1. Forecasting NOAA’s Future Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans & Atmosphere D.C. Chapter of AMS February 27, 2006 Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans & Atmosphere D.C. Chapter of AMS February 27, 2006

2. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 2 Menu NOAA Vision & Mission Current Events NOAA Opportunities

3. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 3 NOAA’s Vision An informed society that uses a comprehensive understanding of the role of the oceans, coasts and atmosphere in the global ecosystem to make the best social and economic decisions

4. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 4 NOAA’s Mission & Goals To understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and to conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet the Nation’s economic, social and environmental needs Mission Goals: Protect, restore, and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through an ecosystem approach to management Understand climate variability and change to enhance society’s ability to plan and respond Serve society’s needs for weather and water information Support the Nation’s commerce with information for safe, efficient, and environmentally sound transportation Provide critical support for NOAA’s mission

5. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 5 Current Events NOAA Budget Hurricane Response Science in the Media

6. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 6 NOAA Budget ($ in Billions)

7. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 7 Current Environment Appropriations Reorganization a Surprise NOAA will now be considered by both the Senate and House subcommittees with: =$16.5B FY ‘06 budget request =$5.6B FY ’06 budget request =$3.6B FY ’06 budget request Although budget allocations should cover all of the requests, it is ultimately up to the Subcommittees to divvy up the money

8. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 8 Summary by Line Office $ in millions Line OfficeFY 06 Enacted FY 07 Current Program Net Program Increase FY 07 President’s Budget Percent Change (over Current Program) NOS$590.5$369.1$44.1$413.111.9% NMFS$811.5$656.6$81.1$737.712.4% OAR$379.6$310.4$38.2$348.712.3% NWS$848.2$838.4$43.5$881.95.2% NESDIS$952.2$916.4$117.4$1,033.912.8% PS/Other$491.0$385.1$21.0$406.15.5% Total$3,911.5$3,338.8$345.4$3,684.110.3% *Total includes financing adjustments

9. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 9 Hurricane Response One NOAA response Forecasts Wetland assessment (satellites) Citation flights – digital imagery NRTs – NOAA Ships Oil spill response Environmental assessment cruises August 31, 2005 provided by NOAA Levee break

10. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 10 Science in the Media Max Mayfield Robert Ricks NWS Lead Meteorologist, Gerry Bell

11. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 11 NOAA Opportunities GEOSS NWS Tiger Teams NOAA Education

12. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 12 NOAA NOAA’s mission is complex, involving biological, chemical, and physical issues—all intertwined. Large-scale (regional to global) multidisciplinary studies are necessary to achieve understanding of our environment. A collective NOAA is critical to completing our mission and solving the major environmental challenges that face our nation and planet.

13. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 13 GEOSS Integrated Observations & Data Management

14. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 14 GEO Moves Forward Working Towards Implementation Received approval for formal GEO organization and 10-year implementation plan Held GEO-I in May 2005, and GEO-II in December 2005  New GEO Secretariat Director, Jose Achache  Agreed to 2006 Work Plan and adopted a budget  Formally created GEO Committees  GEONETCast as tangible near term project to implement GEOSS  United States announced intention to move GOES satellite to a position to help offset the lack of sounder data over South America

15. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 15 USGEO Near-Term Opportunities USGEO focusing on 6 Near-Term Opportunities Disasters Drought / National Integrated Drought Information System Land Observation Air Quality Sea Level Data Management Currently developing plans for all the Near-Term opportunities Will be available for public review in the next several months

16. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 16 Near Term Opportunity Disasters—Tsunami Warning System USGEO Near-Term Opportunity Improved tsunami and coastal inundation forecast and warning capability GEO Near-Term Effort Working Group on Tsunami Activities continuing to provide integration observation requirements to the Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning System effort

17. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 17 Near Term Opportunity National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Identifies critical gaps in the nation’s infrastructure, which inhibit our ability to most effectively reduce the impact of drought Early opportunities to address gaps include: Improvements in the frequency, timeliness, and density of key observations Creation of an Internet portal to provide a drought early warning system Establishment of a NIDIS operations office to ensure optimization of existing Federal, state, local and private sector observations and information delivery Tracks to GEOSS and IEOS benefit areas Water Resource Management Disasters Sustainable Agriculture Climate Variability and Change

18. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 18 Near Term Opportunity Land Observing Identifies three enhancements that would be the basis of a functional GLOS: Mid-decadal global data set of high resolution (30m) satellite imagery in 2006 Global land data base at high resolution (30m) and the seasonal collection of such data (i.e., continuity of Landsat-type observations) Extension of a network (Global Integrated Trends Analysis Network) that combines ground data and earth observations from aircraft and space to evaluate land cover trends Tracks to GEOSS and IEOS benefit areas: Terrestrial Ecosystems Climate Variability and Change Disasters Biodiversity Sustainable Agriculture/Combating Desertification

19. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 19 Near Term Opportunity Air Quality Noting that more than one-third of the U.S. population lives in areas that have unhealthy air quality (AQ), causing an estimated tens of thousands of deaths and costing society more than $100B, this plan identifies need for: Integrated Observation-Model Air Quality Fields Systems for Utilizing Observations to Improve AQ Forecasts Assessments of Key Air Quality Processes Improved Emissions Inventories Improved International Transport Assessments Tracks to GEOSS and IEOS benefit areas: Human Health Weather Forecasting Climate Variability and Change

20. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 20 NWS Tiger Teams IT Consolidation Team Concept of Operations Prototype Team Aviation Demonstration Team

21. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 21 NOAA Education NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Grants (new in 2005) Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program (new in 2005) 110 students coming this summer! 2006 applications due out this spring! Interagency Ocean Education Coordination (new in 2006) Expand NOAA’s Authority for Education NOAA Organic Act – build on education authorization in the 2006 appropriations bill

22. Forecasting NOAA's Future—AMS DC Chapter 22 The Future is Bright! NOAA is: An Effective, Successful Organization With World-wide Recognition Composed of Talented, Experienced & Dedicated People Critical to Meeting the Nation’s & the World’s Economic & Environmental Challenges Organizationally Positioned to Provide Leadership Where Science Gains Value

23. Questions?