Aerospace Plans Strategy to Automate Weather Data Network

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.  (5/19/03) -- Aerospace is taking part in early planning for the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program-Modernization, or COOP-M, which will upgrade and automate the nation's oldest and largest weather observation network.

The COOP network comprises nearly 12,000 sites across the United States and Puerto Rico. The network was established in 1890 to collect temperature, precipitation and other meteorological data for climate applications related to agriculture and water resources. Uses of the data have expanded to include operational weather forecasting, flood prediction, water and energy management, air-quality forecasting, and measurement of long-term climate changes.

The network functions primarily through the efforts of volunteer site operators who submit data monthly by fax or mail to local weather-forecasting stations and the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Data collection and submission has mostly been manual for more than a century.

Quality control and data verification can take up to six months as well. "So you can imagine there is a real interest in speeding up and automating some of these processes," said Leslie Belsma, a project engineer in The Aerospace Corporation's Meteorological Satellite Systems division. Belsma is the

Aerospace program plan lead for COOP-M, which will spend $160 million to completely upgrade and automate the network from late 2004 through 2010.

COOP-M will improve the network's spatial density, distribution, communications and processing capabilities. "Ultimately the network will have new automated temperature, precipitation, soil-moisture and river-level sensors; near real-time data collection, quality control and dissemination; automated flashflood reporting; and interactive data terminals to collect both automated and manual observations," said Don Boucher, senior staff meteorologist and the Aerospace system architect for the project.

Aerospace is getting the acquisition portion of the program off the ground, developing program requirements, a program plan, and an acquisition strategy. Concept definition and prototype selection and production will take place over the next year-and-a-half. The COOP-M program is slated to begin in October 2004.

For more information visit the Cooperative Observer Program Web site.