NOAA Magazine | NOAA Home Page NOAA CONTRIBUTIONS TO HOMELAND SECURITY SINCE SEPT. 11, 2001 September 17, 2002 — The tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, have altered the nation's perception of national security and has prompted the federal government to reevaluate its priorities with respect to homeland security, including those related to the nation's oceans and coasts. A majority of the nation's population lives within 50 miles of the coast and U.S. seaports are vulnerable choke points and strategic targets for attack. Nearly 95 percent of U.S. foreign trade enters and leaves by ship and the American economy—the foundation of national security—is dependent upon the uninterrupted and efficient flow of goods and services across U.S. borders. Our commercial ports also serve as logistical centers for the deployment of U.S. military forces. Although NOAA is best known as a premier science and service agency whose mission is to describe and predict changes in the Earth's environment, NOAA expertise and services can be applied to other areas, including assisting the country in preserving national security. NOAA is uniquely positioned to provide essential products and services to ensure U.S. ports and coasts remain open and protected (Click NOAA image to view larger size.) NOAA demonstrated its invaluable response capabilities in the aftermath of the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks when the agency immediately implemented its Incident Response Plan and was able to rapidly deploy critical assets, capabilities and expertise to support response and recovery efforts. Specifically, NOAA provided timely and essential weather, law enforcement, mapping, hazardous materials, marine transportation, monitoring (i.e., satellite, remote sensing, geodesy and aerial photography) and information management products and services to emergency management agencies directly involved in the Sept. 11 response actions. Although NOAA responded quickly with focused support, the Sept. 11 attacks served as a catalyst for NOAA to broaden the scope and context of its preparation and response measures to threats — natural, technological, or terrorist-related. Since then, NOAA has been working to identify the full range of its capacities, and prioritize those that can provide the greatest benefits to the nation. NOAA is also developing plans to ensure continuity of critical functions and reviewing the potential vulnerabilities in its security, employee safety and information technology infrastructure. Lastly, NOAA is working to determine how it can best support the Office of Homeland Security and assist its many federal (i.e., U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and FEMA), state and local partners. NOAA's Homeland Security Coordination Team To coordinate the diverse functions needed for this effort, NOAA has formed a Homeland Security Coordination Team that includes representatives from across NOAA. Led by NOAA Corps Captain Ted Lillestollen, NOAA Homeland Security Coordinator, the team established four working groups to look at infrastructure, continuity of operations, capabilities and information technology. To date, the following NOAA products and services have been identified as the most critical to national security: NOAA's Emergency Alerts and Weather Forecasts NOAA's Hazardous Materials and Response Capabilities NOAA's Above and Below Water Surveillance Technologies Emergency Alerts and Weather Forecasts NOAA Weather Radio (NWR): NOAA's National Weather Service broadcasts warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day via a nationwide network of radio stations (i.e., more than 650 transmitters driven by 121 Weather Forecast Offices deliver NWR broadcasts covering 85 percent of the population). Working with the Federal Communication Commission's Emergency Alert System, NWR also serves as an "all hazards" radio network for both natural (earthquakes and volcano activity) and environmental (chemical releases or oil spills) events. NWR policy states that non-weather related information is transmitted via NWS when it supports life and property safety, comes from an official (i.e., federal, state, or local government) source, and is time critical (i.e., is a Civil Emergency Message). Meteorological Data/Weather Observations and Forecasts: NOAA's short term weather forecasts and warnings help first responders deal with recovery efforts and safeguard both victims and responders. For example, hourly short-term forecasts from the NWS's Norman, Okla., forecast office during the attack on the Oklahoma City federal Building served as a model for similar forecasts at the Sept. 11 recovery sites. Daily and weekly forecasts were also provided to the New York, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania recovery sites to assess where extreme weather and water events might divert resources to deal with this and other potential catastrophic events. Likewise, monthly and seasonal forecasts (out to a year in advance) support long term preparedness and response planning. Lastly, NOAA's special team of incident meteorologists (IMETs) can be deployed anywhere in the nation to provide real-time, site-specific weather analyses and forecasts to keep response personnel aware of any imminent weather hazards. Public-Private Partnerships: NOAA's National Weather Service and AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc. recently unveiled a major new public-private partnership that will bolster the government's ability to respond to a homeland security event and protect