NDMC NASA Project Activities:
Objectives and Deliverables
Mark Svoboda, Don Wilhite
National Drought Mitigation Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
NASA Project Kick-off Meeting, Lincoln, NE Apr 24-25, 2007
NDMC Objectives and Deliverables
In Year 1:
Conduct examination of the USDM process to communicate
the current system approach and process of drought monitor
map production
Provide guidance to establish (a) input data requirements,
format, and interfacing, (b) system requirements for the
USDM to assimilate new remote sensing data, and (c)
processing requirements to improve USDM outputs
Ingest remote sensing results and products into the existing
operational U.S. Drought Monitor system and evaluate their
utility
Participate with an Advisory Board, drought information users,
drought specialists and decision makers for improving the
USDM
Provide guidance and collaborate in research addressing the
NDWI and its value for drought monitoring
NDMC Objectives and Deliverables
In Year 2:
Implement remote sensing data product ingestion into an
advanced USDM prototype environment: initial evaluation and
validation of improvements in drought products, producing
initial improved drought maps for decision support; distribution
of improved drought products over the Internet to users via
the NDMC web site
Benchmark existing and new USDM results using the MODISbased system (in collaboration with NASA and USGS) results
to determine and quantify the improvements
Participate in a demonstration of the improved USDM
prototype
Collect feedback from the Drought Advisory Board, drought
information users, drought specialists and decision makers for
further improving the USDM
NDMC Objectives and Deliverables
In Year 3:
Implement an advanced USDM that can ingest the remote
sensing data product arrays; integrate improvements obtained
from the advanced USDM prototype into an advanced USDM
operational environment for decision support
Lead a demonstration of the advanced USDM system in the
operational environment
Examine and document the transition of the advanced USDM
system into the next generation of a national drought decision
support system such as NIDIS, and if feasible, into a global
drought decision support system (e.g. the Global Earth
Observing System of Systems)
Collect, assemble and condense feedback from the Drought
Advisory Board, drought information users, drought specialists
(e.g., the Drought Monitor expert list-serve is now around 225
people), and decision makers for transitioning this improved
USDM into an advanced National Integrated Drought
Information System (NIDIS)
Present and publish advanced results in conferences or journal
papers
WGA (2004), NIDIS Bill (2006), USGEO (2006)
Preceded by: Western States Water Policy Commission (1998), NDMC, National
Drought Bill efforts (2000)
Federal, State, Local, Tribal, Regional/Watersheds
Slide 3
NIDIS VISION and GOALS
“A dynamic and accessible drought information system that provides
users with the ability to determine the potential impacts of drought and
the associated risks they bring, and the decision support tools needed to
better prepare for and mitigate the effects of drought.”
Implementation requires:
• Coordinate a national drought monitoring and forecasting system
• Creating a drought early warning system
• Providing an interactive drought information delivery system for
products and services—including an internet portal and
standardized products (databases, forecasts, Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), maps, etc)
• Designing mechanisms for improved interaction with public
(education materials, for a, etc)
Slide 4
Past Meetings/Future Directions
cont’d……..
2007: NOAA Integrated Water Resource Services
August 07: Drought Portal prototype testing
September 07: Preliminary Workshops to initiate team
development and project design in at least two pilot
locations
Spring 2008: National Workshop on the status of
drought early warning in the U.S.: indicators and
triggers
Slide 7
NIDIS Operations: Improved Monitoring
• Drought indicators based on available preliminary
data differ greatly from final data in some areas.
Slide 10
NOAA Service Requirement across
scales
Climate
Outlook
Threats
Assessments
Forecasts
Time Scale
Guidance
Suite of cooperatively defined
User and Stakeholder
Information Needs
Watches
Warnings & Alert
Coordination
Weather
Product Source
Discover
Research
Development
Proof of
Concept
Knowledge
Experimental
Operational
Operations
Slide 11
NIDIS Data information and assimilation and
model: U.S. Drought Portal
The USDP will provide county, regional and national drought-related products
(analysis, forecasts, and research) to a variety of users, ranging from
individuals whose livelihood is impacted by drought to large corporations,
water managers and the research community through a dynamic, Internetbased drought portal.
What is a Portal?
Sites on the World Wide
Web that typically
provide personalized
capabilities for their
visitors.
U.S. Drought Portal
US GEO Context:
Slide 13
Portal Home:
Key Clearinghouse Functions:
Credibility, Legitimacy,
Accessibility, Reliability
(timeliness etc.)
to answer
Where are drought conditions
now?
Does this event look like
other events?
How is the drought affecting
me?
Will the drought continue?
Where can I go for help?
Slide 14
Making NIDIS Operational
• The NIDIS Project Office: Structure, implementation
teams and governance (incl.Exec. Council)
• National
• Engaging the preparedness communities
• Monitoring and forecasting: gaps and capacity
• Education and Outreach
• Integrated research for generating drought risk scenarios
• The Drought Portal
• Climate Test-Bed
• Regional/State DEWS Pilots: Goals, Design,
Implementation, Evaluation, Transferability
• Partnerships: Federal, State, Tribal, Local, Watersheds
Slide 16
Project Team DEWS Pilot Design
Recommendations
Types of drought and types of management units:
• Large watersheds, WGA-relevant basins,
• Individual States and counties
• Under-served or as yet under-represented unit (state) for testing
transferability
Other
• Support from other regions e.g. RISAs, through ‘Coping with
Drought’ other agency funding on drought research and response
(NASA, USDA/RMA)
Slide 17
NIDIS
End
Slide 27
Thank you!
Please visit us at:
http://drought.unl.edu/
Please contact me at:
msvoboda2@unl.edu