 

provide high accuracy measurements (0.05-0.1 C). For

approximately $10 in parts, it is estimated that the sensors

will run more than 240 days using two AA batteries when

they are deployed operationally. 

In comparison, similar off-the-shelf sensors run over

$100 each. The decrease in cost will allow substantially

more sensors to be deployed at coral reefs worldwide and

increase our spatial resolution of sea temperature in 

critical locations. 

These sensors will provide micro-habitat sea temperature

fluctuations at coral reef areas, offer environmental 

intelligence on coral bleaching, and a comparison/

validation with satellite sea surface temperature data. 

This is crucial to better understand and monitor the daily

fluctuations at coral reefs. 

In early November 2016, the sensors were tested by

measuring temperature every 10 minutes at depths up 

to 110 feet for about two months, then retrieved to 

evaluate performance. 

30

“[FEMA] would like to extend [our] gratitude for

[NOAA’s] unflinching and admirable actions 

during the Hurricane Matthew response and 

recovery. [NOAA’s] tireless efforts and scores of

flight hours resulted in the collection of over

15,000 high resolution images of flood and

surge damage from Florida to Virginia and 

continue to serve FEMA Headquarters and

FEMA Region IV Individual Assistance, Public

Assistance, and Recovery programs. The 

images document the storm’s impacts and the

suffering of thousands of disaster survivors and

will help FEMA analyze conditions and 

damages over the coming weeks as we seek to

extend federal assistance to these affected 

citizens.” – Glen Russell (FEMA), following 

Hurricane Matthew

Aerial photo of Tar River east of Rocky Mount, N.C. Archive

photo was captured on May 19, 2015 and present-day

photo was captured on Oct. 11.

Before After
Environmental Environmental 

Observations & Data Observations & Data

As development of the 

sensors continues, they will

have the capability to 

transfer data from underwater

via infrared communication,

and other sensors (e.g., 

pressure, light, conductivity)

will be added to the unit. 

Once the sensors are operational, initial deployments are

planned for coral research locations such as the Florida

Keys and Sri Lanka, and elsewhere under a broad 

program in collaboration with the global coral reef 

monitoring organization, ReefCheck. 

These new sensors will provide significantly more 

information and data about ocean temperature and coral

reefs at a mere fraction of the cost.

Engaging Citizen Science to Improve Weather

Forecasts Worldwide

An exemplary application of citizen science, the 

Meteorological Phenomena Identification Near the

Ground (mPING) project is a crowd-sourcing, mobile

phone app that allows anyone to submit precipitation 

observations to NOAA’s National Severe Storms 

Laboratory (NSSL). 

These observations are used to validate and improve

radar-based precipitation type (e.g., rain, sleet, snow,

freezing rain, etc.) methodologies developed by NSSL 

in support of NWS forecasters. 

A database has been developed for efficient and secure

ingest and distribution of mPING observations via an

open application program interface (API), which allows

other app developers to access and distribute the data. 

Since January 2016, over 137,000 reports have been 

submitted to the database. During this same time, the

database has been queried 886,000 times, of which

506,000 queries (57%) are from NOAA/NWS entities.

mPING data are flowing into the NWS and may now be

displayed within their operational display system via 

a “plug-in.” 

Finally, mPING was featured in the 10th NOAA Science

Days presentations, where speakers shared results about

new statistical techniques that improve the skill of winter

precipitation type forecasts (out to 18 hours) by a 

factor of 4-6, for ice pellets and freezing rain over 

older techniques.

NOAA Instrumental in Creating Citizen 

Science Website

Citizen Science is a rapidly growing field that offers

opportunities for government to partner with the 

public to address real-world challenges. Dr. John 

Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and

Technology, issued a memo entitled Addressing 

Societal and Scientific Challenges through Citizen

Science and Crowdsourcing to detail a plan for taking

advantage of these opportunities. 

Released on September 30, 2015, the document 

highlights how citizen science projects can enhance

scientific research and STEM learning as well as 

address societal needs. 

To address this call, NOAA worked through the 

Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing

and Citizen Science in partnership with the White

House Office of Science and Technology Policy to

contribute to the creation of CitizenScience.Gov.

NOAA has submitted 40 of the 306 projects currently

in the catalog and ten posts telling the stories of

NOAA projects were included on the site’s blog.

31
This work resulted in increased awareness of and 

interest in NOAA and Federal citizen science 

initiatives. CitizenScience.Gov has had over 25,000

visits to date. Following the launch of the site, the 

recruitment rate for the Federal Community of 

Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science more

than doubled, with the community growing to 322

members representing 60 federal organizations. 

Increased Satellite Capability to Monitor 

Global Sea Levels

Jason-3, the fourth in a series of US-European satellite 

altimeter missions designed to measure the sea surface

height variability of the global ocean, was successfully

launched on January 17, 2016, from Vandenberg Air

Force Base, California, in support of NOAA’s 

R&D Enterprise. 

Jason-3 is a four-partner 

endeavor jointly led by NOAA,

the European Organisation for

the Exploitation of Meteorological

Satellites (EUMETSAT), the 

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA), and the

French space agency, Centre 

National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). 

Jason-3 observations are used to monitor the changing

circulation patterns of the ocean, forecast hurricanes and

El Niño events, and, most importantly, to track the rate of

global sea level rise which has accelerated over the past

half century due to climate change. 

Just six months after launch, in July 2016, Jason-3 was

declared operational and near real-time data products

were made publicly available. Together with its 

predecessor Jason-2, the Jason-3 mission will double

global data coverage of the world’s oceans.

Key for Revolutionizing Space 

Weather Forecasts

Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite

was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida

on February 11, 2015, in support of NOAA’s R&D 

Enterprise. DSCOVR will maintain the nation’s real-time

solar wind monitoring capabilities, which are critical to

the accuracy and lead time of NOAA’s space weather

alerts and forecasts. 

Space weather, and the resulting geomagnetic storms, has

demonstrated the potential to disrupt virtually every

major public infrastructure system, including 

transportation systems, power grids, telecommunications 

and GPS. With timely and accurate alerts produced from

DSCOVR data, infrastructure managers can take action to

avert the greatest damage. 

DSCOVR will typically be able to provide a 15 to 60

minute warning time before the surge of particles and

magnetic field, known as a coronal mass ejection (or

CME), associated with a geomagnetic storm reaches

Earth. DSCOVR data will also be used to improve 

predictions of geomagnetic storm impact locations.

DSCOVR became the primary space weather mission

from the L1 orbit on July 27, 2016.

32
Environmental Environmental 

Observations & Data Observations & Data

33

Future Satellite for Global Weather Forecasts

JPSS-1, or NOAA-20 as it will be known once 

operational, is the second spacecraft within NOAA’s 

new generation of polar-orbiting satellites that will 

launch in 2017 in support of NOAA’s R&D Enterprise. 

Polar-orbiting weather satellites provide approximately

85% of the inputs for numerical weather prediction 

models. These key observations increase the accuracy of

weather forecasts three-to-seven days in advance of 

severe weather events, enabling emergency managers to

make timely decisions that protect American lives and

property, including ordering effective evacuations. 

In Fiscal Year 2016, all of the instruments on JPSS-1

were integrated to the spacecraft and underwent 

environmental testing. Together, JPSS and Polar 

Follow-on will provide continuity of critical, global Earth

observations through 2038.

Leveraging Next-Generation Resolution

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)

aboard Suomi NPP and JPSS satellites continues to 

provide improved insights for established data users. 

VIIRS is a critical new observational capability for

NOAA users because of its sub-kilometer spatial 

resolution and global coverage. For example, the new

platform has expanded NOAA’s toolkit for vegetation 

and drought monitoring, providing agricultural users 

significant value in crop planning and risk mitigation. 

VIIRS is also now being demonstrated routinely by the

National Weather Service for improved fire smoke 

forecasting as well as flood and river ice assessments. 

The VIIRS flood product, coupled with a high spatial 

resolution digital elevation map, provides an enhanced

flood map at 30 meters and has provided critical 

information to the National Weather Service River 

Forecast Centers and the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) for emergency response

and damage assessment.

Translating New Capabilities to New Science and 

Operational Applications

VIIRS’s Day/Night band has unique capabilities to 

deliver new and unprecedented applications for satellite

data, expanding the consumer base that can benefit from

earth observations data. 

In particular, this instrument has fostered several new

products in development, such as a boat detection 

algorithm to identify potential illegal fishing in marine

sanctuaries. This will help enable stakeholders to have 

actionable data to direct resources towards illegal 

fishing enforcement. 

Other ongoing projects in development are detection

products for gas flares, in order to track and reduce 

routine flaring; 

volcanic activity, to 

provide warning to 

communities and 

aviators; and coastal sea

ice in the Alaskan 

regions, to provide 

tailored maritime safety

information where other

sources of data are 

limited or lacking. 

Driving the State-of-the-Art of Severe Storm Prediction

The Suomi NPP and JPSS satellites also carry the CrossTrack Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and the Advanced 

Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS). 

SNPP D/NB-captured East 

Coast snows

JPSS-1 spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Delta II

payload attach fitting finish fit check.
Leveraging both of these data sources, the NOAAUnique Combined Atmospheric Processing System 

(NUCAPS) covers the globe to exploit their full 

information content and provide three dimensional 

information about atmospheric temperature, humidity,

and composition of trace gases. 

National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters gained

some hands-on experiences with NUCAPS in Fiscal Year

2016 during the Hazardous Weather Testbed Spring 

Experiment. During a proving grounds activity over

Idaho, the NUCAPS soundings revealed instability and

moisture near the surface and lower atmosphere. An hour

later, an intense hail storm rolled over the area, 

demonstrating a clear direction for how novel capabilities

can improve prediction products. 

Accessibility of All NOAA Data through Partners

NOAA’s Big Data Partnership (BDP) was established in

April 2015 through three-year cooperative research and

development agreements (CRADAs) between NOAA and

Amazon Web Services, Google, IBM, Microsoft and the

Open Commons Consortium. 

The BDP is investigating how the value inherent in

NOAA’s data may be leveraged to broaden their 

utilization and dissemination through the use of modern

cloud platforms and associated technologies. The

CRADA Collaborators work with NOAA experts to 

identify and deliver those datasets of interest, around

which they can build business cases to justify 

their investments.

NOAA’s Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD)

weather radar data were among the first data to be 

delivered. The National Centers for Environmental 

Information (NCEI) transferred the complete NEXRAD

Level II historical archive to four interested 

BDP collaborators. 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) was the first to make

freely available the complete archived Level-II data

through its AWS platform, with The Climate Corporation

as a business partner and data consumer. 

AWS also collaborated with Unidata/University 

Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to 

establish a real-time NEXRAD data feed, thereby 

providing on-demand dissemination of both archived and

current data seamlessly through the same access 

mechanism by October 2015. 

Through this cloud platform alone, the utilization of the

NEXRAD data by volume has increased by 130% over

the past usage patterns observed at NCEI, while the load

on NCEI systems has decreased by 50%. 

