MADIS Successfully Transitioned from Research to Operations
The collaborative effort between the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Earth System Research Laboratory Global Systems Division, the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Science and Technology, the NWS National Centers for Environmental Prediction Central Operations, and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) National Climatic Data Center culminated in the Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) being declared operational on Wednesday January 21, 2015. MADIS was established in 2001 to prototype new access, integration, quality control, and distribution techniques for real-time observation data. MADIS provides easy access to quality-controlled data from a wide variety of observing infrastructures that is standardized, more accurate, and higher density. These data will help improve climate and weather model assimilation and verification, weather applications, and weather products.
To create a finer density higher quality NOAA global observational database and delivery system, MADIS developed partnerships with international, federal, state, and local agencies; universities; volunteer networks; and the private sector to integrate observations from their stations with those of NOAA. MADIS currently partners with over 160 non-NOAA providers.
MADIS observational products and services were first provided to the public in July of 2001 and consisted of close to 250,000 observations a day from surface and upper air stations. MADIS mesonet sites surpassed 20,000 in 2006 and now consist of over 64,000 unique sites. The site count continues to grow. Today, MADIS provides access to over 7 million observations a day from NOAA observational sites and non-NOAA providers. In 2005, talks started between NWS and OAR to move MADIS to operations within the NWS. In 2008, a Letter of Agreement (LOA) was signed by NWS and OAR for the transition. In September of 2010, MADIS achieved Initial Operating Capability (IOC) at NWS. Lessons learned from the IOC systems led to the drafting of a new LOA that was signed by NWS, NESDIS, and OAR in May of 2012 and provided the pathway to realize an operational MADIS.
MADIS, through partnerships with non-NOAA providers, is helping to fill data gaps in NOAA's observational systems which helps improve NOAA's climate and weather modeling and verification efforts and the NWS' forecast applications and product services. MADIS' data integration, quality control, and standardized delivery services provide the greater meteorological community an easy to use, standardized, high quality observational database and delivery system for use with their applications and decision support process. MADIS helps to improve NOAA's ability to protect life and property.
Contact information:
Greg Pratt
303-497-7237
Greg.Pratt@noaa.gov
