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Original PACS-SONET's Acknowledgments (~1999)
This project is supported by the Pan American Climate Studies (PACS) program, which is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Office of Global Programs.
This project has been possible only because of the help of many people, which makes it difficult to have a comprehensive list of the individuals in each country. We sincerely thank everyone who has helped - even if their names do not appear below.
U.S.A
Help from Joe Facundo, Franz Zichy, Ruby Pippenger and Jeff Sickels of the US National Weather Service's National Reconditioning Center in Kansas City made it possible to obtain more than 60 theodolites that are being used in the experiment. Joséeitífrom NSSL helped establish the Cocos Island radiosonde station and has provided assistance in many other aspects of the project.
Marck Oduber, Jonathan Gourley (NSSL), Clinton Wallace (NSSL) and Malaquias PeñNSSL) all helped during the double theodolite tests. In addition Malaquias Peñas responsible for the development of the PACS-SONET-97 homepage, updating of the daily data, and very many other aspects of the overall operation of the network. Rosario Douglas has functioned as an "unpaid" personal secretary to M. Douglas, participating in all of the training sessions throughout the region, and has continued to manage countless other details throughout the project.
Our special thanks go to NSSL personnel who have helped with administrative, shipping and other aspects of managing the activities of the project. These individuals include (in no particular order): Linda Hines, Rusty Devericks, James McGowen, Brenda O'Neal, Don Howard, Cindy Cox, Dennis Nealson and Leslie Cain.
MEXICO
Dr. Michel Rosengaus (Mexican Institute of Water Technology (IMTA)) and Jose Luis Carrasco (National Weather Service (SMN) in Mexico) provided the program CORRIGE and PVGLOPI2, currently being used to process the pilot balloon data. We suspect that they would not have imagined the wide distribution of their work.
Admiral Alejandro Maldonado Mendoza of the Mexican Navy showed interest in the development of the Mexican network and authorized Mexican Navy personnel to make the observations and also agreed to provide the hydrogen gas needed for the operation of the Mexican stations. Navy officers Zarate, Balbuena, Maya, Pineda and Aguilar provided the required training and have overseen the data transmission and processing. We also thank all Navy personnel who are currently making the observations and processing the data.
NICARAGUA
We thank to Ing. Claudio Gutierrez Huete, director of INETER, the institution whose personnel are making the observations. Ing. Mauricio Rosales and Freddy Picado were very helpful with the logistics of setting up the stations. Our special thanks go to the observers Alan Vargas, Clemente Martinez and Julio Ramirez who are also processing and transmitting the data.
COSTA RICA
Hugo Hidalgo, Director of the Instituto Meteorologico Nacional, has been extremely helpful throughout the activities in Costa Rica. Felipe Rivera and Manuel Solera of the IMN have been exceptionally helpful in many activities (sites set up and processing the data); Alejandro Gutierrez (International Ocean Institute) helped arrange transport to Cocos Island. We also thank ALL of the members of the IMN who helped during the trip to Cocos Island and the other aspects of the project in Costa Rica. Thanks to Mr's William and Oscar for facilitating the release of important equipment from customs. Captain Ceferino Leiva Rivera and his crew took us to Cocos Island. We thank (postumously) Joaquin Alvarado Garcia who facilitated the participation of the members of the Costa Rican National Park Service in making the observations at Cocos Island. All personnel from the National Park Service who are making the observations at Cocos Island are especially thanked. Finally we thank the observers in Liberia, Mr. Santos and Mr. Gutierrez.
PANAMA
Ing. Claudia Candanedo and Ing. David Farnum from the Institute of Hydraulic Resources and Electrification (IRHE in Spanish) provided logistic help in finding observers, providing transportation to the site, and allowed their personnel to process the data, whom we sincerely thank. The observers Julio Gutierrez and Hernando Ibañare providing excellent observations. Gerardo Leis coordinated the Panama educational activities, with Marilis Medina, and many, many others helping to arrange details of the course.
COLOMBIA
The Colombian Navy facility at CIOH (Center for Hydrological and Oceanographic Research) has provided personnel to make the observations in Cartagena. We thank Captain Carlos Andrade for helping to arrange this operation, as well as other CIOH individuals who have maintained a very on-time transmission of the data. Our thanks also to Jair Garcíand others who are supervising the overall operation. Finally our thanks to the observers.
PERU
Rodolfo Rodriguez helped to coordinate the operation at the University of Piura and was very generous during the establishment of the station. Other active participants who have maintained the operation (making the observations and processing and transmitting the data) are Luis Alberto Torrez, Luis Alberto Flores, Norma Ordinola and Roxana Fernandez. Our thanks to Mayor General Jose M. Ames (director of SENAMHI - National Service of Meteorology and Hidrology) and Captain Jorge Oviedo Diaz for having us as visitors to their facilities in Lima. Also thanks to Mr. Pedro Tongo from the Peruvian Air Force in Piura who provided a theodolite during the training session.
