[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 13 (Monday, January 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 7799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01331]



[[Page 7799]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket Number: 170111066-7066-01]
RIN 0648-XF167


Notice of Availability of and Request for Public Comment on White 
Paper on Improving the Space Weather Forecasting Research to Operations 
(R2O)--Operations to Research (O2R) Capability

AGENCY: National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of White Paper on Improving the Space 
Weather Forecasting Research to Operations (R2O)--Operations to 
Research (O2R) Capability and request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Weather Service on behalf of the National Science 
and Technology Council; Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, 
and Sustainability; Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation 
Subcommittee announces the availability of and requests public comments 
on the draft white paper on Improving the Space Weather Forecasting 
Research to Operations (R2O)--Operations to Research (O2R) Capability 
(Draft R2O-O2R white paper).

DATES: Comments must be received by March 20, 2017 to be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include [Improving Space 
Weather Forecasting R2O-O2R] in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (301) 713-7144, Attn: Michael Bonadonna.
     Mail: Attn: Michael Bonadonna, Office of the Federal 
Coordinator for Meteorology, 1325 East-West Highway (SSMC2), Suite 
7130, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
    Instructions: The Draft R2O-O2R white paper is available for public 
comment at http://www.ofcm.gov/publications/spacewx/DRAFT_O2R_plan.pdf. 
Responses exceeding 2000 words will not be considered; please reference 
page and line numbers of the Draft R2O-O2R white paper in your 
response, as appropriate. Please be aware that your comments may be 
posted online. The NOAA National Weather Service therefore requests 
that no business proprietary information, copyrighted information, 
confidential, or personally identifiable information be submitted in 
response to this request. Please note that the U.S. Government will not 
pay for response preparation or for the use of any information 
contained in the response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the Draft R2O-
O2R white paper, contact Michael Bonadonna, (301) 628-0058, 
[email protected], Office of the Federal Coordinator for 
Meteorology.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Space weather refers to the dynamic 
conditions of the space environment that arise from interactions with 
emissions from the sun, including solar flares, solar energetic 
particles, and coronal mass ejections. These emissions can affect Earth 
and its surrounding space, potentially causing disruption to electric 
power transmission; satellite, aircraft, and spacecraft operations; 
telecommunications; position, navigation, and timing services; and 
other technology and infrastructure. Given the growing importance and 
reliance of the Nation on these services and infrastructures, it is 
critical that the Nation prepare for the effects of space weather 
events.
    In October 2016, the Space Weather Operations, Research, and 
Mitigation (SWORM) Subcommittee was established by the National Science 
and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on Environment, Natural 
Resources, and Sustainability, pursuant to Executive Order 13744 on 
Coordinating Efforts to Prepare the Nation for Space Weather Events. 
The Executive Order directed the SWORM Subcommittee to coordinate the 
implementation of the activities specified in the 2015 National Space 
Weather Action Plan (SWAP), among them the development of a plan that 
will ensure the improvement, testing, and maintenance of operational 
forecasting models. This plan is described in the draft white paper 
Improving the Space Weather Forecasting Research to Operations (R2O)--
Operations to Research (O2R) Capability, and this notice solicits 
public inputs to inform its development.

    Dated: January 17, 2017.
Louis Uccellini,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2017-01331 Filed 1-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3270-F4-P