Consumer-Driven Data Delivery at the Oklahoma Mesonet

The Oklahoma Mesonet is a statewide environmental monitoring network operated jointly by Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. The Mesonet celebrated its 25^th anniversary in 2019. The most dramatic technology change in the last quarter century has been how data are consumed. Datasets were once distributed via physical media for use on servers and desktop computers. Those datasets are now available anywhere in the world at any time to an ever-increasing variety of computing devices. This expansive increase in data availability and computing power has fundamentally changed users’ expectations.

In the past, the meteorological data landscape was dominated by individual datasets in nonstandard formats that had to be transformed into other nonstandard formats for use with individual applications. Increasingly, the norm is to provide data that “just works” with tools across multiple domains, such as scientific computing, GIS, and consumer applications and devices. Furthermore, the consumers of meteorological data are increasingly non-human, e.g. a smart thermostat that can use real-time weather data to optimize its performance. Thus, providing data in standard formats essential.

The way users interact with data is also changing. Users expect the ability to customize the data they receive and how they view it. Even the meaning of “view” has changed as non-visual interaction has become ubiquitous in computing, for example voice assistants like Alexa and Siri, or devices for the visually impaired. While climate and weather services can continue to deliver static products to their users, they must also allow a path for users to create custom products from the underlying data.

Paradoxically, increased data availability can result in a decrease in useful information. The purpose of data is to deliver insight, usually with the goal of driving a decision. However, too much data can reduce the signal-to-noise ratio. A decision-support tool integrates data and expert knowledge to answer a specific set of questions in a format that the target audience can easily understand; consider an irrigation tool that combines agronomy with recent weather data to tell a user when and how much to water. Climate and weather services need to look at ways to provide actionable information to their target audiences, not just standard meteorological products.

This demonstration will showcase Oklahoma Mesonet products and services that are being developed to cater to these changing user demands.