. "7 Organizational Attributes and Options for a Fully Integrated NoN that Meets Multiple National Needs." Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2009.
The following HTML text is provided to enhance online
readability. Many aspects of typography translate only awkwardly to HTML.
Please use the page image
as the authoritative form to ensure accuracy.
Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks
ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS OF EXISTINGMESOSCALE NETWORKS
While it is tempting to divide the current organizational models into two categories (public and private), the reality is somewhat more complicated. A survey of the mesoscale networks in place today shows many different organizational models. Table 7.1 provides a rough breakdown that considers ownership of the network and related data distribution. These can be broken down into three broad categories (Table 7.2).
Organizational Strengths of Today’s Mesoscale Networks
When these networks are taken as a whole and examined from a national needs standpoint, several characteristic strengths emerge:
They satisfy the needs of the owners/operators. None of the example networks has become obsolete or no longer serves a purpose.
They have a regional or local focus. Network operators working at a local level are often aware of observing systems or networks that escape notice at a higher level. One of the keys to success for networks such as Northwest Net has been their ability to tap into networks and systems that were previously unknown to a much broader constituency.
They are flexible and evolutionary. Many networks start out with a single purpose, but then demonstrate value in new applications and evolve to meet those needs. They are able to demonstrate support and to command funding and/or subscription revenue. The key to success for hybrid networks is their ability to evolve and expand their scope of applications as they grow.
TABLE 7.1 Models distinguished by ownership and data distribution
Type of Network
Examples
Description
Publicly owned, Public data
ASOS, NEXRAD, RAWS
Typically thought of as the backbone of public meteorological networks
Publicly owned, Private data
DoD, HS
Public networks where information is not shared for a variety of reasons
Academically owned, IP defined
LIDAR, Ag networks, NEON
R&D networks where the intellectual property defines the data ownership
Privately owned, Private data
AWS, NLDN, TV Radar
Privately owned proprietary data
Privately owned, Public data
CWOP, MDCRS, CoCoRaHS
Privately owned networks that share data voluntarily
