Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the FY 2001 budget request for NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise (ESE).

This is an exciting time for the Nation in Earth Science. We are now in the Earth Observing System (EOS) era. Landsat 7 has already completed the first update of the global archive of land cover data and has returned high-quality images of the impact of Hurricane Floyd on the North Carolina coast as well as the devastating floods in Mozambique. The requests for Landsat data have increased from 5 to 10 scenes per day to about 100 scenes per day during the last year. The Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is configured to receive, archive, and distribute more than 200 scenes per day and it is keeping up with the growing demand for Landsat data.

QuikScat is delivering data on winds at the ocean surface in near real time to improve marine weather forecasts as well as our understanding of how air-sea interactions influence Earth's climate. And most exciting of all, science-quality images from Terra are flowing to an enthusiastic science community. In April, we began the flow of a tremendous amount of data from Terra (850 gigabytes per day) on the Earth's oceans, land, and atmosphere. Both Terra and the EOSDIS are performing marvelously.

Several exciting ESE missions are planned for launch this calendar year. Among these are important complements to the EOS. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, completed in February, will provide a 3-D digital map of nearly all the inhabited portions of the Earth’s land surface. The QuikTOMS mission will continue fulfillment of our Congressional mandate for ozone monitoring. The first Earth-oriented New Millennium Program mission is scheduled to demonstrate new and lower-cost land imaging technologies with significant spectral and spatial enhancements.

While pursuing our core Earth Science objectives, NASA is also applying satellite imagery and technology to generate the next great advances in weather, climate, and natural hazard prediction. All while demonstrating the use of data and information resulting from our missions in other practical applications such as food and fiber production, water resources management, and natural resources inventory. These and many other emerging applications have the potential for enhancing our quality of life and stimulating the development of new commercial products and services.

As we prepare to move into a new decade, it is worthwhile to step back and look at the big picture, to get a larger perspective both on NASA’s contributions to Earth science and the importance of Earth science to the nation. As our national economy and population grows, so does our stake in future Earth system changes. As a larger percentage of Americans move to the coasts, and as more resources are invested in coastal cities, more lives and livelihoods are at risk from severe storms. As the productivity of American agriculture grows, more dollars are at risk in choices based on expected seasonal rainfall. In addition, decision-makers are looking for a scientifically objective assessment of the nature and directions of climate change.

All these factors, coupled with NASA’s ability to view the Earth from space, have led us to formulate this over-arching research question:

Let me now describe briefly the strategy, progress and benefits of the ESE research in characterizing, understanding and predicting Earth system change through the examples below.

First Example: Seasonal-to-Interannual Climate Change

Short-term variability in climate—on seasonal and annual bases—is a form of Earth system change with substantial economic and societal impact. The best known of these is the El Niño-Southern Oscilliation, which is associated with a change in temperature, pressure, and wind over the tropical Pacific Ocean, and which typically occurs about every four years. Scientists have now established that the phase of El Niño has significant effects on weather in the US and around the world. For instance, clear correlations are seen between the phase of El Niño and the number of hurricanes impacting the US, the frequency of severe storms in the Colorado Front Range, and the precipitation over much of the US. Similar, and in many cases larger, impacts are found around the world in regions from Africa to South America to Indonesia. This affects not only agricultural productivity, but also probabilities of flooding and drought.

Thus, it is clear that being able to recognize and forecast the conditions leading to El Niño events would be a major advance. This is an area in which significant progress has been made in recent years. Most prominent is our ability to characterize the physical state of the oceans that help establish the presence of El Niño. We can now measure routinely not only surface temperature, but ocean topography (sea surface height) and winds at the ocean surface. The most recent El Niño (1997 to 1998) was the first in which we had such comprehensive observations, and their value in contributing to early (and improved) forecasts is well established.

The continuation of these data records is a priority for NASA and our domestic and international partners. Ocean topography has been measured since 1992 using the joint US/French Topex/Poseidon satellite, and its follow-on, JASON, is planned for launch near the end of this calendar year. Sea surface winds are measured using the QuikSCAT satellite launched last year, and subsequent measurements will be made in partnership with Japan using our SeaWinds instrument on their upcoming ADEOS-2 spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2001. Sea surface temperature is measured by several spacecraft, including NOAA’s operational meteorological satellites and the recently launched Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard the Terra spacecraft.

Such measurements are of most use when assimilated into meteorological models, and our NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP) has been at the forefront of using the new data sources as inputs into models. The research-oriented modeling at NSIPP is helpful in developing tools and techniques that can ultimately be included in operational models used by our partners in the U.S. Global Change Research Program and around the world. The models that are needed for development and testing use large volumes of data and require access to state-of-the-art computational facilities and software engineering, in which NASA continues to invest.

Research studies have shown a strong correlation between El Niño events and precipitation, in both the United States and globally. However, until recently, the availability of reliable precipitation in some regions, most notably the tropics, was limited by the lack of a reliable and globally distributed observing system. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, flying since 1997 in partnership with Japan, has helped provide significantly improved estimates of global precipitation that will let us characterize for the first time with high accuracy the distribution of global precipitation and its variability with phenomena such as El Niño. Already, scientists have used TRMM data, including lightning measurements made using the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) to show a strong relationship between El Niño and the distribution of thunderstorms in the Southeastern United States and nearby Gulf of Mexico.

The next great advance will come from NASA’s Aqua satellite, to be launched in early FY2001. Aqua carries an advanced suite of U.S. and international instruments to measure the atmosphere’s temperature and humidity with unprecedented accuracy. These are key to understanding the global water cycle, which transfers energy and moisture around the globe, and from the tropics to the mid-latitudes. Aqua also carries a MODIS instrument to complement that on Terra. Operating both cancels out the effect of sunglint that would otherwise degrade some imagery of just one.

Modeling studies have also shown that forecasts of seasonal precipitation, especially in continental regions in summertime, would be enhanced if scientists had good observations of soil moisture in the region of interest. Field studies have shown that remote sensing techniques can be used to determine soil moisture in some regions, and the possibility of making space-based soil moisture measurements is an intriguing one given its potential usefulness for weather forecasting. Making such measurements in densely vegetated regions is a tougher challenge, and subject for continued research and testing. It is clear, however, that space-based soil moisture measurements remain an important goal for NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise.

NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Prediction currently publishes forecasts of seasonal rainfall by region based on such modeling capabilities. NASA’s goal is to provide them with the observation and modeling tools to enable NOAA to improve these predictions.

Second Example: Long-term Climate Variability

That the Earth is changing on time scales of decades to centuries is undeniable. Surface temperatures are increasing, with global temperatures in recent years being among the warmest on record. The observed increase in temperature is far from uniform, either spatially or temporally. In particular, while large warming was observed during the past nearly 50 years over some regions at northern high latitudes, like Alaska and Siberia, cooling was observed over others, like Greenland. Although warming was observed over most mid-latitude regions in this time period, the Eastern United States appeared to have gone through a cooling phase.

