Save NCAR

I'm currently in Alaska and was planning on ignoring the blog for a few days, but I felt the need to address the news released yesterday that the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) would be dismantled.   

At this point we know little except that NCAR is under threat based on a social media post by the Office of Management and Budget director Russel Voight stating that the National Science Foundation will be breaking up NCAR, reviewing its activities and "vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location." 

Subsequently, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today the intent to restructure NCAR's activities including "options to transfer stewardship of the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputer to an appropriate operator; divest of or transfer the two NSF aircraft that NCAR manages and operates; and redefine the scope of modeling and forecasting research and operations to concentrate on needs such as seasonal weather prediction, severe storms, and space weather."

In that announcement, the NSF stated that they remain "committed to providing world-class infrastructure for weather modeling, space weather research and forecasting, and other critical functions."  It's pretty clear that is not the case and that they are embarking on a process that will destroy NCAR.  

Since it's inception in 1960, NCAR has been the undisputed #1 center for atmospheric research in the world.  No other center comes close.  It has built the world's most widely used modeling system, the Weather Research and Forecasting model; operates some of the world's most sophisticated observing systems including the NCAR NCAR Gulfstream GV for high-altitude sampling and C-130; and employs many of the most brilliant scientists in the atmospheric sciences.  It also developed the Community Earth System Model (CESM) and the Model for Prediction Acros Scales (MPAS) model, which is likely to be come the backbone for weather modeling in the National Weather Service (and is currently being used by The Weather Company for their forecasting activities).  

Don't be fooled by suggestions that vital activities will be moved to other entities or locations.  Even if that happens, US capabilities in the atmospheric sciences are going to suffer severely.  NCAR has a critical mass of scientists to tackle some of my fields most challenging problems.  Breaking up NCAR is like breaking up the 1927 Yankees.  You can ship off Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and the rest of Murderers' Row to other teams, but in the end you're left with mediocrity, not greatness.  Thankfully, the 1927 Yankees did not break up and they won the 1928 World Series in four games.  Let's hope that NCAR similarly is kept together.