Additional NOAA datasets including fisheries catch data,

numerical weather prediction model output, advanced

weather radar products, and geostationary satellite data

are at various stages of discussion and development. 

NOAA and its collaborators are beginning to realize the

potential of this collective effort among federal 

government, private industry, and academia, including

stimulating new business opportunities and novel 

applications — all at no net cost to the U.S. taxpayer.

34
N OAA regularly monitors and assesses risk from environmental 

hazards. However, that investment has no value unless NOAA also

communicates risk effectively. NOAA remains steadfast in its focus

to transition research conducted within and across a variety of social 

science disciplines (e.g., psychology, economics, political science, 

sociology, and anthropology) into user friendly applications and policy, giving individuals and groups the

decision aids they need. 

NOAA leverages established relationships with other federal agencies, most notably the National Science

Foundation (see NOAA-National Science Foundation Memorandum of Agreement), who invest 

considerable resources in social, behavioral, and economic sciences research. 

The summaries found within this chapter provide some representative examples of the research 

and development underway at NOAA in the realms of decision science, risk assessment, and 

risk communication.

36

Photo credit: White House
Sustainable Management and Resilience of U.S.

Fisheries in a Changing Climate

Warming oceans, rising seas, ocean acidification, and 

hypoxia threaten the resilience of fisheries that are an 

important source of jobs, food, recreation, and economic

activity for the nation. 

In 2014, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

and the National Marine Fisheries Service established a

new competitive research program to advance 

understanding of current and future climate-related 

impacts on living marine resources and the communities

that depend on them. 

The goal is to increase the production, delivery, and use

of climate-related information to inform sustainable 

management and resilience of the nation’s fisheries in a

changing climate, as called for in the NOAA Fisheries

Climate Science Strategy. 

In FY15, the Climate Program Office’s Coastal and

Ocean Climate Applications (COCA) program partnered

with the NMFS Office of Science and Technology to

award seven multi-year research grants projects to study

the impacts of a changing climate on fish and fisheries. 

Six of the projects are supporting research to understand

and respond to climate impacts on fish and fisheries in

the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem and the 

seventh supported a workshop in FY16 to identify 

science priorities for better understanding ecosystem 

tipping points in the North Pacific. 

The six multi-year research projects are already providing

critical advances in the understanding and projecting of

climate-related impacts on fish stocks and fisheries in the

Northeast marine ecosystem.

Assessing the Vulnerability of the California

Current Ecosystem to Ocean Acidification

Assessing the vulnerability of U.S. coastal large marine

ecosystems to the effects of ocean acidification (OA) is 

a primary goal of the NOAA Ocean Acidification 

Program (OAP). 

To achieve this, the OAP works to coordinate efforts

across the agency to determine how ocean chemistry is

changing in response to OA, evaluate the sensitivities of

marine resources to these changes, and provide tools and

information to impacted dependent human communities. 

In 2016, the OAP advanced efforts along each of these

fronts, including support for the fifth West Coast Ocean

Acidification (WECOA) cruise executed by the Pacific

Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in May –

June, 2016. WECOA documented multiple ecosystems

stressors (OA, temperature, and hypoxia) throughout the

California Current. 

Data from these surveys are important inputs for the 

development and validation of the Joint Institute for the

Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) Seasonal

Coastal Ocean Prediction of the Ecosystem (J-SCOPE).

J-SCOPE provides seasonal outlooks for the Pacific

Northwest waters, including forecast of corrosive 

conditions harmful to valuable living marine resources. 

Assessing and Communicating Risk for More 

Informed Decision Making

Decision Science, Risk Assessment Decision Science, Risk Assessment

& Risk Communication & Risk Communication

37
Documenting and predicting changes in ocean chemistry

are most useful to stakeholders and industries when there

is a robust understanding of the sensitivity of the marine

resources to ocean chemistry. 

OAP has supported critical research at the Northwest

Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) to examine the 

potential effects of OA on a broad range of marine 

resources. In 2016, OAP-funded researchers at NWFSC

reported the effects of OA on the survival rate of a broad

range of species in the California Current Ecosystem. 

The researchers were able to ascribe uncertainty bounds

to the response of a range of species and functional

groups. This advance supports the incorporation of OA

into future ecosystem forecast models that can inform 

private and public-decision makers at the local, state, 

and regional level.

Tools and Expertise Help U.S. Aquaculture 

Industry Expand

Offshore aquaculture is a promising new frontier for U.S

seafood production. However, the growth of this industry

has been constrained by concerns regarding negative 

environmental effects of improperly sited farms. 

In response to these concerns, NOAA’s National Centers

for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and NOAA’s Office

of Coastal Management partnered to develop a new 

offshore aquaculture planning tool, CanVis Aquaculture.

This seascape visualization tool contains an image 

library of aquaculture gear, vessels, buoys, and other 

infrastructure that can be used to simulate the changes

that result from aquaculture development. Coastal 

managers and developers in Hawaii, California, and

Washington are currently using this tool to visualize and

plan offshore aquaculture projects.

Tools to Meet Challenges of a Changing Climate

The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit (CRT) — a website

designed to help people find and use science-based tools,

information, and subject matter expertise to build climate

resilience — received significant updates in FY16, driven

by requests from users. 

In March 2016, as part of World Water Day, NOAA

launched a new section of the Toolkit, called the Water

Resources Dashboard, to provide access to maps and data

that can help water resource managers and urban planners

monitor the potential for extreme precipitation, flooding,

and drought in their regions. 

In June, the Toolkit’s interface

was enhanced with a responsive,

mobile device-friendly design. 

In July, a rebuilt version of the

Toolkit’s Climate Explorer, an 

interactive mapping & graphing

tool, was published. Residents,

communities, and businesses 

now have easy access to downscaled climate projections for every county in the 

contiguous United States. 

In FY16, the Toolkit’s visit rates increased by 59% over

the FY15 rate and hundreds of public stakeholders have

been served in interactive working sessions. Furthermore,

the CRT has directly supported several municipalities and

three federal departments (Departments of Commerce,

Interior, and Justice).

38

The pteropod, or “sea butterfly”, is a tiny sea creature about

the size of a small pea. Pteropods are eaten by organisms

ranging in size from tiny krill to whales and are a major food

source for North Pacific juvenile salmon. The photos above

show what happens to a pteropod’s shell when placed in

sea water with pH and carbonate levels projected for the

year 2100. The shell slowly dissolves after 45 days. Photo

credit: David Liittschwager/National Geographic Stock.
Decision Science, Risk Assessment Decision Science, Risk Assessment

& Risk Communication & Risk Communication

Weather-Ready Nation Helps to Build Ready,

Responsive, and Resilient Communities

The Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) initiative is about

helping our Nation become more resilient to increasingly

extreme weather, water, and climate events through

greater accuracy in forecasts and warnings, evolving

services to community decision makers, and better ways

to communicate risk to stakeholders and the public. 

Following the two WRN national dialogue events in 

Norman, OK (2011) and in Birmingham, AL (2012),

NOAA began in earnest to better integrate the social and

the physical sciences to more clearly articulate risk and 

uncertainty as it relates to environmental hazards. 

NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

and the National Weather Service jointly awarded four

two-year projects to stimulate research and develop 

collaborations between social and physical scientists 

towards building a WRN. The results of this research will

improve communication within the weather community

and to the public in order to invoke a response that will

help protect life and property during dangerous 

weather events. 

In addition to these WRN projects and other social 

science research efforts, NOAA developed a report, Risk

Communication and Behavior: Best Practices and 

Research Findings, that summarizes risk communication

and behavior literature within the context of key episodic

hazards relevant to NOAA’s mission, products and 

services, and provides recommendations for 

implementation as well as future research. 

This report is intended to be used as a practitioner’s guide

to improve the way NOAA communicates watches,

warnings, and other products that can be used more 

effectively by decision makers at the federal, state and

local levels and by the general public in the face of 

extreme weather, water, and climate events.

Forecasting a Continuum of 

Environmental Threats

The current NOAA National Weather Service watch and

warning process has not fundamentally changed in more

than 50 years. Society, technology, and science, however,

have made great advances. 

The Forecasting a Continuum of Environmental Threats

(FACETs) paradigm proposes to modernize the highimpact weather forecasting and communication process

by adapting it to evolving technology. At the core of this

paradigm shift is a change to the current deterministic 

approach for hazardous weather warnings to one based

upon Probabilistic Hazard Information (PHI). 

This would enable decision-makers who require more 

advanced notice, such as hospitals, schools, and large

venues, to set their own threat thresholds based on their

specific needs. It would also enable new science 

advances, such as Warn-on-Forecast and Phased Array

Radar, to be fully leveraged into better warnings and

forecasts for society. 

“We have had several very successful WeatherReady Nation events in conjunction with the

NWS Peachtree City office during recent years.

Each one of these events has had lasting 

effects on the Atlanta community — leaving 

neighborhoods much better prepared to handle

severe weather challenges.” – Garry A. Harris,

Center for Sustainable Communities

39

Hurricane Katrina at peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico

on August 28, 2005. 
FACETs will find ways to fine-tune threat output in a

way that people will choose to implement their safety

plan. This is where social and behavioral sciences 

integration will have the greatest impact, although 

contributions of these disciplines are essential in all facets

of the threat forecasting process. Collaborative research 

projects between OAR, NWS, and academic partners are

beginning to move us toward the FACETs paradigm. 

In the spring of 2016, several experiments were 

conducted in the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed

bringing together NWS forecasters, researchers, and 

partners such as emergency managers and broadcasters 

to evaluate early prototypes of forecast and warning 

technology based on the FACETs approach. 

Tracking Previous Events and Forecasting 

Potential Floods

As sea levels rise, the number of nuisance flooding events

at certain coastal locations will increase, even in the 

absence of a storm event. It is becoming increasingly

likely that certain areas will begin to flood regularly, 

simply during high tide. This spotlights the need for an

inundation tool that is always available, not just during

significant weather events. 

The Coastal Inundation Dashboard tracks past events and

forecasts times when flood thresholds may be exceeded.

This information can educate communities on what has

led to flooding events in the past and provide advanced

notice (including alerts) when minor, moderate, or major

flooding events may occur, even on fair-weather days. 

A prototype Coastal Inundation Dashboard product has

been developed for Hampton Roads, VA; New York

City/Long Island, NY; and Morehead City, NC. 

Additional dashboard regions will follow, with a longterm goal for coverage across the entire U.S. coast. And,

since all dashboards utilize the same infrastructure, these

new dashboard will require fewer resources to develop.

Mapping Living Marine Resources Supports 

Development of Offshore Renewable Energy

Scientists at the National Centers for Coastal Ocean 

Science (NCCOS) recently completed and published an

environmental assessment of the distribution of marine

animals and ocean floor habitats around the main 

Hawaiian Islands, with special consideration given 

to species likely to interact with renewable 

energy infrastructure. 

These data will serve as foundational material for Bureau

of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) renewable 

energy leasing process and will help identify potential 

issues for future National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) analysis as Hawaii strives to generate 100% of

its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2045. 