Large-scale changes in the Earth are also evident in regions that are distant from strong direct human influence. Satellite observations have demonstrated that there has been a significant reduction in the area covered by sea ice in the Arctic over the past 20 years. Combined with submarine observations that show thinning of sea ice, we have scientific results to show that the volume of sea ice in the Arctic has dropped appreciably during this time period. In the Antarctic, however, the picture is different. When looked at over the last 20 years, the satellite record shows that the area covered by sea ice has increased. However, the trend is not constant. On the other hand, there is evidence of loss of significant chunks of ice from the edges of Antarctica. The recent "calving" of an iceberg the size of Connecticut from the edge of Antarctica has been documented by satellite observations. Observations of the interior of Antarctica have demonstrated the existence of "ice streams" that move ice from the interior to the edges of the continent much more rapidly than previously examined. Glaciers have been in near global retreat, as well.

One main focus of our Enterprise is to characterize the natural and human-induced forcings of the Earth system in order to understand the causes and effects of climate change. Examples of natural forces on climate are the Sun and volcanoes.

The variations of solar input into the atmosphere are best – indeed uniquely – measured from above the atmosphere using space-based platforms. Variations in the total energy output from the sun (know as the total solar irradiance) have been measured for some time now using satellites. Just this past December, the latest in a series of satellites to measure solar energy output was launched. The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIMSAT) will help continue the record of a predecessor instrument that has been flying aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite for more than 8 years. This is one of the more challenging measurements that we make – the total variation in solar output over an 11-year solar cycle is less than two tenths of a percent, so there is a premium on instrument stability and calibration. The variations in solar radiation with wavelength are quite significant, however, and at the short wavelengths involved in upper atmospheric chemistry, they can be much larger. We document this variability using space-borne spectrometers, and will continue to do so with the launch of the SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite in 2002.

Volcanic eruptions are known to have important impacts on the global earth, in addition to their potentially disastrous local effects. The ash and gases injected into the atmosphere after a volcanic eruption can variously absorb and reflect terrestrial and solar radiation. A large volcanic eruption, such as that of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, can lead to a nearly hundred fold increase in the amount of aerosols in the stratosphere, and these contribute to temperature changes – both in the atmosphere and at the surface. We document the evolution of stratospheric aerosols using satellites, most notably the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II), which has been flying since 1984. The next generation SAGE instrument, SAGE III, is scheduled for flight later this year to help keep up the record of stratospheric aerosol measurements.

The role of human activities in shaping the terrestrial environment is also clearly demonstrated. Carbon dioxide concentrations have increased by a third, methane concentrations have doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have increased by some 15% over the last 150 years. Industrially produced chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs, were produced for the first time this century, and built up to significant concentrations in the atmosphere. Clearing of forests for rangeland, increasing trace gas concentrations in the atmosphere, conversion of agricultural regions into ever expanding suburbs, and new urban areas have been well documented from space.

The aerosol particles that form in the atmosphere as a result of pollution also represent a large forcing on the Earth system. Pollution is just one source of atmospheric aerosols, however; other natural sources include sea salt, volcanic ash, mineral desert dust, and carbonaceous material from biomass burning. Whether such aerosols warm or cool the climate may depend on the details of their composition. This is a major area of scientific uncertainty and a focus for our program.

Our degree of knowledge about the magnitude of each of these forcings and our confidence in this knowledge is far from uniform. For instance, we know a lot about the concentration of greenhouse gases at the Earth’s surface, but know far less about the role aerosols play, and especially how they interact with clouds. So, the observational capability of NASA emphasizes those forcing parameters whose magnitude is expected to be large and for which our assessment of our confidence in the state of our current knowledge is relatively low.

NASA’s research on long-term climate change provides a sound, objective basis for climate change assessment activities. These in turn provide a scientific basis for economic and policy decision-making.

Third Example: Stratospheric Ozone

The Antarctic ozone hole is one of the best documented phenomena that has been clearly tied to human impacts on the environment. The "hole" is large, more than covering the continent of Antarctica. It is reproducible – forming on schedule every spring in the Antarctic. And it appears to be continuing to grow, although more slowly than it did in the 1980s. Compared to the "pre-hole" time period of the 1970s, one can see that in October – the height of "ozone hole season" more than half the ozone is destroyed over the Antarctic spring. No such hole has developed in the Arctic, which we attribute to the different meteorological conditions there. However, it is worth noting that there has been appreciable reduction in springtime ozone levels over the Arctic, and the current March ozone amounts over the Arctic are now similar to those observed over Antarctica around the time that the ozone hole began forming. Thus, it’s a worthwhile challenge to closely examine the ozone layer over the Arctic and see whether there is any evidence of ozone hole formation. It’s certainly a realistic possibility – indeed, several recent winters, most notably 1996-1997, saw evidence of a "hole-like" phenomenon over the Arctic, although its size and magnitude were appreciably below that of its "Antarctic cousin."

We have conclusively demonstrated that the ozone depletion over Antarctica is due to chemical reactions involving chlorine and bromine atoms that get into the stratosphere as a result of the buildup of concentrations of industrially produced gases containing these atoms. With this recognition, the nations of the world agreed to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which led to a phase out of the production of CFCs and several related, ozone-damaging molecules. The protocol has worked in the sense that the total concentration of chlorine containing gases near the Earth’s surface peaked in about 1994, and recent satellite data provides evidence that the concentration of chlorine-containing gases peaked in 1997-1998.

Computer models developed to represent the distribution of ozone in the atmosphere have done a very good job in simulating the variations of ozone concentration in the atmosphere over the past 20 years by including forcings such as chlorine and bromine concentration changes, the 11-year solar cycle, and variations in stratospheric aerosol concentrations associated with volcanic eruptions. These models suggest that the ozone layer should slowly recover over the next several decades, but that the Antarctic Ozone Hole might persist well into the middle part of the new century.

In order to further our knowledge in this area, several things are being done. First, observations of the ozone distribution in the stratosphere are being continued. The critical record of total ozone will be continued through the launch of the QuikTOMS spacecraft later this year. QuikTOMS will be the fifth in the series of Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer – or TOMS – instruments that goes back to the first, which was launched in 1978. Observations of ozone over the polar regions will be increased through the launch of the next SAGE satellite, also planned for later this year, and the continued operation of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. Second, the computer models used to simulate ozone layer distributions will be improved. In particular, the models used to simulate the atmosphere of the future are based on today’s atmosphere, and don’t account for changes in atmospheric temperature and dynamics that may be associated with global climate change. The first results suggest that climate change may delay recovery of the ozone layer, and increase the possibility of ozone depletion over the Arctic in spite of decreasing chlorine concentrations. New models, that couple together chemical and climate change, are being developed to improve our capability in this area. Finally, we continue to improve our understanding of the processes by which the atmosphere can remove ozone. We just completed a major international field campaign involving two aircraft and several balloons to study the chemistry and dynamics of the Arctic stratosphere in winter. This mission, based in northern Sweden, will significantly improve our scientific knowledge in this area, in particular the relationship between meteorology and chemistry in the Arctic.

The ESE will continue our research towards providing improved products for surface ultraviolet radiation (UV) flux to users in global change science and in the "biological response" community that studies human and ecological health. These products, developed from the global ozone observations obtained by NASA using research algorithms, provide global estimates of surface UV flux averaged over suitable time periods. The global nature of these estimates complements the UV flux values measured over individual stations by our partners both in the US Global Change Research Program and in the broader scientific community.

