This indicator tracks the Office of Space Commerce’s production or implementation of new business instruments that support the needs of the U.S. commercial space industry. These include government/industry workshops, online tools, markets studies, and reports.

The measure captures the count of significant and discrete OAR research and development products that have transitioned to development, demonstration, or an application. Products include transitions occurring within OAR and applying group(s) outside of OAR. This includes research, development, and demonstration performed and supported by OAR as well as utilization of OAR R&D products by external parties.

Visibility and cloud ceiling forecasts are critical for aircraft safety and efficient operations. When visibility or cloud ceilings are low, pilots rely on instruments to navigate instead of visual reconnaissance. The Federal Aviation Administration establishes Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) thresholds—visibility less than three statute miles and/or cloud ceilings at, or below, 1000 feet—for safety. NWS assesses the quality of IFR threshold forecasts in response to these requirements. Fundamental statistical metrics, specifically Probability of Detection (POD) and False Alarm Ratio (FAR), are used to track IFR forecast performance. Probability of Detection (POD), also known as Accuracy, is a ratio that describes the number of times IFR is correctly forecasted compared to the total number of IFR occurrences. FAR is a ratio that describes the number of IFR forecasts when IFR was not observed compared to the total number of forecast attempts. These two metrics must always be used in conjunction, as one can be improved at the expense of the other. Greater accuracy and a minimized FAR result in safer flights and fewer flight delays; conversely, poorer accuracy and an increased FAR result in a greater incidence of unnecessary flight delays.

Each new aircraft under the Aircraft Recapitalization Plan has key milestones in its acquisition program schedule. NOAA is in the process of acquiring a King Air and Gulfstream 550 aircrafts. Progress in meeting the milestones is given by the indicator which tracks number of milestones met versus number of milestones planned in the fiscal year.

This indicator tracks the Department's production or implementation of new business instruments that support the needs of the U.S. commercial space industry. These include government/industry workshops, online tools, market studies, and reports.

The measure is a proxy for the useful forecast lead time of the Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) beyond the current forecasts skill (9.5 days) and is computed over the range of forecast days. Extending lead time in prediction of future weather events allows people to make informed choices and enables protection of life, property, and enhancement of the National economy. The 500 hPA Anomaly Correlation will be used.

The annual number of peer reviewed publications is an indicator of productivity and relevance and is tracked using online resources. Peer review is one of the important procedures used to ensure that the quality of published information meets the standards of the scientific and technical community. The Science Council method to determine the outyear targets is based on an average of the previous 3 years. * FY 2019 is the first year that we are reporting on both NOAA-authored publications (previously the only type of publication measured) and NOAA-funded publications.

The measure is the cumulative number of instances of NOAA datasets made openly available via partners' cloud platforms through collaborations with selected industry partners.

This metric shows the current number of sites where GHG measurements are made with the goal of building the number of sites per year. The Paris Accord and other resolutions to mitigate climate change rely on accurately taking stock of both natural and anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. These observing network sites enable OAR to accurately track the net global increase in GHGs and provide insights on where the bulk of the emissions are coming from. With an increased number of sites, OAR can provide more specificity and direct feedback to mitigation of emissions and the changing natural system that is so valuable to controlling the atmospheric GHG burden. (Quarterly number)

The measure captures the number of events that have documented NWS use of the Warn-on-Forecast System (WoFS) experimental model runs demonstrated real-time tornado warnings and have provided actionable guidance issued at least one hour in advance of the event.