The "hands down" engaging aspect of Unidata's Users workshop was the "hands on" use of models in the lab sessions. Next in order of favorites was the coupling of plenaries and labs.

While this year's edition of the workshop, Expanding the Use of Models as Educational Tools in the Atmospheric & Related Sciences, followed the pattern of others held in years gone by, it was different in that 50 computers, one for each participant, were available for use during lab sessions. What that meant was that each person had the opportunity to have a unique learning experience.

Unidata director, Mohan Ramamurthy, welcomed participants in his opening remarks which highlighted the importance of democratizing data access that is characteristic of the Unidata endeavor. Kelvin Droegemeier, University of Oklahoma Professor of Meteorology and UCAR Board of Trustees chair, amplified the democratization theme as he delivered the Keynote Address describing the goals and capabilities of the LEAD (Linked Environments for Atmospheric Discovery) project. 

LEAD developers guided workshop participants through a series of hands-on activities designed to show them how LEAD is democratizing model and data use. Participants were able to select a region of interesting weather and submit WRF model prediction runs to the TeraGridgrid using two different approaches being developed by LEAD. The idea is that through LEAD technologies anyone can make high resolution mesoscale forecasts over the domain of their choosing on demand. These complex and computationally intensive jobs were orchestrated by systems on the LEAD grid at Indiana University, NCSA at the University of Illinois, and Unidata, and were completed quickly by using TeraGrid resources.

Using the STELLA modeling software, John Snow, Dean of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma, demonstrated the powerful application of simple yet powerful models for use as educational tools. Other speakers described teaching methods using a three-dimensional global climate model and others running relatively simple numerical models to illustrate basic and advanced physical and thermodynamical concepts. There was also a lab demonstrating spectral modeling techniques using a two-dimensional, nondivergent, global spectral baratropic model and scientific data visualization tool designed for meteorologists.

The workshop attracted a larger-than-usual number of university students. No doubt workshop fellowships facilitated that larger number to some extent, but the topic seems particularly relevant to this generation of students who have most likely never encountered a teaching or learning environment that did not include the use of models as a pedagogical tool.

Though traditional approaches still have their place, the workshop demonstrated that model use in the classroom is an important tool.  More specifically, models to teach complex as well as simple concepts, while not a magic wand, are an indispensable tool in today's educational environments. Such use is here to stay.

From the opening reception to the panel discussion wrap-up, sessions were filled with attentive participants whose enthusiasm was evident. Exit surveys confirmed what workshop planners had observed throughout the week: the triennial users workshop had generated a lot of enthusiasm, energy, and excitement and could rightfully be termed a great success.

Unidata is grateful to the National Science Foundation for its support in funding the workshop. We also are grateful to the Users Committee for its hard work in planning and executing the workshop. In addition, we would like to thank all of the speakers and presenters whose expertise and enthusiasm energized the four and a half day event making it the rewarding experience it was. Three Unidata staff received employee recognition awards for their excellent support to the workshop. They are Brian Kelly, Sandra Petrie, and Emily Doremire.

Please see the workshop home page for the agenda, presentations, speaker abstracts, and bios.

An Upgraded Unidata 64-Bit IDD Relay Service at Penn State

Penn State, a 2005 Unidata Equipment Award recipient, has submitted its report on how the funds they received allowed them to upgrade their systems to be a more effective top level IDD relay node.

Abstract

The Unidata Local Data Manager (LDM) and Unidata Internet Data Distribution (IDD) systems provide a stable mechanism for the dissemination of meteorological data from various sources to the greater Unidata community. The Department of Meteorology at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) has participated as an IDD level-two relay data distribution site since 1998. Recently, the equipment providing this IDD relay service, an Intel Pentium III 866 MHz server with 832 MB RAM, was becoming incapable of handling the growing IDD data stream. Using funds provided via the Unidata Equipment Award program, supplemental funds from Penn State, and working with Unidata IDD staff, a trio of 64-bit machines running the LDM and Linux Virtual Server (LVS) software is now being configured for IDD relay service originating from Penn State.

by Emily Doremire, Unidata Program Center

Unidata has been offering training workshops for almost as long as we've been in existence, and we're continuing that tradition with our 2006 training workshop.

