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From
the Publisher Introduction to the Special NASA Earth Science Enterprise Issue of EOM Coming in August Every generation has its own defining moment: a loss of innocence, a call to action. For our parents it was Pearl Harbor. For us it was September 11. This is the point at which a nation’s collective thoughts, emotions and actions change significantly, and whatever happens from that point onward is related directly to what the people of that generation do beyond that moment. Prior to those events, the Bush Administration had promised to make government more accountable. Shaping agencies to be more responsible to the people of America and society as a whole was an important issue before September 11. After that date it has become an absolute imperative. An area where this commitment is most inherent, yet not very visible, is NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise. NASA represents the greatest resource of human intelligence, science and technology in the world. To use NASA’s technological and scientific resources to benefit and protect society makes so much sense that it should be self-evident. But in this complex world, nothing seems self-evident anymore. Therefore, we at EOM – in conjunction with the NASA Earth Science Enterprise Applications Division – will attempt to communicate how and where NASA’s ESE will focus its efforts to the benefit of America and society as a whole. The August 2002 issue of Earth Observation Magazine will be devoted exclusively to providing an illustration of the nature and benefits of the NASA Earth Science Enterprise. This is the second time we have devoted an entire issue to NASA. The first time was in April 1999, and it subsequently became the most popular EOM edition ever. The following is a brief overview of the ESE mission that will serve as an introduction to this special NASA Earth Science Enterprise Issue of EOM, coming in August 2002. National Applications Initiative: Using Earth Science Results for Decision Support Description of Initiative The applications division within the NASA Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) serves the nation by initiating and demonstrating practical uses of NASA-sponsored observations from remote sensing systems and predictions from scientific research and modeling. NASA implements projects through partnerships with public, private and academic organizations. These partnerships focus on innovative approaches for using Earth science information to provide decision support that can be adapted in applications nationwide. The National Applications Initiative contributes to expanding and accelerating the use of knowledge, science and technologies that result from the ESE mission of improving predictions in weather, climate and natural hazards. This approach enables the assimilation of the Earth science model and remote sensing mission outputs to serve as inputs to decision support systems (see Figure 1). The outcomes are manifest in enhanced decision support, and the impacts are projected to result in significant socio-economic benefits for each of the national applications. NASA’s ESE has identified 12 national applications that can be served by NASA aeronautics and space-based research through the development of enabling science and technologies. These include (with respective partner federal agencies in parentheses):
How does this initiative implement NASA’s vision and mission? Part of NASA’s vision is to improve life here. The National Applications Initiative contributes to expanding and accelerating the use of knowledge, science and technologies that result from the ESE mission to improve predictions in weather, climate and natural hazards by enabling and facilitating the assimilation of data and mission outputs into models and decision-support systems. The purpose is to enhance the performance of the decision-support systems and serve citizens through better governance. This initiative also directly addresses NASA’s mission statements, which are as follows:
In the process of benchmarking beneficial uses and applications for Earth science data and technology, the National Applications Initiative is producing significant scientific and technological returns on the federal investment. Activities are underway or planned in each of the above-referenced 12 national applications areas. For example, in the area of community preparedness for disaster management, NASA is integrating science and technology to produce improved warnings and predictions of hurricanes, tornadoes and other severe weather events, thus enabling more cost-effective damage mitigation, emergency preparation, and subsequent emergency management with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). With regard to agricultural competitiveness, applications activities are already benchmarking unique technologies such as "precision farming" to permit more effective application of nutrients, pesticides and herbicides on our nation’s farmlands. Technologies are also being improved to monitor and assess the health and condition of our crops and forests. In aviation safety, initiatives are in place to integrate data from our weather and environmental satellites with other traditional aviation weather information. These are just a few examples of how this applications initiative both utilizes and advances NASA science and technology. What is the contribution to national needs and the benefit to society at large? The selection of these 12 national applications was based upon a strict set of criteria including the consideration of potential socio-economic return, application feasibility, appropriateness for NASA, and partnership opportunities. The potential contributions of the applications initiative to national needs and societal benefits are significant by design. Some examples of NASA contributions include recovery support to events such as the World Trade Center, Hurricane Andrew, Montana wildfires, Hawaiian tsunamis, eruption of the Mount Etna volcano, lost aircraft in Montana and California, and Mississippi River flooding. These capabilities have provided critical threat and damage assessments, and the determination of secondary impacts. NASA and NOAA researchers have recently shown that remotely sensed wind speed and direction from QuikSCAT can help detect tropical depressions and hurricanes up to 46 hours earlier than current methods. Hurricane cloud monitoring and wind profile and prediction products from scatterometer (QuikSCAT), Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I), Topex/Poseidon, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), Landsat, Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS), and the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (Sea WIFS) contribute to predicting candidate locations for hurricane landfall and surge, and provide assessments of damage and secondary impacts. The potential socio-economic benefits of many of these applications are significant. By minimizing unnecessary emergency evacuation measures, improved hurricane predictions could provide as much as $40 million in cost savings for the nation for each event. The value to our agriculture industry of a "perfect" El Niño forecast is said to be $320 million per year. Similarly, improved weather forecasting can save as much $8 million for individual energy companies by enabling utilities to better plan for anticipated energy requirements. Why NASA, instead of someone else? Through the ESE Applications Program, NASA, with its special heritage, history, and experience, is uniquely positioned to benchmark practical uses of NASA observations from remote sensing systems and predictions from scientific research. NASA contributes the initial research and development of aerospace science and technology, and then supports the applications through partnerships with public, private and academic organizations. These partnerships focus on innovative approaches for using Earth science information to provide decision-support information adaptable to applications nationwide. NASA is uniquely qualified to identify organizations with the appropriate information infrastructure to apply NASA results from Earth science to meet observational needs for managing forest fires, coastal environments, agriculture, impacts of infectious diseases, aviation safety, and hurricane forecasting. Is now the right time? This applications initiative is very timely given the explicit recognition within Congress the Bush Administration, and of the value for using Earth science knowledge to enable and facilitate decision-support systems in the public and private sector. On June 11, President Bush announced the establishment of the U.S. Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI) to study areas of scientific uncertainty and to identify priority areas where investments can make a difference. The CCRI promotes a vision focused on the effective use of scientific knowledge in policy and management decisions, and the continual evaluation of management strategies and choices. This strategy emerged from a common agreement on priority actions to be taken and is aligned with National Academy of Sciences recommendations as presented in the June 2001 Academy report titled, "Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions." Most relevant here, one of the aims of these proposed actions is to develop research and data products that will facilitate the use of scientific knowledge to support policy and management decisions. Congress also recognizes the importance of these NASA applications program with various bills that promote specific applications research and development to which NASA’s applications initiative can contribute. For instance, the pending "Remote Sensing Applications Act of 2001" (H.R. 2426) authorizes grants for benchmark projects in areas such as agriculture, weather and forest management. Similarly, the pending Energy Bill (S.1766) authorizes research and development in various disciplines (e.g., energy efficiency, carbon sequestration, clean-energy technology, and renewable fuels) to which NASA’s applications program can clearly add value. Because everything in the future hinges upon what we do today, as we go forward and apply the tremendous resources of NASA for the benefit of all, I am certain that our children and their children will thank us for having such a positive impact on society at large. Until next time... Cheers! |
What
is the potential return for this science or technology?