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The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere
(CIRA) was established in 1980 at Colorado State University's Department
of Atmospheric Science. CIRA serves as a mechanism to promote synergisms
between University scientists and those in NOAA. CIRA facilitates collaborative
research between NOAA Research, NOAA Satellites and Information Service,
National Weather Service, as well as, other federal agencies like the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Park Service, National Forest
Service, and the Department of Defense.
The Institute's research is concentrated in six theme areas and two cross-cutting
research areas: (1) Global and Regional Climate - Perform remote
sensing in a continuation of ongoing climate monitoring projects with NOAA
and study large scale circulations and tropical air-ocean interactions;
(2) Local and Mesoscale Weather Forecasting and Evaluation - Perform
numerical simulation of mesoscale phenomena, Develop and improve tropical
cyclone diagnostic and forecast algorithms, etc; (3) Applied Cloud Physics
- Study multi-phase cloud morphology, the development of deep convective
clouds, and ice nucleation materials; (4) Applications of Satellite Observations
- Develop and determine uses for satellite data sets and new climate and
weather products based on combinations of satellite and non-satellite data;
(5) Air Quality and Visibility - Investigate new technologies and
approaches to measure and monitor atmospheric parameters that contribute
to air quality and visibility and forecast air quality and other regional
environmental problems requiring coupled models; (6) Societal and Economic
Impacts - Document and better understand the impacts, uses, and values
of NOAA products and services for the reduction of human impacts of natural
disasters and for the economic benefit of the Nation; (7) Numerical Modeling
- Identify processes that are important for the initiation of convection
that leads to severe weather and to better understand the interactions of
storms with their environments; and (8) Education, Training, and Outreach
- Continue to instruct international collaborators in the use of operational
forecast techniques, to increase the number of schools that participate
in the internationally successful Global Learning and Observations to Benefit
the Environment (GLOBE)program, and to develop products that promote the
understanding of atmospheric and related weather impacts on society.
Annually, CIRA scientists publish over 265 scientific publications, of which
30% appear in peer-reviewed publications. Some of the more important research
being performed at CIRA is in support of NESDIS' new satellite programs
including both GOES-R and NPOESS. These two multi-billion dollar weather
satellite programs will support weather forecasting for the next 2-3 decades.
They represent vastly improved sensors and have higher frequency data collection.
CIRA research is building prototype products, based on the new sensor technology,
and determining how to best exploit these data even before the sensor are
launched.
CIRA's research activities assist NOAA in four of its Mission Goals: 1)
Provide critical support for NOAA's mission; 2) Understand climate variability
and change to enhance society's ability to plan and respond; 3) Serve society's
needs for weather and water information and 4) Support the Nation's commerce
with information for safe, efficient, and environmentally sound transportation.
