Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up A Nationwide Network of Networks (2009) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 15-22
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From page 15... ...
The Committee considered the various roles to be played by federal, state, and local governments, and by commercial entities. In essence, the study provides a framework and recommendations to engage the full range of providers for weather, climate, and related environmentally sensitive information, while enabling users of this information to employ an integrated national observation network effectively and efficiently in their specific applications.
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From page 16... ...
The Committee hopes that Chapters 2 and 3 will bring into sharp focus the ubiquitous effects of weather and c limate on national life and the astounding diversity of needs for mesoscale observing. Chapter 4 is a guide to current observing capabilities and a preview of emerging instrument technologies.
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From page 17... ...
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT Records of systematic meteorological observations in the United States date back to pre-Revolutionary days, when both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson logged observations from Mount Vernon and Monticello. Although observations and small networks proliferated between the Revolution and the mid-19th century, the systematic collection and distribution of meteorological data awaited the arrival of the telegraph to take off in force.
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From page 18... ...
In 1938, the Flood Control Act significantly expanded the role of the Weather Bureau in the realm of hydrology and water resources, calling upon the Bureau to establish the Hydroclimatic Network, an information system for precipitation, with the express purpose of flood control, forecasts, and warnings. This Act resulted in part from the severe Ohio River flooding of 1937 and the realization in hindsight of the utility of detailed hydrologic observations in providing river flood warnings in a timely and economical manner.
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From page 19... ...
In the decades after the war, several legislative mandates were enacted to establish new observational programs and organizational structures, in order to advance the new capabilities and apply them to enhancing the safety and economic well-being of the American public. The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 significantly expanded the role of the Department of Commerce in meteorological applications for aviation, specifically by extending observations into the polar regions and directing the department to form international agreements with the weather services of other nations for the express purpose of sharing data.
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From page 20... ...
Other sensors provide chemical weather and air pollution information at spatial and temporal resolutions beyond traditional meteorological observing systems. Yet, at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, these observational systems are not national in scope, and a national-scale infrastructure for systematically collecting and disseminating the observations does not exist.
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From page 21... ...
A number of national priorities require meteorological observations at spatial and temporal resolutions that are much finer than widely available today. These priorities include tracking atmospheric dispersion of chemical, biological, and nuclear contaminants from industrial accidents and terrorist activities; predicting and monitoring smoke dispersion from wildfires, pre
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From page 22... ...
Identifying ways to enhance and design mesoscale meteorological observing systems (including calibration of environmental data from satellites) so they effectively and jointly serve these and other needs provides an opportunity to dramatically improve analysis and prediction capabilities while sharing infrastructure and costs.
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