The next great advance in atmospheric chemistry research will come from the EOS Aura satellite, planned for launch in FY2003. Aura, formerly called Chem, will extend our knowledge of atmospheric chemistry into the troposphere—the portion of the atmosphere in which we live and breathe. Characterizing lower atmospheric chemistry from space is a significant technology challenge, yet is necessary in order to achieve global coverage. Aura will be the world’s first major attempt to measure ozone and its precursors in the stratosphere. It will also serve to continue the stratospheric chemistry measurements begun by the TOMS series and the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.

Fourth Example: Life and the Global Carbon Cycle

Knowledge of the future concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere requires understanding of the role which the global biosphere plays in the transfer (uptake from and emissions to) of carbon dioxide between the terrestrial and marine biosphere and the atmosphere. The impact of uncertainties in our knowledge of this transfer and its response to changing carbon dioxide levels and climate is quite large – one model calculation that used different assumptions for the biosphere’s response to climate change and carbon dioxide changes obtained estimates for the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels in 2100 that differed by more than the total increase in CO₂ levels from pre-industrial past to the present.

Since the knowledge of future CO₂ concentrations is so crucial, a corresponding knowledge of the global biosphere and its role in partitioning CO₂ between its reservoirs on the land, in the oceans, and in the atmosphere is also critical. Until recently, however, knowledge of the distribution of biospheric activity over the entire Earth surface was lacking. Satellite data have completely changed that picture, however, and hold the promise of future changes. Images from the SeaWifs sensor aboard the commercially-operated SeaStar satellite have provided images of the land and oceanic surface – almost complete maps every 2 days (not counting those regions not observable due to cloud cover) – and allowed for quantitative studies of spatial, seasonal, and interannual variations (going back to 1996). In particular, the SeaWifs observations of "ocean color" – really the distribution of chlorophyll-containing phytoplankton in the topmost layer of the ocean – have revolutionized our knowledge of the distribution of plant matter in the ocean. The response of oceanic life to changes in the physical properties of the ocean have been beautifully documented. Examples include the "bloom" of the tropical Pacific Ocean that took place in mid-1998 when the cooler, nutrient-rich waters associated with La Niña supplanted the warmer, nutrient-poor waters associated with the earlier El Niño.

Improved observations of the terrestrial biosphere are expected with the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard the Terra platform – launched last December. The combination of spectral resolution (more than 30 bands) and spatial resolution (typically 1 km x 1 km; in some cases 250m x 250m) is unique and should provide scientists with the unprecedented ability to document the land cover at the Earth’s surface. Combined with a major investment in data and information systems, these data can be disseminated rapidly and routinely to users in the scientific and applications communities. Terra is the flagship of the Earth Observing System, providing measurements of the land surface, clouds and aerosols, and ocean color, as well as the Earth’s radiant energy. Terra is operating flawlessly and its data is flowing to an enthusiastic science community.

In addition to the global large-scale coverage provided by sensors such as SeaWifs and MODIS, NASA also provides much higher resolution information (up to 15 m) using the Landsat 7 satellite, launched last April. Using a highly advanced acquisition plan that minimizes viewing of clouds to assure maximum viewing of important regions of the Earth’s surface, Landsat 7 is building up an archive of surface images that can be used to study phenomena such as tropical deforestation and "suburbanization" of agricultural regions. When combined with earlier Landsat data, an approximately 25-year record of land use information is available for scientific study. Even higher resolution data are available, and are being purchased through our Commercial Remote Sensing Program’s "Data Buy" activity.

NASA’s land imaging satellites feed a numerous and diverse set of applications users. A whole industry has grown up around Landsat data, producing products for use in agriculture, forestry and urban and infrastructure planning.

Getting Scientific Results to Users

Earth Science is science in the national interest. That is, it produces information with uses far beyond the scientific community—in weather forecasting, in agriculture and natural resource management, in urban and regional planning, and in environmental policy-making. Beyond research, then, the Enterprise must work with its partners to assure that timely, useable information products are available to a broad range of decision-makers. Several avenues exist and must be strengthened over the next decade to accomplish this.

The first is NASA’s partnerships with operational agencies—those agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Mapping Agency (FEMA), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the US Geological Survey (USGS) that provide services on a routine basis to the public. NASA already develops the weather satellites operated by NOAA for weather forecasting. In the next decade, NASA will help NOAA and the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop a new generation of weather satellites. A prototype satellite is planned for mid-decade that will meet NOAA’s technology demonstration and risk mitigation needs as well as provide climate data to extend that begun by the first series of EOS. Joint research and demonstration projects are underway with FEMA, USDA, and others to apply remote sensing data to their concerns (e.g., flood and drought preparedness). The next decade will see these agencies routinely applying remote sensing data to improve the services they provide to the public.

The second are scientific assessments of environmental change. The nature of the scientific enterprise is that initial results will be reported through the peer-reviewed scientific literature and presented at scientific meetings. The sheer volume of scientific findings and, in many cases, the diversity of ideas, imply that a synthesis effort is needed to communicate the information usefully outside the scientific community. The assessment process, in which groups of scientists work to synthesize their knowledge in a particular area, is perhaps the best established means to make the connection between research results and the answers sought by the sponsors of research and policy decision-makers. In such assessments, the scientific community comes together to answer not only questions such as "What do we know?" but also, and perhaps equally importantly, "How well do we know what we think we know?" These take place on both the national and international levels, through such organizations as the World Meteorological Organization and the US Global Change Research Program. Assessments in the next decade will include progress in the recovery of the stratospheric ozone layer, the health of the world’s ecosystems supporting the global economy by providing goods and services, and impacts of climate change on various sectors of the economy. NASA is a provider of objective scientific information to these assessments.

The third are partnerships with state and local governments to demonstrate new applications of geospatial data to regional concerns. These partnerships will often include commercial data product producers, who will independently generate these products once the viability of the techniques and market are demonstrated. The Enterprise currently has several mechanisms with which to form such partnerships.

In these and many other ways, the ESE seeks to: provide a global perspective for studies of the Earth as an integrated system; enhance scientific knowledge; help develop forecast capability that can be utilized by our operational partner agencies in the US and abroad; and, provide environmental information to enable important decisions to improve the quality of life now and for the future.
 
 

Characterizing, understanding and predicting Earth system change, and putting reliable information in the hands of users, requires three basic types of program activities:

• Research, modeling, and data analysis;
• A comprehensive observational program combined with effective management of resulting data and information; and
• Partnerships, both domestic and international, to bring all of our efforts together and demonstrate the end results of our efforts.

Recent Funding History for the Earth Science Enterprise

Since the FY 1998 budget, the ESE has taken advantage of developing smaller, less expensive missions and implementing shorter development cycles from mission definition to launch. Shorter development times will allow more flexible responses to current and evolving scientific priorities and more effective uses of the latest technologies. The FY 1998 budget reflected the result of implementing this "faster, better, cheaper" philosophy with a reduction of $400 million gained in outyear efficiencies.

