M - O
NOMADS
To address a growing need for remote access to high volume numerical weather prediction and global climate models and data, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), along with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), initiated the NOAA Operational Model Archive and Distribution System (NOMADS) project. The NOMADS framework was developed to facilitate climate model and observational data inter-comparison issues as discussed in documents such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 1990, 1995, 2001) and the U.S. National Assessment (2000). NOMADS is being developed as a Unified Climate and Weather Archive to provide Web access to model information so that users can make decisions about their specific needs. This on time scales from days (weather), to months (El Nino), to decades (global warming). NOMADS also addresses model data access needs as outlined in the U.S. Weather Research Program (U! SWRP) Implementation Plan for Research in Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting and Data Assimilation to "redeem practical value of research findings and facilitate their transfer into operations." For more information see: The NOMADS Program Overview. NOMADS is a network of data servers using established and emerging technologies to access and integrate model and other data stored in geographically distributed repositories in heterogeneous formats. NOMADS enables the sharing and inter-comparing of model results and is a major collaborative effort, spanning multiple Government agencies and academic institutions. The data available under the NOMADS framework include model input and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) gridded output models from NCEP; and Global Climate Models (GCM) and simulations from GFDL and other leading institutions from around the world. The goals of NOMADS are to: 1.Improve access to NWP and GCM's datasets. 2.Improve the linkages between the research and operational modeling communities. 3.Foster collaborations between the climate and weather communities. Provide the observational data and model analysis initialization products for regional models. 4.Improve the verification process of forecast and climate models. Promote product development and collaborations within the geo-science communities (ocean, weather, and climate). 5.Provides cost effective pull technologies for "hyper-slabs" of high volume data sets. For more information on the NOMADS Project, link to http://nomads.ncdc.noaa.gov/ To view NOMADS presentation, link to http://nomads.gfdl.noaa.gov/nomads/slides/slide_1.html [Summary provided by NOAA]