ECUADOR
Special thanks go to Dr. Jose Luis Santos at ESPOL (Superior Polytechnic School of the Coast), who helped organize the training session and who is currently supervising the observations taking place at ESPOL and processing the data from all of the Ecuadorian stations, and to Enrique Palacios of INAMHI (National Institute for Meteorology and Hidrology), who has facilitated the participation of INAMHI members at San Cristobal in the Galapagos and who also helped find observers for the Esmeraldas sites and who is also currently overseing the money that is being used for all the expenses related to making the observations in Ecuador. Thanks go to all of the Ecuadorian observers and the people processing the data.
PACS-SONET Extended Obs's Acknowledgments (October 2003)
USA
At NSSL Sandra Allen has helped with the logistics of shipping, transfers of funds, travel arrangements and many other complications relating to the project's activities.
Harrie Cherry, Ailyn Hickson and Heather Flannagan from the NOAA Finance Office in Washington DC have helped on very many occasions with the numerous funds transfers to the different countries that make up the network.
Rosario Douglas has informally helped on many occasions in both office-related work and in the field activities, as most participants in these activities are aware.
Bolivia
Since 1999 we have been working with AASANA in Bolivia. We thank Roberto Catacora, Celso Delgado, and Jorge Aldunate for their valuable help in coordinating the operation of the 6 pilot balloon stations in Bolivia. We also thank the AASANA staff in the 6 locations were observations are being made. There are very, very many individuals involved throughout Bolivia - you know who you are!
Colombia
We have continued to work with the CIOH in Cartagena. Alejandro Muñ Gabriel Diaz, Enrique de La Espriella, Oscar Linares, and Wilmer Cardenas have been our contacts.
Ecuador
We continue to work with INAMHI and we thank Gustavo Garcia (INAMHI's director) and Antonio Rodriguez also from INAMHI for their help coordinating the station at San Cristobal in the Galapagos.
Mexico
We continue to work with the Mexican Navy and our contacts in recent years have been:
Vice-admiral SIA IN Edgar F. Narro y Quesada (General Director of Research and Development), Teniente de Navio CG Juan Manuel Caballero and Teniente de Navio CG Arturo Caracas. There are many individuals at the various sites who continue to perform an excellent service.
Nicaragua
We continue to work with Nicaragua. In recent years we have worked with Javier Lopez (formerly at INETER) and most recently our contacts are: Mauricio Rosales, Saul Flores and Sandra Toval.
Peru
We continue to work with the University of Piura and our contact there is Ing. Luis Flores.
In recent years we have also started to work with SENAMHI whose director, General Willar Gamarra Molina, has been very supportive. We also thank Carmen Reyes and Sebastian Zuñ from SENAMHI, for their help establishing pilot balloon stations. A number of other members of SENAMHI continue to help in different manners.
Paraguay
In 1999 two pilot balloon stations were established in Paraguay. We thank former director Henry Valiente and Benjamin Grassi from the DINAC who facilitated our work establishing these stations. We also thank Agustin Zarate, Eduardo Mingo, Lourdes Rodriguez, Julian Baez, Oscar Rodriguez, Raul Rodas, Victor Mosqueda and other DINAC staff for their help running the station and in many other activities that followed.
Fernando Pio Barrios from the Asuncion's National University also helped during the SALLJEX raingauge deployment in Paraguay and in many other activities.
Also, the WMO office for the Americas in Paraguay must be thanked for valuable support in assisting in funds transfers and other activities.
Venezuela
In 2000 we started working with the Venezuela Weather Service, associated with the Air Force (SEMETAVIA). We thank the director Coronel Andres Eloy Mijares, and Hernando Noguera the former head of the forecast office. Our thanks also to Julio Cabanerit and Arnaldo Lugo for their continuous help in running the stations. The observers are also to be thanked heartfully for their professional efforts in making the observations.
Final Acknowledgments (December 2008 - subject to future additions)
Colombia
In 2005 we collaborated with the Colombian Air Force (FAC) in the establishment of 6 pilot balloon stations. The sites were operated from September 2005 through February 2007. We thank especially Coronel Gonzalo Cardenas Mahecha, FAC's Meteorology department director for his continuous support in running the stations. Other officials are also thanked for taking care of multiple logistic details.
Argentina:
During activities beginning prior to SALLJEX and extending through the end of PACS-SONET we received valuable collaboration from many individuals at the University of Buenos Aires, especially Matilde Nicolini, Celeste Paulo, and Paola Salio, Many more (you know who you are) also helped in many ways. Mario Garcia at the Argentinean Weather Service coordinated training sessions and assisted in other ways, as did other members of the SMN.
And to everyone who participated and reads this - please let us know so that you can be acknowledged. And to those who never read this, we thank you for your efforts!
USA
Linda Foster and Sandra Allen continued the extensive effort needed to arrange the funds transfers during this time and many other paperwork activites that were required. The support of the NSSL Director, Jeff Kimpel, and other senior staff is greatly appreciated during this time.
During the final years of PACS-SONET there was extensive help from the University of Oklahoma graduate students John Mejia, Jose Galvez and Raquel Orozco in the field work and educational activities in Latin America and in the research activities in Norman. Many conference preprints describe their work (see references on this web page). A number of undergraduate students participated in processing the data, including Christine Brown, Matt Gaffner and Kelly Sugden.
Last Update: Friday, 12-Dec-2008 17:25:33 CST by Kela
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