Report warns of weather satellites' 'rapid decline'

[GlennO]

Report warns of weather satellites' 'rapid decline'By Ledyard King, Gannett Washington Bureau Updated 4h 5m ago


Predicting the weather is tricky enough. Now a new government-sponsored report warns that the USA's ability to track tornadoes,


forecast hurricanes and study climate change is about to diminish.

The number and capability of weather satellites circling the planet "is beginning a rapid decline" and tight budgets have significantly


delayed or eliminated missions to replace them, says a National Research Council analysis out Wednesday.
The number of in-orbit and planned Earth observation missions by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


is projected to drop "precipitously" from 23 this year to only six by 2020, the report found.


That means the number of instruments monitoring Earth's activity is expected to decline from a peak of about 110 last year to fewer


than 30 by the end of the decade.


"Right now, when society is asking us the hardest questions and the most meaningful questions, we're going to be even more


challenged to answer them," said Stacey Boland, a senior systems engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and a


member of the committee that wrote the report. "We'll slowly become data-starved here."


The report credits NASA with finding creative ways to prolong the life of existing satellites and working with international partners to fill


in forecasting gaps. But, the authors said, glue and scissors only go so far. When a similar analysis was issued five years ago, eight


satellites were expected to be in space by 2012 tracking a variety of conditions.


Only three are in orbit. Of the remaining five, two failed, one was canceled and two others won't launch until at least next year. The


pipeline looks emptier over the next decade.


Of 18 missions recommended in the 2007 report through 2020, only two are close enough to completion to register launch dates.


Dennis Hartmann, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle, and chair of the committee, warned that the loss of capacity will have "profound consequences on science and society, from weather forecasting to responding to natural hazards."


Report warns of weather satellites' 'rapid decline'

[mattfivefour]

Hmmm ... VERY interesting!

[WKUHilltopper]

Oh well...I rely more on wooly worms and woodchucks for weather prognostication any way.

[mattfivefour]

Woodchuck entrails, bro?

[WKUHilltopper]

Woodchuck entrails, bro?

Naaa...if'n deys pops deys haids up and sees deys shadow...

[dcbrott99]

Naaa...if'n deys pops deys haids up and sees deys shadow...

I thought that was what you did with Groundhogs, not Woodchucks. Oh, and by the way, How much Wood could a Woodchuck chuck if a Woodchuck could chuck Wood?

[WKUHilltopper]

I thought that was what you did with Groundhogs, not Woodchucks.

Not in KY. Groundhogs are too much of a target of opportunity around these parts.

[readyforhome]

So would these be the same satellites that we've been relying upon for all the data on gloabal cool... I meant global warm... Oh wait, climate change? Not good for a number of reasons, so I guess we'll have to go back to the old way, LOOKING and LISTENING huh?

[Forgiven]

So would these be the same satellites that we've been relying upon for all the data on gloabal cool... I meant global warm... Oh wait, climate change? Not good for a number of reasons, so I guess we'll have to go back to the old way, LOOKING and LISTENING huh?

Yep

Old-time weather predicting I learned in my youth:

If the grass is wet with dew in the morning, it will be a sunny day.
But if the grass is dry, it will rain before the day is over.


And a non-weather prediction: when cats or dog eats grass, they will hack it back up; typically on light colored carpet or the bed

[SonSeeker]

Well those few satellites that are left up there will just have to work harder and faster to make up for their fallen brothers. And they better not expect a raise either, they're just gonna have to suck it up like the rest of us.

[mattfivefour]

Well those few satellites that are left up there will just have to work harder and faster to make up for their fallen brothers. And they better not expect a raise either, they're just gonna have to suck it up like the rest of us.

[WKUHilltopper]

Look. Just get you a wind sock.

If it is moving, it's windy.

If it is still, it's calm.

If it is wet, it's raining.

If it's gone, head to your basement.

[JC1949]

I thought that was what you did with Groundhogs, not Woodchucks. Oh, and by the way, How much Wood could a Woodchuck chuck if a Woodchuck could chuck Wood?

Apelle figlio di Apollo,
fece una palla di pelle di pollo,
tutti i pesci vennero a galla,
per vedere la palla di pelle di pollo,
fatta da Apelle figlio di Apollo!

It is in Italian!