Resumen de Sharing the data: The information policies of NOAA and EUMETSAT

Freya R. Yost

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) work together in three different fields: geostationary satellites, polar-orbiting satellites, and ocean altimetry satellites. These programs each generate different data, and render the two organizations capable of performing global observations that meet the requirements of their respective missions. The paper examines the data policies of the two organizations in the context of the agreements established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The paper analyzes the partnership through their data policies and agreements from agency websites, technical literature, treaties, and reports generated by their respective data centers. The research illustrates how, despite differences in policy, industrial standards, technologies, and national boundaries, resource-pooling initiatives can improve efficiency and benefit user communities. Through the mutual exchange of data, instruments, and grounds operations, NOAA and EUMETSAT have established a long-standing partnership that has strengthened the weather community and overall information infrastructure of meteorology.