On Monday, September 18, 2023, NOAA awarded a Commercial Weather Data Pilot (CWDP) Ocean Surface Winds (OSW) Pilot contract to Spire Global Subsidiary, Inc.
NOAA’s Commercial Data Program (CDP) supports CWDP studies to demonstrate the quality and impact of commercial data on NOAA’s weather forecast models. This contract award constitutes the next round of NOAA’s CWDP studies with a particular focus on ocean surface wind data.
For this Pilot Study, NOAA will assess the quality and impact of available commercial global navigation satellite system reflectometry (GNSS-R) observations for the measurement of OSW and other characteristics. NOAA will use Pilot Study data to improve upon NOAA’s derived wind speed products and investigate the utility of derived wind speed products developed by commercial vendors.
The period of performance of the OSW CWDP study is 12 months; the Pilot study will be conducted in three phases: Phase 1: Preparation (3 months); Phase 2: Data Delivery (6 months); and Phase 3: Evaluation (3 months).
Upon completion and evaluation, successful CWDP studies may lead to sustained commercial data purchases by CDP to support NOAA’s research and operational forecasting endeavors. The CWDP awards are pursuant to the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-25). NOAA is pleased to take this next step in working with the commercial sector to obtain and analyze ocean surface winds and related ancillary data to meet NOAA’s critical weather forecasting mission for the Nation.
The OSW Pilot contract follows up on an RFP issued in August 2023.