Earth System Science: Understanding & Protecting Our Home Planet

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Earth System Science:Understanding & Protecting Our Home Planet

Ghassem R. Asrar, Ph.DAssociate Administrator for Earth ScienceJanuary 5, 2004

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A Typical Star in a Typical Galaxy…

3Earth was here 100M years ago

Earth will be here in 50M years

We are here

Transient Passengers in Space & Time

4…but the only known harbor for life in the universe

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The Societal Motivation -- Worldwide

Global population today exceeds 6 billion; we added 3.5 billion -- more than doubling the population -- in the last 50 years

Over the same period, world economic output grew seven fold, and grain yields nearly tripled

Still, over 1.2 billion still live in severe poverty, and 1.1 billion do not have access to clean drinking water

Can the Earth sustain this pace of development in the future?

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The Societal Motivation -- U.S.

Up to $2.2 trillion of U.S. economic activity are affected annually by weather and climate events• 54 weather-related disasters costing over $1 billion each

between 1980 and 2002• $200 billion total between 1988 and 2002 alone• 4x population and property assets along hurricane-prone

coastlines over the past 30 years; now 45 million people• $5 billion annually from flooding; $6-8 billion from droughts

In 2000, wildfires burned 8.4 million acres, destroyed 900 structures, and cost $1.36 billion

FEMA obligated almost $7 billion in relief costs for the 1994 Northridge earthquake

From “Reducing Disaster Vulnerability Through Science & Technology” NSTC, July 2003

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Earth Science in NASA’s Mission

Understand and Protect Our Home Planet by using our view from space to study the Earth system and improve prediction of Earth system change

Help Explore the Universe and Search for Life by applying our scientific understanding of the Earth system to the identification and study of Earth-like planets around other stars

Inspire the Next Generation of Earth Explorers by providing Earth system science content and training to educators, and by sponsoring the education and early careers of Earth scientists

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ESE Research is Part of an End-to-End Program of Science for Society

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Understand & Protect Our Home Planet

ERBS

Terra

Aqua

GRACE

QuikScatSAGE III

SeaWinds

TRMM

TOMS-EP

UARS

Jason Landsat 7

SORCE

ACRIMSAT

EO-1

TOPEX/Poseidon

SeaWiFS

ICESat

We have given the world its first capability to study the Earth as a system

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Next Generation Missions

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Applications of National Priority

AgriculturalEfficiency

Air QualityInvasive Species

WaterManagement

Disaster Management

Coastal Management

Homeland Security

CarbonManagement

Aviation SafetyEnergy ForecastingPublic Health

Ecological Forecasting

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Inspire the Next Generation of Earth Explorers

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Technology

• Information Synthesis: Distributed, Reconfigurable, Autonomous

• Access to Knowledge: On-orbit Processing, Immersive Environments Challenges to Enable Future Science

- Laser/Lidar technology to enable Earth system science measurements

- Large Deployables to enable future weather/climate/ natural hazards measurements

- Intelligent Distributed Systems using optical communication, on-board reprogrammable processors, autonomous network control, data compression, high density storage

- Information Knowledge Capture through 3-D Visualization, holographic memory and seamlessly linked models.

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Flight Operations,Data Capture,Initial Processing,Backup Archive

DataTransportto DAACs

Science DataProcessing,Info Mgmt, DataArchive, & Distribution

Distribution,Access,

Interoperability,Reuse

Spacecraft

NASAIntegratedServicesNetwork(NISN)MissionServices

WWWValue-Added

Providers

InteragencyData

Centers

Int’l Partners& DataCenters

Data Acquisition

GroundStations

Tracking& Data

Relay Satellite(TDRS)

ResearchUsers

EducationUsers

ScienceTeams

Data Processing

&MissionControl

Polar Ground Stations

Data System Architecture

DAACs

- EOSDIS

ESIPs

REASoNs

with ESIPs & REASoNs

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Turning Observations Into Knowledge Products

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Evolving EOSDIS Elements

Evolve data systems to achieve “stability with innovation”.

Current Data System Context• EOSDIS operation volumes include:

– 2,178 unique data products– 4.5TB of daily ingest– 2TB of daily distribution– Over 2 million distinct users for 2003

Approach to system evolution

• Work with the ESE advisory committee (ESSAAC) to develop a plan for the way forward (plan expected within a year).

• Identify which current systems and functions need to evolve, e.g., bandwidth and storage capacity

• Work with the community (e.g. REASoN) to implement changes

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Drivers of Evolving Data & Info Systems

Missions to Measurements• ESE is moving from mission-based data systems to those that focus

on Earth science measurements.• ESE’s DIS will be a resource for science-focused communities

enabling research, and will be flexible, scalable and suited for the particular community needs.

• Continue on the pathways for acquiring observations to understand processes and develop Earth system models.

The Advance of Information Technologies• NASA will remain at the forefront of IT development and will partner

with other agencies to ensure the strategic use of IT resources to avoid obsolescence and enable enhanced performance.

• The lowering cost of IT infrastructure enables ESE data systems to take advantage of improving computation, storage and network capabilities.

Facilitate the Transition from Research to Operations• Work with Federal partners to transition operational elements of data

systems to other agencies while maintaining core data system functions necessary for conducting NASA ESE mission and goals.

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Federation Contributions to the Evolution of EOSDIS

The Federation has contributed to existing DIS capabilities through prototyping, partnering and implementation activities.• Access and Interoperability

- OpenDAP (A data protocol that has allowed the science community to be active participants in a distributed data infrastructure - interconnecting DAACs, ESIPs and others)

- ESML (The Earth Science Markup Language provides a means for describing disparate data types to enhance search and service capabilities.)

• Data Analysis and Processing Tools- GIS-friendly formats (ESIPs offering data converted into GIS

formats enabling rapid use of ESE data.)- Search, Discover and Order (Several new data portals where user

communities can easily obtain the particular data needed - this has been very successful in the land research communities.)

- Prototypes for Exploring Emerging Capabilities (Subsetting, reprojection, and aggregation; data mining and discovery tools).

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Challenges Ahead

Focus on timely delivery of data and information to users.Transform observations collected into useful information - from terabytes of data into megabytes of knowledge.Invest in technology that improves access to knowledge.Seek “integrated solutions” that use NASA Earth science capabilities to address applications of national importance.Place substantive and concerted effort on the needs of educational users.Provide brokering service connecting the technological capabilities of educational communities with the continuing evolution of NASA’s data information systems.Provide opportunities for the community to work with NASA to meet national goals in research, applications and education.

The Federation should look at the ways in which its contributions can aid us in this mission.

The coming decade calls for:

Components of a Future Global System for Earth Observation

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Opportunities to Work with NASA

Work with principal investigators in research applications and education to develop data system tools and techniques concurrent with project objectives.

Respond to solicitations beyond those focused on data and information systems.

• Anticipated ESE opportunities this year:• Carbon cycle• Water and energy cycle• National applications• Oceans and Ice• Cyclones, chemistry, clouds and convection

Develop new techniques for linking users to data and data products.

Modeling and ESMF (Earth Science Modeling Framework).

Earth Explorers: Integrated Solutions for K-16 and Informal Education.

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Summary

The new strategy describes the priorities and direction of the program for the next decade.

Data and information systems will evolve to meet ESE’s science requirements including timely access to ESE Earth science observations, information, modeling, and processing tools.

ESE is working through its advisory committee to develop a plan for the next generation data systems.

A Data and Information Management Plan will be available within a year.

Opportunities exist for members of the Federation to help ESE meet its goals through announcements made in research, education, technology and modeling.

To realize the future we must think creatively and work collaboratively.