NESDIS International & Interagency Affairs Office

[Alternate Text for Foreign Agency Partnerships Page]
Last updated: February 13, 2007

Listed below are the various foreign environmental and space agencies of other nations that NESDIS cooperates with, through international agreements and cooperative programs. There are links for a brief description of their relationship with NESDIS and a link to their home page. With each description, there is a link to the primary IA staff member who supports NESDIS management in its cooperation with that particular agency.

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Argentina       Contact: Eric Madsen

Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) 

NESDIS has been working with the Argentine Space Agency, Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE).  There have been joint technical workshops and exchanges of information.  Areas of cooperation that are being explored are the exchange of scientist and the possible placement of an Argentine instrument on a NOAA satellite.

Australia       Contact: John Morrisroe

NOAA, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and the Great Barrier of Marine Park Authority have an established Arrangement Regarding Scientific and Technical Cooperation in the Area of Coral  Reefs.  Signed in 2001, this agreement: 1) focuses on joint cooperation in that area of coral reef research, monitoring, and protection; and 2) provides a framework for the exchange of scientific resources, personnel, technical data and information.  Activities involve both in-situ and satellite observations.

Brazil             Contact: Eric Madsen

NOAA and the Brazilian Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) have benefited for many years from a close relationship covering
a broad range of topics and cooperative projects. These include meteorological satellite data access and utilization, fire monitoring and support, seasonal to inter
annual climate forecasting, and socio-economic impacts of climate forecasting.

Canada        Contact: Eric Madsen

Canadian Space Agency

NOAA's primary interaction with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is through its participation with NASA in the RADARSAT International Steering Committee (ISC).  The ISC is responsible for the management and operations of the RADARSAT-1, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system. Under the CSA-NASA-NOAA International Memorandum of Understanding (IMOU), NASA and NOAA are entitled to approximately 15% of the satellite's on-time imaging capacity for research and operational purposes.  NOAA provides for operational demonstration of RADARSAT-1 data for environmental monitoring and forecasting.  The
US National Ice Center (NIC) utilizes RADARSAT-1 data extensively for ice charting and analysis.  Since the inception of the program NESDIS has approved a large number of agreements for access to RADARSAT-1 data by other US agencies or US government-sponsored scientists.  NASA has used RADARSAT data for various polar research activities, including the development of the first ever detailed map of Antarctica.

Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada

NESDIS has also worked closely with Environment Canada, particularly Meteorological Services of Canada (MSC).  In 2003 NOAA and MSC signed a MOU for Cooperation in Environmental Data Acquisition and Utilization.  One of the first annexes developed under the MOU was the North American Ice Service (NAIS) between MSC’s Canadian Ice Services (CIS) division and NESDIS’s U.S. National Ice Center (NIC).  NIC and CIS have been working closely together since early 1980’s through the Joint Ice Working Group (JIWG).  The last JIWG meeting was help in June of 2004 where the name of the meeting was officially changed to the North American Ice Service meeting. 

The NAIS concept is to create a harmonized suite of products and services for ice information for North American waters to serve the needs of users for safety of navigation and informed decision-making.  The integrated service will combine the strengths of the existing centres and result in seamless products of high quality and consistency.  The NAIS will offer a single point-of-entry for ice information and will provide a suite of common North American ice products that may be produced at either centre equally effectively and indistinguishably to the user.  Each centre will be recognized as a contributing partner to the NAIS, and products may be issued jointly without specific attribution to the centre of production.  Ultimately, the product suite of the NAIS may evolve into a set of constantly updated data bases of past, current and forecast ice conditions from which users will retrieve the information they desire, rendered and delivered in a format of their own specification.

• Common core set of North American products for NAIS users
• Location independence for production of core product
• Common telecommunications and dissemination infrastructure
• Single-point-of-entry for products and services

Additional areas of harmonization, but less visible to the user community, are:

• Common access to data sources
• Common data model and tools to manipulate the data
• Common training curriculum and training cycles
• Common research and development goals and an integrated science plan
• Common approach to the next generation of production workstation, including data ingest, analysis, and product dissemination
• Joint encouragement of collaborative relationships with other organizations to advance the usage and understanding of ice information
• Common goal to improve the consistency and efficiency of the production of the ice information products

The practical implementation of the NAIS will require building on and extending the historic cooperation experienced in the JIWG, in particular in the areas of data exchange, product standardization, system development and procurement, and training.

Although not signatures to the NAIS agreements the U.S. Coast Guard and the International Ice Patrol closely collaborate with the NAIS through their icebreaker efforts and monitoring of icebergs in the shipping lanes in the North Atlantic.

