NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this study was provided by the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences through the National Science Foundation.
Additional copies of this report are available from:
Committee on Geophysical and Environmental Data
National Academy of Sciences
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Cover art by Shelley Myers, Project Assistant for the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, National Research Council. Myers' work is exhibited widely in the Washington, D.C. area and has won several area awards. The cover depicts the variation in tropospheric water vapor as measured by NASA's Earth Radiation Budget Satellite.
Copyright ©1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE 1993 DATA FORUM
FERRIS WEBSTER,
University of Delaware,
Chair
RICHARD E. HALLGREN,
American Meteorological Society
CHRISTOPHER S. POTTER,
NASA-Ames Research Center
PETER J. ROBINSON,
University of North Carolina
JOHN R. G. TOWNSHEND,
University of Maryland
G. BRUCE WIERSMA,
University of Maine
TOM WIGLEY,
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
GARY W. YOHE,
Wesleyan University
National Research Council Staff
ANNE M. LINN, Program Officer
CHARLENE E. ANDERSON, Administrative Assistant
COMMITTEE ON GEOPHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
FRANCIS BRETHERTON,
University of Wisconsin,
Chair
VERA ALEXANDER,
University of Alaska
GUY BRASSEUR,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
PETER CORNILLON,
University of Rhode Island
W. JEFFREY HUGHES,
Boston University
MALCOLM K. HUGHES,
University of Arizona
KENNETH C. JEZEK,
Ohio State University
MARCIA K. MCNUTT,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
WILLIAM PARTON,
Colorado State University
THOMAS A. POTEMRA,
The Johns Hopkins University
JOANNE SIMPSON,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
SOROOSH SOROOSHIAN,
University of Arizona
JOHN TOWNSHEND,
University of Maryland
National Research Council Staff
ANNE LINN, Program Officer
CHARLENE E. ANDERSON, Administrative Assistant
BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES
J. FREEMAN GILBERT,
University of California, San Diego,
Chair
GAIL M. ASHLEY,
Rutgers University
THURE CERLING,
University of Utah
MARK P. CLOOS,
University of Texas at Austin
NEVILLE G. W. COOK,
University of California, Berkeley
JOEL DARMSTADTER,
Resources for the Future
DONALD J. DEPAOLO,
University of California, Berkeley
MARCO T. EINAUDI,
Stanford University
NORMAN H. FOSTER,
Independent Petroleum Geologist, Denver
CHARLES G. GROAT,
Louisiana State University
DONALD C. HANEY,
University of Kentucky
ANDREW H. KNOLL,
Harvard University
PHILIP E. LAMOREAUX,
P.E. LaMoreaux and Associates, Inc.
SUSAN LANDON,
Thomasson Partner Associates, Denver
MARCIA K. MCNUTT,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
J. BERNARD MINSTER,
University of California, San Diego
JILL D. PASTERIS,
Washington University
EDWARD C. ROY, JR.,
Trinity University
National Research Council Staff
JONATHAN G. PRICE, Staff Director
THOMAS M. USSELMAN, Associate Staff Director
WILLIAM E. BENSON, Senior Program Officer
KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Program Officer
BRUCE B. HANSHAW, Program Officer
ANNE M. LINN, Program Officer
LALLY A. ANDERSON, Staff Assistant
CHARLENE E. ANDERSON, Administrative Assistant
JUDITH L. ESTEP, Administrative Assistant
SHELLEY A. MYERS, Project Assistant
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
M. GORDON WOLMAN,
The Johns Hopkins University,
Chair
PATRICK R. ATKINS,
Aluminum Company of America
PETER S. EAGLESON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EDWARD A. FRIEMAN,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
W. BARCLAY KAMB,
California Institute of Technology
JACK E. OLIVER,
Cornell University
FRANK L. PARKER,
Vanderbilt/Clemson University
RAYMOND A. PRICE,
Queen's University at Kingston
THOMAS A. SCHELLING,
University of Maryland
LARRY L. SMARR,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
STEVEN M. STANLEY,
The Johns Hopkins University
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
Landers and Parsons
WARREN WASHINGTON,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
EDITH BROWN WEISS,
Georgetown University Law Center
National Research Council Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
MORGAN GOPNIK, Assistant Executive Director
JEANETTE A. SPOON, Administrative Officer
SANDI FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate
ROBIN ALLEN, Senior Project Assistant