Space Studies Board Annual Report 2007 (2008) / Chapter Skim
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6.2 National Imperatives for Earth Science Research
6.2 National Imperatives for Earth Science Research
Pages 125-129
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From page 125... ...
These changes are not isolated; they interact with each other and with natural variability in complex ways that cascade through the environment across local, regional, and global scales. Addressing these societal challenges requires that we confront key scientific questions related to ice sheets and sea level change, largescale and persistent shifts in precipitation and water availability, transcontinental air pollution, shifts in ecosystem structure and function in response to climate change, impacts of climate change on human health, and occurrence of extreme events, such as hurricanes, floods and droughts, heat waves, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
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From page 126... ...
The Interim Report documented that NASA had cancelled, scaled back, or delayed at least six planned missions, including a Landsat continuity mission. This led to the main finding in the Interim Report: "this system of environmental satellites is at risk of collapse." Since the publication of the Interim Report, the Hydros and Deep Space Climate Observatory missions were cancelled; the flagship Global Precipitation Mission was delayed for another two and a half years; significant cuts were made to NASA's Research and Analysis program; the NPOESS Preparatory Project mission was delayed for a year and a half; a key atmospheric profiling sensor planned for the next generation of NOAA geostationary satellites was canceled; and cost overruns led to the NPOESS program undergoing a "Nunn-McCurdy" review.
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From page 127... ...
Taking this path, we will also forgo the economic benefits that would have come, for example, from better management of energy and water, and improved weather predictions. Without action on the report's recommendations, a decades-long improvements in the skill in which we make weather forecasts will stall, or even reverse; this may be accompanied by diminished capacity to forecast severe weather events and manage disaster response and relief efforts.
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From page 128... ...
And, uses for satellite data only continue to grow as we learn to "see" phenomena like changes in sea surface temperature, sea level, and the size of polar ice caps. I cannot emphasize enough how vital satellite imagery has become to earth observation and consequently our ability to predict, plan, prepare, and respond.
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From page 129... ...
From sea level, sea surface temperatures and winds to red tide outbreaks and oil spills, satellite observations afford us a better, informed view of our Earth. The climate debate has been driven by debate over model capabilities and the lack of long-term critical observations relevant to climate.
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