August 27, 2003 — More than 30 nations and 20 international organizations came together on July 31 to realize a common goal — to establish an international, comprehensive, integrated and sustained Earth observation system that links thousands of individual technological assets — including space-borne, airborne and in situ observations. The knowledge gained from the data collected by an EOS would allow decision-makers around the world to make more informed decisions regarding climate, the environment and a host of other social and economic issues affected by Earth systems. The summit also reminds us that no one nation alone can tackle the many societal, biological and economic concerns associated with Earth systems, which have no geographic borders and ultimately affect all of us.

The Earth Observation Summit
International momentum for greater integration of Earth observing systems peaked at the 2003 G-8 summit in Evian, France, when the G-8 Action Plan on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development called for strengthening international cooperation on global observation and listed a number of specific activities geared toward that end. Prior to this, the importance of an integrated EOS had also surfaced at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, the 2001 U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development and the 1992 Earth Summit.

The Earth Observation Summit, hosted by the United States at the U.S. Department of State in July, marked an important milestone in the development of a comprehensive EOS. By bring together key ministerial-level representatives from developed and developing countries — as well as representatives from international organizations, such as the World Bank and the World Meteorological Organization — the summit successfully raised the awareness of this issue among international decision-makers, thus ensuring a new level of cooperation and investment in EOS throughout the international community.

The Summit was hosted by the U.S. Departments of Commerce, State, and Energy and was a strong interagency effort that included the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Transportation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The program included participation from several U.S. cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, Department of Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. Joining them, the President’s Science Advisor, John Marburger, provided remarks, and the Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, James Connaughton, presented the policy context on environmental and economic security. During the afternoon program, NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe and Interior Secretary Gale Norton offered perspectives on the U.S. vision for a comprehensive, integrated Earth observation system.

Summit Results
The summit was a tremendous success — 34 nations, plus the European Commission, have now adopted a Declaration that identifies priority areas for action to strengthen global cooperation on Earth observations. (Click image to the right for larger view of the participants who attended the 2003 Earth Observation Summit). Specifically, the declaration calls for a commitment to developing an integrated EOS, reaffirms the need for Earth systems data and information for sound decision-making, sets forth principles for long-term cooperation in meeting these goals and commits to improving EOS and scientific support in developing countries. The declaration also established an intergovernmental working group (known as the "Group on Earth Observations") to prepare a ten-year implementation plan for an integrated EOS. The United States will be represented in the working group by retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator (and his alternate, Charles Groat, director of the U.S. Geological Survey). The United States and NOAA will also host the GEO Secretariat, Helen Wood, as the director. Over the coming year, this group will work on the steps for coordinating and sustaining existing observing systems, addressing issues of data management and capacity building, and incorporating user requirements. A "framework document" for this plan will be presented at a second Ministerial meeting in Tokyo next spring. The final plan will be presented in late 2004 at a third Ministerial meeting in Europe (and a final report will be submitted to the G-8 in June). The positive results of the summit represent the next important step towards connecting and building from the existing observing systems that have been put together separately over the past couple of decades.

Existing Earth Observing Systems
The United States has already made significant investments in space and in situ or surface-based observing systems, including the ability to monitor the ozone layer using spacecraft and aircraft and the TAO/Triton Array of buoys that have helped to forecast the most recent El Niño six months in advance. Similarly, international organizations, such as the WMO, have played a leadership role in developing the global observing system of the World Weather Watch with more than 10,000 surface stations around the globe. Other monitoring systems in development include Global Ocean Observing System, Global Climate Observing System, Global Atmosphere Watch and the Global Terrestrial Observing System, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites and the Integrated Global Observing Strategy. (Click image to the right for larger view of current Earth observation systems). From these pieces, plans are in place for achieving deployment of 3,000 Argo floats for measuring ocean salinity and temperature; and 1,250 surface drifting buoys; 150 GCOS Upper Air Network instruments and 1,000 GCOS Surface Network stations.