A second Annex to the NOAA MSC MOU is The Strategic Plan for Monitoring Climate and Weather Extremes for Improved Decision Making, between MSC and NESDIS’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).   The purpose of the annex is to advance and integrate the national capabilities of the United States and Canada to monitor and document North American extreme climate and weather events, which frequently result in large-scale impacts on societies, economies and the natural environment that transcends political borders.  The ultimate goal is to give decision-makers information that can be used in planning for, mitigation of, and adaptation to extreme climate and weather events.  The Parties believe this goal can be achieved by the monitoring of ongoing events through the development of collaborative climate and weather monitoring programs leading to operational monitoring and reporting products.   These collaborative monitoring programs will provide information on the current state of extreme climate and weather events while providing historical perspective through the development of mechanisms for the collection and dissemination of near real-time data and historical records and the development of datasets and indices that can be used in monitoring a wide array of climate and weather extremes.  Ongoing reports and assessments of trends in extreme climate and weather events developed through this effort will be available via the internet for use by the respective government and business leaders, as well as other national and international organizations. 

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing

NESDIS scientists have also worked with scientists from the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS), a division of Natural Resources Canada, on SAR applications such as hurricane characterization, and on demonstration projects for the Integrated Global Observing Strategy.

National Search and Rescue Secretariat

The National Search and Rescue Secretariat is one of four cooperating agencies, along with the Russian Morsviazsputnik, the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, and NOAA, that represent the parties to the International Cospas-Sarsat program agreement.
 

China          Contact: John Morrisroe@noaa.gov

NOAA's space-based cooperation with the People's Republic of China falls under two protocols of the U.S. - China Science and Technology  Agreement:  the Protocol for Cooperation in Atmospheric Sciences and the Marine and Fishery Science and Technology Protocol.  One of the six major areas under the Atmospheric Protocol is satellite meteorology.

In this area, NOAA's main partner is China's National Meteorology Satellite Center (NSMC).  The two sides currently are focusing on visiting lectures and training in connection with atmospheric applications and  determination of data characteristics of each others' geostationary and polar weather satellites.  NOAA has also started working with the National Remote Sensing Center of China (NRSCC) and the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) on developing potential interations in ocean remote sensing.  Under the Marine and Fishery and Technology Protocol, NOAA's National Data Centers cooperative and exchange data, primarily surfaced-based, with China.

EUMETSAT     Contact: NESDIS IIA Office

The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is NOAA's counterpart in Europe for environmental satellites.  It has 18 European member states (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.)  EUMETSAT operates its primary geostationary METEOSAT satellite over Europe and uses a spare satellite to cover the Indian Ocean, greatly benefitting U.S. and international users.  Since the creation of EUMETSAT in 1986, NOAA and EUMETSAT have signed several significant agreements for cooperation relating to geostationary satellite data and backup, and polar-orbiting satellite cooperation.

Because EUMETSAT and NOAA have similar mandates to conduct satellite activities in support of environmental monitoring and forecasting, a strong cooperative relationship has developed between these organizations.  A striking illustration of this cooperation is the mutual backup for geostationary satellite coverage.  This concept of mutual support was formalized through a bilateral agreement for mutual backup in 1994.  In November 1998, NOAA expanded its cooperation with EUMETSAT on polar satellites by signing an agreement with EUMETSAT to participate in an Initial Joint Polar-orbiting Satellite System (IJPS).  The agreement calls for EUMETSAT to operate its METOP satellite series in the morning orbit and NOAA will continue to operate its satellites in the afternoon orbit.   In June 2003, NOAA and EUMETSAT signed the Joint Transition Activities Agreement that will allow EUMETSAT and the U.S. continued access to environmental data collected by each other’s satellites and calls for the parties to begin preparing for a future joint polar system post 2020.  The first Metop satellite is expected to launch in 2005.

European Space Agency   Contact: NESDIS IIA Office

NOAA partners with the  European Space Agency (ESA) mainly through the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, the Group on Earth Observation Satellites (with special emphasis on Capacity Building).  We hope to explore increased cooperation, including data exchange, in the future.

European Union      Contact: NESDIS IIA Office


France   Contact: NESDIS IIA Office

NOAA/NESDIS participates in the Argos Operations Committee, which oversees the Argos data collection system. The system consisting of French instruments flown on U.S. satellites, is used to collect and distribute environmental data to a wide variety of governmental, non-governmental and private entities.  Cooperation on Argos was established with France over 20 years ago.   In addition to NOAA and Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), EUMETSAT will become a member of the Ops Comm with the launch of Metop-1, which will carry the Argos instrument. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and 
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) are also associated with the system.

Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)

The Argos system is a cooperative system between CNES and NOAA used for monitoring the environment.  CNES is one of the four cooperating agencies, along with the Russian Morsviazsputnik , the Canadian National Search and Rescue Secretariat and NOAA, that represent the parties to the International
Cospas-Sarsat program agreement.  CNES and NOAA are both parties in the four-party Ocean Surface Topography Mission ( Jason-2).  CNES and NOAA also have active cooperation through the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters & Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS).

Meteo-France

NOAA also cooperates with Meteo-France, particularly the Satellite Meteorology Center in Lannion.

Germany      Contact: NESDIS IIA Office

In recent years most of our cooperation has been through CEOS and other international groups.  NOAA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are exploring  an expanded program of bilateral cooperation.

India       Contact: Rebecca Chacko

NOAA, along with NASA, cooperates with India’s Department of Science and Technology & Department of Space under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Science Cooperation in the Areas of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.   The MOU, which was originally signed in December 1997, provides for the real-time exchange of Indian geostationary satellite data within the context of cooperative activities in the Earth and atmospheric sciences.    The MOU was extended in December 2002 for another five years.   In addition to data exchange, the MOU also allows for scientific research in the use of the satellite data.   The main cooperative agencies within the Departments of Space & Science and Technology are the Indian Space Research Organization, the
National Remote Sensing Agency , and the Indian Meteorological Department.

Japan      Contact: NESDIS IIA Office

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

NESDIS is working closely with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in a number of areas.  Most significant is our mission cooperation in the second Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS-2) Program along with NASA.  NESDIS is also cooperating with JAXA and NASA in the provision of operational and research data products from NASA's Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) mission.  In 1999, NOAA/NESDIS and JAXA established an Earth Observing Joint Working Group (EO/JWG).  Both sides have identified missions of interest under the EO/JWG framework, and have initiated discussions about closer collaboration on various missions, including the following: the U.S. National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), Japan's Global Change Observing Missions (GCOM-A1 and -B1), and Japan's Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS).

Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)

NESDIS has long-standing relations with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) through its receipt and use of geostationary satellite data. NESDIS and JMA scientists are working closely with one another in research and applications of geostationary satellite data.  NESDIS and JMA are currently cooperating to backup JMA's Geostationary Meteorological Satellite-5 (GMS-5), with NOAA's GOES-9 satellite.  This cooperation demonstrates the importance to both agencies of providing continuous geostationary satellite coverage in the Western Pacific region.  NESDIS will also receive, process, and distribute data from the follow-on satellite to the GMS series, the Multifunctional Transport Satellite-I Replacement (MTSAT- IR).  NOAA/NESDIS and NOAA/National Weather Service have worked closely with JMA in the organization and support of the working group on Asia Pacific Satellite Data Exchange and Utilization (APSDEU).

Norway      Contact: NESDIS IIA Office

Norwegian Space Centre

Norwegian Space Centre (NSC) is a government agency under

 In April 2002, NOAA and NSC signed an implementing agreement on Cooperation in Satellite Tracking and Environmental Data and Utilization.  This agreement provides for support of Earth observation and environmental satellite programs of interest to NOAA from SvalSat, since the extreme northern location of SvalSat makes it an ideal candidate for supporting polar-orbiting missions.

Russian Federation        Contact: NESDIS IIA Office

Federal Service of Russia for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet)

The Federal Service of Russia for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet) operates Russia ’s environmental satellites – both geostationary and polar-orbiting.  Roshydromet is the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the World Meteorological Organization of the UN and a member of its Executive Council.  Roshydromet is also a member of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS).  Roshydromet is responsible fore data acquisition, data collection, information processing, and the dissemination of products related to hydrological and meteorological information.

United Kingdom       Contact: Tahara Moreno

British National Space Centre (BNSC)

The NOAA Satellite and Information Service has a history of cooperation with multiple organizations within the U.K. The Met Office hosts in Exeter a major data exchange communications link between NOAA and Europe, which serves as the European gateway for receipt of NOAA satellite data. Our interaction with the British National Space Centre (BNSC) has increased as they prepare to chair CEOS in 2005. We have also had past cooperation with Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. of the University of Surrey, the Natural Environment Research Council, and the University of Bristol.

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1. Office Organization
2. Foreign Agency Partnerships
3. US Agency Partnerships
4. International Groups/Mechanisms
5. Commercial Remote Sensing Licensing
6. Country Clearances for NESDIS Travelers
7. Upcoming Events

 

NESDIS Procedures For Preparing And Approving Agreements Word Document PDF Document