CEOS NEWSLETTER No.14
page 9
CONTENTS
Disaster Management Support Ad Hoc Working Group
Ms. Helen M. Wood
Chair, DMSG, NOAA
The formation of an Ad Hoc Working Group on Disaster Management Support
was approved at the 13th CEOS Plenary held in Stockholm, Sweden, November
1999. The purpose of the Group is to support natural and technological
disaster management on a worldwide basis by fostering improved utilization
of existing and planned Earth Observation (EO) satellite data. The Group
continues the work carried out over the past two years by the IGOS Disaster
Management Support Project, which it replaced. The group will continue
to develop and refine recommendations for the application of satellite
data to several hazards areas. Particular emphasis will be placed on working
closely with space agencies, international and regional organizations,
and commercial organizations on the implementation of these recommendations.
The work of the Working Group has progressed significantly since last
reported in the September 1998 CEOS Newsletter No. 11. (http://jaxa.ceos.org/ceosnews11_5_e.html)
Participation in the project has increased steadily, with representation
currently from more than 300
organizations that have sent representatives to the 11 meetings held
over the last two and a half years. While earlier meetings focused primarily
on a review of related activities, later meetings, including two NOAA hosted
workshops, focused on refining findings and recommendations of the Group
and its seven Hazard Teams, and guiding the prototyping activities of the
Group's CEOS Disaster Information Server. Each Hazard Team is charged with
reviewing existing documentation and practices and compiling concise requirements
focused on specific hazard areas - drought, earthquake, flooding, fires,
landslides, oil spills, and volcanic hazards. An earlier Tropical Cyclone
Team was retired, the Landslide Team recently added, and the Volcanic Ash
Team expanded
to include all volcanic hazards. The work of the Group has been published
in two annual progress reports. A copy of the 1999 Progress Report can
be obtained from the Group Secretariat. The Group's work, including corrections
and additional refinements, is also available on the project web site.
Group findings and recommendations
There are currently twelve Group level recommendations derived from
nine findings. The findings note that disaster managers often recognize
the value of and are willing to use new satellite technology, but may be
reluctant because the technology is unfamiliar and unproven in an operational
environment. The recommendations suggest ways the space community might
respond, e.g. by promoting mutual dialogue, creating user friendly tools,
performing compelling demonstrations, and using integrated approaches to
create more user friendly products and services.
Hazard Team findings and recommendations
There are numerous findings and recommendations from each Hazard Team
including specific satellite observational and derived product requirements.
The following are a sampling.
Oil Spill
Several sensor types can support oil spill management, to a varying
extent. However, SAR holds the most potential for improvements. Insufficient
frequency of coverage and cost of data impede routine, large-scale operational
use of SAR data. The following table provides a summary of end user SAR
minimum
(threshold) and optimum requirements.
(Threshold/Optimum)
Flooding
All phases of all flood types can be improved with better use of high-resolution
satellite sensors. For example, the following table provides a summary
of
spatial resolution requirements.
Information Server
The Disaster Group server is being upgraded with an emphasis on improving
information on each hazard page and adding information locator tools, e.g.
a
contacts database and a "hot events" page. The contacts database will
allow a potential user to locate providers of data and products that can
support disaster
(to be continued on page 10 & 11.)
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