# Presentation: 432786

## 
Stephen D. Ambrose
Applied Sciences Program
NASA Science Mission Directorate (No longer the Office of Earth Science)

***NASA Science and Space Systems benefiting Society:*****Wildland Fire Weather*****INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH (ICMSSR)******COMMITTEE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, OPERATIONS, AND RESEARCH NEEDS (CESORN)******JOINT ACTION GROUP FOR THE NATIONAL WILDLAND FIRE WEATHER NEEDS ASSESSMENT (JAG/NWFWNA)***

**Stephen D. Ambrose**
**Applied Sciences Program**
**NASA Science Mission Directorate (No longer the Office of Earth Science)**

**Notes:**
This is the famous “Earthrise” picture from Apollo

## NASA Observing Spacecraft for Earth-Sun System Research

**NASA Observing Spacecraft for ****Earth-Sun System Research**

## Earth Observation System A-Train:Aerosol/Clouds/Radiation

- OMI – absorbing aerosol

- aerosol
-    profiles,
- cloud tops

- thick clouds
- drizzle

- polarization,
- multi-angle

- CERES: TOA fluxes
- MODIS: cloud re, 
- AMSR: LWP

- O2 A-band

**Earth Observation System A-Train:****Aerosol/Clouds/Radiation**

## NASA Mission  - Related To Wildland Fire

**Study the Earth system from space and develop new space-based**
** ****and related capabilities for this purpose.**
**Advance scientific knowledge of the Earth system through space-based observation, assimilation of new observations, and development and deployment of enabling technologies, systems, and capabilities, including those with potential to improve future operational systems. **
**Explore the Sun-Earth system to understand the Sun and its effects on Earth, the solar system, and the space environmental conditions that will be experienced by human explorers, and demonstrate technologies that can improve future operational systems.**
**All these mission statements advance knowledge, understanding, and enhance decision making related to wildland fire (above statements taken from NASA’s strategic plan).**

## Applications of National Priority

**Aviation**

**Carbon**
**Management**

**Public Health**

**Water**
**Management**

**Disaster Management**

**Coastal Management**

**Applications of National Priority**

## Characterizing Uncertainty: Earth-Sun System Laboratories

**Characterizing Uncertainty:** **Earth-Sun System Laboratories**

**JCSDA**

## Wildland FirePartnering Agencies/Organizations

- USFS Remote Sensing Applications Center
- 	*Salt Lake City, Utah*
-  Provider of geospatial and remote sensing support to USFS and related agencies
- National Interagency Fire Center
- 	*Boise, Idaho*
-  National coordination center for all federal and state wildfire resources
- USFS Fire Science Lab, Rocky Mountain Research Station
- 	*Missoula, Montana*
-  Smoke forecasting and fire behavior research
- Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation Teams
-  Federal inter-agency program to mitigate impacts on water quality and ecology

**Wildland Fire****Partnering Agencies/Organizations**

## Flight Missions in “extended period”

| Spacecraft |
| --- |
| ACRIMSAT |
| EO-1 |
| GRACE |
| ICESat |
| Jason-1 |
| LandSat-7 |
| QuikSCAT |
| SAGE-III (on Meteor) |
| Terra |
| TOMS-EP |
| TOPEX/Poseidon |
| TRMM |

| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

**Flight Missions in “extended period”**

## Flight Missions in “primary period”

| Spacecraft |
| --- |
| Aqua |
| Aura |
| CALIPSO |
| CloudSat |
| SORCE |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |

| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

**Flight Missions in “primary period”**

## CloudSat and CALIPSO

**CALIPSO**

**CloudSat**

***Uses an advanced radar***
**Studies clouds and**
**Precipitation**
***Sees clouds vertical structure***
***Provides completely new observational capability.***

***Combines an active lidar instrument with passive infrared and visible imagers.***
**Probes vertical structure and properties of thin clouds and**
**Atmospheric aerosols**
***Provides new insights into the role clouds and atmospheric aerosols play in regulating Earth’s weather, climate, and air quality.***

**CloudSat and CALIPSO will be launched together from Vandenberg AFB in California on a single Boeing Delta II rocket. Launch is currently scheduled April 21****st ****  (Tomorrow).  Both will join the A-Train formation (Aqua, CloudSat, CALIPSO, PARASOL, and Aura). **

**CloudSat and CALIPSO**

## Flight Missions

| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

**LRD**

**MC**

**I&T**

**CDR**

**LRD**

**I&T**

**LRD**

**LRD**

**MC**

**I&T**

**CDR**

**LRD**

**LRD**

**LRD**

| Spacecraft |
| --- |
| GPM |
| OSTM |
| OCO |
| LDCM |
| Aquarius |
| Glory |
| NPP |
|  |
|  |
|  |

**Flight Missions**
**in “formulation/development”**

**EOPM**

**EOPM**

**EOPM**

**EOPM**

**LRD = Launch Readiness Date**
**EOPM = End of Prime Mission**
**PDR = Preliminary Design Review**
**CDR = Critical Design Review**
**MC – Manufacturing Completed**
**I&T = Integration & Test Completed**

**PDR**

**CDR**

**CDR**

**PDR**

**CDR**

**CDR**

## As related to the wildland fire weather “system,” what does your agency see as best practices and what areas are deficient?