In a similar study also published in 2016, NCCOS and

BOEM looked at the ecological features of the seafloor in

a proposed offshore wind energy area off the coast of

North Carolina. BOEM used these findings to modify 

the size and boundaries of the original area of interest 

to minimize possible impacts to sensitive reef and 

fishery habitats.

40
Decision Science, Risk Assessment Decision Science, Risk Assessment

& Risk Communication & Risk Communication

Promoting Nature-based Shorelines to 

Protect the Coast

Scientists at the National Centers for Coastal Ocean 

Science (NCCOS) worked with other offices within

NOAA to co-author NOAA’s Guidance for Considering

the Use of Living Shorelines in October 2015. 

NCCOS scientists found that living shorelines, or 

shorelines made up of mostly natural material, can reduce

damage and erosion while simultaneously providing

ecosystem services to society, including food production,

carbon dioxide reduction, nutrient and sediment removal,

and water quality improvement. 

This guidance document encourages nature-based 

shoreline stabilization techniques and highlights NOAA

science, tools, and training that support such techniques.

The publication has been shared with local, state, and

federal coastal managers in hopes that these living 

shorelines can be incorporated into coastal community

resilience efforts.

Climate Vulnerability Assessment of Northeast

Fish and Shellfish

The Northeast Fish and Shellfish Climate Vulnerability

Assessment (NEVA) used knowledge from scientific

studies and expert opinion to identify the relative 

vulnerability of 82 fish and invertebrate species (e.g.,

cod, herring, lobster, scallops) to potential changes 

in climate. Results from the research, indicate that over

50% of the species have high potential for a change in

their distribution due to climate change. 

Negative impacts, such as reduced abundance or 

productivity, are expected for 42 of the species, including

some of the Northeast’s most important fish resources 

including Atlantic cod, sea scallop, and mackerel. 

Positive effects are anticipated for 14 of the species, 

including longfin squid, butterfish, and Atlantic Croaker,

indicating that there will be both ‘winners’ and ‘losers’

from the effects of climate change. 

Results from this work have been used in Endangered

Species Listing decisions as well as to examine the 

vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change

impacts. This is the first in a series of regional 

assessments, with similar projects currently underway for

the Bering Sea and California Current Ecosystems.

Impact of Ocean Noise on Marine Life

Over the last two decades, research has increasingly

shown that anthropogenic ocean noise could potentially

cause not only acute behavioral and physiological 

problems in marine life (e.g., avoidance, hearing 

impairment), but also long-term chronic impacts (e.g.,

stress, loss of communication range). 

This research is increasingly showing the need for 

marine management frameworks that can better account

for chronic and cumulative noise effects mediated 

through ecosystems. 

41

“This kind of assessment will be a key 

component for making management plans to

ensure U.S. fisheries remain sustainable and 

resilient in the face of future climate change.” 

– Dr. Christopher Gobler, School of Marine 

and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony 

Brook University
42

On June 1, 2016, NOAA released a Draft Ocean Noise

Strategy Roadmap, NOAA’s first-ever holistic approach

to address this issue, for public comment. The Roadmap

is a cross line-office framework intended to guide NOAA

to improved understanding and management of ocean

noise impacts over the next decade. 

The public response, including over 13,000 emails and a

petition with over 72,000 signatures supporting the effort,

was incorporated and the Roadmap was finalized in 

September 2016. 

Research-based efforts directly addressing key Roadmap

recommendations are also currently being implemented,

including: a cross-NOAA collaboration establishing the

Ocean Noise Reference Station Network, an 11 site 

passive acoustic monitoring network deployed throughout

U.S. waters to monitor long-term trends and changes in

underwater soundscapes; and a long-term passive

acoustic data archive that has been developed with the

National Centers for Environmental Information to 

provide a repository and public access point for 

acoustic datasets. 

Technical Guidance on Anthropogenic Sound 

in the Ocean

Marine mammals rely on keen hearing for navigation,

predation avoidance, foraging, and communication in

complex, three-dimensional marine environments, yet

human-introduced ocean noise can interfere with 

these activities. 

In August 2016, NOAA published the Technical 

Guidance on Anthropogenic Sound to provide acoustic

threshold levels for assessing the effects of anthropogenic

sound on marine mammal species under NOAA 

Fisheries’ jurisdiction. 

It leverages data from marine mammal hearing loss 

laboratory studies to identify the thresholds at which 

individual marine mammals are predicted to experience

changes in their hearing sensitivity (either temporary or

permanent) for all underwater anthropogenic 

sound sources. 

NOAA intends for its analysts and managers, other 

federal agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to use

this guidance to better predict how a marine mammal’s

hearing will respond to sound exposure. 

This is the first time NOAA Fisheries has presented

acoustic threshold levels for marine mammals in a single,

comprehensive technical document in order to improve

consistent implementation across the array of relevant

laws that protect marine mammals.
Photo credit: White House
L

everaging capabilities and expertise from across NOAA to better 

understand and predict all aspects of the water cycle remains a critical

national priority. 

NOAA is uniquely positioned to provide the tools, data, and information

needed to strengthen the nation's water security, reduce vulnerability to 

climate variability and change, and catalyze more effective management and use of our nation’s valuable

water resources. In short, NOAA’s water research focuses on predictability of water quantity and 

water quality.

The research examples depicted in this chapter represent a portion of the research happening at NOAA

concerning water and the critical role the agency has in enhancing water-related products and decisionsupport services across the country. 

44
Increased Capability in Water 

Prediction Nationwide

On August 16, 2016, NOAA’s efforts to build a

“Weather-Ready Nation” took a major step forward

with the National Weather Service’s launch of a new,

highly sophisticated National Water Model (NWM). 

This new system is a continental-scale water resources

model based on the Weather Research and Forecasting

Hydrology (WRF-Hydro) architecture developed by

the National Center for Atmospheric Research

(NCAR) and represents NOAA’s first foray into high

performance computing for water prediction. 

Unprecedented in its reach, this new National Water

Model leverages NOAA’s investment in atmospheric

prediction and data from over 8,000 U.S. Geological

Survey (USGS) stream gauges to produce flow 

simulations for 2.7 million stream reaches, extending 

water resources information to the homes and 

businesses of 100 million Americans who live in

coastal communities. 

Using this model, NWS forecasters now have access

to data for 700 times more locations than previously

available. For the first time, communities will receive

hourly, weekly, and monthly water forecasts based on

output from the National Water Model. 

This information will help businesses, community

leaders, first responders, emergency managers, and

state and local governments make more informed 

decisions to protect lives and livelihoods.

Tracking Precipitation to Provide Flash 

Flooding Forecasts at the Neighborhood Level

The Flooded Locations and Simulated Hydrographs

(FLASH) project advances the state of flash flood 

prediction through newly developed rainfall estimation

tools and hydrologic models. 

FLASH begins with rainfall rates measured by radar and

uses a sophisticated modeling system to track what every

raindrop is doing on the ground: whether it infiltrates into

the soil or flows across impervious roads, parking lots,

and waterways. The system models where water will go

and when and where it will become a flood, with updates

as frequent as every two minutes — a key attribute for

cities that can flood quickly. 

In FY16, research indicated that the FLASH system 

doubles accuracy of the current operational system and

improves the spatial resolution by 500%, which can 

indicate specific locations of flash flood impacts downstream, saving lives and mitigating damage to property. 

Strengthening our Nation's Water Security and 

Reducing Vulnerability to Climate Change & Variability

Water Prediction Water Prediction

45
These new high-resolution tools will provide reliable

flash flood forecasts at the neighborhood level as well as

provide up to six hours of forecast lead time, affording

critical time for community response. FLASH improves

National Weather Service forecasters’ abilities to identify

rare, severe flash floods from minor ones, enabling them

to communicate this information to local emergency

managers and the public. 

The FLASH forecasts are particularly useful over small,

fast-reacting headwater basins and in urban catchments,

complementing the new National Water Model for flash

flood modeling and prediction.

Better Toxin Detection for Harmful Algal Blooms

Toxins produced by harmful algal blooms (HABs) 

accumulate in marine resources and are a major cause of

human seafood poisoning, which impacts subsistence

harvests, economic development, and international trade. 

Tests, known as 

receptor binding assays, 

developed by NOAA

scientists to measure

levels of HAB toxins

have recently been 

accepted by the 

Interstate Shellfish 

Sanitation Conference. 

This standardized test

for regulatory users

helps secure the food

supply against these

potent algal-based 

toxins and is in 

various phases of 

implementation in testing

laboratories worldwide. 

In Alaska, NOAA scientists

trained staff at the Sitka Tribe of

Alaska Environmental Regulatory

Laboratory on the extraction and

detection of HAB-related paralytic 

shellfish toxins. Implementation

of this NCCOS-developed 

technology by the Sitka tribe will

mitigate the threat of toxic shellfish consumption from

traditional subsistence shellfish harvesting to members of

the Southeast Alaska Tribal Toxins partnership.

The development of HAB toxin detection methods,

specifically receptor binding assays, also has a domestic

and international component for their implementation. 

Domestically, the use of this method is currently being

evaluated by relevant public health agencies in 

Washington and California. Internationally, NOAA has an

agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency

to support the use of this method worldwide. 

In-situ Water Collection Instrument Sequences

Samples in Near Real Time 

In September 2016, for the first time, an Environmental

Sample Processor (ESP) was deployed in a freshwater

system. The ESP—a "lab in a can" designed by Monterey

Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) —

autonomously collects water samples, then extracts and

analyzes them for harmful algae abundance and their related toxins in near real-time. 

In collaboration with NOAA’s National Centers for

Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and the Cooperative 

Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research

(CILER), NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research

Laboratory is developing the capability to monitor for 

microcystins, the dominant toxins in western Lake Erie

harmful algal bloom (HAB) events, in real-time. 

The goal is to combine the ESP toxin data with NOAA’s

other Lake Erie HAB forecasting products to act as an

early warning system for drinking water managers. 

46

Overabundance of harmful

algae can result in phenomon

known as red tide.
In 2014, over 400,000 residents of Ohio were deprived of

municipal drinking water after HAB contamination was

detected in drinking water drawn from Lake Erie. 

This suite of tools will provide critical data on bloom 

location, toxicity, and predicted movement before the

water reaches municipal water intakes.

47

Water Prediction Water Prediction

Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) deployment.
N OAA provides Arctic information and a set of indicators that 

describe the present state of the Arctic ecosystem and climate. 

Climate change is making the Arctic a greener, warmer, and 

increasingly accessible place for economic opportunity. However, climate

impacts such as sea ice loss and rising ocean acidification are straining

coastal community resilience and sound resource stewardship. In addition, advancing U.S. security 

interests in the Arctic requires improved maritime domain awareness, for which NOAA’s weather and sea

ice forecasts are critically important. 

In order to understand, mitigate, and adapt to the impacts that anthropogenic and climatic stressors are

having on the Arctic, NOAA is engaging in innovative research to fill critical gaps in the understanding of the

Arctic environment. The priorities of NOAA’s Arctic Program align with the White House National Strategy for

the Arctic Region as well as the research drivers of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee.

