Responsive to Mission, Embracing Innovation, and Building Robust Operations: New Approaches to Scientific Product Development

As the lead American agency for oceans and atmosphere, NOAA conjures an impressive array of Earth observations from satellites and in situ systems. With 17 satellites owned or operated by NOAA, and dozens more partner satellite data streams, the potential for developing information from these constellations is enormous, to say nothing of the wave of in situ systems that can be build into future operational schema. In order to maximize the value and impact of these constellations, the process of turning instrument observations sitting on orbit and in situ into useful information for decision makers on Earth is a critical enterprise. After all, once the brilliant teams launch the satellites and deploy the moorings, it is the products that NOAA stakeholders actually feel.

The breadth of NOAA’s mission from sustainable fisheries to hurricane forecasting demands a long list of satellite and in situ data products that are used to achieve specific mission objectives formulated to realize a Climate-Ready Nation and build the Blue Economy. This breadth makes it essential to carefully discern where to place the precious resources.

This talk will explore how NOAA is shifting its posture to an approach to product development centered on three important principles: (i) be responsive to specific NOAA Line Office mission objectives; (ii) support robust operations; and (iii) embrace innovation. This approach strives to balance these three domains and engage the board scientific community, NOAA operations for observations and mission execution, and key research programs to elevate the impact toward key goals like Climate Ready Nation and the Blue Economy.