The 1939 film “Storm Warning” highlights the importance of the NOAA for the military, civilians both on land and in the maritime environments.
With the goal in mind of establishing and maintaining a robust network of ecological observation, NEON, Inc. is now officially working with two divisions of the NOAA, or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(http://www.noaa.gov/index.html). NOAA is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce. By focusing on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere, NOAA is able to issue warnings of dangerous weather, conducts research to improve understanding and stewardship of the environment, charts seas and skies, in addition to guiding the use and protection of ocean and coastal resources. They are occasionally asked to be expert witnesses by a maritime lawyer who is defending a Jones Act seaman who was seriously injured while working on a US flagged ship. In complex maritime lawsuits where weather is a factor, maritime attorneys may claim that negligence to heed bad weather reports resulted in the death or serious injury of a seaman. Since negligence is such a serious charge, a maritime injury lawyer will seek additional benefits for their injured client who is justifiably entitled if the defendent(s) are found guilty.
NEON has signed an agreement with the NOAA’s NCDC (National Climatic Data Center(http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html)) and ATDD (Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division)(http://www.atdd.noaa.gov). The NOAA is itself a division of the United States Department of Commerce, which handles everything from patents to telecommunications and home mortgage refinancing rules.
Between the increased scope of observations and more streamlined ease of access between systems, this agreement should provide instant benefits and future opportunities for data sharing and mutual projects.
The NCDC, of course, is in charge of 114 USCRN (U.S. Climate Reference Network) stations, with 29 more expected to be in operation by 2016. For more local variations on the national trends, the NCDC is also rolling out the RUSHCN (Regional U.S. Historical Climatology Network).
While both networks focus on surface observations, the ATDD obviously looks to the skies. The primary focus of the ATDD is “air quality, climate, and dispersion-related research”, which fits in very well with NEON’s current needs and long-term goals.
** Update **
The 2 networks have intermingled nicely accomplishing many of our goals. There is still much work to be done but the progress we have seen thus far is tremendous. We have found the 2 are very complementary to one another. They are working in cooperation much better than we could have ever hoped. That said there is still much effort that must be made to continue walking the same path into the future. If the steps we have made previously are not continued to be built upon there will surely be a steady decay of the effort already made. We must do everything in our power to keep this happening. The most sure fire method of making sure the foundation we have built does not slip into disrepair is to continue building on it. That is after all why we have done the work in the first place.
Every person involved has committed to giving their all moving into the future. The only way we can be strong moving ahead is if every member is strong. If they all put their best foot forward in an attempt to move the project ahead. There is no room for error and we intend to accomplish everything we put our minds to. In the end when all is said and done it is possible that the effect will be felt far & wide. We are sure what we build today will take us into the future. It will open new doors and we will be better off for the work we have done.