As a leader of Arctic research, NOAA is working to develop more accurate and timely predictions of changing

sea-ice cover with the help of sustained observational efforts as well as the development of improved seaice models. In Arctic coastal zones, NOAA is undertaking research and monitoring of water levels, erosion,

and changes in coastal bathymetry to strengthen resiliency efforts in coastal communities and improve

coastal navigation services. 

NOAA’s research to advance scientific understanding of key Arctic species and how climate-related

changes and biophysical interactions impact those species, other marine resources, and the communities

that rely on them is critical. This research will assist in the development of responsible High Arctic fisheries

management plans. 

This chapter provides a representative 

sampling of the research that NOAA scientists

are conducting to best understand how the

Arctic region and its living resources are being

impacted and influenced by global weather,

ocean, and climate patterns.

48
Innovative Technology for Arctic Exploration

The Saildrone is a solar and wind powered ocean 

unmanned surface vessel (USV) developed by 

Saildrone, Inc., in partnership with the NOAA Pacific

Marine Environmental Laboratory. 

The novel design of this platform allows speeds 

approximately twice as fast as similar USVs, significantly

expands payload capacity (~200 lbs.; ~10x similar

USVs), and equips the drone with four high-throughput

solar panels, allowing the operation of a diverse 

sensor array. 

For example, this new technology allows the Saildrone to

track a pod of whales for over three months, rather than

only a week as was previously possible. This provides 

researchers with a more accurate picture of habitat 

utilization for whale species. 

During 2016, OAR researchers at PMEL and Saildrone,

Inc. have partnered with researchers at the National 

Marine Fisheries Service and the National Marine 

Mammal Laboratory to utilize the Saildrone as a joint 

reconnaissance tool for fisheries and ecological 

population surveys. 

Using the Saildrone to track populations of pollock, fur

seals, and critically endangered whales will direct shipboard surveys to key areas to improve survey efficiency

and enhance accuracy and coverage of stock assessments.

This will aid sustainable fisheries management and 

conservation efforts in an area already undergoing 

significant environmental change.

Forecasting Sea Ice 

The Arctic region has some of the most extreme and 

challenging environmental conditions on Earth. Safely

traveling, fishing, transporting goods, and managing 

resources in the Arctic critically depends on accurate

weather, marine, and sea ice forecasts. Improving 

predictions in this complex, evolving, and interconnected

world of ice, ocean, and atmosphere requires an 

innovative research approach. 

Towards this goal, NOAA is enhancing and testing a

fully-coupled model — where the sea ice, ocean, and 

atmosphere conditions evolve together — to provide 

experimental 0-10 day forecasts of sea ice during the

2015 and 2016 fall freeze-up seasons. Working with 

operational partners at the National Weather Service, the

National Ice Center (NIC) has provided the NOAA team

with unparalleled opportunities to assess the model’s skill

compared to observations made by buoys, ships, aircrafts,

and satellites. 

Arctic

Understanding the Changing Arctic Environment

Five day forecast of total sea ice thickness (m). 49
Due to longer seasons and more extensive areas of open

water, there is increased interest and need for more, and

better, weather forecasts. These same factors, however,

make forecasting and the models on which the forecasts

are base increasingly more challenging.

Along with research at a regional scale, research is being

conducted as part of the Next Generation Global 

Prediction System of the National Weather Service. This

effort will establish a baseline skill of incorporating the

coupled air-sea-ice dynamics into modeling and 

forecasts; additional complexity factors including waves

and land hydrology will then be added to better 

understand severe wave conditions and the strong 

influence of freshwater river runoff.

Distributed Biological Observatory

In response to dramatic loss of sea ice and warming in the

Pacific Arctic, NOAA initiated the development of a 

Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) to track 

concomitant shifts in the marine ecosystem. 

The DBO provides a framework to coordinate sampling

of biodiversity ‘hotspots’ across a latitudinal gradient 

extending from the northern Bering to the Beaufort Sea.

Repeated sampling of these hotspots is essential to 

understanding how the marine ecosystem is responding to

warming in the Arctic, which is proceeding at twice the

pace of the rest of the planet. 

The DBO is executed with 

international partners from

Korea, Canada, Russia, Japan,

and China, coordinated via the

Pacific Arctic Group, with

2016 marking the seventh 

consecutive year of successful

collaborative science. 

Using Infrared and Color Instruments to Monitor

Marine Mammals in the Chukchi Sea

A joint U.S.-Russia aerial survey for bearded seals, ringed

seals, and polar bears (in collaboration with U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service) was completed for the entire Chukchi

Sea in April - May 2016. 

This survey was the first comprehensive survey of the

Chukchi Sea for these species, the first time that polar

bear and seal surveys have been combined, and the first

survey of polar bears by instruments (as opposed to 

traditional, visual survey methods). 

Infrared cameras were used to detect the warm bodies of

mammals against the cold background of sea ice, while

high-resolution color photos enabled species identification.

These aerial surveys require the collection and processing

of millions of thermal and color images, along with 

extensive data on sea ice conditions and track 

line coordinates. 

The final population estimates and species distribution

maps will be produced over the next two years, although

several publications on the methods and results from 

similar surveys of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas (2012-

2013) are already available. Population estimates and 

distribution maps are critical for assessment and 

management of these protected species — important 

subsistence resources for

coastal communities in Arctic

Alaska — that are vulnerable

to loss of sea ice in a warming 

Arctic climate.

50

2016 Arctic sea ice summer minimum.
Monitoring of Northern Fur Seal 

Foraging Behavior 

NOAA worked with Advanced Telemetry Systems to

produce a long-life (>4 years), light-weight (12 g) VHF

radio transmitter for attachment as a flipper tag on 

northern fur seals in the Bering Sea. The VHF 

transmissions are pulse-coded and decoded by a datalogging receiver that can isolate as many as 100 transmitters

on a single frequency. 

The tags provide exceptionally "clean" data on presenceabsence activity patterns of adult female northern fur

seals while they are provisioning their pups. Preliminary

results with very limited numbers of tags at a single 

rookery demonstrated high precision and significant

inter-annual variability in fur seal foraging success (an

index of prey availability) from a single rookery on 

St. Paul Island. 

In collaboration with the NMFS Alaska Regional Office

and University of Alaska Anchorage, this study is 

expanding to estimate 1) variation in fur seal foraging

success across rookeries representing a broader oceanographic region, 2) the disturbance effects of subsistence

harvest of fur seal pups on St. George Island, and 3) rates

of emigration that currently complicate our study of fur

seal demographics. These are all important areas for the

conservation and management of northern fur seals in the

Bering Sea.

Insights into the Prince William Sound Fisheries

Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

In September 2015, scientists at the Northwest and

Alaska Fisheries Science Centers published a landmark

paper in Scientific Reports describing the delayed 

impacts of transient embryonic crude oil exposures on

pink salmon and Pacific herring. 

The 1989 Exxon Valdez

spill extensively oiled

shoreline-spawning 

habitats for species in

Prince William Sound.

The commercial herring

fishery collapsed three to

four years later, at a time

when herring spawning in

or near the spill zone

would have recruited into the adult population. 

Similarly, pink salmon populations declined in impacted

regions of the Sound. Though a casual connection 

between the oil spill and fisheries declines was never 

established, this remains one of the most controversial

unanswered questions in modern exotoxicology. 

51

Arctic

Dive plots for two female northern fur seals.
Role of Springtime Arctic Clouds in Determining

Autumn Sea Ice Extent

Recent studies suggest that radiative forcing from clouds

and the atmosphere during spring affects the progress of

the entire sea ice melt season and the eventual minimum

extent of sea ice in September, although with 

controversial results regarding the relative importance 

of different processes. 

NOAA is focusing on observations of cloud radiative

forcing (CRF), which quantify the perturbation to the 

surface radiation budget caused by cloud cover. CRF in

spring at Barrow, Alaska, is found to be correlated with

the minimum sea ice extent in September. And, though

Barrow is only a single point over land, reanalysis of data

suggests that Barrow is situated in a gateway location that

likely samples atmospheric signals that relate to

processes responsible for the springtime conditioning 

of sea ice. 

The observations are well suited for capturing the timeevolution of seasonal changes in CRF, showing that low

sea ice years are characterized by increased cloud cover

in April, followed by decreased cloud cover in May. 

The opposite is true for years with higher than average

September sea ice. Researchers found that the evolution

of exchanges in the dominant processes through which

clouds modulate the surface energy budget is critical for

interpreting their relationship to sea ice. 

Climate Prediction Center Experimental 

Seasonal Sea Ice Prediction

Accurate prediction of sea ice is essential for stakeholders

in the Arctic region, yet the current NOAA operational

Climate Forecast System (CFS) produces erroneous 

Arctic sea ice predictions, which are characterized by too

much sea ice during the melt season and too little sea ice

during the early freeze season. 

To determine the causes for the prediction errors, the 

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) carried out a series of

diagnostic experiments that identified errors in the sea ice

initialization and physical parameterizations as the root

cause of the erroneous prediction. 

CPC developed an Experimental Forecast System with

fixes for these errors, which resulted in a dramatic skill

improvement for sea ice forecasts. Experimental 

predictions from March to October of 2015 and 2016

were produced, and the comparison with available 

observations showed that the CPC Experimental Forecast

System produced significantly more accurate seasonal

sea ice forecasts than the operational CFS. 

Predictions from the CPC Experimental Forecast System

have become a routine contribution to the NWS Alaska

Region’s Sea Ice Outlook. This project was carried out in

close collaboration with the University of Washington

Polar Science Center.

52

Increased cloud cover enhancing warming (red) in April

and May coincides with low sea ice years. The opposite 

effect (blue) is prevalent in high sea ice years. In all panels

the small square is the location of Barrow, AK, and its color

shows that the observations from Barrow are consistent

with model data.

54

Bibliometrics Bibliometrics

Hundreds of NOAA employees and partners 

participated in the 5th annual NOAA Restoration 

Day in two separate events — one in 

Maryland and the other in Virginia.

Researchers and 

forecasters collaborate

in the NOAA Hazardous

Weather Testbed. The

National Severe Storms

Laboratory and National

Weather Service host

this event each year to

test and evaluate 

emerging technologies

and science for 

NWS operations

This chapter represents one of the most rigorous performance 

assessments of NOAA’s scholarly research conducted to date.

Using data from 2011 to 2015, we set out to determine NOAA’s core 

research areas (i.e., those in which NOAA publishes the most), and

then used established and robust scholarly performance metrics to

demonstrate NOAA’s level of productivity and impact within these core research areas. In a 

benchmarking exercise, these findings were then compared with those of other federal agencies 

conducting research in these same disciplines. 

In summary, between 2011 and 2015, NOAA scientists authored or co-authored 10,663 articles 

spanning 144 research areas. Nearly 81% (8,676) of these articles fell within seven research areas

(found below), all of which are strongly aligned with the agency’s mission objectives. 

1) Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences

2) Marine and Freshwater Biology

3) Oceanography 

4) Environmental Sciences

5) Fisheries

6) Ecology

7) Geosciences (Multidisciplinary)

Given this clear demarcation in productivity, we defined

these seven research areas as NOAA’s core research

areas. We then compared NOAA’s level of productivity

and impact to the four other federal agencies that were

most productive in each respective research area (not

always the same four agencies). In short, NOAA is at

the leading edge in both productivity and impact across

all seven research areas.
Methodology

All approaches and analyses employed herein are 

consistent with the National Academies’ Best Practices

in Assessment of Research and Development 

Organizations (NAS, 2012) and the principles set forth

in the Leiden Manifesto (Hicks et al., 2015).

Scholarly data and metrics for this report were 

obtained by using InCitesTM (Thomson Reuters),

which is a web-based platform that allows for the 

assessment and comparison of the productivity and 

citation impact of research organizations. 

For the purposes of this report, a “NOAA article” or 

“article” is defined as any peer-reviewed publication 

cataloged in the Web of Science (WoS) core collection

that lists “National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration” or “NOAA” in the institutional 

affiliation tag of the article. 

Importantly, this does not include articles that only 

acknowledge receiving financial, logistical, or other 

support from NOAA. The scope of this report is 

constrained to only articles published between 2011

and 2015, and that were cataloged in the InCites

Dataset, as of September 23, 2016.

As a caveat, the use of WoS for article collection

means that book chapters, technical reports, and some

journal articles are not included. Consequently, the

publication counts presented in this report are 

undercounts of the actual number of publications 

produced by NOAA. However, despite these 

limitations, the collection of articles analyzed herein

constitute a representative sample of the articles 

published by NOAA between 2011 and 2015. 

NOAA’s core research areas were determined by using

the WoS research schema, which, in total, is comprised

of 252 research areas. Within each research area, 

productivity was assessed based on the total number of

published articles, and citation impact was assessed

using the following metrics (each metric is 

hyperlinked to a webpage that provides a definition): 

i) Hirsch-Index or H-index ; ii) percent of documents

cited; iii) Category Normalized Citation Impact or

CNCI; iv) percent of documents in the top 10% of

cited articles.

For benchmarking purposes, productivity and citation 

impact data were also collected for the four most 

productive federal agencies (i.e., those with the most 

published articles) aside from NOAA, within each of

the respective core research areas. 

References:

NAS (2012). Best Practices in Assessment of Research 

and Development Organizations, The National 

Academies Press.

D. Hicks, P. Wouters, L. Waltman, S. de Rijke, I. Rafols. 

2015. The Leiden Manifesto for Research 

Metrics, Nature (520) 429-431.

55
Productivity Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences

56
57

Impact Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Productivity Marine and Freshwater Biology Marine and Freshwater Biology

58
Impact Marine and Freshwater Biology Marine and Freshwater Biology

59
Productivity Oceanography Oceanography

60
Impact Oceanography Oceanography

61
Productivity Environmental Sciences Environmental Sciences

62
Impact Environmental Sciences Environmental Sciences

63
Productivity Fisheries Fisheries

64
Impact Fisheries Fisheries

65
Productivity Ecology Ecology

66
Impact Ecology Ecology

67
Productivity Geo-Sciences Geo-Sciences

68
Impact Geo-Sciences Geo-Sciences

69
70

NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

A creative and vibrant scientific workforce is at the core

of NOAA’s R&D and mission services enterprise. Each

day, NOAA works to improve lives and support 

livelihoods through the support of a highly skilled, 

passionate, and diverse workforce, which includes 

federal employees, contractors, grantees, as well as 

dedicated volunteers. 

Today with over 11,300 federal employees and thousands

of NOAA team members, NOAA represents leading 

experts from a diversity of academic disciplines, from 

researchers studying space weather impacts on electricity

here on Earth’s surface, to mechanical engineers working

on deep sea ocean exploration, to social scientists who 

investigate how to best communicate storm warnings to

the public to prevent casualties. 

Scientific Awards and Achievements

Our incredible employees are recognized time and time

again through appointments to leadership positions in 

professional societies, external awards, invitations to

speak at prestigious events, and more. Collectively, these 

employees drive high-quality labs and programs to

achieve meaningful work, establishing NOAA as a leader

amongst federal agencies in the majority of its main R&D

focus areas.

One notable way that outstanding achievements are 

recognized is through a variety of awards. Within this

chapter, you will find the NOAA employee and team

member winners for Scientific or Engineering

Achievements. The winners of these awards demonstrate

the far-reaching impact that R&D at NOAA can have on

the nation. 

In addition to scientific achievement, many folks within

NOAA receive additional awards for leadership, 

professional excellence, heroism, and more. While we are

unable to list all of the NOAA staff who have been 

honored this year, you can find the additional award 

winners within the linked websites (e.g., Department of

Commerce Gold and Silver Medals and NOAA 

Administrator’s Award). 
Department of Commerce and National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration Research-Based Awards

(104 awards presented to 384 individuals and 12 offices)

71

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

2015 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Barbara French, John Incardona, Jana Labenia

Cathy Laetz, Tiffany Linbo, Nathaniel Scholz, Catherine

Sloan Department of Commerce

2015 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Assimilation and Modeling Branch, NCEP Central 

Operations, Environmental Modeling Center Department of Commerce

2015 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Global Climate and Weather Modeling Branch, Production

Management Branch, Statistical Modeling Branch Department of Commerce

2015 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

NMFS Bering Sea Research Team, OAR Bering Sea 

Research Team Department of Commerce

2015 Department of 

Commerce Silver Medal

Zdenka Willis, Jessica Snowden, John Murphy, Kevin

Schrab, Pamela Taylor, Martin Yapur, David Helms, Mark

Vincent, Felipe Arzayus Department of Commerce

2015 Department of 

Commerce Silver Medal

Ritchie Graves, Scott Carlon, Dale Bambrick, Bryan 

Nordlund Department of Commerce

2015 Department of 

Commerce Silver Medal

Annarita Mariotti, Gabriel Vecchi, Rich Gudgel, William

Stern, Jin Huang, Huug vanDendool, Qin Zhang, 

Suranjana Saha Department of Commerce

2015 Department of 

Commerce Silver Medal

Joseph Cione, Erica Rule, CDR Nancy Hann, CDR Kristie

Twining, CDR Justin Kibbey, James Roles, Jeff Smith,

Steven Paul, Andrew Hornbeck, Joseph Bosko Department of Commerce

2015 Department of 

Commerce Silver Medal

Kenneth Howard, Jian Zhang, Jonathan Gourley, Luis

Cano, Mark Miller, Scott Jacobs, Rebecca Cosgrove,

Michelle Mainelli, Cameron Shelton Department of Commerce

2015 Department of 

Commerce Silver Medal

Jeremy Mathis, Christian Meinig, Noah Lawrence-Slavas,

Scott Stalin, Nicholas Delich, Stacy Maenner-Jones Department of Commerce
72

NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

2015 NOAA Employee of

the Month

Maria Torres, Tom Carey, William Sweet, Kristin Rusello, Jay

Harris, Jeannine Montgomery, James (JJ) Johnson, Shelia

Deiotte, Boyin Huang, Monica Youngman, Todd Smith, Linda

McGuckin NOAA

2015 NOAA Team Member

of the Month

Jeremiah Blondeau, Ricardo Domingues, Will Tyburczy,

Joselyd Garcia, Don Horvat, Heidi Samuelson, Karen 

Kavanaugh, Emma Htun, Ryan Spackman, Lola Stith, Rick

Rives, Alan Free NOAA

2015 NOAA Administrator's

Award Yong Han NOAA

2015 NOAA Administrator's

Award

Kristin Rusello, Elizabethann English, David Pearl, Cheryl

Sexton McCarty, Stacey Nathanson, LTJG Alexander 

Johnston NOAA

2015 NOAA Administrator's

Award Gary Shigenaka, Bradford Benggio NOAA

2015 NOAA Administrator's

Award

Christopher Clement, Alison Hammer Weingast, David Morris

("Moe") Nelson, Jill Petersen, Jason Rolfe, Nancy Wallace,

Aneesah Whaley NOAA

2015 NOAA Administrator's

Award

Rebecca Allee, Todd Davison, Laura Golden, Alan Lewitus,

Rob Magnien, Scott Cross, Marjorie Elizabeth Clarke, Steve

Giordano, Kristen Laursen, Doug Lipton, Susan Baker, 

Shannon McArthur, Paula Davidson, Nicole Kurkowski,

Shelby Walker, Tracy Rouleau NOAA

2015 NOAA Administrator's

Award LCDR Michael Gonsalves, Christina Fandel, Patrick Keown NOAA

2015 NOAA Administrator's

Award

Drew Saunders, David Helms, Kevin Kelleher, John 

Schneider, Greg Pratt NOAA

2015 NOAA Administrator's

Award

Ko Barrett, Cynthia Decker, Adam Parris, Kathelene

Williamson, Dave Easterling, Kandis Wyatt, Stephanie 

Herring, Thomas Karl, Roger Griffis, Margaret Davidson,

David Diamond, Brady Phillips, MacKenzie Tepel NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal Wanda Harding NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal James Kossin NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal Monica Todirita NOAA

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization
73

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal

Russell S. Vose, Scott Applequist, Michael Squires, Imke

Durre, Matthew J. Menne, Claude N. Williams, Jr., Christopher

Fenimore, Karin Gleason, Derek Arndt, Jesse Enloe NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal

Peter L. Boveng, Michael F. Cameron, Paul B. Conn, Shawn

P. Dahle, John K. Jansen, Benjamin Hou, Brett T. 

McClintock, Erin E. Moreland, Jay M. Ver Hoef NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal

Michael Schirripa, Mandy Karnauskas, Christopher Kelble, J.

