Support for GOES Data Collection System

1
Support forGOES Data Collection System

• Presentation to the
• Advisory Committee on Water Information
• by Charles Kazimir, Chairperson
• of the
• Satellite Telemetry Interagency Working Group
  (STIWG)

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What is the STIWG?

• The GOES Satellite Telemetry Interagency Working
  Group (STIWG) is a user group that
• Advises NOAA on user requirements of the GOES DCS
  related to the collection of hydrologic,
  meteorologic, oceanic, and other environmental
  data.
• Promotes information exchange including the
  sharing of data, research, and technical
  information among users of the GOES DCS.
• Supports improvements to the GOES DCS by funding
  development projects. e.g. HDR DCP development.

3
STIWG Reports To

• Subcommittee on Hydrology of the ACWI
• Committee for Environmental Services, Operations
  and Research Needs (C/ESORN) of the Office of the
  Federal Coordinator for Meteorology (OFCM).

4
What is the GOES DCS?

• The Geostationary Operational Environmental
  Satellite Data Collection System ( GOES DCS ) is
  a satellite system used for the collection of
  environmental data in real-time from remote data
  recording sites located all over North and South
  America.
• The GOES DCS is operated by the National
  Environmental Satellite Data Information System
  (NESDIS ) of NOAA and is available for use by
  government agencies and their other
  government-sponsored groups.

5
GOES DCS as a Critical System

• The GOES DCS started as an experimental system
  for collecting real-time data without formal
  support.
• It has evolved into a critical system that has
  become the backbone of many agencies' real-time
  data collection systems.

6
Components of the GOES DCS
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How important is the GOES DCS?

• The GOES DCS is used extensively by numerous
  Federal, State, and local governments as well as
  by private organizations to provide current
  information about hydrologic, meteorologic, and
  oceanic conditions.
• The GOES DCS provides a system that allows the
  extensive sharing of real-time data among many
  different users of environmental data who have
  diverse requirements.

8
Importance of real-time data collected using GOES
DCS

• Real-time data obtained from remote sites using
  the GOES Data Collection System help protect the
  lives and property of citizens throughout the
  U.S. and much of the Western hemisphere during
  fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, and other
  natural disasters or severe conditions
• Real-time data are used during critical
  hydrologic events for such things as flood
  forecasting, fire management, tsunami warning,
  etc.

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Wildfire support
Fire fighter support
Helo Operations
10
Wildfire support
11
USGS GOES Site supplying real-time data during
New England Flooding
12
Public Web Hits to Access USGS Real-Time Data
from the GOES DCS
Approaching 1 Million Hits/Day
13
The GOES DCS User Community

• Department of Interior(cont)
• Bureau of Reclamation
• National Park Service
• Department of State ( International Boundary
  Water Commission)
• States
• California
• Colorado
• Many Canadian Environmental agencies
• Many South and Central American Environmental
  agencies

• NOAA
• National Weather Service
• National Ocean Service
• National Climatic Data Center
• National Data Buoy Center
• Department of Defense
• United States Army Corps of Engineers
• United States Air Force
• United States Navy
• Department of Interior
• National Interagency Fire Center(NIFC)
• National Forest Service
• Bureau of Land Management
• United States Geological Survey

14
Data Collection Platforms reporting through the
GOES DCS in North and Central America
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Why is the STIWG concerned about the GOES DCS?

• No formal commitment by NOAA to operate the GOES
  DCS.
• For a system this important, the current GOES DCS
  has vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.
• Processing system is in need of major upgrades.
• Reception system at Wallops Island has no backup.
• COO plan is not comprehensive.
• GOES DCS is considered an ancillary system which
  means certain types of failures could be
  tolerated by NOAA.

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What this indicates to the STIWG

• The STIWG members believe that, institutionally,
  NOAA/NESDIS does not fully appreciate the
  importance of this system for environmental
  monitoring.

17
What the STIWG has done to mitigate some of the
concerns

• Hardware upgrades to reception system
• Contributed funding to upgrade some components of
  the system.
• Backup system
• Started the development of an Emergency Data
  Distribution Network (EDDN) at the Center for
  EROS in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
• System will include a receive system for both
  GOES East and West satellites
• System will be operated by USGS with support from
  NESDIS and other STIWG agencies.

18
Why this is not enough

• No formal commitment to continue the operations
  of the GOES DCS.
• No known formal GOES DCS strategic plan for the
  continued operations of the GOES DCS including
• System upgrades
• Funding support
• No clear strategy for mitigating the effects of
  the failure of critical components.

19
What the STIWG Wants from ACWI

• Support for recommendations in the following
  areas
• Continuity of Operations
• Strategic Planning
• Priority of System

20
Recommendations for Continuity of Operations

• Recommendation 1
• NOAA/NESDIS should develop a comprehensive COO
  plan for the GOES DCS including a strategy for
  the loss of each critical component of the
  system.
• Recommendation 2
• NOAA/NESDIS should continue to work with the
  STIWG to closely integrate the Emergency Data
  Distribution Network being developed at EROS with
  the existing GOES DCS reception sites.

21
Recommendation for Strategic Planning

• Recommendation 3
• NOAA/NESDIS, with the collaboration of the STIWG,
  should develop a strategic plan that includes
• System life cycle planning
• Sources of funding for upgrades and operations
• More formal relationships with the users to
  delineate roles and responsibilities.

22
Recommendation forPriority of GOES DCS

• Recommendation 4
• NOAA/NESDIS should recognize the importance of
  the GOES DCS and elevate its status to a high
  priority system with the support this status
  implies.

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Summary

• The STIWG believes that the GOES DCS has been and
  continues to be an essential resource for
  real-time data collection.
• Agencies have made large investments in internal
  systems that absolutely depend on it.
• The extended loss of data from the GOES DCS would
  adversely effect the nations ability to forecast
  floods, effectively operate flood-control dams
  and levees, or issue flood warnings and
  evacuation notices.
• The GOES DCS needs to be treated as a
  high-priority system within NOAA.

24
Conclusion

• The GOES DCS has operated well but as a
  background system that many praise and all assume
  will always be there.
• However, operationally it is still viewed as a
  low-priority system and has vulnerabilities that
  need attention.
• The ACWI, by supporting the STIWG's
  recommendations, will greatly assist in beginning
  the development of the necessary support for the
  GOES DCS to insure that it will always be there.