lives and property. Specifically, this partnership allows NOAA to augment its own weather information with real-time weather data from the AWS WeatherNet network of more than 6,000 stations nationwide, thus enhancing the already precise forecast models that government agencies, the military and emergency managers use to make critical decisions. In the event of a homeland security event (such as a bio-terrorist or chemical attack), for example, NOAA's NWS will now be prepared to more quickly and precisely assess local weather conditions (i.e., surface wind speeds and temperatures), which could spread airborne hazardous materials and affect nearby communities. NOAA's Hazardous Materials and Response Capabilities Because of the high concentration of chemical distribution and storage facilities in and around U.S. ports and the large volume of chemicals transported by ship—the environmental, economic and health risks resulting from an accidental or intentional release of hazardous chemical or biological materials are a serious concern. Fortunately, NOAA's Hazardous Materials and Response capabilities provide trajectory forecasts, oceanic and atmospheric dispersion models, and chemical threat analyses that allow emergency managers and first responders to make more timely and effective operational decisions (i.e., re-routing vessel traffic around hazardous areas and keeping traffic moving in other less affected areas). In partnership with the Coast Guard and the Office of Naval Intelligence, NOAA can help emergency managers and first responders plan for a possible (or mitigate an existing) chemical or biological incident by providing timely and accurate predictions of the transport and impacts of such an attack using the following critical support software: Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO): CAMEO is a customizable dispersion modeling software application used by decision makers for safe, effective response to chemical spills and releases. Using this software, NOAA can provide critical HAZMAT response advice to on-scene coordinators responding to incidents involving coastal oil and hazardous materials spill. Specifically, NOAA's team members can evaluate potential environmental hazards associated with a spill, including the pollutant's projected movements and behavior, resources at risk, and appropriate mitigation procedures. Furthermore, this software allows NOAA's interdisciplinary scientific support team to work with industry and governmental authorities in determining the most cost-effective, environmentally sound cleanup and long-term follow-up evaluation strategies. General NOAA Oil Modeling Environment(GNOME): NOAA uses GNOME, an oil spill trajectory model, to predict how wind, currents and other processes might move and spread oil spilled in the nation's oceans and coasts. Air Dispersion Models: NOAA, the Air Force, Navy, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and other federal partners from the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology, are evaluating and selecting the proper computer models to detect and track chemical and biological weapons in the atmosphere. NOAA has linked its three operational air dispersion models, the Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres (ALOHA – local scale), Hazardous Atmospheric Release Modeling (HARM – urban scale), and Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT – regional scale), to improve its support to emergency planners and first responders. NOAA, in partnership with U.S. Coast Guard and the Office of Naval Intelligence, is also conducting risk assessments on 50 of the most hazardous chemicals stored at or shipped in bulk through U.S. ports. Real-time Environmental Applications and Display System (READY): READY is a suite of programs to access and display meteorological data and to run trajectory and dispersion models. NOAA's Above and Below Water Surveillance Technologies NOAA has a mission through the National Geodetic Survey to apply state-of-the-art methods of precise positioning and advanced geodetic, photogrammetric and remote sensing techniques to both 1) establish and maintain a consistent national coordinate system and 2) to support mapping, charting, navigation, boundary determination and property delineation. This reference system is critical to national defense and military training missions within the United States, especially when it is provided in real time. Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR): NOAA uses LIDAR to produce three-dimensional images of a specific site's terrain, thus providing an accurate birds-eye view of the scene. Last September, NOAA's LIDAR images provided crucial safety information at Ground Zero (i.e., images showing where unstable structures and elevator shafts were located). LIDAR and other images also helped engineers determine the height of cranes needed to remove debris and identify original foundation support storage areas so crews could more accurately pinpoint their digging and recovery efforts. Aerial Photographs: NOAA takes aerial photographs of the Earth's surface from cameras mounted on aircraft, satellites and other spacecraft. When used in conjunction with the National Spatial Reference System, NOAA can assist national security officials, city and state governments, and federal response teams pinpoint critical areas and facility locations (i.e., hospitals, power plants and water supply facilities), thus allowing them to develop more comprehensive planning and response strategies. Hydrographic Surveys: NOAA's hydrographic