As many in the Unidata community are aware, on January 14, 2015 the
National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) began producing Global
Forecast System (GFS <http://www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov/pmb/products/gfs/#GFS>)
model output with 0.25-degree resolution for use in weather forecasting
operations. This output is now available to be added to the Unidata
Internet Data Distribution (IDD
<http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/projects/index.html#idd>) system's CONDUIT
<http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/projects/index.html#conduit> data stream.
Unidata Program Center staff have been testing the 0.25-degree GFS data,
and have been working with operators of top-level IDD relay sites to
determine whether these operators have the capacity to handle the increased
data volume associated with this new data stream. The approximate volume of
the 0.25-degree GFS model output is 20 GB per model run, four times each
day. For comparison, the current GFS model output delivered via CONDUIT
(GFS 0.5-degree, 1-degree, and 2.5-degree) total approximately 5 GB per
model run, four times each day.
We would like to better understand the level of interest in receiving this
model output among Unidata community members. We are also soliciting
information on Unidata sites' capacity to receive this volume of data via
the CONDUIT “push” mechanism. We have created a short online questionnaire
to collect community input:
2015 CONDUIT Unidata User Community Survey
<http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/community/surveys/2015conduit/survey.html>
We encourage all Unidata community sites to provide input, even if you are
not currently receiving data via CONDUIT. Please respond by 20 March 2015.
This will allow the Unidata Users Committee to discuss community input at
its spring meeting, to be held 26-27 March 2015.
