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Benefits of GEOSS in West Virginia

In West Virginia, Earth Observations will:

Give us information on flooding, road loss, and extent of property damage, as well as facilitate clean-up activities. Ground monitors, models, and satellite images give emergency responders and relief crews ways to respond faster (with more geographic precision) and avoid hazards themselves.

Average annual damage from floods is $5.2 billion and over 80 deaths per year.1

Monitor runoff from abandoned mines and track effectiveness of Federal and state efforts to address acid mine runoff.

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 (especially the sensitive population) 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

Children with asthma miss more than 14 million school days annually and asthma accounts for an estimated 14.5 million lost work days per year.3

In 2000, the 15 states with the highest rates of current asthma prevalence were Arizona, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.4

Offer decision-making tools and models like the Regional Vulnerability Assessment (ReVA) tool for balancing environmental trade-offs in land use planning. ReVA is being used and refined by the Canaan Valley Institute.

Monitor soil moisture and meteorology through satellite technology to evaluate drought stress in crops for agriculture and forestry.

Drought is estimated to result in average annual losses to all sectors of the economy of between $6-8 billion nationally.5

Promote reduction of erosion and other non-point sources of pollution in many watersheds, and help to reduce sediment, urban contributions, and fecal coliform bacteria contributions to rivers, lakes, streams and other waters, and potentially reduce phosphorus and nitrogen contributions to waters.

Expand the ability to track and model natural disasters (such as hurricanes and storms). Through Earth observations, West Virginia can have near real-time monitoring that will improve storm and hurricane forecasts and help to dramatically reduce the cost of damage to property and human life.

Average annual damage from tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods is $11.4 billion, of which:

Monitor wetlands to locate places that are good candidates to promote additional wetlands and monitor wetland conservation programs to help increase the quantity, variety, and functions of wetlands.

Benefit forestry and agriculture by monitoring soil moisture content, rates of fertilizer application, field fertility, and plant diseases; thereby, making sustainable agriculture more manageable for both large and small scale farmers.

Track smoke plume direction and air quality effects of wild and hazardous material fires. 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.

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 CDC. Surveillance for asthma: United States, 1980-1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2002;51(SS01):1-13

4 CDC. Self-reported asthma prevalence among adults: United States, 2000. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. August 17, 2001;50(32):682-686.

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.

6 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

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