Kevin Craig NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal

Roy Anderson, Mark Armstrong, Don Breidenbach, Steve

Breidenbach, Eric Duvall, Mark Eckl, Kendall Fancher,

Philippe Hensel, Ajit Singh, Dru Smith NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal

Gregory Dusek, Christopher Paternostro, Paul Fanelli,

Zhong Li, Patrick Burke, Jack Harlan NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal Amy Merten, Kari Sheets, Michele Jacobi NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal Joe N. Chrisman, Steven D. Smith NOAA

2015 NOAA Bronze Medal Huug van den Dool, Jin Huang, Qin Zhang NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Felix Kogan NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award William G. Pichel NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Thomas Wrublewski NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Robert (Rob) Bistodeau NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Linda Despres NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Alec D. MacCall NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Glen Watabayashi NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award David W. Behringer NOAA

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization
NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

74

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award James E. Lee NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Peter Pickard NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Patricia Wnek NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Richard J. Doviak NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Ngar Cheung Lau NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award Akkihebbal R. Ravishankara NOAA

2015 NOAA Distinguished

Career Award David J. Stensrud NOAA

2015 Technology Transfer

Award Elaine Harrell, Shawn Puyear NOAA

2015 Technology Transfer

Award Ian Taylor NOAA

2015 Technology Transfer

Award John A. Ogren, Patrick J. Sheridan, James W. Wendell NOAA

2016 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Award

N. Michael Simpson, Douglas Biesecker, Ronald Mahmot,

Nancy DeFrancesco, Kevin Berberich, Richard Ullman, 

Jeffrey Clegg, H. Douglas Whiteley, Irene Parker, 

Suzanne Hilding Department of Commerce

2016 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Award Kenneth L. Pryor Department of Commerce

2016 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Award Jeffrey S. Whitaker Department of Commerce
75

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

2016 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Award

Jay Lawrimore, Anthony Arguez, Boyin Huang, Matthew

Menne, Russell Vose, Huai-Min Zhang, Patricia Viva 

Banzon, Byron Gleason, Thomas Smith, Claude Williams Department of Commerce

2016 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Award

Greg Bast, Devin Brakob, Ken Heystek, Terry Lynch, Bill

Olney, James Price, Scott Price, Damon Sans Souci,

Michael Silah, Mark Sweeney Department of Commerce

2016 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Award Diane Kapareiko, Dorothy Jeffress, Gary Wikfors Department of Commerce

2016 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Award Southern Region – National Weather Service Department of Commerce

2016 Department of 

Commerce Gold Medal

Award James M. Roberts Department of Commerce

2016 Department of 

Commerce Silver Medal

Award

Mark Tew, Pablo Santos, David Sharp, Shannon White,

Michael Dion, John Kuhn, Frank Alsheimer, Matthew Belk Department of Commerce

2016 NOAA Employee of

the Month

Ashfaq Dawood, Scott Jones, Jennier Saari, Bonnie Morgan,

Tia Brown, Dan Kircheis, Shallin Busch, Genevieve Contey,

Mariel Hughes, Mary Fairbanks, Imke Durre, Kyle Ward NOAA

2016 NOAA Team Member

of the Month

Susan Osborne, Carly Weil, Nicole Bonnie, Caridad Ibis

Gonzalez, Patrick Condemi, Stephanie Stabile, Randall 

Silver, Brendan Reser, Chris Haith, L. Hokulani (hoku)

Ka'aekuahiwi-Pousima, Elizabth (Meme) Lobecker, Rhonda

Graves NOAA

2016 Distinguished Career

Award David M. Anderson NOAA

2016 Distinguished Career

Award Joan Arrington Browder NOAA

2016 Distinguished Career

Award Roland R. Draxler NOAA

2016 Distinguished Career

Award William T. (Bill) Peterson NOAA

2016 Distinguished Career

Award Gary Shigenaka NOAA

2016 Distinguished Career

Award Sam Pooley NOAA
NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

76

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

2016 Distinguished Career

Award Michael K. Trainer NOAA

2016 Distinguished Career

Award Qin Xu NOAA

2016 NOAA Administrator's

Award Suzanne Hilding NOAA

2016 NOAA Administrator's

Award R. Bradley Pierce NOAA

2016 NOAA Administrator's

Award Jessica Kondel NOAA

2016 NOAA Administrator's

Award Scott McEntire NOAA

2016 NOAA Administrator's

Award

Peyton Robertson, Bruce Vogt, John Lazar, Jr., David Bruce,

Stephanie Westby NOAA

2016 NOAA Administrator's

Award

Andrea Bleistein, Steven Cooper, Douglas Hilderbrand,

Michael Hudson, Marie Lovern, David Manning, Kevin

Scharfenberg, Jennifer Sprague, Christopher Strager, Jason

Tuell NOAA

2016 NOAA Administrator's

Award

Dustin C. Goering, Brian A. Connelly, Steven D. Buan,

Wendy L. Pearson NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award

Boyin Huang, Viva Banzon, Jay Lawrimore, Thomas Peterson, Thomas Smith, Huai-min Zhang NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award Shobha Kondragunta, Istvan Laszlo NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award Glenn Tallia, Tahara Dawkins, Eve Douglas NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award

Steve Branstetter, Ken Brennan, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Elaine

Harrell, Catherine Hayslip, Janet Miller, Pat O’Shaughnessy,

Shawn Puyear, Jessica Stephen, Andrew Strelcheck NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award

James M. Nance, Rick A. Hart, James A. Primrose, Rebecca

C. Smith, Jo Anne Williams, Timothy J. Baumer, Susan D.

Gerhart NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award

Rhonda Reed, Elif Fehm-Sullivan, Chris Keifer, Shelby

Mendez, Jeffrey McLain, Erin Strange, Juan Carlos Garza,

Sierra Franks NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award Alan Mearns, Gary Shigenaka NOAA
77

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award

Richard Stumpf, Michelle Tomlinson, Tim Wynne, Marc 

Suddleson, Quay Dortch, Timothy Davis, Duane Gossiaux,

Eric Anderson, Steven Ruberg, Margaret Lansing, Tom

Joyce, Steve Constant NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award

Aijun Zhang, Degui Cao, Eugene Wei, Zizang Yang, John

Kelley, Hocheng Lin NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award Russell Treadon NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award

Weather Forecast Office Seattle, WA, Northwest River 

Forecast Center NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award CDR Kristie Twining NOAA

2016 NOAA Bronze Medal

Award

Gustavo Goni, Francis Bringas, George Halliwell, Richard

Bouchard NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Kate Becker NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Otto Bruegman NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Hayden Frank NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award George Graettinger NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Stephanie Herring NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Justin Hospital NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Michael Husler NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Jason Kroll NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Fred Samplasky NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Thomas B. Schott NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Fredrick Toepfer NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award Marian Westley NOAA

2016 Silver Sherman 

Award James (Marty) Williams NOAA
NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

78

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

2016 Technology Transfer

Award Edward Meyer NOAA

2016 Technology Transfer

Award

Steven Breidenbach, John Ellingson, Kendall Fancher,

Charles Geoghehan, Timothy Hanson, David Zenk, Brian

Ward NOAA

2016 Technology Transfer

Award Rodney Riley NOAA

External Scientific Awards 

(54 awards presented to 75 individuals and 7 offices)

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

2016 AAAS Fellow Carol Stepien

American Association for the

Advancement of Science

2016 AAAS Fellow Venkatachalam (Ram) Ramaswamy

American Association for the

Advancement of Science

2016 Remote Sensing

Prize Richard J. Doviak

American Meteorological

Society

2016 Yoshi Sasaki Award Katie Bowden Univ. of Oklahoma

Alan Berman Research

Publication Award Sean Helfrich Naval Research Laboratory

Aviation Meteorology Award

Center Weather Service Unit - Memphis and Weather Forecast Office - MemphisNational Weather 

Association

Award for an Exceptional

Specific Prediction

National Weather Service Forecast Office, Taunton, MassachusettsAmerican Meteorological

Society

Award for Exceptional Specific Prediction Buffalo Weather Forecast OfficeAmerican Meteorological

Society

Banner I. Miller Award David Nolan, Robert Atlas, Kieran T. Bhatia, Lisa Bucci

American Meteorological

Society
79

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

Bjerknes Lecturer Isaac Held

American Geophysical

Union

CIRA Research and 

Service Initiative Award Steve Albers

Cooperative Institute for 

Research in the Atmosphere

CIRES Bronze Medal for

Superior Performance Shilpi Gupta, Hilary Peddicord, Beth Russell

Cooperative Institute for 

Research in the

Environmental Sciences

CIRES Outstanding 

Performance Award Chris Golden

Cooperative Institute for 

Research in the 

Environmental Sciences

CIRES Technology Award Betsy Andrews and Anne Jefferson

Cooperative Institute for 

Research in the 

Environmental Sciences

Cleveland Abbe Award for

Distinguished Service to Atmospheric Sciences by an

Individual Louis W. Uccellini

American Meteorological

Society

Colorado Governor's Award

for High Impact Research Environmental Modeling Branch CO-LABS

Dissertation Award Barb Mayes Boustead

American Association of

State Climatologists

Distinguished Service

Award Kevin Friedland

Gulf of Maine Council on the

Marine Environment

Dobson Award Birgit Hassler

International Ozone 

Commission

Dr. T. Theodore Fujita 

Research Achievement

Award Jonathan Blaes

National Weather Association

Early Career Fellows Ariana Sutton-Grier

Ecological Society of America

Editor's Award Mark Govett

American Meteorological

Society

Edward T. LaRoe Memorial

Award Barb Taylor

Society for Conservation 

Biology North America

Gilbert F. White Lecturer Roger Pulwarty

American Geophysical

Union
NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

80

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

Haagen-Smit Prize Georg Grell, Stuart McKeen, Gregory Frost Elsevier

Innovation in Science 

Sustainability Award Ariana Sutton-Grier, Katya Wowk, Holly Bamford

Ecological Society 

of America

Interagency Partnership

Award

James Verdin, Michael Ek, Christopher Jackson, Xiwu Zhan,

Frank Monaldo, Pedro Restrepo

Federal Laboratory 

Consortium

Larry R. Johnson Special

Award Storm Prediction Center and Weather Forecast Office

National Weather 

Association

National Academy of 

Engineering Member 

Inductee Honorable Kathryn Sullivan

National Academy 

of Engineering

Operational Achievement

Award Lance Wood

National Weather 

Association

Operational Achievement

Award Thomas Hultquist

National Weather 

Association

Outstanding Performance

Award for Science and 

Engineering Brian Lerner

Cooperative Institute for 

Research in 

Environmental Sciences

Outstanding Performance

Award for Science and 

Engineering

Andrew Rollins, Troy Thornberry

Laurel Watts, Richard McLaughlin

Cooperative Institute for 

Research in 

Environmental Sciences

Outstanding Performance

Award for Service

Rick Tisinai, Gabrielle Accatino,

Catherine Burgdorf-Rasco

Cooperative Institute for 

Research in 

Environmental Sciences

Outstanding Student 

Presentation Award Erin McDuffie

American Geophysical

Union

Pew Marine Conservation

Fellow Jennifer O'Leary PEW Charitable Trusts

Presidential Early Career

Award for Scientists and

Engineers Nate Bacheler

White House Office of 

Science and 

Technology Policy

Presidential Early Career

Award for Scientists and

Engineers (PECASE) James Thorson

White House Office of 

Science and 

Technology Policy

Presidential Early Career

Award for Scientists and

Engineers (PECASE) Gijs de Boer

White House Office of 

Science and 

Technology Policy
81

Award Recipient (s) Award Organization

Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä

Award for an Outstanding

Research Pape Dale Hurst

World Meteorological 

Organization

Public Education Award Maria Torres

National Weather 

Association

Publication of Enduring 

Significance Award Dan Holland

Marine Resource 

Economics

Regional Emmy Award Kurt Mann and Todd Shortridge

National Capital 

Chesapeake Bay Chapter of

the National Academy of 

Television Arts and Sciences

Roger Jones Award Louis W. Uccellini American University

Rutgers Challenger and

Distinguised Alumni Award Craig McLean Rutgers University

Salish Sea Science Prize Nathaniel Scholz, Jennifer McIntyre, David Baldwin SeaDoc Society

Samuel J. Heyman Service

to America Medal James Mcfadden

Partnership for 

Public Service

Samuel J. Heyman Service

to America Medal Richard Alan Feely

Partnership for Public 

Service

Special Achievement Award Eleanor Vallier-Talbot and Jeffrey S. Tongue

National Weather 

Association

Sverdrup Gold Medal Award Michael McPhaden

American Meteorological

Society

The Walter Orr Roberts

Lecturer in Interdisciplinary

Sciences Venkatachalam "Ram" Ramaswamy

American Meteorological

Society

U.S. THORPEX Certificate

of Recognition Zoltan Toth THORPEX

UVIG Achievement Award Melinda Marquis, Stan Benjamin, Joseph Olson

Utility Variable-Generation

Integration Group

Yoram J. Kaufman 

Unselfish Cooperation in

Research Award Karen H. Rosenlof

American Geophysical

Union
NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

82

At the direction of President Obama, NOAA and its sister

agencies have put Scientific Integrity at the forefront, 

addressing two aspects of the issue: 1) raising the stature

of our research scientists in the Federal government; and 

2) addressing scientific misconduct.

