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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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A STRATEGY FOR          
ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING
       AMID INCREASED DEMAND
        FOR RADIO SPECTRUM

Committee on a Survey of the Active Sensing
Uses of the Radio Spectrum

Board on Physics and Astronomy

image

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, DC

www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS   500 Fifth Street, NW   Washington, DC 20001

This study was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract NNH10CD04B, TO#6. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-37305-0
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-37305-0

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Copyright 2015 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
×

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The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president.

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Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.national-academies.org.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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COMMITTEE ON A SURVEY OF THE ACTIVE SENSING USES OF THE RADIO SPECTRUM

FAWWAZ ULABY, University of Michigan, Chair

SUSAN AVERY, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

COLEMAN BAZELON, The Brattle Group

WILLIAM BRISTOW, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

DONALD B. CAMPBELL, Cornell University

MARIE COLTON, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (retired)

SANDRA CRUZ-POL, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (resigned August 2014)

LENNARD FISK, University of Michigan

ALBIN GASIEWSKI, University of Colorado, Boulder

JEFFREY HERD, MIT Lincoln Laboratory

LINWOOD JONES, University of Central Florida

PAUL KOLODZY, Kolodzy Consulting

ROBERT PALMER, University of Oklahoma

DEAN PASCHEN, First RF Co.

MICHAEL SPENCER, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

DAVID LONG, Brigham Young University, consultant to the committee

Staff

DAVID B. LANG, Senior Program Officer, Study Director

JAMES C. LANCASTER, Director, Board on Physics and Astronomy

LINDA WALKER, Program Coordinator

BETH DOLAN, Financial Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY

MICHAEL S. WITHERELL, University of California, Santa Barbara, Chair

CHARLES L. BENNETT, Johns Hopkins University, Vice Chair

RICCARDO BETTI, University of Rochester

TODD DITMIRE, University of Texas, Austin

NATHANIEL J. FISCH, Princeton University

PAUL FLEURY, Yale University

GERALD GABRIELSE, Harvard University

JACQUELINE N. HEWITT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

BARBARA V. JACAK, Stony Brook University

BARBARA JONES, IBM Almaden Research Center

HERBERT LEVINE, Rice University

ABRAHAM (AVI) LOEB, Harvard University

MONICA OLVERA DE LA CRUZ, Northwestern University

PAUL SCHECHTER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Staff

JAMES C. LANCASTER, Director

DAVID B. LANG, Senior Program Officer

LINDA WALKER, Program Coordinator

BETH DOLAN, Financial Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Preface

To support the presidential initiative for Spectrum Management for the 21st Century, a review of current and future needs of scientific users of the spectrum is in order. In recent years, the explosion of new wireless technologies has significantly increased the demand for access to the radio spectrum. The increased demand has led to discussions in both government and industry about new ways of thinking about spectrum allocation and use.

Scientific users of the radio spectrum (such as radio astronomers and Earth scientists using remotely sensed data) have an important stake in the policies which will result from this activity. A survey of the scientific uses of the spectrum up to 3 THz by passive (receive-only) means was conducted by the National Research Council (NRC), resulting in “Spectrum Management for Science in the 21st Century” (SMS). Identifying the potentially dire interference situation posed to NASA’s in-orbit and planned passive remote sensing observatories and to the National Science Foundation’s ground-based radio astronomy observatories, the report had a significant amount of impact in the Administration and Congress.

NASA requested that the NRC immediately embark on a similar study to explore the current and planned scientific use of the spectrum by active means and the current and potential vulnerabilities and problem areas therein. This information will assist spectrum management decision makers in balancing the requirements of the scientific users of the spectrum with other interests.

With funding from NASA, the NRC convened the Committee on a Survey of the Active Scientific Use of the Radio Spectrum to conduct this study and issue a report. The committee first met in Washington, D.C. on August 15-16, 2013, at

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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which it heard from government policymakers. The subsequent 3 meetings over the following year featured discussions with experts and stakeholders from academia, government labs, industry, and foreign interests. In particular, the committee organized a one-day workshop to gather information on radiofrequency interference experiences by operating spaceborne active remote sensing platforms. This workshop was held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on November 8, 2013, and an account of the meeting is provided in the appendix to this report.

In the course of its discussions the transmission of collected data arose (for example, NASA’s Deep Space Network) as a possible topic for the committee to include in its report. However, after discussion, the committee and sponsors concluded that, while crucial in its own right, that it is outside of the committee’s purview and expertise and thus should not be treated in this report. Both the sponsor and committee agreed that an in-depth look at data transmission could indeed be a separate and valuable study following this one.

In writing its report the committee presents the scientific and technical bases for the multiple applications of active remote sensing in separate chapters: the atmosphere; the oceans; the land surfaces; space physics; and radar astronomy. These chapters (Chapters 2-6) also summarize the spectrum usage for each remote sensing and radiofrequency interference environment for each application. A later chapter (Chapter 8) discusses in greater detail radiofrequency interference issues for active sensing instruments. Finally, Chapter 7 provides an overview of spectrum allocation policies and the frequency assignment process, and Chapter 9 knits the report together by recommending unilateral and cooperative strategies for enhanced usage of the spectrum by all parties, including commercial interests.

This report provides useful information and guidance to engineers who operate the current suite of spacecraft and those who will build future observatories; scientists who use the information gleaned by these spacecraft; policymakers who must balance multiple competing priorities; and the telecommunications industry which is facing ever-increasing demand. The forward-looking approach laid out in this report allows scientists to continue to provide the nation and world with an improving understanding of Earth and the local solar system while working cooperatively alongside other spectrum users in an era of ever-increasing demand for bandwidth.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

William J. Blackwell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

V. Chandra Chandrasekar, Colorado State University,

Bryan Huneycutt, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,

David L. Hysell, Cornell University,

Kenneth Jezek, The Ohio State University,

Jean-Luc Margot, University of California, Los Angeles,

James J. Reis, Fugro EarthData,

Gregory Rosston, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research,

David T. Sandwell, Scripps Institute of Oceanography,

Robert J. Serafin, National Center for Atmospheric Research, and

Paul Siqueira, University of Massachusetts.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Ken Kellermann, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21729.
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Active remote sensing is the principal tool used to study and to predict short- and long-term changes in the environment of Earth - the atmosphere, the oceans and the land surfaces - as well as the near space environment of Earth. All of these measurements are essential to understanding terrestrial weather, climate change, space weather hazards, and threats from asteroids. Active remote sensing measurements are of inestimable benefit to society, as we pursue the development of a technological civilization that is economically viable, and seek to maintain the quality of our life.

A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Spectrum describes the threats, both current and future, to the effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum required for active remote sensing. This report offers specific recommendations for protecting and making effective use of the spectrum required for active remote sensing.

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