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Strategy and Goals

The Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) is one of ten NOAA Research Laboratories and is located in Boulder, Colorado. Our research improves environmental prediction models, informs state-of-the-science decision support tools, and visualization systems, and uses high-performance computing technology to support a Climate, Weather, and Fire-Ready Nation. GSL has three strategic goals that align with NOAA and NOAA Research Strategies.

Peak Performance

Goal 1 – Invest in people, partnerships, and organizational performance.

  • Empower a high-achieving, agile staff and inclusive staff to promote a healthy workplace for all.
  • Champion internships, early career hires, and career development to bring in new perspectives and produce future leaders.
  • Support visionary research that ensures the continued efficient development of meaningful scientific and technical products.
  • Build strategic and dynamic partnerships to produce high-impact results.

Goal 2 – Develop state-of-the-art Earth-system prediction capabilities.

  • Advance data assimilation techniques to support precision forecasting
  • Advance research of physical and atmospheric composition processes in Earth system models to improve predictions of air quality, fire weather, and other high-impact weather
  • Research to develop short-range to subseasonal predictions

Goal 3 – Revolutionize communications, products, and services to enable.

  • Research using machine learning and artificial intelligence to manage high-volume environmental data.
  • Develop applications that improve analysis, visualization, verification, and decision support
  • Research and develop techniques to improve understanding and effectively communicate weather impacts to educate society
  • Ensure investments improve the skill, efficiency, and delivery of products, tools, and applications to operations informed decision-making.

NOAA’s long-term goal of a “Weather-Ready Nation” drives GSL’s preeminent weather research and development portfolio. Our work develops state-of-the-science environmental models and helps inform the public so they are more resilient to high-impact weather.

Our Grand Challenge is to: “Provide actionable environmental information through the research and development of rapidly-updating global storm-scale prediction and innovative decision support capabilities to reduce societal impacts from hazardous weather and other environmental phenomena.”

Guiding Documents:

Strategic Plan

GSL’s 10-year strategic plan aims to maintain agility in a changing research landscape. GSL’s core competencies, expertise, and mission align with DOC, NOAA, and OAR objectives and support Congress’s Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 and the National Integrated Drought Information System Reauthorization Act of 2018.

Our Mission

Lead research and directed development through the transition of environmental data, models, products, tools, and services to support commerce, protect life and property, and promote a scientifically literate public.

Research Areas

Organizational Excellence, Earth System Prediction, Advanced Technologies, and Decision Support are the foundation to achieving the GSL Grand Challenge: Deliver actionable global storm-scale prediction and environmental information through advanced technologies to serve society.

Global Systems Laboratory