PFEG DATA PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

PFEG generates a series of products each month and fills a number of requests for customized environmental data. Indices of upwelling and a series of SST maps have been produced and distributed each month for almost thirty years. Upwelling and SST values are generated by PFEG from wind analyses and ship observations available only from the U.S. Navy Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) in Monterey. PFEG has been answering an increased demand for its data services by automating production and turning towards electronic distribution. Because of the impending shutdown of the Navy computers which PFEG has used to generate the products, there is a large effort underway to convert the software to run on the PFEG IT-95 server.

Monthly Upwelling Indices and West Coast SST Maps

Products are sent to 56 researchers and managers around the world, and demand has increased. The upwelling indices are calculated for fifteen standard points along the west coast each month (on internet, see http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/products/upwell.html). Customized indices are also tailored to areas of special interest to researchers. A NOAA Technical Memorandum summarizing 50 years of upwelling indices will be published later this year.

SST maps are derived from FNMOC surface marine observations collected in near real time. The maps are unique in the detail of information provided. Two overlapping maps cover the west coast from Baja California to Alaska. Each 1š square contains a mean monthly temperature, anomaly, and the number of ship observations used. The monthly products are usually available within a week of the end of the month.

Special Requests and Data Archives

Since beginning an unofficial record in 1984, PFEG data managers have filled over 350 special data requests that have contributed substantially to many important publications in oceanography and fisheries science. The number of requests received is at an all-time high. Many special requests are for various wind indices derived from the FNMOC analyzed pressure fields. Time series of north and east wind components, wind speed cubed, and Ekman transport for special points and areas are frequently requested. PFEG also archives and distributes data obtained from research cruises and shore stations, instrumented buoys, and satellites. PFEG maintains a local archive of sorted AVHRR images from the NOAA/NMFS Coastwatch program at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Because of frequent requests and local research interests, PFEG also maintains a data archive of buoy observations from the National Data Buoy Center.

Electronic Distribution of Products

PFEG has had Internet access since Fall 1995, and users of our products are gradually converting to electronic data product acquisition. Electronic delivery is not only faster but eliminates the need for recipients to enter the data manually into their databases. Product preparation time, mail handling and postage costs for PFEG are also decreased. The monthly upwelling indices and anomalies are now routinely sent as e-mail attachments. Larger data sets, such as the approximately 300,000 surface ship reports sent monthly to the Inter America Tropical Tuna Commission (La Jolla) and to NOAA's Climate Data Center (Boulder,CO), are sent by FTP (file transfer protocol). In the future, we hope to have the monthly data files and graphics available on our web site (http://www.pfeg.noaa.gov/). Further in the future, we hope users will be able to generate their own "special requests" from an interactive style web page. This will increase the availability of PFEG's unique data products and archives, and it will free PFEG staff from the labor of making them available.

Individuals interested in receiving PFEG monthly products or modernizing their delivery to electronic form should contact John Steger at 831-648-9035 (products@pfeg.noaa.gov). Special data requests can be made to Jerry Norton at 408-648-9031 (requests@pfeg.noaa.gov).