Over the past four years we have added several new initiatives including Seawinds II, Scisat, ACRIM II, the Instrument Incubator Program, QuikScat, the ESSP program, Triana, and most recently, UnESS. While reducing the cost of developing missions, funds have been increased for the Research and Analysis program and Technology Infusion. In this timeframe, several projects were cancelled for different reasons. In order to live within the funding profile and to meet other Agency challenges, a New Millenium Program flight project was cancelled as was Radarsat II. EO-2 was cancelled due to technical difficulties leading to cost overruns. LightSAR was discontinued due to lack of a winning proposal in response to the NASA Announcement of Opportunity for the development of the LightSAR program.

Below are the FY 2001 budget request and runout for the ESE, as well as the funding appropriated for the ESE for the last 4 years.

Earth Science Program Science

In FY 2001, NASA’s Earth Science Research and Analysis (R&A) program will continue to improve our understanding of the Earth and its processes through studies of the variability of the Earth system, the forcing factors that most strongly affect it, the processes by which the Earth system responds to forcing and different components of the Earth system interact with each other, the consequences of Earth system change for humans and ecosystems in specific regions, and the predictability of Earth system change in the future. The research program is based on a series of science questions articulated in the Earth Science Enterprise Research Strategy. For your information, we have attached a chart that reflects the current and historical funding levels for R&A within the ESE (see Attachment).

These investigations will particularly flourish in FY 2001 as they take advantage of the new data being made available from satellites launched in the late 1990s and the year 2000, such as TRMM, Landsat, QuikSCAT, Terra, ACRIMSAT, Aqua, and QuikTOMS. For example, in the area of improved understanding of the global carbon cycle, data from the Terra and SeaWifs satellites will help research efforts to provide greater insight into phytoplankton productivity and biomass in marine ecosystems, with applied implications for fisheries management. Related data from instruments aboard spacecraft from other nations will be intercompared through the Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) project and coordinated multi-instrument, multi-platform data sets will be used to further enhance our knowledge of ocean biology.

Relative to research on better understanding the global water cycle, data from TRMM are helping resolve the wide disparity in precipitation estimates, especially in the tropics where data are sparse. Data from Terra and Aqua will facilitate research efforts to help us better understand the relationship between atmospheric temperature and moisture distributions and those of clouds in the atmosphere, leading to improvements in our capability to simulate the water cycle in climate models. Research efforts into exploring the interannual dynamics of long term climate, ultimately leading to improved prediction capability for phenomena such as El Niño, will be facilitated by data from the Jason-1 sea-level altimeter, and when combined with data from its predecessor altimeter aboard the Topex/Poseidon satellite should allow for study of longer-period natural climate oscillations on the Earth’s oceans.

The recently launched ACRIMSAT, which measures the input of solar irradiance into our climate system, will extend the record of measurements of total solar irradiance through the declining period of this solar cycle. Along with continued data from our TOMS instrument aboard QuikTOMS, our atmospheric chemistry research efforts will be greatly facilitated in FY 2001 by the data from the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) aircraft campaign (completed in early 2000) to study high altitude ozone loss in the Arctic. A better understanding of global air pollution should be obtained from analysis of measurements the concentrations of carbon monoxide and methane in the troposphere from Terra. Research on the transport of atmospheric constituents over long distances through the atmosphere will be more closely explored through the conduct of the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) airborne campaign over East Asia and the Western Pacific Ocean.

The airborne science project will continue to support operations of two ER-2s, one DC-8 aircraft, and one P-3B. The project funds operation and support of a core of remote sensing instruments and a facility for analyzing and calibrating data from those instruments. The specially modified aircraft serve as test beds for newly developed instrumentation and their algorithms prior to space flight. The instrumented aircraft provide remote sensing and in situ measurements for many Earth Science research and analysis field campaigns in all ESE science areas throughout the world. Coordinated campaigns involving aircraft and satellites provide validation of the measurements obtained from NASA satellite missions as well as understanding the fundamental underlying biology, chemistry, and physics of processes observed by the satellites.

NASA will also be implementing its Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) science demonstration program with the selectees from the program’s first research announcement issued in FY 2000. The selectees are being provided an opportunity to utilize UAVs in a small number of missions over the next few years. This demonstration program should help to provide experience in the scientific use of UAVs under a variety of operating environments and conditions such as flights of 24 hours and longer duration, higher altitudes at subsonic speeds, and potentially (depending on the selected missions) flights in environments hazardous to the onboard pilot in traditional aircraft.

The Earth Science information system project will continue to provide a balanced system of high performance computers, mass storage systems, workstations, and appropriate network connectivity between researchers and components of the system. A major portion of the project funding supports operation of a supercomputing center (the NASA Center for Computational Sciences) at the Goddard Space Flight Center to especially help support the research program’s modeling efforts. Substantial activity goes into the active integration of observations into models through the process of data assimilation, so that globally comprehensive, physically accurate and consistent data sets can be prepared and used to support environmental forecasting. NASA will continue to monitor and participate in advanced technology projects, such as the High Performance Computing and Communications program and National Science Foundation’s gigabit test bed programs. This early access to new technology provides the project with the opportunity to influence vendors and system developers on issues unique to the Earth and space science researchers such as data intensive computation and algorithm development. Early access also prepares a subset of the research community to make changes in research methodology to exploit the new technologies and to champion promising technologies to their colleagues and peers. One specific and major area of focus is the development software for efficiently running the Earth system models on multi-mode parallel processor computers.

Major Satellite Missions and Related Ground Systems

To enable the quality science we have described, NASA supports the development of observation and information systems for collecting Earth Science data and converting into a useful form for the research community.

The major development programs for the Earth Science Enterprise are the Earth Observing System (EOS), the Earth Probes, and the Earth Observing System Data Information System (EOSDIS). We are constantly working to reduce the costs and time needed for developing these missions while maintaining safety and quality as a top priority. In this pursuit, NASA has developed a fast "catalog-based" commercial procurement process for spacecraft buses, which successfully allowed the development and integration of the QuikSCAT mission in one year. Similarly, NASA's Consolidated Space Operations Contract services provide a catalog of space data and mission operations services. NASA is continuing to work to further reduce the size, cost and development time for missions in the next decade, but will not compromise the capabilities, safety, and quality of these systems.

Earth Observing System

The Earth Observing System provides long-term, sustained measurements of key Earth Science phenomena that will expand current insights, enable predictive capabilities, and form the basis for an integrated understanding of our home planet. With the launch of Landsat-7 in April 1999, QuikSCAT in June 1999, and Terra and ACRIMSAT in December 1999, NASA has initiated the Earth Observing System (EOS), the largest element of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise.

The Landsat 7 satellite is the latest in the Landsat series that has been measuring important land-use and land processes since 1972. The Landsat system has enabled the Nation to build the largest database of medium resolution imagery of the Earth's continents. Since the deployment of Landsat 7), the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) has distributed over 1.9 terabytes of Landsat 7 data to the user community.

The QuikSCAT mission, built and launched within a year, provides a map of sea surface wind speed and direction over the entire globe every two days. These data are not only being used for long-term research into the Earth’s climate but also for short-term marine weather forecasting and stormtrack prediction. In addition, recent studies using QuikSCAT data have provided new information about how hurricanes form and grow.

