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3 Elements of a Successful Satellite CDR Generation Program
Pages 45-62

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From page 45...
... ORGANIZATION In devising a program for generating CDRs, NOAA would benefit greatly from developing an organizational framework that includes mechanisms for providing scientific oversight and advice, encouraging feedback from user communities, and allowing opportunities to redirect the program based on advice and feedback. The task of generating CDRs is ambitious, but NOAA does not need to accomplish everything on its own because CDR expertise lies within other agencies, academia, and the private sector as well.
From page 46...
... The committee believes that the following 14 ele ments will help NOAA to create a successful CDR program. 1: A high-level leadership council within NOAA is needed to oversee the process of creating climate data records from satellite data.
From page 47...
... While the FCDR generation teams are focused on creating accurate and precise radiance measurements, the program will not be successful unless scientists are actively utilizing the FCDRs to create TCDRs. The committee recommends the formation of thematic science teams within broad disciplinary theme areas (Table 3-1)
From page 48...
... The thematic teams should include research scientists funded by or employed by NOAA and other agencies, organizations, or private sector companies who use the data, and they should have some representation from the FCDR teams. The TCDR science teams should be competitively selected, with limited (but renewable)
From page 49...
... For instance, Requirement 1, "Complete sampling within the diurnal cycle (minimizing the effects of orbital decay and orbit drift) should be maintained," will not always be met when using historic polar orbiter data to create CDRs.
From page 50...
... 4. Rigorous prelaunch instrument characterization and calibration, including radiance confirmation against an international radiance scale provided by a national metrology institute, should be ensured.
From page 51...
... The GCOS panel recommended that steps be taken to make radiance calibration, calibration monitoring, and satellite-to-satellite cross-calibration of the full operational constellation a part of the operational satellite system. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project recognized that calibration is an iterative process, and they defined three types of calibration: (1)
From page 52...
... . Vicarious calibration is accomplished by measuring a known target FIGURE 3-1 The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS)
From page 53...
... . Vicarious calibration also can serve as an additional means for monitoring instrument stability.
From page 54...
... . CREATING THEMATIC CLIMATE DATA RECORDS Although the FCDRs represent NOAA's long-term legacy, the majority of users will use the thematic CDRs (Box 3-2)
From page 55...
... , society's need for climate data grows rapidly. Many of the major users and uses of climate information have been illustrated in the recent NRC reports Making Climate Forecasts Matter (NRC, 1999c)
From page 56...
... (2000) , "The most successful programs have been those with clearly defined users for the data they produce, which requires early interaction between the scientists responsible for designing the program and targeted data users." When these communities are brought together early to identify their needs, rather than just being asked to approve or comment on what the science community has planned, there is a much greater chance of incorporating the needs and concerns of user communities into planning the TCDRs, and thus the opportunity to design a more satisfactory program that enjoys long-term user support.
From page 57...
... The process of validating a TCDR derived from satellite measurements is not simply a matter of "ground truthing" a satellite-derived product. It is the process of establishing uncertainty levels for the TCDR based on principles of error propagation and comparisons with independent correlative measurements.
From page 58...
... In comparison, a CDR generation program requires efforts above and beyond NOAA's tradi tional role in weather forecasting. NOAA has long supported climate research, but much of the research it
From page 59...
... To ensure the success of any long-term program, mechanisms are needed to address deficiencies, correct problems, and ensure continuity, and these actions require adequate resources. As noted by NOAA's Climate and Global Change Working Group report, "Given the continuing improvement in our understanding of climate observations and the need for long time series, reprocessing is a hallmark of every climate observing system." As our understanding of the climate and satellite instruments improves, reprocessing could also be useful for extending CDRs back in time; for instance, CDRs created from NPOESS could be extended back to the Television Infrared Operational Satellite-Next Generation (TIROS-N)
From page 60...
... Mechanisms also should be in place for active data users, on Track 1 to be fully informed about basic findings, progress, and tentative plans for Track 2. 13: Provisions to receive feedback from the scientific community should be included.
From page 61...
... Stable support is an essential characteristic of a successful CDR generation program; thus inflationary increases should be programmed into budget planning. Operating cost increases or other factors often require flexibility and adjustments by the system operators to maintain data flow while longterm solutions are sought.


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