For the former, NOAA has developed procedures and

policies to ensure that employees are encouraged to serve

in elected positions in professional societies. These 

prestigious positions give our scientists the opportunities

to help frame and direct research agendas and priorities

within the relevant technical communities. As a result,

NOAA now has 36 people, in 22 organizations, serving in

these capacities, and many of those serving have done so

at the highest levels. The impact this will have on our

ability to recruit and retain top scientific talent into the

federal government is quite powerful.

This list reflects only those NOAA personnel who were

actually serving, effective October 1, 2016.

NOAA Scientist Job Title Professional Society Position

John Bates

Meteorologist / Principal

Scientist American Geophysical Union (AGU) Member, Board of Directors

Andrea Bleistein Physical Scientist American Meteorological Society Councilor

Stephania K.

Bolden

Supervisory 

Fisheries Biologist

North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish SocietyMember at Large of the 

Governing Board

Michelle Crockett

National Program Manager

EEO and Diversity Federally Employed Women Immediate Past President

Laura Furgione

Deputy Assistant 

Administrator for Weather

Services American Meteorological Society

Councilor on the 

Executive Board

John Gagan

Science and Operations

Officer National Weather Association Council Member

Randy Graham

Meteorologist in Charge,

Weather Forecast Office

Salt Lake City, UT National Weather Association Secretary

Jeffrey Kelley

General Forecaster/

Meteorologist

The High Plains Chapter of the 

American Meteorological Society/

National Weather Association Treasurer

Scientific Integrity
83

NOAA Scientist Job Title Professional Society Position

Gail Hartfield

Senior Forecaster at

Weather Forecast Office

Raleigh, NC National Weather Association President Elect

Fiona Horsfall

Chief, NWS Climate 

Services Division

American Association of 

State Climatologists ex-Officio Executive Board

Tamara Houston

Regional Climate Services

Program Manager

American Association of 

State Climatologists ex-Officio Executive Board

Daniel Howard

Sanctuary Superintendent,

ONMS

San Francisco International Ocean

Film Festival (SFIOFF) Member, Board of Directors

Dan Kowal

Chief, Standards & 

Evaluation Branch Colorado State Science Fair Treasurer

Jayme Layber Hydrologist

California Geographic 

Information Association Board Member

Todd Lericos Meteorologist in Charge National Weather Association Councilor

Christine Lipsky Research Fishery Biologist

Atlantic International Chapter of the

American Fisheries Society Secretary/Treasurer

Patrick Lynch

National Stock Assessment

Program Lead

American Fisheries Society- Marine

Fisheries Section Secretary-Treasurer

Richard McBride

Supervisory Research Fish

Biologist

American Fisheries Society- Marine

Fisheries Section

Northeastern Division 

Representative to Board

Craig McLean

Assistant Administrator,

OAR The Ocean Exchange Member, Board of Directors

Jennifer McNatt

Emergency Response 

Meteorologist National Weather Association Councilor

Richard Methot,

Jr.

Senior Scientist for Stock

Assessments Chair of the

Council of NOAA Fellows

American Fisheries Society- Marine

Fisheries Section

President-elect, President, Past

President
NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

84

NOAA Scientist Job Title Professional Society Position

Bart Merrick

Education Coordinator,

NOAA Chesapeake Bay

Office (NCBO)

Maryland Association for Environmental

and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) Member, Board of Directors

Paul Michel

Sanctuary Superintendent,

ONMS Access Monterey Peninsula (AMP) Member, Board of Directors

Lisa Milke Research Fishery Biologist National Shellfisheries Association Secretary

Kathy Moore Biologist Society for Wildlife Forensic Science

Director of Professional 

Development

Eugene Olmi Program Analyst

Southeastern Estuarine 

Research Society Past President

Trisha Palmer

Senior Forecaster,

Weather Forecast Office

Greenville-Spartanburg,

SC National Weather Association Councilor

Derek Parks

Technology Transfer 

Program Manager Federal Laboratory Consortium Member, Board of Directors

Linda Rhodes

Supervisory Research 

Microbiologist

American Fisheries Society Fish

Health Section Secretary-Treasurer

Steve Runnels

Warning Coordination 

Meteorologist

Southwest Missouri Emergency 

Support organization Secretary

Robert 

Schwemmer

Regional Maritime Heritage

Coordinator, ONMS

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum

(SBMM) Member, Board of Directors

Allen Shimada

Fishery Management 

Biologist, Office of Science

and Technology (OST)

American Institute of Fishery Research

Biologists (AIFRB)

Treasurer and Chair of the 

Investment Committee

Pat Spoden

Science and Operations

Officer, Weather Forecast

Office Paducah, KY National Weather Association Councilor

Michael Vescio Meteorologist in Charge National Weather Association Secretary

Christa von 

HillebrandtAndradeManager, Caribbean

Tsunami Warning Program

International Association with Physical

Science of the Oceans

Member of the 

Executive Committee
85

Peer review and evaluation is critical in maintaining

NOAA’s world-class research enterprise. The NAO on

Research and Development in NOAA (NAO 216 115A)

requires an evaluation of NOAA’s R&D activities, 

including regular independent peer review assessments 

at least every five years. 

These reviews assess R&D activities for quality of the

science as well as how well the activities meet NOAA’s

mission needs and/or requirements (i.e. relevance and

performance). Consistent with the principles and 

guidance codified in the NAO, each line office conducts

reviews of their laboratories and programs.

The following hyperlinks associated with the various

NOAA laboratories and science programs offer more 

detail for reviews conduced to date.

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 

Science Program and Laboratory Reviews

In 2016, OAR conducted lab reviews of the Great Lakes

Environmental Research (GLERL) and Air Resources

(ARL) Laboratories as part of the five-year cycle of 

laboratory reviews.

External reviewers 

assessed the quality 

of the laboratories’ 

research and 

development, and they

reviewed the approaches

that are in place to 

ensure that high quality

work will be performed

in the future. 

Furthermore, they 

assessed progress 

toward meeting OAR’s goal to conduct 

preeminent research. 

Reviewers assessed the degree to which the research and

development is relevant to NOAA’s mission and of value

to the nation. Finally, reviewers assessed the overall 

effectiveness with which the laboratories plan and 

conduct their research and development, given the 

resources provided, to meet NOAA Strategic Plan 

objectives and the needs of the nation.

Laboratory/Office Last Review Date

Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) 2014

Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) 2016

Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) 2015

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) 2014

Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) 2016

National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) 2015

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) 2014

Laboratory and Program Science Reviews

OAR Laboratories that Conduct Science Programs Covered by OAR Science Program Reviews
NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

86

In January 2013, as part of ongoing improvement efforts,

NOAA Fisheries began a systematic peer review process

at all six of our regional science centers and our 

headquarters Office of Science and Technology. 

Experts from within and outside the agency carefully 

examine our fisheries science programs on a five-year

cycle to evaluate the quality, relevance, and performance

of research conducted in NMFS Science Centers and 

associated laboratories to strategically position the

agency in planning future science and research.

Reviewers provide recommendations to each Science

Center program and these are addressed by relevant 

leadership in a formal response that includes a timeline 

of action items. 

At the end of each year, a national response to the full

suite of review reports is developed that includes action

items best addressed at the national level.

The schedule of annual reviews covers the core science

program areas that directly support the NMFS mission. 

FY 2013 – Data used for fishery stock assessments

FY 2014 – Fishery stock assessment process

FY 2015 – Protected species science

FY 2016 – Ecosystem, climate, and habitat science

FY 2017 – Economics and social science

NMFS plans to repeat the cycle of program reviews 

beginning in FY 2019, after strategic analysis of the 

program review results in FY 2018.

National Marine Fisheries Service Science Program Reviews
87

NMFS Regional Science Centers, Associated Laboratories, and Offices that Conduct Science 

Programs Covered by NMFS Science Program Reviews

NMFS Regional Science Center /Office Associated Laboratories and Research Stations

Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Seattle, WA Auke Bay, AK

Northeast Fisheries Science center

Woods Hole, MA

Milford, CT

Narragansett, RI

Orono, ME

Sandy Hook, NJ

Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Seattle WA

Manchester, WA

Mukilteo, WA

Newport, OR

Pasco, WA

Point Adams, OR

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Honolulu, PI

Southeast Fisheries Science Center

Miami, FL

Beaufort, NC

Galveston, TX

Lafayette, LA

Panama City, FL

Pascagoula, MS

Stennis, MS

Southwest Fisheries Science Center

La Jolla, CA

Office of Science and Technology, Headquarters, Silver

Spring, MD
NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

88

Science from the National Ocean service delivers 

ecosystem science solutions to help sustain coastal 

communities and economies. Ultimately this research:

• Underpins NOAA’s ability to predict and prepare for 

natural events and their impacts

• Enables faster and more accurate and efficient coastal 

mapping and monitoring 

• Develops a multidisciplinary approach to 

understanding and conserving coral reef ecosystems 

• Helps assess risk

National Center for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

Historically, NCCOS conducted periodic reviews of each

of its Centers. These Centers were last reviewed between

2005 and 2012. An NOS-wide assessment between 2010

and 2012 provided extensive feedback and 

recommendations for coastal science, which initiated a

realignment of NCCOS’ science portfolio. 

From 2014-2016 the office established a portfolio 

management system to oversee four key science 

priorities. Beginning in FY17, NCCOS will cycle

through annual reviews on each of these priority areas: 

Stressor Impacts and Mitigation – FY 2017 

Marine Spatial Ecology – FY 2018

Social Science – FY 2019

Coastal Resilience and Climate Vulnerability – FY 2020

National Estuarine Research Reserve System

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System

(NERRS) is a network of 28 coastal sites designated to

protect and study estuarine systems. National estuarine

research reserves are living laboratories, ideal sites for 

research and long-term monitoring.

Science Collaborative Program

The NERRS Science Collaborative, a competitive grant

program, is the mechanism by which most of the NOAAfunded research undertaken at the nation’s research 

reserves is accomplished. 