The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor Satellite (ACRIMSat) continues the measurement of total solar irradiance begun by the ACRIM instruments on the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) and the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). By accurately measuring the sun's energy input to the Earth, ACRIMSat continues the long-term, quantitative data needed to understand the solar forcing of our climate.

The recently launched Terra satellite will enable scientific studies of the physical and radiative properties of clouds; air-land and air-sea exchanges of energy, carbon and water; measurements of trace atmospheric gases; and volcanology. Terra also represents a number of technological firsts, including operational demonstration of capillary pump loop heat pipes for thermal control, operational demonstration of multi-input high data rate system, and demonstration of autonomous navigation.

There are several EOS launches that will soon follow. Aqua will focus on understanding the global water and energy cycle by measuring atmospheric temperatures and humidity profiles, clouds, precipitation, and radiative balance; terrestrial snow and sea ice; sea-surface temperature and ocean productivity; soil moisture; and contribute significantly to the improvement of numerical weather prediction. All instruments have been mounted to the space bus. Observatory integration and testing and ground system and operations will continue up until the scheduled launch in December 2000.

Other EOS launches planned for within the next year include Jason and SAGE III. Jason is a Radar Altimetry mission that will be a follow-on to the TOPEX/ Poseidon as a cooperative joint mission with the French Space Agency (CNES), with data provided to NOAA for operational purposes. Jason-1 will enable a factor-of-four improvement in accuracy in measuring ocean basin-scale sea-level variability versus TOPEX/ Poseidon. The SAGE III instrument on the Russian METEOR spacecraft will take advantage of both solar and lunar occultation to measure aerosol and gaseous constituents of the atmosphere.

Over the next few years, we also will see several other complementary efforts including ICESat (Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite), SORCE (SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment), Seawinds (on the Japanese on ADEOS-II satellite), and two additional SAGE instruments for various platforms including the International Space Station.

These missions join a fleet of currently operating spacecraft and instruments. The U.S./France TOPEX/Poseidon spacecraft, designed for a three-year mission, is currently in its eighth year of providing ocean height data of unprecedented accuracy for use in global climatic studies. The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II instrument "keeps on ticking" after 15 years of vertical profile ozone and aerosol data representing the only self-calibrated, global data set for assessing long-term ozone trends. The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) data demonstrate that, although high clouds tend to trap heat, low clouds tend to reflect heat back to space, so that on average clouds cool the current climate. The ERBE data also obtained the first direct measurements of the cooling effect caused by sulfuric acid droplets from a volcanic eruption. Other ongoing activities include: the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer/Earth Probe, the SeaStar/ SeaWifs/ Ocean Color mission, and NASA participation in several International missions. Many of these spacecraft have operated well beyond their initial design life and need to be replaced by the next step in observational technology.

Earth Probes

Some scientific challenges -- like global temperature and humidity trends -- require long-term, systematic measurements. However, others, like global land elevation measurements, need a focused investigation or an initial experiment to determine what can be measured from space. The Earth Probes program is the component of the Earth Science Enterprise that addresses unique, specific, and highly focused measurement requirements in Earth Science research. The program seeks exploratory and process-driven measurements answering unique science questions. Earth Probe missions differ from EOS missions in that they tend to be designed for a finite period and focused on answering key and specific questions in Earth Science.

The recently completed Shuttle Radar Topography Mission was an astounding success, not only as a technological demonstration of space-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar techniques and use of large deployable structures but also in that the data gathered will allow better mapping of our planet on a global scale than has ever before been possible. Global maps from the SRTM data will be five times more accurate in height measurements than any that currently exist and will have one thousand times better resolution. Preliminary analysis indicates that the quality of the data returned exceeds pre-launch objectives.

Upcoming Earth Probe missions include: the QuikTOMS (Quick Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer); Triana; and the Earth System Science Pathfinder missions VCL (Vegetation Canopy Lidar), GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment), PICASSO-CENA (Pathfinder Instruments for Cloud and Aerosol Spacebourne Observations -Climatologie Etendue des Nuages et des Aerosols), and CloudSat. The PICASSO-CENA and CloudSat missions will fly in formation with the EOS Aqua and Aura missions, and allow Earth scientists to study the three dimensional structure of clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere and their impacts on the Earth's temperatures, improving our understanding of their role in the Earth's weather and climate.

The scientific objectives of the QuikTOMS project are to measure the long-term changes in total ozone and to verify the chemical models of the stratosphere used to predict future trends. The TOMS flights build on the experience that began in 1978 with the launch of a TOMS instrument (flight model 1) on Nimbus-7 and continued with the TOMS instrument (flight model 2) on a Russian Meteor-3, launched in 1991, a TOMS (flight model 3) launched on the Japanese ADEOS in 1996 and the Earth Probe spacecraft also launched in 1996. The remaining development TOMS project consists of one instrument (flight model 5, designated FM-5). The FM-5 has been completed, and was scheduled to fly as a cooperative mission with Russia in late 2000. However, Russia was not able to continue this cooperative effort and, consequently, the Agency will now fly FM-5, as QuikTOMS, on a US vehicle and spacecraft in November 2000.

Under the Earth Probes line NASA recently selected five proposals for the University Earth System Science (UnESS) project. These are university principal investigator (PI)-led science missions that provide hands-on university student involvement. Missions were selected for both their science and education value. NASA is awarding four concept definition studies ($300K funding, nine-month duration), with a down-select to two missions for launch in 2003 or 2004.

The Earth Probes program has the flexibility to take advantage of unique opportunities presented by domestic, international cooperative efforts or technical innovation, and complements the NASA's Earth Observing program, providing the ability to investigate processes that require special orbits or have unique requirements.

Earth Observing System Data Information System

Since August 1994, the EOS Data Information System (EOSDIS) has been serving tens of thousands of users by providing available data and information from NASA-sponsored programs. EOSDIS is operating the EOS spacecraft, and acquiring and distributing the basic data gathered by them. This lays the groundwork for both the government and its commercial and academic partners to generate the higher-level data products that will make the measurements more easily understandable and usable by researchers, educators, policy makers and the public.

On technical grounds, EOSDIS has been very successful and it is functioning well. It is delivering all of the services and products it was intended to provide in support of the four successful launches we have had this past year. It is supporting the full capacity, the operation, archive, and distribution of land-site data generated by our satellites, including Terra, and it is prepared to support the operations of the Aqua, ICESat and Chemistry spacecraft. As you may know, the EOSDIS contract was renegotiated to add capabilities reflecting the growth in the number of EOS spacecraft from two to more than 20 since the program started. NASA replaced an essential element of the EOSDIS Flight Operations Segment (FOS) with a commercial, off-the-shelf system developed by Raytheon. This new system has enabled EOSDIS to progress toward meeting all ESE mission needs from now through 2002.

EOSDIS is supported by eight Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) across the U.S. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and Langley Research Center (LaRC) DAACs have successfully supported science processing and data management for the Cloud and Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES) and the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) instruments on TRMM since the launch of TRMM in November 1997. The EROS Data Center (EDC) DAAC in Sioux Falls, SD has been supporting the archiving and distribution of Landsat-7 data since its launch in April 1999.

