Ongoing Framework for Collaborative Marine Information and Services Between NOAA/NWS and EC/MSC

1. Ongoing Framework for Collaborative Marine Information and Services Between NOAA/NWS and EC/MSC Update to the 2010 Bi-Lateral on Marine Services David Soroka NOAA/NWS/OCWWS/Marine and Coastal Services Branch National Marine Program Manager Products and Services Sub-Team Lead on Marine Bi-Lateral Steve Knott EC/MSC/Central Region/Ontario Storm Prediction Centre Program Supervisor 22nd U.S./Canada Great Lakes Operational Meteorology Workshop - May 13, 2014

2. EC-NOAA CooperationBi-lateral MOU – Signed 2008 • MSC/NWS Marine Forecast Collaboration is one of 4 areas identified (Arctic, Hydrology,Climate) • Began in the summer of 2010 • Cooperation Area – Marine Program Collaboration • Cooperation Area Leads: • Michel Jean (EC) • Jason Tuell (NWS) • Project Leads: • John Parker (MSC) • Carven Scott (NWS)

3. Purpose • Create a general process and implementation strategy to facilitate communication and forecast collaboration between the U.S. and Canada…specifically in marine forecast and warning collaboration, aligning services and the exchange of forecasting, science and training techniques.

4. Project Vision We envision an environment where improved collaborative efforts between the NWS and MSC focused on marine weather services will result in improved consistency and utility of services to our shared marine clients.

5. Three Keys to Success • Top cover in place: International MOU that covers marine collaboration. • Specific plan in place to enhance communication between the two services including goals/objectives. • Continue to enhance already ongoing activities and expand the ability for others to participate in ongoing and future activities.

6. Recent Timeline of Activity • Project renewal accepted by the Collaborative Steering Committee (CSC) in spring 2012; updated project document in draft since March 2014. • Phase 2 of the Marine Services Project reflected recommendations for focus areas from the Area Leads to work toward an improved collaborative framework between NWS and MSC that will deliver more useful, consistent marine warning and forecast services to assist customers in risk assessment and the decision support. • During Phase 3, over the next 4 years, we will look to extend the reach of the project into new areas of remote sensing and service models as well as exploring unified forecast databases and improving collaborative training opportunities. • A new task we plan to undertake during Phase 3 will look to characterize the use of ensembles in the marine environment.  In addition we will look to improve collaborative capabilities including a marine service portal, expand observational cooperation, as well as establishing a partnership with ongoing satellite proving ground activities.

7. Recent Activity: 2nd EC/NOAA Marine Collaboration Workshop: Halifax • Sub-team leads (3 on each side) and many Subject Matter Experts met in Halifax the week of February 10, 2014 • Outcome: updated Project Plan (2014-2018) • Topics addressed and to be worked on in coming years: • Freezing Spray Algorithms • Storm Surge Modeling/Prediction • Marine Boundary Layer • Scatterometry & Ocean Winds • Wave Measurements • Vessel Icing • Ensemble Prediction Systems • Applying Social Science to forecast services • Users from the Eastern Fisheries Federation provided valuable feedback on products and services

8. Collaborative Goals • Advance integrated science, skills, and products • Improve current forecast techniques, develop common training opportunities and develop new techniques • Focus common outreach and education activities • Enhance recognition of NOAA’s and EC’s knowledge and expertise in marine weather • Optimize existing technologies and resources considering future development plans • Create, leverage, and coordinate partnerships • Internally consistent services for customers

9. Specific Objectives • Align warning, performance, verification measurement criteria • Harmonize forecasting techniques • Promote routine coordination between forecast offices • Ensure consistency of forecast formats • Share “Best Practices” • Coordinate issuance times of forecasts • Coordinate internal communication capabilities • Investigate data sharing between production platforms (exchangeable data formats)

10. Outcomes and Deliverables: Phase 3 (2014-2018) 1. Products and Services: • Develop plan for a joint-collaborative workspace (cloud workspace).   • Create joint user/client profiles for each Marine Region. • Ensure that the outreach and customer service efforts with private industry are collaborative. • Harmonize the service offering and delivery issue times and definitions as best as possible or practical, or explain differences for Great Lakes. Further harmonization efforts in Atlantic and Pacific to follow. • Create and implement a unified Marine Services Portal utilizing information from our respective data warehouses  (e.g., Great Lakes Prototype, Arctic web presence). • Investigate current ensemble products through team of experts (including social scientists) and determine and document needs of marine community. • Investigate developing a Marine Spotter Program, initially in the Great Lakes allowing for direct input of weather observations and local effects. Other areas to follow.

11. Products and Services: For the Open Lakes Forecast • Harmonize the service offering and delivery issue times and definitions as best as possible or practical: • Comparison developed/meeting recently held • Proposal to shift times slightly of routine forecasts • Possibly go to three issuance per day on both sides • Add meters (and keep feet) on US Forecast • Looking at adjusting content to align more closely • Small craft advisory (US) vs Strong Wind Warning (EC) • Align Freezing Spray Threshold • Upcoming test of “tabular forecast”

12. Products and Services: Great Lakes Harmonization Decided as a first step to focus on the main Great Lakes forecasts. • FZUS6X KXXX from NWS • FQCNXX CWTO from MSC

13. Products and Services: Great Lakes Harmonization Possibly go to three issuance per day on both sides: • Current NWS issue times are 04:00, 10:00, 16:00 and 22:00 ET. • Current MSC issue times are 03:00, 10:30, and 18:30 ET.

