Noaa imposes limits on scientists, sparking concerns over global forecasts

Last week Noaa’s office of research sent a message to all staff saying that “effective immediately”, the agency’s headquarters will implement a new layer of oversight over its scientists’ email and “virtual meetings” with foreign nationals. The new restrictions also require all Noaa employees and affiliates to document “all international engagements” in an internal spreadsheet for approval by a Trump political appointee on a case-by-case basis.

The Noaa directive did not outright bar its scientists from continuing ongoing international collaboration, but the additional administrative burden appears to be especially onerous for the National Weather Service (NWS) – the division of Noaa that underpins all weather forecasting in the US and provides a constant stream of data on the atmosphere and oceans to the world for free as a public good.