Supporting the Development and Refinement of Advanced Atmospheric Sounding Products 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) provides critical information on temperature, moisture, ozone, and other variables that help forecasters and climate experts understand conditions throughout the atmosphere. CSS Employee Owners are key contributors to the team, supporting the development and refinement of advanced atmospheric sounding products.  

The work of CSS centers on improving the algorithm behind Outgoing Longwave Radiation, the key indicator of Earth’s energy balance and climate system. CSS supports NOAA’s Amazon Web Service cloud‑based mission‑long reprocessing efforts, ensuring continuous, accurate data records using up‑to‑date algorithms. These long‑term datasets are essential for monitoring Earth’s changing climate and supporting sustainability planning.  

In addition, CSS contributes to Aerosols and Ocean Science Expedition campaigns, which include dedicated radiosonde launches over tropical oceans to validate NUCAPS temperature and humidity profiles. These observations strengthen NOAA’s ability to produce more reliable weather and climate insights.  

Through this work, CSS contributions support NOAA’s mission to maintain healthy ecosystems, communities, and economies that are resilient to change, which is critical as natural disaster costs continue to climb into the tens and hundreds of billions of dollars each year. The expertise of CSS Employee Owners helps provide the foundational science behind forecasts, warnings, and climate assessments used by scientists, policymakers, and emergency managers.