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Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: a Nationwide Network of Networks This PDF is available from The National Academies Press at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12540 Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks ISBN Committee on Developing Mesoscale Meteorological Observational 978-0-309-12986-2 Capabilities to Meet Multiple Needs, National Research Council 250 pages 6x9 PAPERBACK (2009) Visit the National Academies Press online and register for... Instant access to free PDF downloads of titles from the NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 10% off print titles Custom notification of new releases in your field of interest Special offers and discounts Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the National Academies Press. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Request reprint permission for this book Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks OBSERVING WEATHER AND CLIMATE FROM THE GROUND UP A N A T I O N W I D E N E T W O R K O F N ETWORKS Committee on Developing Mesoscale Meteorological Observational Capabilities to Meet Multiple National Needs Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Division on Earth and Life Studies THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS Washington, D.C. www.nap.edu Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Govern- ing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineer- ing, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropri- ate balance. This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce under contract numbers DG133W06SE5851 and DG133R04CQ0009, the U.S. Environmental Pro- tection Agency under contract number EP06H002306, the Federal Highway Admin- istration under contract number DTFH61-06-P-00121, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under contract numbers NNS06AE25G and 9724, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under contract number HSHQDC-06- P-00161. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors or any of their sub agencies. International Standard Book Number-13 978-0-309-12986-2 International Standard Book Number-10 0-309-12986-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008942839 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); internet, http://www.nap.edu. Cover: Photo courtesy of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Copyright 2009 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks 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 wel- fare. 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 engineer- ing programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is presi- dent 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 Insti- tute 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. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPING MESOSCALE METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONAL CAPABILITIES TO MEET MULTIPLE NATIONAL NEEDS RICHARD E. CARBONE (Chair), National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado JAMES BLOCK, DTN/Meteorlogix, Minneapolis, Minnesota S. EDWARD BOSELLY, Weather Solutions Group, Olympia, Washington GREGORY R. CARMICHAEL, University of Iowa, Iowa City FREDERICK H. CARR, University of Oklahoma, Norman V. (CHANDRA) CHANDRASEKAR, Colorado State University, Fort Collins EVE GRUNTFEST, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs RAYMOND M. HOFF, University of Maryland, Baltimore County WITOLD F. KRAJEWSKI, University of Iowa, Iowa city MARGARET A. LeMONE, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado JAMES F.W. PURDOM, Colorado State University, Fort Collins THOMAS W. SCHLATTER, University of Colorado, Boulder EUGENE S. TAKLE, Iowa State University, Ames JAY TITLOW, Weatherflow, Inc., Poquoson, Virginia NRC Staff CURTIS H. MARSHALL, Senior Program Officer ROB GREENWAY, Senior Program Assistant v Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND CLIMATE F. SHERWOOD ROWLAND (Chair), University of California, Irvine ROSINA M. BIERBAUM, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor ANTONIO J. BUSALACCHI, JR., University of Maryland, College Park RICHARD CARBONE, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado WALTER F. DABBERDT, Vaisala, Inc., Boulder, Colorado KIRSTIN DOW, University of South Carolina, Columbia GREG S. FORBES, The Weather Channel, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia ISAAC HELD, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Princeton, New Jersey ARTHUR LEE, Chevron Corporation, San Ramon, California RAYMOND T. PIERREHUMBERT, University of Chicago KIMBERLY PRATHER, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California KIRK R. SMITH, University of California, Berkeley JOHN T. SNOW, University of Oklahoma, Norman THOMAS H. VONDER HAAR, Colorado State University/CIRA, Fort Collins XUBIN ZENG, University of Arizona, Tucson Ex Officio Members GERALD A. MEEHL, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado NRC Staff CHRIS ELFRING, Director LAURIE GELLER, Senior Program Officer IAN KRAUCUNAS, Senior Program Officer CURTIS H. MARSHALL, Senior Program Officer MARTHA MCCONNELL, Associate Program Officer MARLENE KAPLAN, Visiting Scholar LESLIE BRANDT, Fellow RITA GASKINS, Administrative Coordinator KATIE WELLER, Research Associate ROB GREENWAY, Senior Program Assistant SHELLY FREELAND, Program Assistant AMANDA PURCELL, Program Assistant SHUBHA BANSKOTA, Financial Associate vi Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks Preface It is well known that the provision of weather and climate information is no longer the sole province of government. Weather information and services now cut a broad swath through the various public and private sectors and have diverse missions and a multitude of applications. The breadth of this enterprise is increasingly apparent with respect to observations. The advent of inexpensive digital electronics and high bandwidth communications has lowered the barriers to investment in atmospheric observation, especially near the land
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