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Introduction Science for Society In April 2002, Sean O’Keefe, the NASA administrator, unveiled a vision and mission that will carry the agency forward into the 21st century:
The vision: To improve life here, To extend life to there, To find life beyond.
The mission: To understand and protect our home planet, To explore the Universe and search for life, To inspire the next generation of explorers ...as only NASA can. Earth science is the first element of this new vision, and it builds on more than a decade of scientific and technological advances. Over the past 15 years, the Earth Science Enterprise has defined a program of research in collaboration with the scientific community that was intended to increase our knowledge of the Earth as a system of intertwined processes. We have come to understand that the only way to really comprehend our climate and to protect the scarce resources of our little blue planet is to look at the Earth as a single, whole system. This holistic approach allows us to see how the oceans affect climate on land, for example, and how natural and man-made environmental hazards in one part of the world affect other parts of the world. The systems approach to studying the Earth has rapidly advanced our understanding of the complexity of the underlying interactions that sustain life on Earth. It has also revealed the sensitivity of the Earth’s component systems and how they directly affect our lives. For example, systematic satellite observations of the Earth look for holes in the protective ozone layer in our upper atmosphere that allow increasing amounts of potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation to reach the surface. Ultimately, this knowledge contributed to development of the Montreal Protocol of 1987, which controlled the production and use of chlorofluorocarbons that damaged the ozone layer. Over the past decade, by using systematic satellite observations of ocean topography and temperature and of the winds over the oceans, we supported the characterization of complex relationships between the ocean and atmosphere and how those relationships affect global climate. This characterization has led to a new understanding of the processes that drive the El Niño and La Niña climate events. Armed with this understanding of process and knowledge of how these events affect climate in different parts of the world, we now have an unprecedented ability to predict climate variation. As the reliability and accuracy of predictions continues to improve, farmers, natural resource managers, commodity brokers, and insurance agents–among others–can anticipate climate variations and make their plans accordingly. These examples hint at the tremendous practical value that is now being realized by NASA’s investment in Earth science. From the unique vantage point of space we can see and, more importantly, predict how dust storms in the Sahara will affect crops in the American Midwest. From the unique vantage point of space we can predict how mosquito-borne diseases will spread. From the unique vantage point of space we can tell a farmer which part of her field needs fertilizer and which part does not. The Applications program of the Earth Science Enterprise was created in 1998 to accelerate and expand the process that brings NASA Earth science results, data and technology to bear on the problems that confront our citizens. In January 2002, NASA unveiled a plan that outlines how this will be achieved.
The Applications plan focuses the program’s effort on areas of national priority that support the new NASA vision and mission. Selection of topics was guided by four basic criteria: (1) designation of priority by the executive or legislative branches of Federal government (2) relevance to existing programs in Federal agencies (3) existence of requirements validated by other agencies (4) significant societal or economic value (e.g., reduced expenditures, savings of life and property, enhanced quality of life).
The following 12 areas of national priority have been identified as meeting these criteria: 1. Enhanced weather prediction for energy forecasting 2. Weather and climate prediction for agricultural competitiveness 3. Carbon sequestration assessment for carbon management 4. Digital atmosphere and terrain for aviation transportation safety 5. Early-warning systems for air and water quality for homeland security 6. Environmental indicators for community growth management 7. Integrated hurricane and flooding prediction for community disaster preparedness 8. Early-warning systems for vector-borne infectious diseases for public health 9. Environmental indicators for coastal management 10. Environmental models for biological invasive species 11. Water-cycle science for water management and conservation 12. Regional, national, and international atmospheric measurements and predictions for air quality management. The papers included in this issue of Earth Observation Magazine suggest some of the ways in which an improved ability to predict weather, climate, and natural hazards can improve the quality of our lives as individuals, and as a nation. Several of the papers illustrate how NASA-developed technology is being used to address new problems. For example, Herring, Weier and Gubbels describe how satellite data can be used in the coastal environment to find fish, to map diseased corals, and to monitor water quality in "Environmental Indicators for Coastal Management." In "The National Invasive Species Forecasting System," Schnase, Stohlgren and Smith show how a number of existing remote sensing tools and models are being directed toward monitoring and predicting the spread of non-native plants and animals–a problem that costs the American economy more than $100 billion each year. In "Remote Sensing for Public Health Surveillance and Response," Maynard outlines how satellite remote sensing is being used to predict the movement of vector-borne diseases in Africa, to monitor asthma in Baltimore, and to understand the global health impacts of African and Asian dust storms. New satellite technologies on the horizon will have a major impact on our lives. "A Change in the Weather" by Sandford and Smith explains how satellites planned by NASA will provide new dynamic measurements of the composition and structure of the atmosphere. These data will be used to drive models that will improve our ability to forecast the weather. Improved atmospheric measurements, and improved forecasts have a number of benefits described by Murray in "Aviation Weather Applications of Earth Science Enterprise Data." Stackhouse, Whitlock, DiPasquale Brown, and Chandler indicate in "Meeting Energy-Sector Needs with NASA Climate Datasets" that these data are also very valuable to energy suppliers. For example, an increase in accuracy of one degree in temperature forecasting has the potential to save millions of dollars per year. New measurements of the Earth are obviously important, but so too is our ability to combine these data with observations from other satellites and other sources of environmental information, such as ground-based radar, and even with weather buoys in the ocean. Data assimilation, a technology that permits the fusing of multiple data sources, can assist in making longer-term predictions about climate. Rienecker and Adamec describe in general terms how data assimilation is accomplished and suggest its importance in "Satellite Observations and Seasonal Climate Forecasts for Agricultural Applications." Houser tells us how these techniques might be applied to immediate concerns in "Air and Water Monitoring for Homeland Security." Atlas, Hou and Reale outline how satellite data and data assimilation technology can be used to minimize the loss of life and property in "Hurricane and Flood Prediction for Community Disaster Preparedness." "Toward a Carbon Management Regime," by Sheffner and Fladeland, looks to a future where carbon dioxide emissions are commercially traded like sulfur, another industrial atmospheric pollutant, and the role that NASA resources might play in contributing scientific understanding of the carbon cycle. These papers address topics of national interest that are critical to missions of sister Federal agencies. NASA’s agency partners maintain decision support systems that allow them to address key issues in a consistent, objective and systematic manner. As the Earth Science Enterprise Applications Strategy is implemented, NASA will identify opportunities to collaborate with our Federal partners to apply NASA’s science results, data and technology that can be brought to bear efficiently and effectively on problems of national importance. These important applications are built upon the discoveries of NASA Earth science research. What you find herein is representative of Earth science results and their potential to serve our nation, with more to come in the future. |