[Oppslist] NSF Community Assessment - Input Requested

[Robert Serafin]

Dear colleague,

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center for 
Atmospheric Research (NCAR) are conducting a community-wide Assessment 
of atmospheric science observing facilities, instrumentation and 
platforms. The Assessment is being conducted by seven expert panels each 
focusing on a different technology area. The Assessment is considering a 
wide breadth of technologies, including currently available 
instrumentation and systems in various stages of development. A core 
element of the Assessment is a community survey and online database that 
will identify observing facilities and instrumentation at institutions, 
including government agencies, universities, national laboratories, 
research laboratories, international organizations, and private 
companies. Broad community participation is essential to ensure that the 
Assessment is comprehensive and accurately identifies the types, status 
and availability of atmospheric observing facilities. More information 
is available at http://www.eol.ucar.edu/dir_off/FacAssess/index.html.

We need your help and expertise for the Assessment to be successful. We 
have developed an interactive database that will be populated with 
descriptions of airborne platforms, all types of measurement 
instrumentation, networks, satellite data, emerging technologies, and 
other resources, all of which will be provided by community input. The 
database will become a public resource with routine updating, and is 
intended to provide descriptive information on atmospheric science 
facilities and instrumentation in a consistent, easy-to-read format as a 
resource for the broad atmospheric science and related communities.

We would like your assistance in populating the Assessment’s database by 
either submitting descriptive information on instruments, platforms, 
networks, etc. (called “resources” in the database lexicon) or by 
submitting revisions to resources already included.

The Assessment database is located at http://www.eol.ucar.edu/fadb/ .

Before accessing the database, you will first need to create an account 
(the link is on the left-hand menu) and a password will immediately be 
sent to your email address. You may then access the database using your 
password. The “list resources” link will take you to a list of resources 
that have already been created where you can view the existing entries 
or submit a proposed revision. Please check to see if your resource has 
already been entered before creating a new one. If it is already listed, 
you may check it for accuracy and submit revisions if necessary.

A workshop is being held on September 27-28, 2007 to review the 
Assessment's database with the community and identify gaps in 
capabilities. This workshop will be held consecutive to the NSF 
Facilities Users' Workshop that NSF, NCAR, the University of Wyoming, 
and Colorado State University are planning for September 24-26, 2007. 
Please visit http://www.eol.ucar.edu for more information on either 
workshop.

Thank you in advance for your invaluable input and assistance on this 
important community activity.

Please feel free to distribute this message to other colleagues you 
think could contribute to the database as well.

Best regards,

Bob Serafin, Chair
NSF Facilities Assessment Steering Committee