EOSDIS is proactively working to take advantage of these advances and developments that have occurred in information technology, including the explosion of the Internet and the World Wide Web. The National Academy of Sciences has been providing the Agency with valuable advice and recommendations on how to improve the system. In addition, ESE has begun instituting a new paradigm for mission planning and implementation, with an emphasis on Principal Investigator-led, end-to-end missions. While EOSDIS continues to serve our user community, NASA is actively working with information technology and science data experts both within and outside the Government to formulate a new comprehensive long-term plan for the evolution of data and information system services.

The Next Generation of Earth Science and Applications Missions

As we deploy the Earth Observing System to characterize processes and patterns of change in the Earth, we have also defined a Research Strategy for the next decade. This Research Strategy outlines an approach to answering relevant science questions, and identifies the criteria for selecting research and implementation priorities. The National Academy of Sciences is currently reviewing this document. Post-2002 mission concepts to be identified will derive from this plan. Two of those missions are included in the 2001 budget request: NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) and Landsat follow-on.

The NPP satellite mission would continue the 15-year data set for fundamental global climate change observations started this year by the primary instruments on the EOS Terra and Aqua satellites (i.e., MODIS, AIRS, and a combination of Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU)/ Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS)/ Humidity Sounder for Brazil (HSB). NPP is also a precursor mission to the next generation of operational polar weather satellites being developed by the NPOESS Integrated Program Office (IPO), a joint NASA, NOAA and DOD effort. The cost of this mission will be shared between NASA and the IPO. This arrangement will facilitate transitioning these measurements into the future National operational system, to ensure their continuity for operational activities as well as for the research community. The tentative launch readiness date is late 2005. NPP is the result of the ESE extending an invitation to existing and potential satellite operating agencies to join in the development of new remote sensing capabilities that meet both scientific research and operational needs.

The Landsat follow-on continues the basic global land cover change data set that NASA began with the launch of Landsat 1 in July of 1972. NASA is evaluating the responses to a Landsat Continuity Mission Request for Information to understand the potential for innovative commercial partnership or anchor tenant/data purchase arrangements to continue this critical data set. That effort combined with our development of data specifications for the follow-on system should produce a specific plan in the 2001 time frame.

Other mission concepts for the 2003-2010 timeframe will be identified as a result of the Science Implementation Plan, when the development process is completed

The ESE research program is conducted within a larger national and international context. This implies both opportunities for task-sharing with partner agencies, and the responsibility to seek optimal coordination of mutually supportive programs of these national and international partners. Domestically, both commercial and inter-agency partnerships are essential to the long-term success of the Enterprise.

The US commercial remote sensing industry comprises both providers of satellite data and producers of value-added information products. Some companies are involved in both. The first wholly commercial remote sensing satellite was launched in 1999, and several more are planned over the next few years. Thus it is increasingly likely that some Enterprise science data needs will be met by commercial providers, and Enterprise mission solicitations will promote investigators to find and use these opportunities if applicable and cost effective. "Value-added" companies are being engaged in our applications demonstration partnerships with state and local governments and universities, with the intent that new, direct industry to user commercial relationships will result. While NASA has been instrumental in the birth and growth of the commercial remote sensing industry, it has evolved to the point where NASA has limited ability to influence their investment decisions. Conversely, the growing industry has a limited ability to invest in high-risk development; this will continue to be the area of NASA’s contribution, along with scientific research.

The Enterprise has been actively seeking the cooperation of operational agencies (principally NOAA and USGS) to ensure the continuity of key environmental measurements in the long term. To achieve this goal, NASA will promote the convergence of the operational observation requirements of partner agencies with ESE research data needs for systematic observations, share the cost of new developments, and develop precursor instruments and spacecraft technologies for future operational application missions. NASA will also encourage the continuing involvement of scientific investigators in the calibration and validation of operational measurements, the development of more advanced information retrieval algorithms, and the analysis of operational data records. From this perspective, the potential for serving operational needs or commercial applications is a priority criterion for ESE programs, since such applications imply the potential for cooperation with relevant government agencies or data purchase from commercial sources.

Internationally, partnerships will continue to be essential for global change research. In the EOS era, $4 billion worth of activity were invested by foreign governments directly in EOS missions, and $4.7 billion more was leveraged by the Enterprise through data sharing arrangements. Both traditional partners Europe, Japan and Canada and newly emerging ones like Brazil and Argentina are being engaged in discussions of an integrated global observing strategy for the future. In the past three years, over 60 international agreements between the Enterprise and foreign governments have been signed, with Earth Science programs cooperating in some capacity with more than 35 nations around the globe. These include data exchange, ground-based measurements to validate satellite data, airborne science campaigns, and satellite missions. In addition to the cost savings resulting from such partnerships, it has become apparent that foreign governments are more willing to accept the findings of research when their researchers and space programs are engaged.

The Earth Science Enterprise will pursue all three types of partners as we design the observing and research architecture for the next decade. The likelihood of success in leveraging resources invested by partners is greatly enhanced when the U.S. exhibits budget stability in the planning and implementation of satellite programs.

Technology Infusion

The Earth Science Technology program develops and tests technologies that will enhance the capability and reduce the cost of future missions. The program consists of five major activities:

