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Benefits of GEOSS in Idaho
In Idaho, Earth Observations will:
Aid in transborder air quality efforts between the U.S. and Canada. Sharing ground-truth measures and satellite images will improve understanding of transborder pollution phenomena and Federal and state efforts to reduce air pollutants.
Enhance meteorological modeling of small-scale weather events, precipitation and storm tracking, and create a better understanding of soil moisture available to crops, including an understanding of weather-related crop damage and the extent of that damage.
Average annual damage from tornadoes and floods is $6.3 billion nationally, of which:
- floods account for $5.2 billion, and average over 80 deaths per year,
- tornadoes cause $1.1 billion in damages.1
Help manage large and small farms by providing better local and regional scale temperature, rainfall, and soil moisture information. With Earth observations information, farmers can decide the rate of fertilizer application, placement of seeds, and use of irrigation to maximize crop yield and minimize crop damage.
Evaluate stress in crops through satellite monitoring of soil moisture and tracking of plant diseases and invasive species.
Enable state and local air quality forecasters to issue to the public more timely, accurate, and site?specific warnings about episodes of poor air quality so that people may take prudent actions to protect their health.
It is estimated that 31 million Americans including 9 million children have asthma. Ground level ozone in the summer time is the chief cause for poor air quality warnings and human exposure to ozone is known to aggravate asthma. Another component of air, airborne particulate matter, is associated with increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits for people with heart and lung disease and increased work and school absences.2
In Idaho, 104,000 people or approximately eight percent of Idahoans suffer varying levels of disability, decreased quality of life, and increased medical costs brought about by asthma.3
Provide more accurate weather forecasting and save the state millions of dollars in heating and cooling costs.
The value of understanding the interrelationships between weather variables and electric load can save a small utility at least $0.5 M annually through improved temperature forecasts.4
Protect watersheds through water quality monitoring and mapping of land cover changes; thereby, protecting sources of water for agriculture, forestry, and human uses.
Monitor local ground water supplies and surrounding facilities to protect groundwater resources.
Benefit forestry management through tracking of plant diseases and invasive species, as well as soil moisture and meteorology. Ground-based measures coupled with satellite data can help Idaho's foresters predict, plan, and manage.
Be critical in the prediction of wildfire tracking, smoke plume direction, and air quality effects. Earth observations will also allow prediction of emergency costs for lost property and habitat, fire fighting, rebuilding, and the economic costs of human health impact from smoke inhalation.
Severe fire seasons due to drought and frequent winds can result in billions of dollars in damages. The Western Fire Season Spring-Summer 2000 resulted in nearly seven million acres burned and an estimated $2 billion in damage costs (includes fire suppression).5
1 National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Environmental and Societal Impacts Group, and the Atmospheric Policy Program of the American Meteorological Society, 2001, Extreme Weather Sourcebook 2001: Economic and Other Societal Impacts Related to Hurricanes, Floods, Tornadoes, Lightning, and Other U.S. Weather Phenomena, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo. Available only online at http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/sourcebook/data.html
2 U.S. Centers for Disease Control
3 Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Health, 2003.
4 Tribble, A.N., 2003: The relationship between weather variables and electricity demand to improve short-term load forecasting. Ph. D. dissertation, School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, 221 pp., from Building The National Cooperative Mesonet: Program Development Plan For COOP Modernization dated October 2003.
5 Economic Impacts of Drought and the Benefits of NOAA's Drought Forecasting Services, NOAA Magazine, September 17, 2002. Website: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/magazine/stories/mag51.htm.