No mention in this press release of what it might actually accomplish. Meanwhile a full scale siting assessment and quality control analysis of the entire NWS COOP network remains undone. On the plus side, they won’t now be able to use the CRU excuse of “we are understaffed” to avoid the FOIA requests surely coming their way. h/t to Joe D’Aleo – Anthony
Contact: John Leslie FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
301-713-0214 Sept. 16, 2010
NOAA Awards Contract to Manage Climate Data Records
NOAA officials today announced that Global Science & Technology, Inc., of Greenbelt, Md., has been awarded a contract to help manage the agency’s satellite Climate Data Records (CDR) program, which is based at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.
The contract has a one-year base period, with two one-year option periods. The total contract value is $10,307,788.80. The contract will enable Global Science & Technology to add up to 25 jobs at NCDC’s Asheville location.
Scientists use CDRs to detect, assess, model and predict climate change and variability. Decision-makers use this information to develop effective strategies to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change in their local communities.
Through this contract, Global Science & Technology, Inc. will provide management support of the CDR program, including project control and oversight services, system and product development, and customer and community outreach.
“Global Science & Technology, Inc. brings experience as an industry leader to the CDR program, which is developing some of the most important climate data products in the world,” said Scott Hausman, acting director of NOAA’s NCDC.
NOAA’s NCDC is the largest environmental data center in the world. NCDC data help the scientific community and policymakers assess global climate variability and trends. The work on this contract will support the suite of climate services that NOAA provides government, business and community leaders, so they can make informed decisions.
“This is a remarkable opportunity for the National Climatic Data Center and for western North Carolina to expand our climate research and create up to 25 new high-paying, stable jobs in our area,” said Rep. Heath Shuler. “NCDC is home to the world’s most impressive and comprehensive collection of climate data, and this is one more step forward in making our mountain region unsurpassed in climate research in America.”
Scientists, researchers and leaders in government and industry use monthly U.S. and global temperature reports from NCDC to help track trends and other changes in the world’s climate. These climate services have a wide range of practical uses, from helping farmers know what and when to plant, to guiding resource managers with critical decisions about water, energy and other vital assets.
NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us online or on Facebook.
– 30 –
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evanmjones says:
September 17, 2010 at 11:26 am
“I don’t get this. They outsource, at some cost, and this means they then ADD 25 jobs? What am I missing here?
(Oh, right, it’s government. Forgive me my momentary lapse.)”
And who’s to say that GST, in a year or so, won’t outsource the data management to India? (I’d put my usual “winkie” emoticon after that but I’m afraid it’s probably going to happen.)
Hide that Data behind copyright. There, now, we won’t be bothered….
$136K billed per slot. Figure the average salary is actually going to be around $60-$70K. Not really a lot for an experienced DBA/developer. Looks like a low bid to me.
The circle is complete.
Dr. James Hansen keeps his thumbs on the temperature scale at NASA GISS, Phil Jones keeps his thumbs on the temperature scale at CRU, and now GST will keep their thumbs on the temperature scale at NOAA.
Now all that GST needs is a contract to manage data for the NIH. That would greatly facilitate the homogenization of climate and health information, revealing that CO2 is making us ill. Whereupon EPA would close all gas stations. Or something equally stupid.
GST has apparently gone all shy. There’s no response on the “Contact Us” button at their corporate HQ. I just wanted to ask them about their political contributions and whether they employ a lobbying firm in Washington. Couldn’t find any record of them contributing to Shuler, the pol quoted in the release.
Quote
NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun
Unqote
This includes, at least part time, the climate on Venus and Mercury!
Quote
create up to 25 new high-paying, stable jobs in our area
Unquote
stable for a year, or up to 3 years!
Looks to me that it is more about meteorology than climate, the future will tell!
Most of the outsourced government contracts move the current employees to the new contractor. They still sit in the same chairs and do the same job. The only new people are the people at the top.
Trying to figure out just what this company does. As far as a can tell, their main products are long document that use many words but don’t actually ever get around to saying anything, Corporate Press Releases on meth.
From the conclusion of the main post:
“Scientists, researchers and leaders in government and industry use monthly U.S. and global temperature reports from NCDC to help track trends and other changes in the world’s climate.”
Just “temperature reports” and nothing else? Temperatures alone do not make a climate.
“…to help track trends and other changes in the world’s climate.” That may be where some of the problems stem from. A trend does not necessarily indicate changes but could, aside from indicating positive or negative changes, show no change at all.
It became completely confusing for me when I read “and other changes in the world’s climate.” What changes those are is not mentioned, but it is obvious that they are too numerous to mention, or they would surely have been listed.
Nevertheless, all of that tracking of trends and changes too numerous to mention is derived from “temperature reports from NCDC.” That is perhaps why we have so many problems with the faithfulness of that tracking and why things don’t track properly, but not the least of the problem must surely be that the NCDC temperature reports are cooked up and mysteriously tailored almost exclusively, no to the least by the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, recently whitewashed but quite clearly not exonerated.
“NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources.”
Right, and their track record is just the thing to convince me that their skill level used in the creative interpretation of questionable and largely manufactured data is not what anyone must put his faith in and base his fortunes on.
It seems that anyone whose livelihood depends on NOAA’s conservation and management of coastal and marine resources can expect a lot of problems with making a living and will quite possibly be unable to survive.
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/dwh.php?entry_id=809
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater_horizon_oil_spill.htm
NOAA gave the orders to apply liberal doses of “dispersants” that caused the spilled oil to sink and thereby to become unrecoverable.
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/07/16/noaa-admits-toxic-dispersants-may-be-in-bp-gulf-oil-spill-seafood/
DocattheAutopsy says:
September 17, 2010 at 10:16 am
I was thinking along the similar lines. But I was thinking, “OK, so NOAA outsources data management, which NOAA used to do. Which means there’s less for NOAA employees to do.. so who gets fired? Nobody? Oh, so we’re just spending $10 million to do the same job? Great.”
************
They were much too busy working on the blog and trying to bury WUWT to have time for such mundane things as data resolution, manipulation and integrity.
Now, if Anthony, Steve and the growing number of outraged climate realists would lay off a bit….they would have time to do some actual climatological work….
JamesS says:
September 17, 2010 at 12:29 pm
September 17, 2010 at 11:01 am
Wow, 25 jobs, $10.3 mil over 3 years. $136,000 /job/yr. Time to dust off the old resume.
$136K billed per slot. Figure the average salary is actually going to be around $60-$70K. Not really a lot for an experienced DBA/developer. Looks like a low bid to me.
=========================================================
True that, but how many DBAs and developers(?) does one need? I’m not sure they’re going to be programing with the data, are they? Thought they were just going to manage the data. Maybe a developer or two to do something cute with the numbers.
“Thank you for calling NOAA. My name is Pjeggy. How may I direct your FjOIA request?”
“NOAA officials today announced that Global Science & Technology, Inc., of Greenbelt, Md., has been awarded a contract to help manage the agency’s satellite Climate Data Records (CDR) program, which is based at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.”
==============
Say what you will about “NOAA officials”, but they know how to build a firewall.
Govt. outsources the shredding of inconvenient records, in order to protect itself from FOIA. That way when all the records are “lost” they can just fire the contractor and keep their govt. salaries.
This isn’t the first NOAA contract awarded to this company. In 2008, GST was awarded a max value $200,000,000 contract to maintain environmental data archive & distribution project.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200808/ai_n28035375/
This company is up to its neck in our taxpayer-funded climate data.
Wow 25 jobs for 10 mil. That’s about 133 thou per head per year. Lucky S. O . Bs. o_O
Did anyone tell em that they could get the same sex service for half the price using six full timers plus four interns with proper security to boot. But of course who’s counting dollars these days when there’s a full blown financial crisis.
(If you don’t get the whole same sex service for half the price, yer a friggin moron. Haha)
It appears as though GST (as a subcontractor) received another contract from NOAA earlier this year with a max value of $317,000,000.
http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100527005884&newsLang=en
Stimulus funds appear to be paying at least the first year of that one.
Boy, companies are really making money off the global warming hoax. Maybe we should view it as an “economy stimulator”? Nah…
This is both an offensive and defensive play by NOAA.
The offensive play is to have someone else to blame for errors found in the record. The defensive play is to move source data away from FOI requests.
I expect GST are being paid very, very well for this ‘service’. I wonder if it was competitively tendered… or simply awarded?
NOAA climate scientists and meteorologists do not have computer programming expertise necessary to deal with the insanely huge datasets being generated. Much of the money will likely be dumped into producing new fancy data portals, online GUIs, and those very pretty high-quality glossy-photo reports.
The job applications on GST website for Asheville have nothing to do with climate science but database management. This really is no different than a university lab hiring a computer PhD/geek to manage their data servers.
Fight another battle, not this one…
Ryan N. Maue says:
September 17, 2010 at 4:03 pm
“NOAA climate scientists and meteorologists do not have computer programming expertise necessary to deal with the insanely huge datasets being generated.”
===============
Point taken, but, somebody is pontificating about said datasets.
Caller : “I was wondering about the data…”
GST call center: “jYest”
Caller : “May I get a copy your raw data”
GST call center: “jYest”
Caller : “Do you know what raw data I need”
GST call center : “jYest”…
So funny…
I can tell them for the cost of a email the world is getting colder at least in australia ,a record cold spell for september , our govt is trying to bring in a ETS ” the gooses”
Do we know whether James Hansen or one of his minions owns or controls the company hired to do the data management?
It’s real easy to do if you don’t try and cook the data ….
Folks there’s nothing to see here. Government organizations frequently outsource all kinds of IT functions to private firms. As a confirmed skeptic… but from the IT industry, I just don’t see anything here to get excited about. For those of you doing the math and theorizing about FOI requests, copywrite, etc:
1. Outsourcing data management implies no change of ownership of the data. Outsourcing is by defination their management of your data.
2. You can’t take the cost of the contract and divide by the number of jobs and get a meaningful number. The outsourcing likely includes infrastructure provisioning, backup and disaster recovery systems, and so on.
3. I too skimmed their web site. They clearly have very high end expertise in management of large data sets with specific expertise in weather data. They are selling services to private companies like weather warnings for off shore drilling rigs, and they are doing work for Korea, Phillipines, Cayman Islands, Dutch Antilles, and others.
Unless the entire site is a fake, this is a very specialized company with expertise that a lot of countries are after. The data still belongs to NOAA and will be subject to the same legal discovery processes such as FOI as it was before. That this company and the outsource contract exists would be completely invisible to the legal processes.