**Evaluation** of potential capacity for research results to contribute to decision support tools
- Formulation of architecture for configuration of an integrated system solution
**Verification** that components could be physically connected into system configuration
**Validation** of science and technology performance of the system through rigorous analysis of flow-through of science data products in the integrated system
**Benchmarking** of performance of the integrated system solution outputs in terms of value to decision makers.
- Across all aspects of wildland fire management these practices may not be totally deficient but are certainly needed in terms of building a “systems approach” to increasing capacity in wildland fire and fire weather management using NASA Earth Science Research.

## GEOSS ArchitectureAlso a NASA Systems Approach

## Systematic Approach

**Crosscutting**
**Solutions**

**National Applications**

**Research**
** ****and Analysis Program**

**Applied Sciences Program**

**Societal**
**Benefits**

**Category 1**
**Inputs**

**Category 3**
**Intermediate**
**Outputs**

**Category 2**
**Intermediate**
**Outputs**

**Category 4**
**Outputs**

***supply***

***demand***

**Rapid Prototyping**
**Capacity**

**Category 5**
**Products**

**Operations**

**Integrated System Solutions**

**Uncertainty                           Analysis**

**Scientific                            Rigor**

**Government Agencies**
**&**
**National Organizations**

**NASA Earth-Sun System Research**

**Solutions**
**Network**

***Pre-Evaluation***

***Evaluation***

***Verification/Validation***
***Benchmark***

## Rapid Response Systems Architecture

- MODIS
- L0 Data

- Active Fire and
- Corrected Reflectance
**http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov**

- Active Fire Maps
**http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us**

- Active Fire
- Locations

- Burn Severity Maps
- Handcrafted Imagery

- L1B Data

- Active Fire Locations
- Selected Imagery

- Web Fire Maps and Fire Feature Server
**http://firemaps.geog.umd.edu**

- Backup Feed
- L1B Data

- Active Fire Locations
- GOFC Fire Partners

- NASA Earth
- Observatory
**http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov**

**Rapid Response Systems Architecture**

**T+2-5hrs**

**T+30min**

**Three times per day **

**T+5hrs**

**T+5hrs**

- MODIS home page
**http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov**

## South Africa’s Fire Early Warning System

**South Africa’s Fire Early Warning System**

- Terra
- and
- Aqua

- Direct Broadcast
- Receiving Station
- Satellite Application Centre (SAC)
- South Africa

- GeoDatabase

- Advanced Fire Information System (AFIS)
- http://wamis.co.za

- Rapid Response System
- SAC(CSIR)
- MODIS Fire-Algorithm

- MSG

- Direct Broadcast
- Receiving Station
- National Weather Service
- South Africa

- Weather Service, South Africa
- MSG Fire-Algorithm (Philip Frost)

- Active Fire Locations
- (Text files)

- University of Maryland

- SAC

- GeoDatabase
- Web Fire Mapper
- (http://maps.geog.umd.edu)

- Real-time feed

- Web Fire Mapper
- maps.geog.umd.edu

- Rapid Response System
- SMS/Text messages

- E-mail Alerts

**End users**

**Notes:**
The flow-chart provides an overview of the dissemination of data to ESKOM and other organisations. 

- Active Fire Maps
**http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us**
**Three times / day**

