CO-OPS Expands Meteorological Sensor Network and Quality Control Kathleen Egan, Tom Landon NOAA/NOS/Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services Silver Spring, MD AMS 89th Annual Meeting Session 5B

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES CO-OPS Observations Total of about 255 NWLON/PORTS ® water level stations As of the beginning of FY08, about 140 of these stations included meteorological sensors  Fundamental observing component of the National Water Level Program  Mainly initiated for NOAA tide prediction products but also collect meteorological data  Network of 205 continuously operating water level stations around the U.S. Coast  System of water level stations located in major U.S. ports and harbors  Improves the safety and efficiency of maritime commerce and coastal resource management via real-time environmental observations  18 existing PORTS ® located around the U.S.  Meteorological sensors included as needed and requested by mariners National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON) Physical Operating Real-Time Systems (PORTS ® )

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES Remote Pacific Island Stations Not Shown National Water Level Observation Network 205 Stations as of 2008 (planned expansion to 300 stations pending increased base funding)

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES PORTS ® Locations

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES Full NWLON/PORTS ® Station Provides in real-time (6-minute data):  Water Levels  Wind Speed/Gust/Direction  Barometric Pressure  Air/Water Temperature  Relative Humidity (Great Lakes)  Conductivity/Temp (PORTS ® ) CO-OPS does not provide forecast meteorological data New Canal, LA

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES Full NWLON/PORTS ® Station Washington, DC winds (kt)

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES Full NWLON/PORTS ® Station Washington, DC air/water temp. (˚F)

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES Full NWLON/PORTS ® Station Washington, DC air pressure (mb)

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES Background:  Previously, upgrades were done as part of partnership agreements (e.g. PORTS ®, Coastal Storms Program)  2001: NWS Southern Region requested upgrade of Gulf Coast and Caribbean stations  2004: NWS Central Region requests to upgrade Great Lakes stations. Includes relative humidity sensors  2006: NWS Eastern Region/Hurricane Isabel Assessment upgrade Chesapeake Bay stations CO-OPS received funding from the Weather and Water Goal Team to upgrade up to 94 NWLON stations with meteorological sensors NWLON Met Upgrades

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES  Dual anemometers, barometers, air temperature thermistors  FY2008: 28 stations  FY2009: 30 stations  FY2010: 36 stations  Not all stations will receive an anemometer due to siting restrictions  NWLON stations in close proximity will not receive upgrades (e.g. Great Lakes Detroit area) NWLON Met Upgrades

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON) Meteorological Sensor Upgrades, FY Total Stations: 205 Planned Met Upgrades: 94

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES Marine Weather impacts:  Potential impact on forecast and model accuracy  Fills meteorological data gaps  Approximately 75 CO-OPS stations in/near coastal cities  Real-time data will provide model forecast verification, safe navigation for marine vessels  Data source for local analyses/models  Available on AWIPS NWLON Met Upgrades CO-OPS impacts:  By the end of FY2010, 237 of the 255 stations will contain meteorological data  Increase of 40%  Ingestion of large amount of meteorological data raised need for more robust QC method

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES CO-OPS/NDBC Partnership  Established in 2003 to QC CO-OPS data  NDBC ingests CO-OPS meteorological data and conducts gross automated real-time QC checks and manual daily QC  Data released through the NWS gateway to AWIPS, etc.  Quality-controlled CO-OPS data displayed on NDBC website Growing amount of meteorological data displayed on CO-OPS website motivated CO-OPS to set up automated QC process  CO-OPS meteorological QC currently limited to analysts turning off data dissemination, and range filters  Not as robust as the NDBC QC process but will provide CO- OPS users with higher-quality data sets

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES Meteorological Data Quality Control CO-OPS automated meteorological QC system  Winds (speed/gust/direction), air/water temperature, air pressure, relative humidity  Real-time data (max/min, rate of change, flat data)  Automated program will flag any data exceeding set thresholds and will prevent the data from displaying on the CO-OPS website  Monthly data will be processed and verified  Automated program will operate on a monthly basis to delete flagged data  Output: a verified data set and a diagnostic summary detailing data issues  Verified data will be displayed on CO-OPS website and sent to NODC/NCDC for archival  Will be completed by the end of 2010

CENTER for OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS and SERVICES Conclusion  Expanding CO-OPS meteorological network by 40% by end of FY2010  CO-OPS will be providing quality- controlled real-time and monthly meteorological data on website  Monthly data will be sent to NODC/NCDC for archival  Expected to be operational by 2010 Oakland, CA Contact: