World Area Forecast System (WAFS) (DSI-9939)
Entry ID:
gov.noaa.ncdc.C00543
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Summary
Abstract:
World Area Forecast System (WAFS) is digital data set DSI-9939, archived at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). WAFS is a system for the world wide broadcast of aviation related weather information via satellite. It is a joint effort of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NOAA/National Weather Service (NWS), with additional ... contributions from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Kingdom, Finland, Canada, and others. The WAFS global satellite broadcasts have been operational since 1996. NCDC has data available since 2002.The WAFS communications are through commercial satellites--NOAA uses INTELSAT VI, the communications satellite that the Space Shuttle astronauts rescued in order to provide it with the rocket motor required to reach geostationary orbit, to broadcast to the Americas; and INTELSAT V over the Pacific and eastern Asia. The United Kingdom uses a satellite over the Indian Ocean, to reach Europe, Africa, and the rest of Asia. NOAA is also cooperating with the WMO to provide satellite communications of meteorological observations and forecasts from the members of the southern part of WMO Region IV (the Caribbean and Central America). This system is called the Region IV Meteorological Telecommunication Network (RMTN). The RMTN uses the Intelsat VI satellite, and is managed by MCI/WorldCom, Inc. for NOAA. NOAA's set of satellite communications services includes the WAFS and the RMTN, which are known collectively as the International Satellite Communication System (ISCS).The U.S. system being implemented in the respective countries comprises a Very Small Aperture (Antenna) Terminal (VSAT), which consists of a dish antenna of 2.4 meters diameter, and a computer work station. The NOAA/National Weather Service is managing the contracts for the purchase of the equipment and services, and has donated the equipment for over 40 sites in the Americas, Pacific, and eastern Asia. The recurring costs of the broadcast through the satellite are being paid by the U.S. FAA.NOAA's World Data Center Washington collects aviation-related observations, forecasts, and other messages from the WMO's Global Telecommunication System (GTS), and adds charts and computer forecasts of temperature, winds, humidity, and other elements over the entire globe. These products are transferred as soon as they are available to MCI/WorldCom, Inc. (the communications contractor), who puts them into the WAFS satellite broadcast stream immediately.The alphanumeric data that could be delivered to a meteorological station via the old communications system in an hour can now be received in less than a minute. In addition, the WAFS system provides, in a couple of hours, special digital data files for world-wide aviation forecasts that would take days to deliver on the old system. 
Purpose:
To make a wide range of climatic data available to researchers and the public.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: data set
CURRENTNESS REFERENCE: Ground Condition
Related URL
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Description:
View Source Metadata document from the Metadata Manager and Repository (NMMR).
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Geographic Coverage
(Click for Interactive Map)
Spatial coordinates
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N: 90.0
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S: -90.0
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E: 180.0
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W: -180.0
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Quality
THE DATA AND RELATED MATERIALS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE LIMITED WARRANTY,
AND THE LICENSEE EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE DATA CONTAINS SOME
NONCONFORMITIES, DEFECTS, OR ERRORS. THERE IS NO WARRANT THAT THE
DATA WILL MEET LICENSEE'S NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS; THAT THE USE OF THE
DATA WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED; OR THAT ALL NONCONFORMITIES, DEFECTS, OR
ERRORS CAN OR WILL BE CORRECTED.
Access Constraints
Required to Use CD-ROM Data Set: ArcView Data Publisher 3.1 works in Windows NT
4, Windows 2000, or Windows 95/98/ME and requires an industry-standard personal
computer with a Pentium microprocessor, at least 24 MB of RAM (64 MB
recommended), and 34 MB hard disk space (600 MB recommended).
...
Required to Use DVD Data Set: ArcView Data Publisher 3.1 works in Windows NT 4,
Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows 95/98/ME and requires at least a Pentium
microprocessor and at least 64 MB RAM, and 34 MB hard disk space (10 GB
recommended). THIS DISK IS A DVD-ROM AND REQUIRES A DVD-ROM DRIVE. The disk
will NOT work in CD-ROM drives.
Use Constraints
USG, AGI, ESRI,
AND/OR ITS LICENSOR(S) SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF
SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOST PROFITS, LOST SALES, OR BUSINESS
EXPENDITURES, INVESTMENTS, OR COMMITMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH ANY
BUSINESS; LOSS OF ANY GOODWILL; OR FOR ANY INDIRECT, ... SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS
AGREEMENT OR USE OF THE DATA AND RELATED MATERIALS, HOWEVER CAUSED, ON
ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, AND WHETHER OR NOT ESRI OR ITS LICENSOR(S)
HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. THESE LIMITATIONS
SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY
EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.
Data Set Progress
IN WORK
Distribution
Distribution Media:
CD-ROM
Distribution Size:
34 MB
Distribution Format:
GIS
Fees:
$29.95 per CD-ROM
Distribution Media:
DVD
Distribution Format:
GIS
Fees:
$180.00 per DVD
Personnel
Role:
DIF AUTHOR
Phone:
(301) 614-6898
Fax:
301-614-5268
Email:
Tyler.B.Stevens at nasa.gov
Contact Address:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Global Change Master Directory
City:
Greenbelt
Province or State:
MD
Postal Code:
20771
Country:
USA
Role:
DATA CENTER CONTACT
Phone:
928-556-7126
Email:
thare at usgs.gov
Contact Address:
U.S. Geological Survey, Astrogeology Team
2255 N. Gemini Dr.,
City:
Flagstaff
Province or State:
AZ
Postal Code:
86001
Country:
USA
Publications/References
D. Galuska, M. Gishey, S. hamlin, T. Joyle, B. Redding, S. Dudask,
K. Tribbett, K. Ross,, D. Sherrill, C, Lamer, and P. Tsushima, ESRI
Virtual Campus.
Creation and Review Dates
DIF Creation Date:
2002-11-01
Last DIF Revision Date:
2011-11-22
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