# Passive Microwave Imagers, Their Applications, and Benefits: A Review
## 3 The Applications, Benefits, and Impacts of PMWIs on Society
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Societal Benefit** & **Topic** & **Application** & **Example** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Water Resources and Agriculture} & \multirow{2}{*}{Drought} & Evaluation of precipitation anomalies leveraging extended temporal record. & GPM and TRMM data are utilized to provide information about drought metrics [124]. \\ \cline{3-4}  & & Assessment of freshwater input to basins and reservoirs to better quantify water fluxes. & Water resource managers have taught farmers to utilize IMERG data in the Indus Valley to aid in crop irrigation scheduling through cell phone updates [125]. \\ \cline{3-4}  & & Integration of precipitation data within agricultural models to estimate growing seasons onset, crop productivity, and other variables. & GPM and TRMM data are used for hydroclimate monitoring by organizations to assess and track food and water security; for example, they are used by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network [124]. \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Weather and Climate Modeling Climate Modeling} & \multirow{2}{*}{Land Surface Modeling} & \multirow{2}{*}{\begin{tabular}{c} Assimilation of Level 1 Tb within NWP modeling for initializing models runs. \\ \end{tabular} } & \multirow{2}{*}{\begin{tabular}{c} GMI Tbs are assimilated in NWP models for the improvement of weather forecasts and to correct the forecasts of TC tracks [38]. \\ \end{tabular} } \\ \cline{2-4}  & & Data assimilation into land-surface models to estimate environmental variables. & TRMM data can be used as input for land surface modeling [6]. \\ \cline{2-4}  & & & TRMM and GPM data are valuable for validating precipitation outputs from climate models, but the limitations of satellite measurements should be carefully considered in the analysis [5]. \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Public Health and Ecology} & \multirow{2}{*}{Disaster Tracking} & Tracking precipitation anomalies with environmental conditions for disease vectors or water-borne diseases. & TRMM data have been utilized to produce malaria hotspot maps for the Brazilian Amazon [124; 126; 127]. \\ \cline{2-4}  & & Monitor changes in precipitation that are associated with migration patterns. & GPM data are used in understanding the movement ecology of migrating birds [128]. \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Technology and Policy} & \multirow{2}{*}{Satellite Services and Data Distribution} & \multirow{2}{*}{\
\begin{tabular}{c} Supporting data distribution and ground \\ systems services. \\ \end{tabular} } & \multirow{2}{*}{
\begin{tabular}{c} TRMM TMPA and GPM IMERG data are used in the LHASA model to create global maps of the distribution of potential landslide activity. These maps improve situational awareness and disaster preparedness, especially in regions with limited ground-based observations [38]. \\ \end{tabular} } \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{3-4}  & & & \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{3-4}  & & & \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{3-4}  & & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: _Cont._of flooding [129]. [PERSON] et al. identify four types of methods for socioeconomic assessments of flooding: the historical disaster statistics method, the index system method, scenario-simulation analysis, and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approaches. However, socioeconomic assessments of flooding have not yet been conducted on a national scale; instead, they have been limited to small regional scales. While no comprehensive assessments provide the annual financial cost of flooding in the U.S., Earth observations have proven beneficial in addressing these impacts [39]. Winds, waves, and storm surges are among the deadliest and most expensive natural disasters, particularly affecting low-lying regions [47]. Sea transport handles 80% of global goods trade by quantity, with 62,100 vessels transporting 11 billion tons annually [130]. Extreme winds and waves, especially when combined with adverse currents, can impact the ships' stability. Figure 6 shows the summary of annual sea container losses reported by the World Shipping Council (WSC) [131].