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UCP Director Bill Kuo shared his gratitude for the efforts and achievements made by the UCAR Community Programs this year. Excerpts from his year-end highlights are below.

Center for Ocean Leadership Made Significant Strides

In 2023, the Center for Ocean Leadership at UCP made significant strides in its new home, including transferring awards from the former Consortium to UCAR and expanding its team. 

The NOSB team initiated a needs assessment, prepared for regional competitions in winter 2024, and introduced NOSB-based assignments on Scoutlier, a Navy-supported education platform. The Center for Ocean Leadership also organized webinars covering various topics for UG2, National Harmful Algal Bloom Network (NHABON), and Observing Air-Sea Interaction Strategy (OASIS). Additionally, they played a key role in events like the Ocean Visions Summit, the Marine Technology Society Oceans 2023 meeting, and the National Ocean Partnership Program Marine Life Forum.

Meetings organized by the Center for Ocean Leadership included the first Argos users group meeting for the Animal Telemetry Network, the annual Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Data Management and Cyberinfrastructure (DMAC) meeting, the EuroSea Legacy Workshop, and spring and fall meetings of the IOOS Association.

Finally, an exciting development for the Center for Ocean Leadership has been the Memorandum of Understanding executed between the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind and UCAR, through which the Center for Ocean Leadership will take on the program management of a fund for research into the impacts of offshore wind on wildlife and ecosystems. 

COSMIC Achievements in Advanced Satellite Data Analysis and Collaboration

COSMIC is proud to highlight a series of significant accomplishments achieved in 2023. These accomplishments have advanced the field of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) remote sensing and expanded the availability and utility of valuable weather and space weather data products.

One of the standout accomplishments was the successful organization and hosting of a GNSS Remote Sensing Colloquium in June of 2023. The colloquium was attended by 45 students and included lectures by experts from around the world covering GNSS fundamentals, remote sensing techniques, and neutral atmosphere, ionosphere, and land/ocean surface science applications.

The COSMIC Data Analysis and Archive Center (CDAAC) continues to process data from multiple radio occultation satellite missions in near real-time and post-processing modes and makes data available on a free and open basis. In 2023, CDAAC users downloaded more than 200TB of data from us. The COSMIC team is involved in the operations, processing, and science applications of the COSMIC-2 mission which provides high quality products to operational centers and the atmospheric science community (nearly 8 million neutral atmosphere profiles and over 12 million total electron content tracks since launch in 2019). COSMIC also continues to support the use and evaluation of commercial satellite data for operational and science activities. This year we supported NOAA and NASA projects focusing on GNSS radio occultation and reflectometry. COSMIC continues to pursue excellence in GNSS based Earth remote sensing.
 

JCSDA Exciting and Groundbreaking 2023

JCSDA made waves with the release of Skylab versions 4, 5, and 6, introducing a wave of exciting new features and enhancing the software infrastructure. In a groundbreaking collaboration with NOAA EMC and EPIC, the team unveiled Spack-stack 1.5.0 in late September, marking the inaugural version embraced by UFS. The CRTM team released version 3.0 with exciting new features like full polarization solver capability and multiple aerosol species, and also published a paper in BAMS. The Boulder team collaborated with the UK Met Office added control pert EDA capability in OOPS and workflow, both virtually and through an in-person visit to Boulder by the Met Office's Kate Huxtable. The team also added experimental support for JEDI+NEPTUNE and full support for JEDI+FV3/UFS/MPAS/UM.

At this year's JCSDA workshop we ran a live demo for GFS, MPAS and GFS-AERO Skylab, the very first live Skylab demo! More exciting in-person collaboration occurred at the October relaunch week, where the accomplishments of Skylab v6 were analyzed and big plans were made for Skylab v7.

The operational acceptance test success for JEDI UFO (Unified Forward Operator) by both NASA GMAO data assimilation team and the UK Met Office signifies a monumental milestone towards the operational launch of JEDI!

Unidata Ambitious Year of Achievements

Unidata unleashed its ambitious 5-year core-funding proposal to NSF with a flourish in late October. Titled "Unidata Reimagined: New Approaches to Community Data Services," the proposal is a dynamic manifestation of the Unidata Strategic Plan, forged earlier this year. 
Elevating engagement, the proposal aims to collaborate extensively with MSIs, deliver cutting-edge AI-ready data services, and champion the cause of Convergence Science. This marks a thrilling chapter in Unidata's evolution!

Another highlight for Unidata in 2023 was the Unidata Users Workshop, which took place June 5-8 Boulder, Colorado and online. The theme of the workshop was Storytelling with Earth Systems Science Data: Challenges and Opportunities for Effective, Ethical, and Reproducible Science, The Unidata Users Committee hosted the workshop to advance our collective ability to tell effective and ethical stories using Earth System Science Data. The challenge of storytelling with our data was infused throughout the event; 93 workshop attendees ranging from graduate students to senior scientists explored ways to communicate the meaning of scientific ideas in effective and ethical ways, using a variety of different kinds of data, and taking advantage of new tools like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML).