This year we offer two new sessions on netCDF. Developed in the 1980's, netCDF has many applications in the earth sciences, but you might be surprised to know that it also has a following in chromatography, mass spectrometry, medical imagery, and molecular dynamics. This year's sessions hope to share best practices for developing netCDF files. To that end, the netCDF for Developers session will bring developers up to speed so they can make productive use of the netCDF data model, format, libraries, and applications. The netCDF Java session will give a practical overview of the library for intermediate Java programmers and show advanced programmers how to write an "I/O Service Provider" to make non-netCDF files available as if they were netCDF files.

Also new for this year is the THREDDS Data Server (TDS) Administration session. THREDDS is a data services project that is developing middleware to bridge the gap between data providers and data users in much the same way that the World Wide Web has simplified publishing and accessing multimedia documents. This session will cover installation and configuration of the TDS so that those attending can catalog their data and make it available to others through a variety of supported data services including OPeNDAP, WCS, as well as straight file download via HTTP. We will also cover how to configure the TDS to add metadata to your catalogs and allow you to provide search information to various data discovery services. The TDS workshop is for anyone interested in cataloging and serving their data to others.

The IDV will be showing off its new dashboard at the workshop. Developed in Java, the IDV is unique among Unidata tools in its ability to generate 3- and 4-D displays. Training workshops provide the chance to discuss current capabilities and future needs directly with the software engineers.

Some of the software sessions have changed over the years, but GEMPAK, McIDAS, and LDM have proved to be long lived. GEMPAK is Unidata's most widely distributed display and analysis tool, producing operational forecast and analysis products for well over a hundred sites. McIDAS was one of the first packages to be featured in training workshops and is the session that requires the biggest time commitment. At four days, packed full of information, McIDAS developer and instructor Tom Yoksas jokes, "McIDAS training is not for the faint of heart or mind." Our Local Data Manager (LDM) began as a way to capture data from satellites and make them accessible on local systems. Today, it has evolved to push enormous volumes of data across the US and around the world via the Internet.

Training workshops provide a great opportunity for Unidata staff to meet and interact with our community and gain an understanding of users' needs. They also provide an opportunity for new users to dive into our software in detail and for current users to get their questions answered by the experts. We think you'll be pleased with the tools and training we provide, and we look forward to seeing you this fall.

Community Workshop The Thirteenth Annual Workshop on Weather Prediction in the Intermountain West will be held on the University of Utah campus Thursday November 16, 2006. This Workshop will be hosted by the Mountain Meteorology Group in the Department of Meteorology. The objectives of these annual workshops are to discuss major issues related to operational meteorology over the western United States and to foster interaction between applied meteorologists, research scientists and others who rely on operational weather forecasts or data. This workshop series is hosted in alternate years by the Desert Research Institute. For further information see the Workshop web page or contact John Horel at 801-581-7091 or mmg@met.utah.edu.

GRIB2 Data Format The NWS has announced that it will begin to transition existing GRIB1 data sets on the TOC FTP server to GRIB2 when the current moratorium on changes is lifted (see the NWS memo, item 3). A period of at least 180 days will be given for users to transition to the GRIB2 files before GRIB1 data sets are removed from the NWS servers.

Unidata is committed to supporting data sets using GRIB2 standards. Users should expect changes in the NOAAPORT and CONDUIT data streams during the NWS transition to GRIB2. Unidata encourages all users to ensure their applications are maintained up to date to facilitate this process. Your questions in this regard can be addressed to e-support.

Unidata Visitor The program center staff welcomed Stefano Nativi (pictured at right with Ben Domenico) the week of June 26th. During his visit, Stefano presented a seminar, Interoperability Between Earth Sciences and GIS Models: an Holistic Approach, that highlighted several issues important to the Unidata community. An archived webcast of the presentation is available.

DeSouza Award Nominations It's that time of year again, and the Unidata Users Committee invites you to submit nominations for the Russell L. DeSouza Award for Outstanding Community Service. The award honors individuals whose energy, expertise, and active involvement enable the Unidata Program to better serve the geosciences. Nominations may be submitted to nominations@unidata.ucar.edu. The deadline for submitting nominations is 15 September 2006.

New COMET Module COSMIC has worked with COMET to produce a new distance learning module that provides an introduction to GPS radio occultation science and its applications to weather, climate, and space weather.