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NOAA Climate Products and Services for SocietyNOAA Climate Products and Services for Society

Dr. James TurnerDeputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

April 10, 2009

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NOAA’s Mission

To understand and predict changes in Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs

NOAA is Vital to the American Economy and American Lives

Between 1992 and 2004, NOAA’s weather services prevented over 330 fatalities and 7800 injuries from tornadoes, resulting in a socioeconomic benefit of over $3 billion

Between 1992 and 2004, NOAA’s weather services prevented over 330 fatalities and 7800 injuries from tornadoes, resulting in a socioeconomic benefit of over $3 billion

Healthy coastal ecosystems provide clean beaches that host over 910 million trips/year and support millions of jobs generating $44 billion in spending

Healthy coastal ecosystems provide clean beaches that host over 910 million trips/year and support millions of jobs generating $44 billion in spending

NOAA’s network of 39 tsunami detection buoys provide coastal communities with faster and more accurate warnings to protect lives and property

NOAA’s network of 39 tsunami detection buoys provide coastal communities with faster and more accurate warnings to protect lives and property

NOAA’s aviation forecasts reduce aviation delays and save the industry $580 million per year

NOAA’s aviation forecasts reduce aviation delays and save the industry $580 million per year

NOAA has rebuilt 12 commercial fisheries stocks since 2001 which resulted in over $2.1 billion in income and over $5 billion in sales in the year 2006 alone

NOAA has rebuilt 12 commercial fisheries stocks since 2001 which resulted in over $2.1 billion in income and over $5 billion in sales in the year 2006 alone

NOAA’s improved hurricane forecasts save taxpayers $640,000 per mile in unnecessary evacuation costs

NOAA’s improved hurricane forecasts save taxpayers $640,000 per mile in unnecessary evacuation costs

NOAA provides economic benefits of $240 million per year in mitigating flood losses

NOAA provides economic benefits of $240 million per year in mitigating flood losses

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Impacts: Impacts: Sound climate change

adaptation and mitigation strategies

Improved preparation for and response to heat waves, poor air quality, drought, forest fires, coastal inundation, and other climate-driven phenomena

Private development of environmental technologies and applications

Climate

The National ChallengeThe National Challenge: Anticipating and responding

to climate change and its impacts

NOAA’s Solution: NOAA’s Solution: Provide authoritative information to

support decision-makers through NOAA’s unique climate observation assets, scientific expertise, and service delivery capabilities

Promote the establishment of a National Climate Service that draws upon the full capacity of the government and other sectors

Earth’s climate system is changing

Population doubled & then doubled again over the last century, growing from 1.65 billion to more than 6 billion inhabitants.

In that same time span, there was a rise in the three most abundant human-emitted greenhouse gases, mirroring the growth in human population. Isotopic analysis and carbon cycle models established that the increase in carbon dioxide was due to fossil fuel consumption.

With the rise in those greenhouse gases, Earth experienced an unusually rapid rise in its average temperature—increasing 0.7°C since 1880.

Human fingerprints on the climate system

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1980 Annual Minimum

The Arctic is rapidly losing sea iceThe Arctic is rapidly losing sea ice

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2008 Annual Minimum

The Arctic is rapidly losing sea iceThe Arctic is rapidly losing sea ice

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Climate’s adverse impacts on society

Extreme events becoming more likely. More people building in harm’s way.

U.S. economy is seriously impacted. Such events grow more severe & frequent.

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Climate’s adverse impacts on health

Poor air qualitySevere weather events (tornado aftermath)

Spread of infectious diseaseDisruption of sources of food and fiber

“We must act quickly and we must act boldly to transform our entire economy—from our cars and our fuels to our factories and our buildings.”

“America has overcome great challenges before. With clarity of direction and leadership, there is no question that we possess the insight, resources, courage and the determination to build a new economy that is powered by clean and secure energy.”