In another accomplishment, Unidata made another round of  Community Equipment Awards for 2023. Created under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation, Unidata equipment awards are intended to encourage new members from diverse disciplinary backgrounds in the geosciences to join the Unidata community, and to encourage existing members to continue their active participation, enhancing the community process.

COMET's Dynamic Year of Milestones

In an exhilarating year of growth and accomplishments, COMET achieved significant milestones, reinforcing its commitment to excellence in education, training, and meteorological advancements. Within Strategic Triumphs COMET completed a new strategic plan with a revamped vision, mission, and priorities. They launched the Streamgage Basics Course for USGS hydrologic technicians. Through innovative partnerships COMET teamed up with Girls Who Chase for a successful Storm Chasing Spring Training workshop. The team launched the new Education and Training web pages on MetEd, enhancing accessibility. 

The International Capacity Development Team conducted 3D-PAWS training globally, from Barbados and Bangladesh to the Dominican Republic and Kenya and hosted a 3-day storm surge workshop for met services in the Caribbean and Central America. These achievements underscore COMET's dedication to advancing meteorological education, fostering global collaboration, and driving innovation in the field.

GLOBE's Remarkable Year in Review

As we reflect on the dynamic events of the past year, GLOBE has demonstrated unparalleled success and engagement across various initiatives including a proposal submission to NASA for UCAR to continue to host the GLOBE Implementation Office for the next five years. Here's a condensed overview of the highlights:

The GLOBE Program celebrated its 28th anniversary with an Earth Day broadcast, featuring greetings from student vloggers and addresses from esteemed sponsors. The broadcast showcased students' favorite activities using GLOBE protocols and promoted tools like the GLOBE Observer Land Cover tool. The 2023 International Virtual Science Symposium achieved tremendous success, featuring 253 projects from 27 countries. The GLOBE Student Vloggers continued to provide weekly video blog (vlog) posts and doubled in size due to increased popularity showcasing student research, favorite GLOBE protocols, and cultural insights Finally, we were thrilled to welcome the GLOBE community to the first in-person annual meeting in four years from July 17-20 in Denver and at the NCAR Mesa Lab.

In summary, GLOBE's achievements in 2023 underscore its commitment to education, environmental awareness, and global collaboration. As we look ahead, we anticipate continued success and impact in the years to come.

SciEd's Year of Achievements

As SciEd reflects on the past year, there's much to celebrate, marking significant accomplishments in education, outreach, and innovation. On November 28, 2023, SciEd commemorated the one-year anniversary of the NSF NCAR Mesa Lab Visitor Center's reopening after the pandemic closure with educational programs and visitor numbers having rebounded, returning to levels close to those seen before the pandemic. Super Science Saturday made a lively in-person return in November 2023, attracting 1,450 visitors to the NSF NCAR Mesa Lab Visitor Center. 

The United States Library of Congress selected SciEd's History of Climate Science Research webpage for inclusion in the Climate Change Web Archive. Alexis Lee, NSF SOARS Protégé, received the 2023 SACNAS Outstanding Research Award for Student Presentations. Kadidia Thiero, NSF SOARS PI/Program Lead, received the 2023 Women of Color in STEM for Educational Leadership – Corporate Promotion of Education Award.

As SciEd concludes a remarkable year, these achievements underscore its commitment to education, outreach, and advancing diversity in STEM fields. The team looks forward to continuing its impactful work in the coming years.

CPAESS: Nurturing Excellence in STEM Scholars

In the pursuit of fostering the next generation of STEM scholars, SPS | CPAESS proudly introduces the WINGS Dissertation Fellowship to its educational offerings. This fellowship, under the Weather Program Office (WPO) Innovation for Next Generation Scientists (WINGS), supports Ph.D. candidates embarking on their dissertation journey. 

Over the past year, SPS | CPAESS embarked on a nationwide journey, engaging with staff and discussing CPAESS's supervisory structure modernization project. Notably, during a visit to the National Hurricane Center's Storm Surge Unit, their team's exceptional work during Hurricane Idalia drew attention at the highest levels of government. President Biden himself was photographed examining products developed by CPAESS staff, acknowledging their invaluable contributions.

Among the standout accomplishments, Dr. Benjamin Trabing, CPAESS Associate Scientist, had his research published in Weather and Forecasting. Titled "The Development and Evaluation of a Tropical Cyclone Probabilistic Landfall Forecast Product," the study delves into the uncertainty surrounding storm intensity, enriching our understanding of hurricane predictions. CPAESS looks forward to furthering its mission of excellence in scientific scholarship and innovation.