# Presentation: 728305

## Workshop Summaries

- Lt Col Rob Rizza
- Assistant Federal Coordinator for USAF/USA Affairs
- OFCM

## WORKSHOP 1A SUMMARY

**How to Improve the Content of Weather Observations to meet Modeling and Operational Needs for Urban Areas**
- More observations may be better but only if used/assimilated intelligently
- Models need to be robust – must be able to run at any time, 24/7
- Need a skillful “data assimilation” system
- Must understand true use before observational network can be designed
- Metadata critical to make data useful

## WORKSHOP 1B SUMMARY

**Understanding the Needs of Urban Communities and Businesses**
- More collaboration needed
- Could/should run economic models at same time that we run met models to clearly understand forecast impacts
- Need to understand how people interpret what meteorologists says
- Both public and private sector forecasters are affected by the knowledge and/or fear of possible law suits over less than perfect forecasts

## WORKSHOP 2A SUMMARY

**Measurement Strategies for the Urban Weather and Climate Domains (sensors, data collection, transmission, archiving, etc.)**
- Strategy for cost effective collection of measurement data for decision makers should focus on things that can be done now
- A process is needed  to determine the amount data and number of sensors needed to make decisions that minimize cost and unique complexity of  terrain in every city
- Users aren’t aware of and therefore not using emergency decision-making information that is available today.  Outreach, education, and training mechanisms are needed.

## WORKSHOP 2A SUMMARY

**Measurement Strategies for the Urban Weather and Climate Domains (sensors, data collection, transmission, archiving, etc.).... **(Continued):
- A delivery system for layered GIS information to all public and commercial sectors is needed which may require a change in federal  policy
- We must define a process on how to design a network on an urban scale and address particular decision-making applications (define questions for applications and interact with users)

## WORKSHOP 2B SUMMARY

**R&D Needs for Ecosystem Approaches to Urban Health and Environmental Issues**
- Need improved multiscale observations in the urban environment with an emphasis on the vertical observation of the Planetary Boundary Layer.
- Establish a national database management center that includes self-documenting metadata in standardized formats.
- To manage within an ecological framework, need to provide for the integration of all types; i.e., social, demographic, economic, etc.

## WORKSHOP 2B SUMMARY

**R&D Needs for Ecosystem Approaches to Urban Health and Environmental Issues....**(Continued):
- Need to be able to assimilate remotely sensed surface/building data and aerosol data into the models.
- Couple atmospheric transport and diffusion model outputs with consequence models addressing health, safety, and other impacts.
- Develop model verification and validation procedures based on user metrics.
- Enhance interface with users.  Find out what they want and how they operate. Get their feedback during the product development/prototyping process.

## WORKSHOP 3A SUMMARY

**Communicating Hazardous Weather Risks in the Urban Environment**
- Need to standardize ways to communicate risk to the public and advise on what actions to take...e.g., terms, colors, probability forecasts, and graphics
- Research needed to determine terms to use on a national level to communicate basis...work with public and social science to determine best solution
- Public is mobile...need GIS/GPS coded messages to advise public of potential hazards regardless of location

## WORKSHOP 3B SUMMARY

**R&D Resources to Address Deficiencies in Modeling for Urban Weather, ATD, Space Weather, and Climate Applications**
- Need to collect, process, and synthesize data from existing Field Studies
- Need to pull together and extend with additional parameters, urban data sets that are being developed by cities, government agencies, and others to develop, calibrate, and evaluate urban models
- Establish standards and guidelines for databases, model output, and performance criteria.

## WORKSHOP 3B SUMMARY

**R&D Resources to Address Deficiencies in Modeling .....**  (Continued):
- R&D needs should be prioritized based on user needs
- Transfer from research to operations should be user-based, include collaboration during all phases of the system life-cycle. User should be included early and often.  Recognize differences in user communities
- Collaboration needs to include:  leveraging of planned experiments, a clearinghouse for information, and better communications among user communities