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Benefits of GEOSS in Louisiana
In Louisiana, Earth Observations will:
Expand the ability to track and model natural disasters (such as hurricanes and storms). Through earth observations, Louisiana can have near real-time monitoring that will improve storm and hurricane forecasts and help to dramatically reduce the cost of damage to property and loss of life.
Average annual damage from tornadoes and hurricanes is $6.2 billion nationally, of which:
- hurricanes average $5.1 billion and 20 deaths per year; and,
- tornadoes cause $1.1 billion in damages.1
Give us information on flooding, road loss, and extent of property damage, as well as facilitate clean-up activities. Ground monitors, models, and satellite images give emergency responders and relief crews ways to respond faster (with more geographic precision) and avoid hazards themselves.
Average annual damage from floods is $5.2 billion and over 80 deaths per year.2
Help integrate multiple data sets in order to understand complex problems such as too many nutrients in the system and to promote sustainability of resources in the costal zone, i.e., runoff from Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico.
Track water temperatures, harmful algal blooms, invasive species, and other environmental factors affecting the lakes and Gulf of Mexico coastal areas.
Economic impact of harmful algal blooms in United States average $49 million annually, but individual outbreaks can cause economic damage that exceeds the annual average.3
Pinpoint coastal areas impacted by erosion, weather, and environmental pollutants.
Travel and tourism is the Nation's largest employer and second largest contributor to the GDP, generating over $700 billion annually. Beaches are the leading tourist destination, with coastal states earning 85 percent of all U.S. tourism revenues. Approximately 180 million people vacation and recreate along U.S. coasts every year.4
Use variable rate application of fertilizers and placement of seeds through use of Variable rate application of fertilizers and placement of seeds- use of detailed sampling of fields to characterize yields, variable soils and variable fertility.
Monitor soil moisture and meteorology through satellite technology to evaluate drought stress in crops for agriculture and forestry.
Benefit agriculture by monitoring rates of fertilizer application, field fertility, and plant diseases, thereby making sustainable agriculture more manageable for both large and small scale farmers.
Track plant disease and invasive species affecting cotton and vegetable crops and predict where disease will spread based on our knowledge of the climate, soil and the pest organism.
Track effects of global change. Integration of international Earth observation data sets to help us detect signs of global warming, including sea level rise and coastal degradation.
Weather and climate sensitive industries, both directly and indirectly, account for about one-third of the Nation's GDP, or $3 trillion, ranging from finance, insurance, and real estate to services, retail and wholesale trade and manufacturing.5
1 National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Environmental and Societal Impacts Group, and the Atmospheric Policy Program of the American Meteorological Society, 2001, Extreme Weather Sourcebook 2001: Economic and Other Societal Impacts Related to Hurricanes, Floods, Tornadoes, Lightning, and Other U.S. Weather Phenomena, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo. Available only online at http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/sourcebook/data.html
2 Ibid
3 Hoagland, D.M. Anderson, Y. Kaoru and A.W. White. August 2002. The economic effects of harmful algal blooms in the United States: estimates, assessment issues, and information needs. Estuaries 25 (4b): 819- 837.
4 Leeworthy, Vernon R., Preliminary Estimates from Versions 1-6: Coastal Recreation Participation, National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) 2000, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-istration, NOAA Oceans and Coasts, Special Projects Office. Website: http://marineeconomics.noaa.gov.
5 Dutton, John A., Opportunities and priorities in a new era for weather and climate services, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, September 2002, volume 83, no. 9, pp 1303-1311.