NOAA Earth Observation Systems
NOAA has also emerged as is a leader in the effort to develop a comprehensive and consistent Earth monitoring system. NOAA's daily mission is to monitor and understand our oceans, coasts, fisheries and weather, as well as to develop forecasts and disseminate that information for economic and public benefit. To accomplish this, NOAA operates its own complex network of “observing systems.” NOAA's geostationary, and polar-orbiting environmental satellites provide continuous coverage of the Earth 24-hours a day, and these space assets are complimented by an extensive surface network of towers, balloons, buoys and aircraft:

• The NOAA Climate Reference Network collects near-surface air temperature and precipitation measurements to monitor long-term climate change,
• The NOAA Automated Surface Observing System is used for automated surface weather observations,
• NOAA Doppler radar systems detect wind and other critical weather information to help track severe storm systems,
• The NOAA PORTS system promotes safe navigation,
• The NOAA TAO/TRITON buoy array measures ocean-atmosphere interactions, while the ARGO system collects ocean profile data at different ocean depths.
• The NOAA COOPS network collects and distributes observations and predictions of water levels and currents to ensure safe, efficient and environmentally sound maritime commerce; and
• The NOAA Deep-Ocean Assessment and reporting of Tsunamis is an early detection and real-time reporting system for monitoring tsunamis in the open ocean.

These regional observing systems employ many different data collection platforms, such as moored and drifting buoys, meteorological towers and stations, bottom-moored instruments, stand-alone instruments, ship survey cruises, satellite imagery and remotely and autonomously operated vehicles. Some of these regional systems are research oriented, while others are primarily operational. Some of the components are NOAA-owned and operated and many others are not.

NOAA Observing System Architecture
NOAA Administrator, Conrad Lautenbacher has stated in his speeches that with the difficult social and economic issues facing the world, the time has come to move beyond considering the separate disciplines of science as "stand alone" components of the big picture of life on Earth toward a broader ecosystem level approach. We need to ask how the parts fit together and function as a whole. A well-connected global integrated information and data management system is the first step in achieving this goal.

NOAA has been working to organize itself to conduct its mission in a way that looks at the "whole Earth system," as opposed to separate individual components. NOAA monitors and works to understand the oceans, coasts, fisheries and weather as inter-linked systems on a daily basis. As part of this effort, NOAA is collecting an inventory of all of its observing systems, which will ultimately contribute to an international, integrated system of Earth observations. Specifically, NOAA has developed an observing system architecture to document NOAA’s multiple observing systems and identifying ways to evolve them in an integrated manner. NOAA found that it has upwards of 100 separate observing systems measuring more than 500 different environmental parameters. NOAA is now in the process of improving its Earth observation systems by identifying where duplication exists and where critical gaps remain. Understanding and cataloging user requirements will be a major part of this effort. NOAA’s goal is to develop an integrated system — fully wired and networked together (without duplication) — that allows enough freedom to install new observing stations (as well as add new sensors to current platforms) on an as need basis. Once fully implemented, user data will be easier to process, distribute and archive in an accessible and affordable format. Likewise, the system will provide a basis for the appropriate integration of its systems with other agency observing systems and international programs.

Economic Impacts
The many thousands of individual technological assets already at work around the globe are yielding a host of outstanding benefits — swifter, more precise weather forecasts and disaster management, improved airline safety, more advanced air water monitoring, more effective fisheries management and crop monitoring — just to name a few.

Economic benefits that have already been realized from current EOS include the following:

• Gains of $15 for farmers with every $1 invested in weather forecasting.
• During a typical hurricane season, the NOAA National Weather Service forecasts, warning and associated emergency responses result in a $3 billion savings.
• Internationally, weather, water and climate services provided by national institutions contribute about $20-40 billion annually to their national economies.