An external review of the NERRS Science Collaborative

program is currently underway. The University of 

Michigan is contracting with a third party to conduct the

review. Results are expected in FY18. 

System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP)

The monitoring program, known as the System-Wide

Monitoring Program, provides long-term data on water

quality, weather, biological communities, habitat, and

land-use and land-cover characteristics. 

Coral Reef Conservation Program Science Evaluation

The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)

undertakes periodic evaluations of the information 

provided by NOAA scientific projects and programs that

support coral reef conservation and management. 

The purpose of the 2016 CRCP Ecosystem Science 

Review was to determine if the information provided by

NOAA CRCP investments in ecosystem science is being

used to support CRCP’s mission and if CRCP ecosystem

science is relevant, effective, and of high quality. 

Information from this evaluation will be used to inform

future allocation of CRCP resources to address strategic

coral reef management needs in a targeted, cost-effective,

and efficient manner.

National Ocean Service Science Program and Laboratory Reviews
89

NOS Associated Laboratories and Programs that Conduct Science Programs 

Covered by NOS Science Program Reviews

NOS Office Lab/Program Last Review Date

National Estuarine Research Reserve 

System (NERRS) System-Wide Monitoring Program 2007

Science Collaborative Program

Expected completion 

in FY18

Coral Reef Conservation Program 

(CRCP) CRCP Science Evaluation 2016

Office of Coast Survey

Peer Review of the Coast Survey 

Development Lab’s Spatially Varying 

Uncertainty Research program 2016

Annual Peer review of the Joint 

Hydrographic Center 2016

CO-OPS OSTEP (Test and Evaluation Team) n/a

CO-OPS Instrument Labs n/a

National Weather Service focuses on transitioning science

advancements from research partners, such as OAR labs

and the external research community, into the NWS by

advancing their readiness levels and implementing them

into operations based on prioritized operations and 

service requirements. 

NWS developmental and transition organizations include

the Environmental Modeling Center, Meteorological 

Development Laboratory, and National Water Center. In

addition, the NWS field structure consists of science 

support and transition capability including Science 

Operations Officers (132), Development Operations 

Hydrologists (13), and seven (7) Service Centers in the

National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

NWS has regular processes to provide systematic science

and management oversight and independent review for

NWS developmental and transition organizations that 

ensure NWS development and transition priorities are

consistent with operations service delivery requirements. 

These processes 

include annual 

planning processes for

operations and budget

execution, quarterly

program reviews 

conducted by NWS

senior leadership, and

annual reviews of

NWS operational modeling and centralized product/

service suites by stakeholders, partners, and users. 

NWS also has a standing community advisory group of

independent scientific experts under the auspice of 

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

(UCAR) to conduct annual reviews that ensure NWS

models, tools, products, and services are based on sound

science. The last UCAR review took place in August

2015 by the University Corporation for Atmospheric 

Research Community Advisory Committee (UCACN)

Model Advisory Committee (UMAC).

National Weather Service Science Program and Laboratory Reviews
NOAA’s Scientific Workforce NOAA’s Scientific Workforce

90

Independent reviews, e.g., the UCAR group, provide

findings and recommendations to NWS programs, and

these are addressed by relevant leadership in a formal 

response that includes a timeline of action items. NWS

development and transition organizations’ response and

action results are reported to the review group at the 

subsequent annual review meetings. 

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and 

Information Service Science Program and 

Laboratory Reviews

NESDIS’ Center for Satellite Applications and Readiness

(STAR) promotes NOAA’s investment in the acquisition

and management of the nation’s operational 

environmental satellites. STAR fulfills the critical role of

advancing scientific-based research and development

methods to transition satellite processing systems, 

environmental satellite measurements, and satellite 

observations to operations for stakeholder use. 

An independent team of distinguished scientific 

administrators conducted an External Review of STAR

research and development on March 19-21, 2010. It was

STAR’s first External Review since 2000. 

Although such reviews had typically been conducted

every five years, STAR’s 2005 review was delayed while

NOAA directed improvements to the oversight of NOAA

science based on a) the quality of research, b) the 

relevance to NOAA’s mission, and c) the performance 

of the research organization. 

The new guidelines went into effect in 2009. STAR 

was the first organizations to be reviewed under 

those guidelines.

Laboratory/Office Last Review Date

Center for Satellite Applications and Research 2010

NESDIS Associated Laboratories and Programs that Conduct Science Programs

Covered by NESDIS Science Program Reviews

92

Conclusion Conclusion

Scientific research and development are the foundation of advancing NOAA’s mission. This report provides a wide,

albeit shallow, rendition of the scope, complexity and relevance of our scientific portfolio. 

In years to come, this series of NOAA Chief Scientist’s Annual Reports will serve as a valuable compendium of the

evolution of scientific knowledge and a reference for how far we have come in producing valuable environmental 

intelligence for humankind.

“Science can give mankind a better standard of living, better health and a better mental

life, if mankind in turn gives science the sympathy and support so essential to its progress.”

- Vannevar Bush

94

Glossary Glossary

ABI Advanced Baseline Imager

AECOM Architecture, Engineering, Consulting, Operations, and Maintenance

AOML Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

API Application Program Interface

ARL Air Resource Laboratory

ASRE Atmospheric Science for Renewable Energy

ATMS Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder

AUV Automated Underwater Vehicle

AWS Amazon Web Services

BDP Big Data Partnership

BOEM Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

CAPSTONE Campaign to Address Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean NEeds

CFS Climate Forecast System

CI Cooperative Institute

CILER Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research 

CME Coronal Mass Ejection

CNCI Category Normalized Citation Impact

CNES Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales

CO-OPS Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services

COCA Coastal and Ocean Climate Applications

CPC Climate Prediction Center

CRADA Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

CRCP Coral Reef Conservation Program

CRF Cloud Radiative Forcing

CrIS Cross-track Infrared Sounder

CRT Climate Resilience Toolkit

CTB Climate Test Bed

DBO Distributed Biological Observatory

DOC Department of Commerce

DOD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy

DSCVR Deep Space Climate Observatory Satellite

EM Electronic Monitoring

EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency
95

ESP Environmental Sample Processor

ESRL Earth System Research Laboratory

EUMETSAT European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites

FACETS Forecasting A Continuum of Environmental Threats

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

FLASH Flooded Locations and Simulated Hydrographs

FY Fiscal Year

GFDL Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab

GFS Global Forecast System

GLERL Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

GLM Geostationary Lightning Mapper

GOES-R Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series

GPS Global Positioning System

GRAV-D Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum

GSI Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation

HAB Harmful Algal Bloom

HRRR High-Resolution Rapid Refresh

HWRF Hurricane Weather Research and Forecast

HYCOM Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model

J-SCOPE JISAO Seasonal Coastal Ocean Prediction of the Ecosystem

JISAO Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean

MBARI Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

mPing Meteorological Phenomena Identification Near the Ground

NAO NOAA Administrative Order

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research

NCCOS National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

NCEI National Centers for Environmental Information

NCEP National Centers for Environmental Prediction

NEERS National Estuarine Research Reserve System

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act

NESDIS National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service

NEVA Northeast Fish and Shellfish Climate Vulnerability Assessment

NEXRAD Next Generation Weather Radar
96

Glossary Glossary

NGS National Geodetic Survey

NIC National Ice Center

NLDAS North American Land Data Assimilation System

NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service

NWM National Water Model

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOS National Ocean Service

NPP National Polar-orbiting Partnership

NSSL National Severe Storms Laboratory

NUCAPS NOAA-Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System

NWFSC Northwest Fisheries Science Center

NWS National Weather Service

O2R Operations to Research

OA Ocean Acidification

OAP Ocean Acidification Program

OAR Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

OER Office of Exploration and Research

OMAO Office of Marine and Aviation Operations

PMEL Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

R&D Research and Development

R2O Research to Operations

R2X Research Transitions to Operations, Applications, Commercialization, and Utilization

RAP RApid refresh

RL Readiness Level

RTAP Research Transition Acceleration Program

S4 Supercomputer for Satellite Simulations and Data Assimilation Studies

SI Smithsonian Institution

SWMP System-Wide Monitoring Program

UAS Unmanned Aircraft System

UCACN University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Community Advisory Committee

UCAR University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

UMAC UCACN Model Advisory Committee

USDA United States Department of Agriculture

USFS United States Forest Service
97

USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service

USGS United States Geological Survey

USV Unmanned Surface Vessel

VCS Verified Carbon Standard

VHF Very High Frequency

VIIRS Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer 

WECOA West Coast Ocean Acidification

WRF-CHEM Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled to Chemistry

WRF-Hydro Weather Research and Forecasting Hydrology

WRN Weather-Ready Nation
Lead Editors: Lindsey Kraatz and Lauren Gibson

Graphic Designers: Brenda Landis, Kyrstin Fornace and Richard Rivera

98

Contributors and Contributors and 

Acknowledgements Acknowledgements

NOAA Subject Matter Experts

Adrienne Antoine

Colin Becker

Kate Becker

Stan Benjamin

Joe Cione

Jessica Cross

Carolyn Currin

Timothy Davis

Doug DeMaster

Jane DiCosimo

Geoff DiMego

John Durban

C. Mark Eakin

Kim Elmore

Jason Gedamke

Alan Gerard

JJ Gourley

Kelly Goodwin

Dwight Gledhill

Thomas Graziano

Robert Grumbine

Jon Hare

David Herring

Robbie Hood

Janet Intrieri

Matt Kendall

Steven Koch

Jennifer Koss

Tod Leighfield

Alan Leonardi

Audra Luscher

Melinda Marquis

Sue Moore

James Morris

Ed Myers

Charles Powell

Vincent Saba

Russell Schnell

Amy Scholik-Schlomer

Jennifer Sprague-Hilderbrand

Amy Solomon

Rick Stumpf

Marc Suddleson

Ariana Sutton-Grier

Taneil Uttal

Wanqiu Wang

Robert Webb

Program Coordination Officers

Lonnie Gonsalves

Lauren Koellermeier

Alex Lamers

Wendy Sellers

Patrick Sweeney (LCDR)

Kate Taylor

Additional Contributors

Anupa Asokan

Eric Bayler

Neal Christerson

Amy Fritz

Caitlin Gould

Charles Greene

Sandra Honda

Rebecca Jablonski-Diehl 

Carol Kavanagh

Michael Liddel

Rachelle Matthews

Barry Reichenbaugh 

Karen Robin

Fernando Salas

Lois Schiffer

Vicki Schwantes

Avery Sen

Mike Walker 

Marian Westley

Matthew Womble

NOAA Research Council

Principal Members

Mary Erickson

Ming Ji

Michael Kalb

Gary Matlock

Craig McLean

Richard Merrick

Douglas Perry

Advisory Members

John Daniel

Cynthia Decker

Monica Grasso

Brian Gross

Candice Jongsma

Marlene Kaplan

Richard Methot

Steven Thur

Mark Vincent

Executive Secretariat

Louis Licate

Wendy Levine

Christopher Moses

Katelyn Robinson