NOAA
National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
STC provides data stewardship services to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)in Silver Spring, MD. Data stewardship services include: data visualization using Live Access Server tool, Long term preservation of and access to archived data, and developing utilities to ingest and document video and imagery data. STC also provides scientific data processing, data management, and archive functions for NCEI's base mission and special projects as well. An example of a special project is the Coral Reef Information System, or CoRIS. STC staff designed, developed and implemented the CoRIS, which is a web-based portal providing access to products from NOAA coral ecosystem research, monitoring, and management activities, with emphasis on the US States, territories, and remote islands area.
Office of Science and Technology Integration, National Weather Service (STI, NWS)
STC provides program management services to the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Science and Technology Integration (STI) Modeling programs responsible for planning and funding a variety of NWS modeling and research initiatives to improve weather forecasts. This is accomplished by managing multiple weather prediction projects including the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program (HFIP) which coordinates hurricane research to significantly improve guidance for hurricane track, intensity, and storm surge forecasts; and the Next Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS) which accelerates and advances current research to extend forecast skill beyond 8-10 days, and will be the NWS new weather-scale, fully-coupled numerical weather prediction system.
Additional projects supported by STC include the National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC), an end-to-end air quality forecast capability to develop and implement operational air quality forecast guidance for the United States with current operational predictions including ozone, smoke, dust and fine particulate matter at the surface; and the Consumer Option for an Alternative System to Allocate Losses (COASTAL) Act which will provide detailed “post-storm assessments” in the aftermath of a damaging tropical cyclone that strikes the U.S. or its territories. STC also provides programmatic services to the Weeks 3-4 Program building a reforecast and reanalysis capability, and supporting applied research in the sub-seasonal forecast range to extend weather forecasts and outlooks from two weeks out to the sub-seasonal time-scale.
STC also plays a significant role in supporting the NWS Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) to accelerate and transition numerical weather prediction innovations into operational forecast systems for diverse prediction applications such as short & long-term weather, hurricane, and air quality. STC provides effective management and systems engineering to integrate multidisciplinary and multiorganizational teams for efficient implementation of weather models critical to forecasters and decision makers."
Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL)
STC supports the mission of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) located at the David Skaggs Research Center (DSRC) in Boulder , Colorado, and NOAA components in other geographic areas by providing talent and experience in the form of specialized administrative, budgetary, engineering, and scientific program support services. Administrative, program, and budget support works integrally with ESRL and its four divisions, arranging travel, tracking and analyzing budgets, drafting correspondence and reports, processing reimbursable agreements, arranging conferences, acquiring goods and services, as well as real property management.
STC furnishes engineers with extensive experience with meteorological and scientific equipment who have a proven ability to lead a team of engineers. Engineering technicians troubleshoot software issues, provide technical support, assist with development, deployment, and operation of equipment, provide data analysis for infrasonic and air-sea interaction instruments, as well as laboratory and field experiments. Research scientists collaborate on various tasks related to extreme precipitation forecasts and water management operation, compare model forecasts, and conduct research tasks on the uses and values of Hydrometeorological Testbed (HMT) advanced data products for water management and flood control operations, as well as other weather forecasting products. In addition to ancillary, engineering, and scientific program support, STC supplies students to support a mentor and promote learning and similarity with basic research in a professional science organization, as well as STC consulting specialists to direct complex projects and provide analysis of techniques and approaches.
Office of Projects, Planning, and Analysis
STC provides engineering services in support of the NOAA/NESDIS Office of Projects, Planning, and Analysis (OPPA). OPPA’s mission is to execute flight projects, domestic and international partnerships, and data exploitation initiatives, in order to implement evolutionary improvement to satellite systems, enable expansion of international space cooperation, and improve space-based earth and solar observations capabilities. OPPA focuses on important and innovative projects, executed with domestic, international, and commercial partnerships in order to meet NOAA observation requirements. As part of this responsibility, the Office administers a comprehensive requirements identification and analysis process, and translates requirements for data, products, and services into flight projects, exploitation, and partnerships. Although STC work is broad in scope across the office, STC staff primarily serve as project engineers for OPPA projects and partnerships that are either late in formulation, or in the implementation phase of the satellite acquisition process. We provide integral engineering support to government PMs who have technical oversight authority and responsibility to assure that all components and aspects of flight programs are executed according to technical requirements and schedule.