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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Review of NOAA's Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11421.
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Review of NOAA’s Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program

Committee on Climate Data Records from NOAA Operational Satellites

Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Review of NOAA's Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11421.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Contract No. 50-DGNA-1-90024 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

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Copies of this report are available upon request from The Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, The National Academies, 500 Fifth Street NW, Keck 702, Washington, DC, 20001; (202) 334-3512.

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Copyright 2005 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Review of NOAA's Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11421.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Review of NOAA's Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11421.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Review of NOAA's Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11421.
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COMMITTEE ON CLIMATE DATA RECORDS FROM NOAA OPERATIONAL SATELLITES

DAVID ROBINSON (Chair),

Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey

ROBERTA BALSTAD,

Columbia University/CIESIN, Palisades, New York

ROGER BARRY,

World Data Center for Glaciology, National Snow & Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colorado

JANET CAMPBELL,

University of New Hampshire, Durham

RUTH DEFRIES,

University of Maryland, College Park

WILLIAM J. EMERY,

University of Colorado, Boulder

MILTON HALEM,

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (ret.), Greenbelt, Maryland

JAMES HURRELL,

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

ARLENE LAING,

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

RANGA MYNENI,

Boston University, Massachusetts

RICHARD SOMERVILLE,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego

PAUL D. TRY,

Science and Technology Corporation, Silver Spring, Maryland

THOMAS VONDER HAAR,

Colorado State University, Fort Collins

NRC Staff

SHELDON DROBOT, Study Director (First Report)

AMANDA STAUDT, Study Director (Second Report)

ROB GREENWAY, Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Review of NOAA's Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11421.
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BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND CLIMATE

ROBERT J. SERAFIN (Chair),

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

M. JOAN ALEXANDER,

Colorado Research Associates, Boulder

FREDERICK R. ANDERSON,

McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, Washington, D.C.

MICHAEL L. BENDER,

Princeton University, New Jersey

ROSINA M. BIERBAUM,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

MARY ANNE CARROLL,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

CAROL ANNE CLAYSON,

Florida State University, Tallahassee

WALTER F. DABBERDT,

Vaisala Inc., Boulder, Colorado

KERRY A. EMANUEL,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

DENNIS L. HARTMANN,

University of Washington, Seattle

PETER R. LEAVITT,

Weather Information, Inc., Newton, Massachusetts

JENNIFER A. LOGAN,

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

VERNON R. MORRIS,

Howard University, Washington, D.C.

THOMAS H. VONDER HAAR,

Colorado State University, Fort Collins

ROGER M. WAKIMOTO,

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

Ex Officio Members

ANTONIO J. BUSALACCHI, JR.,

University of Maryland, College Park

ERIC F. WOOD,

Princeton University, New Jersey

NRC Staff

CHRIS ELFRING, Director

PAUL CUTLER, Senior Program Officer

AMANDA STAUDT, Senior Program Officer

GERALDEAN HOURIGAN LANTIER, Research Associate

LEAH PROBST, Research Associate

ELIZABETH A. GALINIS, Senior Program Assistant

ROB GREENWAY, Senior Program Assistant

DIANE GUSTAFSON, Administrative Coordinator

ANDREAS SOHRE, Financial Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Review of NOAA's Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11421.
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PREFACE

To understand our climate system more completely, it is imperative that we have climate data records (CDR) that possess the accuracy, longevity and stability to facilitate credible climate monitoring. This includes CDRs from environmental satellites, which have been surveying our atmosphere, oceans and lands for the past four decades. Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., and others within NOAA are to be commended for accepting the mandate to better understand climate variability and change. Our committee was tasked with assisting NOAA as it designs a plan that should establish this agency as the chief steward of satellite CDRs. Following a series of committee teleconferences, an information gathering workshop was convened in August 2003, with several dozen scientists providing valuable input to the committee’s endeavor. Numerous telecons, e-mails, and face-to-face meetings in Washington, D.C. and Boulder, Colorado followed, and the committee’s first report was published in March 2004 (NRC, 2004). NOAA officials were briefed and, over the following year, took the report under advisement as they prepared the first draft of a Scientific Data Stewardship Implementation Plan. As originally tasked, the committee reconvened in March 2005, was briefed by NOAA officials, and subsequently prepared this short report in which we evaluate the efficacy of the draft plan.

Many individuals provided important information and insights as we prepared our reports. Thanks go to Mitch Goldberg, John Bates, George Ohring, and Thomas Karl for their CDR leadership within NOAA. On behalf of the entire committee, I want to express gratitude to Chris Elfring, Amanda Staudt, Sheldon Drobot, and Rob Greenway of the National Research Council’s Board of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate for their unfailing support of our endeavor.

Finally, many thanks to my fellow committee members for their excellent contributions. As I stated in the preface to the 2004 report, this reflects their dedication to the science community and illustrates their belief that, by having the opportunity to help guide NOAA in the detailed development of an end-to-end CDR program, they can make a difference.

DAVID A. ROBINSON, Chair

Committee on Climate Data Records from NOAA Operational Satellites

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Review of NOAA's Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11421.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Mark Abbott, Oregon State University, Corvallis

Lee Branscome, Climatological Consulting Corporation, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Susan Ustin, University of California at Davis

Frank Wentz, Remote Sensing Systems, Santa Rosa, California

Steven J. Worley, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

Although the reviewers listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the report’s conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Christopher Justice of the University of Maryland, College Park. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2005. Review of NOAA's Plan for the Scientific Data Stewardship Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11421.
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To better understand our climate system, it is important that we have climate data records (CDRs)--time series of measurements of sufficient length, consistency, and continuity to determine climate variability and change--that possess the accuracy, longevity, and stability to facilitate credible climate monitoring. In 2004, the National Research Council (NRC) published Climate Data Records from Environmental Satellites to provide the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with initial guidelines on how to develop and implement an effective CDR program. NOAA used this book to draft a plan for a new Scientific Data Stewardship (SDS) program, and then asked NRC to review it. The new program will be responsible for processing, archiving, and distributing observations from satellite and supporting ground-based platforms for monitoring, diagnosing, understanding, predicting, modeling, and assessing climate variation and change. The NRC review outlines several ways in which to improve NOAA's draft plan, most importantly by clarifying advisory mechanisms, providing more detail about how NOAA will coordinate with important partners in generating CDRs, articulating how the program will prioritize its activities, and developing ways to realistically project future costs. However, the draft plan is sound overall and NOAA should immediately begin implementing the SDS program while revising the plan as recommended in the book.

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