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National Plan for Civil Earth Observations

By Lindsey Bowman posted 07-31-2014 13:11

  

Civil Earth Observations
The National Plan for Civil Earth Observations was released July 19th by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as a result of a 2010 congressional order to better characterize and coordinate civil Earth observations. The U.S. government provides the largest amount of environmental and Earth system data in the world, which ultimately contributes  $30 billion annually to the U.S. economy. OSTP created NEOTF (National Earth Observation Task Force) in February of 2011 to address the challenge put forth by Congress to better coordinate the operation of Earth system observations across agencies as well as address other issues such as data management. 


The National Plan
The National Plan is a framework to establish, routinely evaluate and build a balanced Earth observations portfolio. Building upon the National Strategy released by NEOTF in April 2013, the National Plan seeks to categorize types of Earth observations, prioritize observations and outline how to support them as well as underscore agency/inter-agency responsibility for maintaining and broadening current efforts. The highest priority sustained measurements for public service include weather and seasonal climate modeling and prediction, land surface monitoring and characterization as well as other critical long-term observation systems. In order to support these systems, the plan also describes necessary actions such as the coordination and integration of observations, improvement of data access and management and increases in efficiency and cost savings. 


Agency Responsibilities
There are currently 12 agencies that fund and conduct Earth observations which include the Departments of Defense and the Interior as well as NASA and NOAA. The designated high impact sustained observations systems include LIDAR, stream gage networks and marine survey vessels, but the plan also emphasizes the importance of short-term experimental observations that are instrumental in improving technology. Satellite observations for public service are primarily the responsibility of NASA and NOAA, with a significant role also played by the Department of Commerce. OSTP plans to update their National Plan on a three-year cycle with input from stakeholders and the public.

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