14. Products and Services: Great Lakes Harmonization Proposal to shift times slightly of routine forecasts: Aiming for at most one hour apart. • The two morning forecasts are okay. Focus on the afternoon/evening. • Suggest NWS moves issue time from 16:00 to 17:00 and MSC moves issue time from 18:30 to 18:00. • Engage outreach to investigate and gauge client impact/reaction from media, coast guards, lake carriers and recreational boaters. • MSC need to realign desk duties on the Marine and other forecast desks.

15. Products and Services: Great Lakes Harmonization Contents of the forecasts: Units of wave height. • Harmonizing the contents of various forecasts is deemed the most challenging task. • Decided to start with units of wave height first. • NWS could potentially issue wave height forecast in both feet and meters, more easily than MSC with highly automated production tools. • Current NWS wave heights are given in feet of < 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. and ranges 1-2, 2-4, 3-5, 4-6 etc. • Current MSC wave heights are given in < 0.5m, 0.5m, 1m, 1.5m, 2m, 3m, 4m, 5m, etc. and ranges in increments of 0.5m for 0 to < 2 m, 1 m for 2 to < 4 m, 2 m for 5 to 9 m and 3 m for 10 to 15 m. • Richard Wagenmaker and Ron Lee will raise the issue with their respective organizations to gain support in general and align the wave height increments in both feet and meters more closely.

16. Products and Services: Great Lakes Harmonization Small craft advisory (NWS) vs Strong Wind Warning (MSC): This is the next task we want to tackle. • Current NWS Small Craft Advisory is issue as a seperate bulletin vs MSC Strong Wind Warning is embedded in the main Marine forecast as a “flag”. • NWS issues Small Craft Advisory when wind speed is between 18 to 33 knots and/or wave height is 4 ft. vs MSC Strong Wind Warning criteria of wind speed between 20 to 33 knots. • MSC Strong Wind Warning is seasonal (May 01 to Nov 30) while NWS Small Craft Advisory is based on ice cover.

17. Products and Services:Possible Tabular Open Lakes Forecast

18. Science, Training, and Operations: Great Lakes Harmonization Marine forecaster exchange program between NWS/MSC. • Brain Tilly from NWS Detroit office visited Ontario Storm Prediction Centre in 2012. • David Rodgers from Ontario Storm Prediction Centre visited Detroit NWS office in 2013. • Would like to continue the practice in the coming months and years with exchanges with other NWS Great lakes offices.

19. Products and Services:Cross Border Collaboration • Improving web interconnectivity • Clicking on other side of border from “home base” will lead to appropriate service forecast • Coordination of new offshore zones from OPC • Great Lakes gridded data available on Canadian side • Include text ice forecast on Great Lakes point/click • Integration of Great Lakes DSS information into National Marine Web Portal

20. Products and Services:Cross Border Outreach and Education • Presentation of NWS NOESS provided to MSC • Develop collaborative list and annual travel plan for meetings common to both sides. • Utilize and expand existing Wiki: originally began for training • Need more friendly “push” capability for system to be more interactive • MSC working on spreadsheet to share across border offices • List of “joint users” next step in process

21. Outcomes and Deliverables: Phase 3 (2014-2018) 2. Science, Training, and Operations • Freezing spray algorithm assessment. • Wave Run up/Set up project to share work on coastal inundation techniques and algorithms. • Develop a forecast tools and techniques warehouse (sharing locally produced Apps and algorithms). • Systematic expansion of NWSChat to remainder of border offices. • Explore other collaborative tools including whiteboarding, desktop sharing, geospatially-enabled sharing. • Work with the MetEd and NorthLat sites of COMET to exploit the marine training available and to influence the areas of improvement. • Deliver two joint seasonal webinars per year over the next 4 years of the project. • Expand a marine forecaster exchange program between NWS/MSC.

22. Outcomes and Deliverables: Phase 3 (2014-2018) 3. Technology and Data: • Investigate requirements for the interoperability of our agencies’ operational prediction systems (e.g., grids, GFE, forecast intervention). • Establish joint requirements for enhancing maritime observational networks. • Compare functionality of the MSC AVOS program with the Alaska Marine Exchange to find areas of synergy and potential expansion. • Foster collaboration with JPSS and GOES-R Proving Ground activities. • Foster improved collaboration between NEDSIS-RAMM and the CHC (Canadian Hurricane Centre) to improve the analysis and forecasting of high latitude tropical cyclone. • Collaborate SAR wind product development and production with emphasis on coordination and harmonization.

23. Next Steps • Marine Forecasting Project continues under the Bilateral Agreement • NOAA will rotate leadership through Line Offices every two years • NWS assumes leadership • Dr. Louis Uccellini - June 2014 to June 2016 • David Grimes permanent EC Co-Chair

24. Questions/Comments: Contact Information David Soroka Steve Knott david.soroka@noaa.gov steve.knott@ec.gc.ca THANK YOU!