Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
july 2016

The Monthly Review is part of a continuing effort to improve communications about the role of geoscience in policy.
Current and archived monthly reviews are available online.

Subscribe to receive the Monthly Review directly.

natural hazards

House Science Committee hearing focuses on NOAA and DOD satellites

July 7, 2016

The House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology held a hearing to discuss the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Department of Defense’s (DOD) current and future satellite missions.

Subcommittee Chairman Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) and full Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX)  expressed concern over NOAA and DOD’s rapidly aging satellite systems; NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite has already exceeded its original lifespan, while one of the DOD’s satellites, DMSP-19, failed earlier this year.

In 2010, the Obama Administration directed NOAA and the DOD to develop individual polar orbiting weather satellite programs. NOAA responded with the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), with JPSS-1 set to launch in March 2017, while the DOD’s Weather System Follow-On (WSF) program will launch its first satellites in 2022.

Because 80 percent of data used in numerical weather models comes from polar orbiting satellites, any failure of Suomi NPP before JPSS is launched could lead to data gaps and weaker weather forecasting. Chairman Bridenstine additionally expressed concern over reliance on international partners for weather data, given that the mid-morning polar orbit is operated by Europe.

Stephen Volz of NOAA assured the committee that the launch of JPSS-1 and JPSS-2 will restore a “robust” satellite system. The hurdle for the next satellite generation will be striking the balance between building enough satellites to exploit economies of scale, while minimizing storage costs and keeping technologies up to date, said David Powner of the Government Accountability Office.

Other concerns were raised over delays, cost overruns and mismanagement since the JPSS program’s initiation. According to Chairman Smith, “NOAA’s spending for satellite operations has ballooned to…40% of its total budget, over $2 billion”; potentially distracting NOAA from other areas of science, service, and stewardship.

Chairman Smith suggested that private sector partnerships could provide new technologies and data to the agency “on a much faster timeline at a lower cost than large and slow government systems.”

Voltz noted that NOAA is already working at “relatively breakneck speed” to implement a commercial data pilot program.

Sources: E&E Daily, eumetsat.int, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, SpaceNews, whitehouse.gov

Updated 8/1/16

Briefing highlights role of geoscience in reducing lahar hazards

July 12, 2016

The Hazards Caucus Alliance, a network of organizations that promotes nationwide natural disaster resilience, held a briefing to highlight the role that science plays in protecting communities that are vulnerable to lahars. Introductory remarks from Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) were followed by talks from several natural hazard and emergency management experts.   

Dr. Charles Mandeville from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) emphasized the importance of lahar detection and public warning, noting that lahars can occur even without a volcanic eruption. Mandeville discussed the Mount Rainier lahar-warning system in the Carbon and Puyallup River Valleys of Washington State, which measures ground vibrations of passing lahars through a network of underground sensors called acoustic flow monitors (AFMs). He reported that prioritized activities for the USGS Volcano Hazards Program for fiscal year 2016 include two new broadband seismometers and web cameras in the Puyallup River drainage, and expanding the lahar detection system into Mount Rainier’s other major drainage systems by 2020.

David Norman, State Geologist of Washington, talked about the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), an initiative that collects lidar data to produce high-resolution topographic images, and how it has improved landslide hazard evaluation and mitigation in Washington state. Norman described Washington’s ongoing collaboration with the USGS and other agencies to collect lidar data across the state, adding that an increase in 3DEP partnerships would reduce statewide collection time.

Dr. Jeff Rubin from Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue in Oregon underscored the importance of promoting public safety and communicating hazard risks to the public and decision makers. He showed how hazard zonation maps of Clackamas County, Oregon, could delineate high-risk areas around Mount Hood. He also related results from the recent Cascadia Rising exercise, which simulated the response to a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami along the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Updated 8/1/16