NA24OARX459C0001↗

PURPOSE: EXTREME WEATHER CAUSES HUNDREDS OF DEATHS AND HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE ANNUALLY (PRIORITIES FOR WEATHER RESEARCH (PWR) REPORT). THE US IS EXPERIENCING ABOUT SIX TIMES AS MANY BILLION-DOLLAR WEATHER AND CLIMATE DISASTERS PER YEAR THAN IN THE 1980S. THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EXTREME WEATHER FALL DISPROPORTIONATELY ON HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AND SOCIALLY VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. DATA ASSIMILATION (DA) PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION. THE NEXT-GENERATION NOAA UNIFIED FORECAST SYSTEM (UFS) DA FACES SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH-RESOLUTION, MULTISCALE, COUPLED EARTH SYSTEM MODELING AND A LARGE AMOUNT OF DIVERSE EXISTING AND NEW OBSERVATIONS. HOWEVER, SERIOUS GAPS IN DA WORKFORCE AND THE LACK OF SUSTAINED INNOVATIVE DA RESEARCH SUPPORT INHIBIT ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES. WE PROPOSE TO CREATE A MULTI-UNIVERSITY CONSORTIUM FOR ADVANCED DATA ASSIMILATION RESEARCH AND EDUCATION (CADRE). CADRE WILL PARTNER CLOSELY WITH NOAA TO SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE DA EDUCATION AND RESEARCH. THE PROPOSING TEAM CONSISTS OF 9 UNIVERSITIES THAT COLLECTIVELY HAVE ALL EXPERTISE NEEDED TO ADDRESS ALL THE PRIORITIES OUTLINED IN THE SOLICITATION AND DIRECTLY ADDRESS ALL THREE PRIORITY AREAS IN THE OBSERVATION AND DA PILLAR OF THE PWR REPORT. SPECIFICALLY, CADRE SEEKS TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING GOALS: (1) INCREASING THE NUMBER OF GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS FORMALLY TRAINED IN DA WITH NOAA UFS AND JEDI DA SYSTEM WORK EXPERIENCE; (2) ENHANCING THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL DA WORKFORCE PIPELINE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TRAINING AND OUTREACH FOCUSING ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION; (3) SEEKING SOLUTIONS THROUGH JEDI TO CHALLENGING DA ISSUES IN THE UFS SHORT RANGE (RRFS, HAFS), MEDIUM RANGE (GFS) AND SUB-SEASONAL TO SEASONAL (S2S) PREDICTIONS; AND (4) PROMOTING INTELLECTUAL AND TECHNICAL EXCHANGES IN R2O AND O2R. IN CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH NOAA, UK MOAP/TDSA AND OTHER WEATHER ENTITIES, CADRE WILL ACHIEVE THESE GOALS THROUGH (1) ADVISING GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS TO PERFORM A BROAD SCOPE OF DA RESEARCH USING JEDI AND UFS MODELS, (2) IMPLEMENTING NEW DA CAPABILITIES TO UFS JEDI TO FACILITATE O2R2O, (3) DEVELOPING AND EXPANDING DA MATERIALS FOR CLASSROOM TEACHING AND PUBLIC TRAINING, (4) DISSEMINATING RESULTS THROUGH PUBLICATIONS, DA WORKSHOPS, TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATIONS, AND CODE RELEASES. WE ANTICIPATE SUPPORTING 20 GRADUATE STUDENTS VIA GRADUATE PROGRAMS AND 6 POSTDOCS (SECTION 2.2.1) TO PERFORM UFS DA RESEARCH AND TO PARTICIPATE IN NOAA VISITOR PROGRAMS. WE PROPOSE TO SPONSOR 180 PARTICIPANTS TO ATTEND DA TRAINING COURSES AND 200 TO PARTICIPATE IN DA SCIENCE WORKSHOPS, AND AN ADDITIONAL 150 STUDENTS WILL TAKE UNIVERSITY DA CLASSES ENHANCED BY CADRE. WE WILL SUPPORT 12 DA RESEARCH THRUSTS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION TO THE UFS THROUGH JEDI FOR POTENTIAL R2O. THE PROJECT WILL DELIVER NEW KNOWLEDGE AND METHODS IN DA, INCREASE THE NUMBER OF DA SCIENTISTS READY TO JOIN NOAA AND IMPROVE SHORT RANGE TO S2S FORECASTS THROUGH POTENTIAL R2O. THE FOLLOWING NOAA LABS AND CENTERS WILL BE THE PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES OR END USERS: EMC, NHC, SPC, WPC, GSL, PSL, NSSL, AND AOML.

Cooperative Agreement (B) · National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · to University of Oklahoma (UEI EVTSTTLCEWS5) · data as of 2026-09-30

Source: USAspending.gov prime award transactions and FSRS subaward reports, as loaded by SpendQuery (data as of 2026-09-30). Amounts are obligations (money committed), not outlays. The official record on USAspending.gov ↗