GEONETCast AMERICAS GNCA Presentation 3 4 a NOAA

GEONETCast AMERICAS (GNC-A) Presentation 3. 4 a NOAA Satellite Conference – 2015 Paul Seymour NOAA/NESDIS/OSPO GEONETCast Americas Program Manager

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Agenda • Global GEONETCast • GEONETCast Americas Program Mission and Objectives • System Description • Recent Accomplishments – Products • Recent Accomplishments – Capacity Building & Training • Short and Long Term Goals

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Global GEONETCast • Distribution using communication satellites and low cost, self-contained, stand alone, offthe-shelf reception stations. • Provides near-global coverage with established data exchange between regional broadcasts. – CMA (CMACast, over Asia and parts of the Pacific) – EUMETSAT (EUMETCast, over Europe, Africa, and Americas) – NOAA (GEONETCast Americas, over the Americas and Caribbean) • EUMETSAT Product Navigator

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Mission and Objectives • GEONECast’s Mission: “Provide data distribution system within GEOSS by which environmental data and products will be transmitted to users through regional networks over communications satellites. ” • Objective: “Provide global information as a basis for sound decision making in critical areas”. – “Focus on areas of the world where high speed land lines and/or internet are not available or in regions where terrestrial communication lines have been disrupted by disasters. ” • Support GEOSS Societal Benefit Areas and WMO Region III/IV Satellite Data Requirements

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Broadcast Information • Commercial satellite service on Intelsat-21 at 58 degrees longitude • 2 megabits per second data rate • C-Band Broadcast utilizing DVB-S • Coverage of most of North America, Central and South America and the Caribbean • Transponder & server level admin & monitoring by vendor 24 X 7 X 365 Coverage Area: Purple Isolines

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Governance - Coordination Group • GNC-A Coordination Group open to all Partners, Providers, Users • Meetings via Webex with VOIP approximately quarterly • Standing committees with chairs and membership from Brazil, Argentina, Barbados, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, U. S. – Broadcast Management, Content, Users, Receive Stations – Committees meet on their own schedule

GEONETCast Americas GNC-A Re-focus of GNC-A Since NSC – 2013 • Users, Providers and Partners all have expressed a desire to have a EUMETCast-like service for the Americas (NSC-2013) • GNC-A moved to add value to the product suite – Decision made to add GOES-East sector imagery in GEOTIFF; an open standard widely used in the region – NWS ISCS Channels added to provide back-up to GIFS • Provide tutorials and visualization tools to add value • Revitalized GNC-A Coordination Group to increase participation by users and partners

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) GOES-East Full Disk in GEOTIFF • GOES-East Full Disk Imagery added in 2014 • North & South Hemisphere Sectors added in 2015 – Visible, Water Vapor (6. 5 µm), Infrared (10. 7 µm) – Full resolution – GEOTIFF format – Full Disk Every 3 hours – Sectors every 30 minutes

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) NWS / ISCS Satellite Broadcast • U. S. National Weather Service "International Services and Communication Systems" (ISCS) added to GNC-A April 20 • Timely collection and delivery of both time-critical and routine watches, warnings, observations and forecasts. • Primary delivery by FTP - GTS Internet File Service (GIFS) • Added to GNC-A as a satellite backup for their users • Possible conversion of some ISCS stations

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) El Salvador Hydro. Met Network • El Salvador began providing graphic GOES imagery and WRF model fields in 2014 • Deployed with an innovated method of viewing the products that GNC-A will explore as a tool • Products cover Central America; part of West Caribbean • Investigating the use of GOES GEOTIFFs replacing jpegs • 5 Stations installed

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Colombia Hydro. Met Network • Installed 5 GNC-A stations with approx. 6 more to go • Will use as a national network • Plans to use as a disaster response tool • Organizing training with NESDIS, USGEO and INPE • Assisting Chile with acquiring a station

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) INPE / Brazil Sigma. Cast Project • Develop an operational software based on JAVA and GIS Allows the user to visualize, analyze and combine layers • Geographical information system, desktop based, developed specifically for the GEONETCast users. • Training on receive stations and data content • Includes installation of 23 stations in Brazil in the regional centres (agreement already signed with the centers). – Installations and training already begun

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Capacity Building and Training 28 GNC stations online or under construction 99 EUMETCast and ~ 30 ISCS Stations Could Be Converted On line • Argentina (1) • Belize (1) • Brazil (6) • Colombia (5) • Costa Rica (4) • El Salvador (5) • Panama (1) • Venezuela (1) Under Construction • Barbados (1) • Guyana (1) • Haiti (1) • Mexico (1) Funded or Planned • Mexico (6) • Colombia (6) • Brazil (23) • Chile (1)

GEONECast Americas (GNC-A) Capacity Building and Training • Small but growing list of “National Networks” • Mentioned El Salvador and Colombia • Costa Rica with 4 stations at Hydro. Met and Airports – Operational Backup for Terrestrial telecommunications • Mexico with 1 station expanding to 6 or 7 stations • Brazil with 6 stations expanding to 29 stations – With one in each regional center • Data From The Region For the Region

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Capacity Building and Training • Vlab Train the Trainer at NSC 2013 • Followed by two Webex sessions • Virtual GEONETCast Event, Dec. 2013, English and Spanish • NESDIS IIA and INPE Outreach and Training – Latin American Geospatial Forum, Mexico City, September 2014 – GEO Joint Africa-Asia Water Cycle Symposium, Tokyo, March 2014 • INPE GEONETClass on GEOTIFF with research experts • Train the Trainer session last weekend

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Short Term Initiatives • Priority - Develop a user-friendly interface to facilitate the visualization of products – Continue Collaboration with WMO Virtual Laboratory for Training and Education in Satellite Meteorology (VLab), INPE and other partners and providers to develop tutorial and tools • Increase outreach to better determine user needs • Outreach to Partners and Users to participate as providers and in governance – GNC-A Coordination Group

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Short Term Initiatives • Increase ability to use GNC-A in disaster response including carrying relevant Disaster Charter products • Work to add WMO Region III/IV Requirements while leaving room to support other societal benefit areas – Plan imagery product offering if GOES-R becomes GOES-East • Work toward at least one installation in each country (e. g. Hydro/Met, Disaster Response, Universities, Utilities – Other agencies serving Societal Benefit Areas – Demand should be accelerated by a coordinated improvement in the content and visualization tools

GEONETCast Americas (GNC-A) Long-Term Goals • Facilitate interoperability of data resources to facilitate re-use at global or regional scales • Engage stakeholders to address global & regional challenges • Foster regional cooperation to build capacity • Develop cooperation with Academic Institutions to foster product development and training expertise. • Deliver regional data and information • Strengthen relationship btwn GEO & member countries through building & reinforcement of regional GEO networks.