1. New Millennium Program -- The objectives of the New Millennium Program are to develop, and validate in space, advanced technologies that will enable new Earth Science capabilities or significantly reduce the costs of providing existing needed capabilities. The program emphasizes partnering with industry, academia and other government agencies as a means to both lower the cost of access to space and enhance the infusion of the validated technologies into future science and operational missions. New Millennium missions include the Earth Observing 1 mission that will carry an Advanced Land Imager and the first space borne Hyperspectral Imager (Hyperion), and the Earth Observing 3 mission (whose purpose is to validate a Geostationary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer for high resolution atmospheric sounding). This will demonstrate the ability to make Aura-like measurements from geostationary orbit.
2. Advanced Information Systems Technology Program -- The Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) program focuses on developing new information systems concepts and capabilities that will enable us to organize, integrate, and capitalize on the increasing data now becoming available. NASA has recently selected 30 research proposals in a competitive process to identify technologies necessary to achieve a future ‘sensorweb’ in space. These include projects in on-board data processing, optical communications, holographic memory, intelligent, reconfigurable instruments, and autonomous satellite control.
3. Advanced Technology Initiatives --The Advanced Technology Initiatives (ATI) identify, develop and demonstrate component and subsystem technologies to enable new measurements and to reduce the risk, cost, size, and development time for Earth observing instruments, platforms and information systems. Activities include advanced concept studies, system tradeoff studies, and component-level technology development efforts. In January 2000, NASA competitively selected 23 instrument-related technologies for component-level development under ATI. In previous component technology work, thermal-vacuum testing of a new laser diode has enabled the option of operating the PICASSO-CENA laser head in vacuum, simplifying laser construction. Advances have also been made in ultraviolet and near-infrared lasers, reduced-size spectrometers, and advanced focal plane arrays.
4. The Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) -- The Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) is reducing the cost and development time of future Earth Science instruments. IIP aggressively pursues emerging technologies and proactively closes the technology transfer gaps that exist in the instrument development process. The project will take detectors and other instrument components coming from NASA's fundamental technology development projects and other sources, and focus on combining them into new instrument systems that are smaller, less costly, less resource intensive, and which can be developed into flight models more quickly for future Earth Science missions. In response to the first IIP solicitation, NASA is funding 27 of the 123 proposals it received, including three from industry, six from NASA field centers, eight from universities and ten from national laboratories. At the end of the first year of performance of the Instrument Incubator projects, most projects have completed their first phase and been approved for continuation. The first phase focused primarily on analysis and design with a transition to prototype fabrication in phase 2. Some projects are further along; for example, the next generation ocean and ice radar altimeter, being built at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, has been fabricated and initial test measurements made by bouncing signals off of a water tower in the parking lot. High frequency monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) have been designed and fabricated and are under test at JPL. A JPL team has also successfully measured GPS reflections from the surface of Crater Lake. New instrumentation measuring laser-induced fluorescence transients from chlorophyll has been tested in the lab at Rutgers University.
5. High Performance Computing and Communications -- The High Performance Computing and Communications Program focuses on the prototyping and insertion of high-end computing and communications capabilities into NASA's missions. In partnership with NASA scientists and the commercial computing and networking industries, the Program uses NASA applications to accelerate the development, application, and transfer of high-performance computing and computer communications technologies to meet the engineering and science needs of our future missions. The HPCC Program includes an Earth and Space Sciences Project that will develop integrated software frameworks for Earth system modeling by 2004 that can be used in the assimilation and analysis of Earth Science observational data. This technology will allow us to build tools for prediction of global change and global impacts for the next century. Special emphasis is placed on supporting researchers at many institutions in large-scale research projects to explore advanced technologies with interdisciplinary and multi-institutional teams. Other elements of the Program are developing technologies for the next generation of spacecraft computers, aerospace vehicle design tools, and science education.

The Applications, Commercialization, and Education (ACE) Division of the Enterprise was formed to understand the problems facing decision makers in the public and private sectors and then brokers demonstrations of how ESE capabilities can be brought to bear. ACE relies on the partnership of consumers and end users, NASA scientists and technologists and commercial providers to develop new ways of doing business that leverage NASA discoveries and result in better decisions about how we live on this planet.

ACE activities have been focused in three main areas: the Earth Science Applications Research Program (ESARP); the Commercial Remote Sensing Program (CRSP); and the Education and Outreach Program. ESARP was created to apply ESE expertise to problems in agriculture, forestry, water resources management, and urban and regional planning. The Commercial Remote Sensing Program (CRSP) focused on the development of a robust commercial remote sensing industry that could serve some of NASA’s Earth Science data and information requirements. Lastly, the Education and Outreach Program explained the value of ESE activities and Earth system science in general to the public at-large; and, helped educate the next generation of Earth scientists and decision-makers.

Our new strategy builds on the many accomplishments our ACE Division has achieved over the past two years in its ESARP, CRSP, and Education and Outreach Programs.

Earth Science Applications Research Program (ESARP)

In the past year ESARP has implemented seven Regional Earth Science Applications Centers (RESACs) that are designed to apply remote sensing and related technologies to problems of regional significance and conduct region specific assessments of the effect of climate change. The RESACs are addressing problems such as forest growth and health, precision agriculture, land cover and land use mapping and inventory, water resources management, range land quality assessment, fire hazard management, integrated watershed and coastal management, assessment of long-term agricultural productivity and sustainability.

In addition, ACE and USDA jointly initiated thirteen applications research projects to develop and demonstrate new, cutting-edge and improved methods of vegetation mapping and monitoring, risk and damage assessment; and resource management and precision agriculture. The results of these projects will assist in guiding the subsequent Ag/2020 Program that is planned as a partnership between NASA, USDA and four private sector crop associations (cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat) that represent 115,000 farmers.

ACE and USDA are also partnering on three pilot projects (with Utah State University, University of Arizona and Mississippi State University) leveraging the existing successful Land Grant and Space Grant networks into a cooperative NASA ESE-Space Grant/USDA Cooperative Extension Service Strategic Alliance in Geospatial Information Technology. This innovative program builds on the successful nationwide networks developed by USDA and NASA and will use remote sensing, GIS, GPS and other geospatial technologies to improve the benefits of traditional university extension activities for the Nation’s farmers as well as participating state and local governments.

In addition, ACE is working jointly with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to incorporate the data, knowledge and information from NASA sponsored Earth Science research into the operational requirements and decision support systems of these agencies.

Recent cooperation between ACE and the EPA on water quality and related projects is based on the results of a workshop held by the two agencies. As follow-up to this workshop, joint NASA/EPA regionally based projects were carried out in FY1999 and FY2000 related to water quality and biodiversity. The water quality issues addressed in these projects include monitoring contamination of runoff and ground water by mine waste sites, tracing bacterial pollution from sewage in offshore flow, and identification of eutrophic zones and areas of cold water upwelling in lakes.

ACE is also continuing to convert remote sensing data into practical decision-making support products for a diversified user community through the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIPs). Examples of partner activities include NBC Channel 4 in Washington, D.C. (weather and news) which is developing an integrated News and Weather Visualization System for use within NBC owned and operated television stations.

In the area of Regional Applications, ACE is carrying out approximately ten cooperative projects that involve state and local governments in areas such as; land capability/suitability analysis; critical areas management; water resources management; forest inventory; site and route selection; and emergency preparedness. One specific project, the Regional Applications Center for the Northeast (RACNE), will focus on the management of a 24 county watershed area of the New York Finger Lakes.

In addition, ACE will build on the planning completed with the state and local community last year and will continue working with the Aerospace States Association (ASA), National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC), Western Governors Association (WGA), National Association of Counties (NACO), Mid-America States Consortium and National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to plan a set of Regional Applications activities that will be focused on the needs of state and local government resource manages and policy-makers for initiation in FY2001/FY2002.

In FY 2000, ACE is conducting at least five regional workshops for the purpose of increasing communication and expanding collaboration with and among the State and Local government user communities. These workshops will begin the process of bringing ESE data products and science results to the state and local government community for their use in practical decision-making.

As part of its Natural Hazards Research activities, ACE is collaborating with other federal agencies, the private sector, and disaster management practitioners in local governments and in operational regional information centers like the Pacific Disaster Center in Hawaii to infuse appropriate science and technology into their everyday processes and procedures. One example is the development and use of the Southern California integrated GPS Network, integrated with Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar observations to monitoring tectonic movements in the Los Angeles basin to identify subregions of high seismic risk. This is in partnership with NSF, USGS, the Southern California Earthquake Center, and the Keck Foundation. The Program also includes research on other types of major natural disasters. For example, they conduct research on: volcanic eruptions and subsequent warnings to aircraft of high-altitude ash clouds (a joint effort with NOAA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)); the assessment of landslide risks through better understanding of physical conditions of the environment (includes joint studies with the Italian government, Pacific Island Nations, New Zealand, and SE Asian countries); and, flooding, including flood inundation mapping and monitoring, floodplain mapping and modeling for better risk assessments. In fact, we currently are working with FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to improve their capability to efficiently map floodplains for the National Flood Insurance Program Flood Insurance Rate Maps through the use of high-resolution topographic data acquired using remote sensing technologies.