Perhaps one of the best examples of the social and economic benefits that can be achieved from existing EOS is what NOAA has accomplished in understanding, forecasting and modeling the El Niño phenomenon. For more than a decade, NOAA has used a combination of in situ and space observing systems, computers and models to predict El Niño cycles. The information gained from these sources has allowed NOAA to accurately forecast general seasonal winter and summer conditions 3 to 6 months in advance. Although it has taken intense international cooperation and 20 years to build, the major investments in predictive capability — and the observing platforms that provide the data — have proven to be of immense economic and social benefit to business travelers, individual households, risk managers and financial managers:

• The benefits from improved forecasting of El Niño affect large parts of the U.S. economy. El Niño forecasts generate a 13-26 percent economic return to the U.S. economy. For example, there was a $1.1 billion decrease in storm losses in California in the 1997-1998 El Niño as compared to the 1982-1983 El Niño. Although portions of the difference are due to different storm intensities and durations during each El Niño, a significant portion of the savings came from heightened preparedness.
• Benefits to U.S. agriculture by altering planting decisions have been estimated at $265-300 million annually, throughout El Niño, normal and La Niña years.
• Worldwide agricultural benefits attributed to better El Niño forecasts are at least $450 to $550 million per year.

However, El Niño is just one piece of the puzzle. The world needs to expand its horizons to include the sensors necessary for unraveling the mysteries of the wide variety of Earth’s physical, chemical, geological and biological cycles. So, as in the case of El Niño, there is a compelling rationale to build from existing infrastructure that has been developed piecemeal by separate national, institutional and international partnerships over the years and to move together towards an integrated global information and data management system for the Earth.

Individual Earth observing systems provide critical data and economic benefits, but the infrastructure needed to link them and expand them into a fully integrated EOS is only partly in place. It is almost as if the world's countries have the technology needed to wire the world, but in most cases they have wired it separately. Fortunately, this is starting to change. For example, NOAA and a handful of countries have funded the joint deployment of nearly 825 ocean monitoring buoys worldwide. Called ARGO, these buoys regularly drop below the sea surface to take measurements and then send the data to satellites overhead. Although this is a good start, to truly be effective and fill in existing data gaps — a total of 3,000 buoys must eventually be deployed throughout the world’s oceans. This, in combination with a fully integrated EOS, would add considerable power to an already impressive data collection effort and represent a quantum leap in the ability to predict and manage Earth system cycles and processes.

Despite the fact that the United States and its international partners have made significant strides in putting systems in place to monitor the Earth, crucial uncertainties and data gaps remain. For example, despite the fact that the complex systems of the world’s oceans cover 70 percent of the planet and affect climate trends that have an impact on every country on the globe, the oceans are still sparsely monitored and poorly understood. For example, critical ocean uncertainties include sea level rise, carbon storage in the oceans, air-sea fluxes and climate change. These and other gaps in understanding the Earth and its complex systems severely limit the knowledge of how to address many concerns, including drought, climate change, floods, disease outbreaks, stronger agricultural production, and energy and transportation challenges.

Potential Economic Benefits
Just imagine the outstanding benefits of truly taking the Earth’s pulse, not just in one spot, but all over the globe. Think of the health and economic payoffs of knowing how severe next winter will be or where the next outbreak of West Nile virus will hit. With more than $3 trillion of U.S. GDP affected by climate and weather — including the agriculture, energy, construction, travel and transportation industry sectors — there are powerful economic, as well as environmental, incentives for gaining a greater understanding of these phenomena.

Potential savings that could result from an established international, comprehensive, integrated and sustained Earth observation system include the following:

• If weather forecast accuracy was improved by just one degree, the annual cost of electricity would be cut by at least $1 billion.
• With better forecasts and observations, the commercial aviation industry would save about $1.7 billion annually.
• Improved data from more complete observations on volcanic ash plumes will provide more accurate and timely warnings of the presence of these hazards to aviation — allowing airlines to avoid the serious damage these plumes can cause to aircraft engines.
• Improved ocean observations would reduce over-all oil spill costs — in the Gulf of Maine alone, a one-percent reduction in oil spill volume saves $750K a year.
• Narrowing the window of uncertainty through more relevant data and the integration of multiple data sources, would enable more informed economic decisions on many fronts -- emergency response management, for example: it is cheaper to evacuate five square miles than 25 square miles.
• With more observations and more accurate forecasts, ships at sea will be able to alter their routes to take advantage of more favorable weather and avoid hazardous weather sooner, thus saving time and money.
• More accurate water depth measurements will allow ships to carry more cargo, thus resulting in more profit. The nation receives 95 percent of its goods by ship, and any information that keeps this supply-chain flowing safely is vital.
• When a marine accident occurs, better forecasts lead to quicker rescues and salvage of the ships.
• In the United States, 71 percent of recent disasters were coastal storms. As the global population doubles along the coast in the next 10 years, people and economies will be at increasing risk, but a comprehensive EOS would help reduce these risks.
• In pure economic terms, studies show that national institutions providing weather, climate and water services to their citizens contribute an estimated $20 to $40 billion dollars each year to their national economies.

Data Management
Lastly, perhaps the most important, but easily neglected components of an integrated information system for planet Earth are the areas of data management and computing capacity. In order to realize the full benefits of an integrated system, what is needed is the capacity to exchange, store and disseminate data and information on a free and open basis. There is also a continued need for investment in high-performance computing necessary to ingest, distribute, analyze, model and store comprehensive Earth data that will result from current and increased observing systems. For example, NOAA recently upgraded its weather and climate supercomputing capabilities. The new system will provide a performance enhancement of two and a half times the capabilities of the Class VIII supercomputer it replaced. Making more than 450 billion calculations per second, the new generation IBM supercomputer is poised to give the NOAA’s weather arm the ability to improve local and national forecast accuracy, as well as extend watch and warning lead times for potential severe weather. Yet this is only the beginning of where we need to go in terms of computing capability. The development of a fully integrated Earth data and information management system will require sustained investment in the data management and high-performance computing tools necessary to handle the data loads for ingesting, distributing, analyzing, modeling and storing data for enhanced and future use.

The more we can piece together the air/sea/land interaction puzzle, the sooner we can harness the power of sound science and technology to answer outstanding questions about the environment and ecosystem. For example, scientists to this day still do not fully understand what effect natural fluctuations in climate have on warming, how fast change occurs and what are the regional impacts.

The urgency in establishing an EOS stems from the fact that the health of every country's economy is directly tied to the health of the environment. And as in today's world, economies are linked, so too are the environments we live in. Severe storms, drought, oil spills, volcanic plumes do not pay any attention to political and geographic boundaries. Collective futures are inextricably linked to the natural environment we live in. If we are to flourish, we must understand the Earth. To truly understand the Earth we must observe it.

Just as medical doctors must understand the pulse, temperature and blood pressure of their patient, as well as the interrelation of those vital signs to make an accurate diagnosis — we must also look at the Earth as a complex and interrelated system. We have an historic opportunity before us to truly "take the pulse of Planet Earth" and address the significant challenges of the 21^st century. NOAA looks forward to playing a significant role in meeting this challenge.

Relevant Web Sites
Earth Observation Summit

Declaration of the Earth Observation Summit

TAO/Triton Array

El Niño Theme Page

THE CONTRIBUTION OF NOAA BUOYS TO A GLOBAL OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEM:
BENEFITS TO CLIMATE PREDICTION AND RESEARCH

Global Climate Observing System

Global Atmosphere Watch

Global Terrestrial Observing System

Committee on Earth Observation Satellites

Integrated Global Observing Strategy

NOAA Satellites Page

NOAA Automated Surface Observing System

NOAA Doppler radar

PORTS® TECHNOLOGY WORKING TO AVOID MARINE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COOPERATIVE WEATHER OBSERVER PROGRAM: THE
BACKBONE OF THE NATION'S CLIMATE RECORDS

NOAA Deep-Ocean Assessment and reporting of Tsunamis

remotely and autonomously operated vehicles

ARGO

NEW WEATHER & CLIMATE SUPERCOMPUTER HELPS ADVANCE
NOAA WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS

Media Contact:
Robert Hopkins, NOAA, (202) 482-4640