- WRAP Project Webpage
**http://geo.arc.nasa.gov/sge/WRAP**

- Wide
-  Area
- Network

- GeoTiff & Perimeter File

**Tactical Fire Products**

- UAV Platform Fire Imaging

- Intelligent Mission Management / CDE

- Tactical Fire Information DSS

- COMSAT Telemetry
- & Platform C&C

- Asset Tracking

- Define aircraft ops

**Notes:**
The WRAP REASoN project showcases a melding of NASA and COTS technologies to improve the Tactical Fire Information Decision Support System.  Utilizing NASA long-duration sub-orbital resources (UAV platforms), NASA-developed imaging systems, NASA and COTS telemetry communications systems, and a NASA-developed Intelligent Mission Management System, the partnership will demonstrate improvements to the capabilities of the USFS and NIFC for tactical fire observations and fire management.
The Intelligent Mission Management (IMM) component of the demonstration is based on the Collaborative Information Portal (CIP) that was developed at NASA-ARC to support the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission, autonomous vehicle operations, and other efforts.  By partnering with this synergistic effort, the WRAP team has coalesced information from various sources within a Collaborative Information Portal to facilitate fire management planning.
The Intelligent Mission Management / Collaborative Decision Environment (CDE) provides the Decision Support System mechanisms for the USFS and the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) to observe, control and manage incoming satellite resource data streams as well as real-time airborne tactical thermal-IR fire data.  Integrated information portals allow simultaneous decision mechanisms from the command center (NIC), the field Incident Commander and the ground-based payload and aircraft team.  The CDE provides the mission/science team and end users a seamless interface to the payload systems, and to any external data sets, personnel, or sources of information necessary for the accomplishment of that mission.
During the 24-Hour UAV Western States Demonstration Mission, the IMM / CDE DSS capabilities will be showcased to the NIFC National Incident Command Center (NICC) to facilitate airborne observation management of both the UAV and the USFS manned IR aircraft.  Other observations of the system can easily be allowed through access to the Wide Area Network.  This collaborative environment allow “Distance C&C and Communications” among NICC personnel, Incident Commanders (hundreds of miles away), UAV flight operations team members, payload operations personnel, etc.
Information flowing into the CDE will include MODIS Rapid Response System (RSS) data from USFS RSAC, GOES weather data, other satellite data (BIRD, etc), real-time satellite orbit-tracking capabilities (through Satellite Tool Kit (STK)) to coordinate “Sensor Web” demonstrations and “under-flying” satellite platforms with UAV assets.  Other data will include asset information, such as fire truck locations, fire crews, etc equipped with GPS and transmitting equipment
Thermal IR image data collected aboard the UAV will be “sub-setted” to derive appropriate band combination imagery, terrain-corrected in-real-time using the platform and payload positional information (aircraft INS and Applanix Pos AV sensor) combined with SRTM terrain data, transmitted over-the-horizon (OTH) via a satellite telemetry link into the data management system.  ALL the processing is accomplished on-board the platform.  Geo-corrected data will be available within 15-minutes of acquisition for full analysis with the standard USFS GIS (ARC) or Image Processing System (ERDAS).

## Sensor Web Scenario

## Who you think the users/stakeholders are of fire weather information?

- Public Health Managers
- Disaster Managers
- Homeland Security Managers
- Invasive Species managers
- Agriculture
- Aviation
- Ecological Forecasting
- Carbon Management
- Weather Forecasters
- Transportation
- Air Quality Managers
- Water/Water Quality Management*
- *Items in blue are NASA Applied Sciences Program priority areas
**Out of the proposed assessment functional areas, which areas would your agency consider to be a priority?**
- All of them, because we deal with most of them in our application of National Priority

## GEOSS and IEOS 

**9 Societal Benefit Areas**

**Notes:**

Societal Benefit Focus Areas for U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System (note: GEO benefits differ slightly on Oceans and Ecological Forecasting – GEO benefit areas are Coastal, Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity instead.)

Weather Forecasting   
Reduce Loss of Life and Property from Disasters
Protect and Monitor Our Ocean Resources 
Understand, Assess, Predict, Mitigate, and Adapt to  Climate Variability and Change
Support Sustainable Agriculture and Combat Land Degradation
Understand the Effect of Environmental Factors on Human Health and Well-Being
Develop the Capacity to Make Ecological Forecasts Protect and Monitor Water Resources
Monitor and Manage Energy Resources

[As an example of the interaction with our stakeholder communities, the weather and energy benefits areas were added as a result of the June public workshop held at USGS]

## What fire management decisions/processes require weather and climate information?

- Basically all aspects of fire management decisions need good climate and weather information.

## From Data Acquisition to Data Access 

**From Data Acquisition to Data Access**** **

## Earth System Models 

**Earth System Models**** **

## Project Columbia Supports Modeling and Analysis Research

## NASA Earth-Sun System Gateway (ESG)

- http://esg.gsfc.nasa.gov

## How is the global Earth system changing?
What are the primary forcings of the Earth system?
How does the Earth system respond to natural and human-induced changes?
What are the consequences of changes in the Earth system for human civilization?
How well can we predict future changes in the Earth system?

- How is the global Earth system ***changing***?
- What are the primary **forcings** of the Earth system?
- How does the Earth system ***respond*** to natural and human-induced changes?
- What are the ***consequences**** *of changes in the Earth system for human civilization?
- How well can we ***predict*** future changes in the Earth system?

***How is the Earth changing and what are the consequences of life on Earth (can also be used in the context of wildland fires)?***

**Specific questions your agency**** would like to see addressed?****Earth System Science Research Questions**

## NRC Decadal Survey - Supports Fire Weather and all aspects of Earth Science Applications from Space

- At request of NASA and NOAA, NRC is to carry out “decadal survey” under title “Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Community Assessment and Strategy for the Future”
- “The Space Studies Board, in consultation with other units of the NRC, will lead a study to generate consensus recommendations from the Earth and environmental science and applications community regarding a systems approach to space-based and ancillary observations that encompasses the research programs of NASA and the related operational programs of NOAA.”
- Key goals of study:
- Articulate priorities for Earth system science and the space-based observational approaches to address those priorities.
- Establish individual plans and priorities within the sub-disciplines of the Earth sciences as well as an integrated vision and plan for the Earth sciences as a whole.
- Schedule
- 	Complete report -- Late 2006

## Summary – Towards an integrated system

- V&V and Benchmarking integrated system solutions using Earth observatories
- Evolution of a comprehensive, coordinated and sustained Earth observation system for societal benefits in future missions (GEOSS/USGEO)
- Forge the partnerships required to sustain a “system” and its uses for wildland fire weather applications
- Train the next generation of scientists, engineers, and decision-makers

## Slide 30

- BACKUP SLIDES

## Federal Enterprise Architecture