The Arctic is a vast, remote region that is critical to the United States economy, weather and sea ice forecasting, our understanding of ecosystem health (including marine mammals and fisheries), and our understanding of climate change. Due to the presence of low temperatures, harsh sea conditions, limited telecommunications infrastructure, and sea ice, maintaining a network of sea ice buoys, Air-Launched Autonomous Micro-Observers, and Bering & Chukchi moorings is difficult, necessitating constant deployment of a combination of expendable technologies and retrieval and redeployment of a large network of moorings in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.

NOAA is consolidating activities for the NAVSTA Newport, RI location. Currently NOAA has two ships homeported at NAVSTA, the Henry B. Bigelow and Okeanos Explorer. In order to remain in compliance with the CENOTE Act, NOAA is required to co-locate with the Navy whenever possible to increase technological sharing capabilities. This consolidation aligns with NOAA's regional facilities plans. The OMAO consolidation has milestones to complete design (FY22), and then FY23 issuance of an RFP and award of the contract.

Americans live in the most severe weather-prone country on Earth. TsunamiReady Communities support a Weather-Ready Nation by preparing for the occurrence of high impact environmental events. On an annual basis NWS targets 50 new and renewed TsunamiReady communities pending funding availability. A TsunamiReady County or Community or Tribe is defined as a coastal local government entity* that has the authority and ability to adopt the TsunamiReady recognition guidelines for the residents and visitors within its jurisdiction. *The term “local government” here means – (A) a county, parish (LA), borough (AK), or municipality (PR) (B) an incorporated municipality, city, town, or township (C) an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, or Alaska Native village or organization (D) a military installation

This measure shows the average number of days to complete an informal ESA Section 7 consultation. Federal agencies must consult with NOAA when any project or action might affect an ESA-listed marine species or a critical habitat. The process begins as informal consultation, but if it is determined that the action is likely to adversely affect a listed species and/or its critical habitat, the consultation must be formal. A large majority of consultations are handled informally.

Seaports with access to Physical Oceanographic Real-Time Systems (PORTS®) data move vessels and their cargo more safely and efficiently, and this measure tracks the number of top U.S. seaports that have access to PORTS® data. To create a list of the Nation’s top 175 seaports, NOS selected the top 152 ports by international tonnage, accounting for more than 99.9% of all direct imports and exports by tonnage in 2016. NOS added to this list 23 seaports that are critical to coastal military installations, the Nation’s energy supply, or commercial marine fisheries landings.

The Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) Ambassador program is NOAA's effort to formally recognize organizations that are improving the nation’s readiness, responsiveness, and overall resilience against extreme weather, water, and climate events. WRN Ambassadors serve a pivotal role in affecting societal change. In order to determine how many of our WRN Ambassadors are serving socially vulnerable populations and businesses, we'll use the top quartile for the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) of 0.75-1.0 overlaid with how many WRN Ambassadors are located in those areas. The target number in FY22 will serve as our current baseline and any increase in target number in FY23 will directly correlate to our planned increase in WRN Ambassadors (~500 organizations added).

Reducing bias in OAR’s Earth System Model is an indicator of the improved skill of precipitation simulation. Bias is defined as the long-term mean (or average over time) difference between a simulated (model generated) value and the observed value. This performance measure will track the reduction in bias (e.g., percent reduction of the current FY21 bias) in U.S. seasonal precipitation simulations in OAR Earth System models based on a percentage of bias in past Earth System models.

 The Argo program is responsible for providing real-time data for the upper 2000m of ocean heat content globally and for important regions like the Tropical Pacific for detection of El Nino.

The AHHI provides an indicator of the overall amount of U.S. EEZ that is currently surveyed to an appropriate level of certainty to support safe navigation. The index is measured based on an internal model that assessed the degree of certainty needed for a a given area based on several factors – for instance, highly tracked and shallower areas need higher resolution surveys, and must be resurveyed more frequently to capture natural and human-caused changes (e.g., from storms, dredging, or maritime accidents). The index has a maximum score of 300; areas that are more important to maritime industry are weighted more heavily in the index.

This measure tracks Sea Grant’s success in assisting industry personnel with the adoption of responsible harvesting and processing techniques that improve social, economic, and ecological sustainability. Industry personnel include recreational, commercial (wild and cultured), and subsistence fishery participants, processors, and retailers. Practices include techniques, technologies and best management practices adopted. Fisheries sustainability and seafood safety refers to any combination of the ability of the ecosystem to remain diverse and productive; the social, cultural, and economic resilience of the fishing community; personal or crew safety; and quality and safety of the seafood product.