—President Barack Obama

Climate change brings opportunitiesClimate change brings opportunities

my.barackobama.com/page/content/newenergy

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NOAA’s Climate Services for Society

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NOAA provides a bridge between societal needs and scientific insights and products. We enhance key socio-economic sectors’ ability to respond to, and plan for, climate variability and change by providing climate information and resources to support decision making.

Critical information for key sectors

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This was a wheat field a few years agoThis was a wheat field a few years agoin Cimarron County, Oklahomain Cimarron County, Oklahoma

Photo by Gary McManus 14

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NIDIS provides national drought maps

Shallow Coastal Flooding Demonstrationhttp://www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/action/hazards/chsflood.html

The CSC produces potential inundation maps from Lidar-derived elevation data. These data are among the most accurate available for predicting the impacts of shallow coastal flooding that will accompany sea level rise.

Local and state officials use these data to better prepare their coastal communities for near-term challenges such as mitigating coastal storm impacts and considering adaptation options.

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Regional climate services Regional climate services

ENSO Prediction and Monitoringhttp://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/MJO/enso.shtml

The CPC provides forecasts and monitoring products that highlight oceanic and atmospheric features of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, especially for extreme phases (El Niño and La Niña).

National and international decision makers use these products to improve their management of agriculture, water supplies, and other resources.

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Ecosystem Approaches

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Global Monsoon Monitoringhttp://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Global_Monsoons/

The Climate Prediction Center monitors all the regional monsoon systems around the globe in real-time, including rainfall variability and associated atmospheric and oceanic conditions.

International weather and climate services and other agencies such as USAID, agriculture and water agencies, and private industries use these products to monitor monsoon storms.

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21Federal Partners include NOAA, EPA, NSF and US Forest Service

Education about climate science

NOAA’s Climate Program Office is leading development of the essential principles of climate literacy as part of NOAA's overall environmental literacy priority. This initiative is being conducted in partnership with NOAA's Office of Education, other federal agencies, and educational organizations.

The Climate Science Literacy Guide serves as a framework for under- standing and communicating about climate science. It provides an outline of the knowledge deemed important for individuals and communities to know and understand about Earth’s climate.

RANET

RANET is a collaboration of national weather services working to improve information dissemination to rural and remote populations. The program focuses on providing assistance to develop and deploy solutions from satellite to mobile phone to FM radio.

http://www.ranetcommons.net

Chatty Beetle

AlertWatcher

SatelliteBroadcastServices

PTWC Tsunami:

Info Statement

Issued: 1111Z 11 Nov

2006ORG: 1101Z 11 Nov

2006MAG: 6.0

Community Based Data Collection and Broadcasting

New NOAA Climate Services Portal

NOAA’s Climate Program Office is playing a lead role in developing a new Climate Portal to simplify access to climate data & information.

Our strategy for the new Climate Portal is two-pronged:

1. easy, one-stop access to NOAA climate science information on-line, and

2. an extensible and distributed approach to education and communications allowing our partners to use NOAA’s climate content in their own education and outreach programs and products.

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International climate services

The International Research Institute (IRI) for Climate and Society provides science resources and services to help meet the needs of the developing world.

IRI collaborates with local institutions in Africa, Asia and Latin America that understand local issues, needs and capacity. IRI’s research and tools are “demand-driven” in that they help solve specific development, adaptation, and research management issues.

IRI is a cooperative agreement between NOAA’s Climate Program Office and Columbia University.

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Institutional Collaboration

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NOAA Labs

NOAA Cooperative Institutes

NOAA Cooperative Science Centers

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Act GloballyAct Globally Model RegionallyModel Regionally Observe LocallyObserve Locally

Act LocallyAct LocallyModel RegionallyModel RegionallyObserve GloballyObserve Globally

Climate Services ContinuumIntegration is Critical at All Levels

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…Provide the Right Information, …to the Right People…

…at the Right Time…

… to Make the Right Decisions!

Thank You.

James Turner, Ph.D.Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

James.Turner@noaa.gov

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