Clarus Nationwide Surface Transportation Weather Observing

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ClarusNationwide Surface Transportation Weather
Observing Forecasting System

Mike Campbell Program Manager NOAA Surface
Weather Program U.S. Department of Commerce
James Pol, PE ITS Coordinator ITS Joint Program
Office U.S. Department of Transportation
VII Working Group Briefing December 8, 2004
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Purpose of Clarus

• Establish a network for exchanging surface
  transportation weather observations
• Craft models and decision support tools that
  apply the harnessed data
• Overcome current geographic and temporal gaps

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Where we are now

• Concept of Operations Development
• Identified user needs
• Developing Operational Scenarios
• General Information requirements
• System Design Procurement
• Proposals due next month
• Completion within 20 months
• http//www.clarusinitiative.org

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Clarus Use Cases Operational Scenarios

• Roadway Maintenance Treatment Function
• Traffic Operations Function
• Travel Information Function
• Transit Management Function
• Local Emergency and Disaster Management Function
• Railroad Carrier Operations Function
• Commercial Vehicle Operation Function
• NOAA/Federal Weather Function

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High-level Logical View
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VII Impact on Overcoming Gaps

• Three fundamental deficiencies today
• Lack of transportation system relevant weather
  observations
• Lack of understanding on how to apply weather
  information in decision making
• Lack of capabilities for predicting and/or
  assessing surface level weather phenomena
• VII opens the opportunity for empirical data
  gathering not possible otherwise

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VII Impact on Decision Making

• VII enables enhanced response and planning
  through improvements to weather observations,
  models, and predictions
• Microscale events for immediate response(e.g.,
  black ice, fog banks) conveyed in seconds to
  minutes
• Mesoscale events for tactical response (e.g.,
  thunderstorms, flash floods) forecast in minutes
  to hours
• Synoptic scale events for strategic response
  (e.g. blizzards, floods, heat) forecast in hours
  to days

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NOAA Priorities

• Identify valid user needs that cannot be met with
  existing capabilities
• Increase and improve information and services
  that support transportation systems
• Work with partners to conduct research and
  development in weather and positioning
• Improve the transition of research into
  operations
• Align activities and partner with the FHWA to
  maximize benefits of VII

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Challenges

• Overcoming paradox of VII deployment
• Urban focus on traffic safety
• Rural impacts of weather are often more severe,
  yet coverage will remain limited
• Making sense of the observations
• Volume (filtering, prioritization)
• Geographic distribution
• Quality assurance
• Anonymity of data
• Coordination with NOAAs Integrated Surface
  Observing System

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Contacts

• Mike Campbell, NOAA, Surface Weather
  Programmike.campbell_at_noaa.gov
• James Pol, ITS Joint Program Officejames.pol_at_fhwa
  .dot.gov
• Paul Pisano, Office of Transportation
  Operationspaul.pisano_at_fhwa.dot.gov