survey vessels can scan harbors, ports and channels for sunken vessels and other obstructions, thus facilitating the safe transit and/or docking of military vessels. In conjunction with the Coast Guard, NOAA can also survey for alternative shipping lanes so that vessels can be safely re-routed away from a threatened or compromised port on an as needed basis. Currently, NOAA is working with the Navy to establish baseline data of all U.S. ports, which will ultimately allow them to determine if obstructions or other unsafe objects have been intentionally placed in port areas or shipping lanes in the near future. This data will provide a comprehensive geographic information system that will depict critical spatial infrastructure needed for effective emergency response planning and management. To date, NOAA has supported data collection for Boston, San Francisco, Denver and Seattle. Nautical Charts: NOAA can accurately and rapidly disseminate chart updates and critical chart corrections to the mariner and create and distribute temporary charts, overlays and data sets as needed by primary responders (like the Coast Guard and Navy). For example, NOAA recently worked with the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers to chart new restricted areas at the Norfolk Naval Base. NOAA's Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC): NOAA's ENCs can also contribute a great deal to the U.S. Homeland Security effort; modern electronic information systems will be key to maritime security, port safety and uninterrupted maritime commerce. NOAA's ENCs are also viable geographic information systems that can support port vulnerability and risk management assessments as the Coast Guard and ports develop contingency plans for security and threat capability. NOAA's Vessel Monitoring System (VMS): NOAA's VMS uses GPS, satellite communications and a secure network to monitor fishing vessel compliance. However, this evolving capability can also serve a vital tool for marine enforcement and homeland security needs in that it can be used to track suspicious vessels at sea. The system also supports two-way message communications between vessels, which can provide an expanded homeland surveillance network for reporting any unusual activity along the nation's coasts. Eventually, the expanded VMS will encompass the entire nation and will be able to relay near real-time data to the U.S. Coast Guard for enforcement and homeland security purposes. Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS): NOAA's PORTS provides rapid updates of water level, tides and currents. In the event that ships must be re-routed around or evacuated from a U.S. port or harbor, NOAA's tide and current information will be invaluable to support its safe passage with little interruption to maritime commerce. Furthermore, when integrated with GPS technology, PORTS data help to calculate under keel clearance for a vessel's transit, thereby reducing the possibility of ships going aground, blocking other vessels and channels, spilling contaminants or becoming additional targets. Other NOAA Homeland Security Activities NOAA special agents continue to supplement the FAA's Federal Air Marshal program and routinely assist the U.S. Customs Service and Border Patrol. NOAA Enforcement is participating in the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, and has more than 20 Joint Enforcement Agreements with coastal state and territory enforcement agencies. NOAA Facilities NOAA has numerous NOAA Corps officers, ships, aircraft, offices, monitoring stations, observation stations, radars, buoys, weather units and satellites which could support the Office of Homeland Security: 230 NOAA Corps officers 15 ships— three charting, four oceanographic, eight fisheries Dozens of boats/operators at various coastal and Great Lakes locations 14 aircraft —3 heavy fixed-wing, 8 light fixed-wing, three rotor-wing 121 NEXRAD Doppler radars stationed at local weather forecast Offices 13 River Forecast Centers 21 Center Weather Service Units 979 Automated Surface Weather Observation Systems 70 upper air-monitoring stations 55 Coastal Marine Networks (CMAN) observing systems 70 coastal and deep ocean buoys 35 atmospheric profilers 55 Air Transportable Mobile Weather Units Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) Relevant Web Sites NOAA's ROLE IN THE NATION's RECOVERY EFFORTS AND THE WAR ON TERRORISM NOAA CONDUCTS MORE FLIGHTS OVER WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE NOAA Weather Radio National Weather Service NOAA's Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) NOAA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND AWS CONVERGENCE TECHNOLOGIES UNVEIL HOMELAND SECURITY INITIATIVE: More than 6,000 Schools in Network to Help Protect Lives and Property Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO) General NOAA Oil Modeling Environment (GNOME) Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres (ALOHA) Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) Real-time Environmental Applications and Display System (READY) NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) NOAA's REMOTE SENSING ACTIVITIES NOAA NAVIGATION SERVICES Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) NOAA's Hydrographic Surveys NOAA's Nautical Charts: NOAA's Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC) NOAA's Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) PORTS® TECHNOLOGY WORKING TO AVOID MARINE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS Media Contact: Greg Hernandez, NOAA, (202) 482-3091