Commercial Remote Sensing Program (CRSP)

Complementing our Applications Research program is our work in the development of commercial applications of Earth Science data and technology. The Stennis Space Center serves as the Lead Center for Earth Science commercial remote sensing industry development.

The emergence of commercial remote sensing satellite systems will provide NASA with more flexibility in meeting its science requirements. As this market matures, NASA will increasingly be able to satisfy its need for remote sensing data through data purchases from these providers rather than massive investments in new satellite missions, ground stations and supporting infrastructure.

The Commercial Remote Sensing Program (CRSP) at the Stennis Space Center works with industry to extend the utility of ESE’s science data within the broader U.S. economy. Through partnerships with CRSP, companies gain assistance in product development and in validation of new remote sensing instruments. In September 1998, NASA awarded 5 contracts, valued at approximately $50 million, for a Scientific Data Purchase. Selected products were based on several criteria, including "best science value" to the government, and the degree to which the offered data met the business and performance characteristics of the solicitation, including scientific utility and data rights. Independent of the $50 million Scientific Data Purchase, NASA has recently committed to additional data buys from five different data sources totaling $2.4 million.

In our future planning for data buys, we are mindful of the findings of the March 31, 1999, audit report from NASA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on the CRSP. The OIG concluded, among other things, that while the Congressionally directed Commercial Data Buy Program has helped achieve ESE goals, additional Congressionally directed data buy programs were not warranted. The OIG further commented that NASA should design methods to promote the use of commercial remote sensing products that are more closely linked to its strategic science objectives. In keeping with that OIG guidance, ESE is becoming a catalyst for the purchase of data by advocating the purchase of commercially available data in all of its research opportunities. This approach is more cost-effective than making upfront commitments to purchasing a specific dollar amount of data for undefined purposes. To that end, the ESE is actively working to promote the development and use of commercial data through its policies and practices. For instance:

• Announcements of Opportunity (AOs) for missions will state commercial data purchase options and preferences, and commercial participation will be weighted on a par with science in evaluating proposals for selection.

• ESE will facilitate and encourage use of commercially available data sets by Principal Investigators through NASA Research Announcements by requiring proposers to identify commercial data sources intended for use.
• Recent ESE applications research projects (e.g., the Agriculture NASA Research Announcement and the Regional Earth Science Applications Centers) have identified data sets to be purchased from the private sector.
• The Earth Science Enterprise is currently studying approaches to acquire science data for two post-2000 missions -- Landsat Continuity and Global Tropospheric Winds -- using data buys from commercial sources.

In FY 2000, the CRSP will continue to work with over 80 commercial partnerships in "value-added" remote sensing product development, an increase from 37 in FY 1997 and 70 in FY 1998. In addition, CRSP will establish at least 20 agreements with industry in support of other federal agency needs (e.g., Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture). The CRSP will continue to work with four grower associations representing 250,000 farmers on the application of remote sensing technologies to improve the yield and reduce the cost of agricultural production. These projects will examine the use of remote sensing and geo-spatial technologies to assess soil variability and crop health for guidance input to variable rate applicators of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides to the field.

Education and Outreach

To further generate public benefits from its programs, ESE applies its unique resources to stimulate interest in and understanding of Earth Science missions, research, and applications programs. In addition to training the next generation of Earth scientists and engineers through student support programs, and supporting the educators and the educational systems in meeting national and State educational requirements relating to Earth Science, the ESE also seeks to identify new skills and training that may be necessary for our advanced technologies to become integrated into everyday use. Over the next couple of years, our priority will be to determine the education and training that may support the possible changes in business practice resulting from the infusion of remote sensing into routine practices at the workplace. Current activities in formal and informal education are described in detail in our ESE 2000 Education Catalog, which is available both in hard copy and on the web (http://www.earth.nasa.gov/education/index.html). Here are some examples:

Two Maryland school systems, Anne Arundel County Public Schools and Montgomery County Public Schools, are collaborating with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to develop a new high school Earth and Space Systems Science Curriculum. The curriculum will address the National Science Education Standards and Maryland’s "Core Learning Goals" which will provide the basis for high school performance tests.

Project ALERT (Augmented Learning Environment and Renewable Teaching) is a cooperative California-based program to create and/or infuse interdisciplinary Earth Science course materials into the core science curriculum of pre-service teachers. The two main partners in this cooperation are the California State University (CSU) geoscience and education disciplines, and the two NASA installations in California (Ames Research Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory).

The Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA), a partnership between the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and the Center for Educational Technologies at the Wheeling Jesuit University, supports universities, colleges, and science education organizations around the country in offering K-12 Earth System Science (ESS) on-line courses (K-4, 5-8, 9-12) for graduate credit hours taken by teachers/participants. These courses use an innovative instructional design and are delivered over the Internet. The participants’ expectations are set through the use of rubrics for individual and group work as they learn new ESS content, become knowledgeable about new teaching resources, develop confidence in the use of technology, and design new classroom activities.

Finally, the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program continues to connect scientific discovery with the education process by linking together K-12 school children, teachers, and scientists from around the world in making a core set of environmental observations at or near their schools and reporting and sharing these data via the Internet.

Through these activities, we aim to ensure a strong US scientific, technical, and engineering workforce in the 21^st century.

ESE Cost Management

NASA has aggressively reduced the amount of carryover funding from the year in which the budget authority was appropriated into the following fiscal year. The ESE has successfully implemented a process to reduce the amount of carryover funds and has achieved its targeted levels.
 
 

Fiscal Year	Unobligated as % of total Appropriation	Uncosted as % of total Appropriation
FY 1997	20	51
FY 1998	10	41
*FY 1999	6	34
FY 2000 estimate	3-5	30-34

*target levels achieved

The ESE has achieved its goal of reducing the uncosted carryover to a steady state level based on approximately three months of uncosted carryover on flight and ground system development projects, one month of uncosted carryover on operations activities, and six months of uncosted on research and analysis (grant-based activities). These assumptions would result in a steady state uncosted carryover level of about 4 months or $460 - $490 million per year based on FY 1999. NASA has shifted its emphasis from focusing on uncosted balances to an emphasis that more appropriately focuses on maintaining unobligated balances at a low level.
 

Conclusion

NASA is pleased to play a leadership role in exploring our home planet. The next decade promises to be an exciting one for the nation in Earth Science. We will move beyond characterizing the Earth system to genuinely understanding how it works, so that we can begin to predict future change. New scientific knowledge and practical applications will be streaming from EOS and Earth probes missions. We will develop technologically-advanced, lower-cost missions to assure the continuity of essential science data. Small, innovative missions will discover facets of the Earth system we can only guess at today. An information management system will ensure affordable and timely delivery and access to information and products by scientists, practitioners and policymakers. New ways of combining geospatial data into innovative, useful information products will engage a broader range of users to multiply the return on the national investment in Earth Science. And the result will be a robust prediction capability for the nation.

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