National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uses and develops a wide range of statistical programs and tools to support its mission of understanding and predicting changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts. These programs are essential for collecting, managing, and analyzing vast amounts of environmental data.
Key Statistical Programs and Tools
NOAA's statistical programs and tools are typically categorized by the data they handle, such as climate, fisheries, or coastal data. They are designed to be used by scientists, researchers, forecasters, and the public.
| • | Climate and Weather Data: NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) offers several tools for accessing and analyzing climate data. |
| o | Climate Data Online (CDO): This program provides access to historical weather and climate data from a global network of stations. Users can search, map, and download data for specific locations and time periods. |
| o | The Weather and Climate Toolkit: This software helps users visualize and analyze large weather and climate datasets, such as radar and satellite data, making it easier to understand extreme weather events. |
| • | Fisheries and Marine Data: NOAA Fisheries uses statistical programs to manage and assess the health of marine resources. |
| o | Cooperative Statistics Program (CSP): A joint effort between NOAA and U.S. states to collect and process commercial and recreational fisheries data. This information is critical for determining sustainable fish yields and creating effective Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs). |
| o | Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP): This program maintains a searchable database of recreational fishing statistics. Its query tool allows users to filter data by species, geographic area, and other characteristics for various analyses. |
| • | Coastal and Ocean Data: The NOAA Office for Coastal Management provides tools to help communities and decision-makers address coastal challenges. |
| o | Coastal Inundation Dashboard: Provides real-time and forecast water levels to help monitor coastal flooding. |
| o | Sea Level Rise Viewer: This tool helps users visualize the potential impacts of sea level rise and coastal flooding on their communities, showing which areas and infrastructure may be at risk. |
Statistical Modeling and Forecasting
NOAA also develops and uses advanced statistical and mathematical models for forecasting and analysis. These models often combine historical data with real-time observations.
| • | Model Output Statistics (MOS): This is a statistical post-processing technique used to improve the accuracy of numerical weather prediction models. MOS relates model outputs to actual observations to correct for systematic model biases, accounting for local effects and quantifying forecast uncertainty. |
| • | Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Tools: The CPC uses various statistical tools for long-range climate forecasting. For example, they use Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) to predict temperature and precipitation patterns based on global sea surface temperatures and other atmospheric data. |
| • | Integrated Modeling: NOAA is moving toward more integrated modeling systems. The National Ocean Service (NOS) is developing a strategy to combine flexible, multi-purpose models to predict a wide range of coastal conditions, from flooding to harmful algal blooms. |