NSF Cuts Shutter NSF Unidata
There's an organization you may have never heard of, but if you are a user of weather data and graphics on the web, they have almost certainly contributed to the cyberinfrastructure that made it possible.
Their name is NSF Unidata, or just "Unidata" for short.
Unidata developed organically in the 1980s when Universities has a pressing need to access weather data in real time, but couldn't. The Internet at the time was nascent and there was essentially no hardware and software systems capable of delivering, processing, and analyzing weather data. In 1983, a workshop at the University of Wisconsin involving about 80 US atmospheric sciences programs coined the name "unidata" and recommended that it be developed to provide:
- Access to current and archived weather data, including satellite imagery and forecasts.
- Support interactive computer capabilities at universities.
- Communications capabilities between universities, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and NASA.
These are things that we take for granted today, but would not have happened without Unidata. Amongst the products they developed are the Local Data Manager (LDM) which acquires and shares data between providers and users like the National Weather Service, NASA, and universities; netCDF (Network Common Data Form) which is a file format for storing self-described, multidimensional scientific data; and metpy which is a collection of python tools for reading and processing weather data. They have been transformative for the atmospheric and related sciences, with benefits not only for universities, but also the private and academic sectors and across the world.
I have benefited and been actively involved with Unidata throughout my career, including volunteer service on their Users and Strategic Advisory (formerly Policy) Committees. Last year I gave a short virtual talk on Unidata's history that provides some examples of the various ways that Unidata has benefited my career and the atmospheric and related sciences as a whole (apologies that the initial part of the talk is cutoff in the video below).
On 30 April, the National Science Foundation (NSF) froze funding for Unidata, with instructions to stop all funded actions until further notice. Due to this freeze, most staff in the Unidata program center are being furloughed effective today. The impacts on are fully summarized below.
This is yet another example of the damage being done to the US scientific enterprise by the Trump Administration. Unidata is an example of an organization that has widespread support from the University community because it develops and provides essential scientific services for research and education in the atmospheric and related sciences. The radar feeds that you take for granted today on your smart phone were first developed by the Unidata CRAFT product. The distribution of model forecasts that you can access today was first developed by the Unidata CONDUIT project. And a lot of the graphics that you see on the web rely on Unidata MetPy and visualization software.
This is yet another example of the damage being done to the US scientific enterprise by the Trump Administration. Unidata is an example of an organization that has widespread support from the University community because it develops and provides essential scientific services for research and education in the atmospheric and related sciences. The radar feeds that you take for granted today on your smart phone were first developed by the Unidata CRAFT product. The distribution of model forecasts that you can access today was first developed by the Unidata CONDUIT project. And a lot of the graphics that you see on the web rely on Unidata MetPy and visualization software.
These disruptions of the scientific enterprise are pure insanity. The halting of funding to Unidata will stymie scientific advancement, slow educational innovation, and limit classroom experiences.
Thank you for the updates.
ReplyDeleteA truly sad story.
ReplyDeleteMost of the furloughed staff will likely be searching for new jobs, as they have no idea when the furlough will end—and the bills still need to be paid.
Even if funding is eventually restored, the damage has already been done. This feels like a modern version of the Enclosure Movement, where everything that belongs to the Commons must be dismantled or disabled so it can be transferred into private hands.
What’s next—BLM lands? National Parks?