Tag Archives: weather

Commercial Mobile Alert System: The Future of Emergency Warning Notification

In emergency situations it is critical to obtain accurate information quickly. As our technology has evolved, so have our abilities to communicate. In the 1950’s, the state of Kansas instituted a basic tornado alert system of fire station sirens to warn residents of small towns to take shelter, saving many lives. Recent emergency communication capabilities, especially in severe weather situations, have improved our access to the most current information. We are now able to track weather conditions on TV, the internet, and through text alerts on mobile devices. The Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) will take warning systems to the next level by sending emergency alerts to mobile devices such as cell phones and pagers. Scheduled to become available in 2012, CMAS will send 3 types of alerts:

Presidential alerts: This is any alert message issued by the President for local, regional, or national emergencies, and is the highest priority alert
Imminent threat alerts: These are notifications of emergency conditions, such as hurricanes or tornadoes, where there is an immediate threat to life or property and action should be taken
Child abduction emergency/AMBER alerts: These are alerts related to missing or endangered children due to an abduction or runaway situation

Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Summary of a Workshop Report on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps discusses the extensive body of knowledge regarding alerts and warnings and the public response and action before, during, and after emergency situations. Additionally, this book considers the many questions that arise when considering how to apply this knowledge to CMAS and more generally to the use of mobile and other new information and communications technologies for alerts and warnings.

Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery identifies promising applications of information and communication technology (IT) to disaster management, potential areas of research for improving the effectiveness of IT, and mechanisms that would enhance research, development, and deployment efforts. This book is intended to inform federal, state, and local policy makers and public safety and emergency management professionals about future opportunities for the application of IT to disaster management.

These books and others on the subject of communication and disaster management can inform discussion and provide information for decision-making.

	Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Summary of a Workshop on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps This book presents a summary of the Workshop on Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Current Knowledge and Research Gaps, held April 13 and 14, 2010, in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the National Research Council’s Committee on…
	Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Information technology (IT) has the potential to play a critical role in managing natural and human made disasters. Damage to communications infrastructure, along with other communications problems exacerbated the difficulties in carrying out response and…
	Successful Response Starts with a Map: Improving Geospatial Support for Disaster Management In the past few years the United States has experienced a series of disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which have severely taxed and in many cases overwhelmed responding agencies. In all aspects of emergency management, geospatial data and tools…
	Tsunami Warning and Preparedness: An Assessment of the U.S. Tsunami Program and the Nation’s Preparedness Efforts Many coastal areas of the United States are at risk for tsunamis. After the catastrophic 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, legislation was passed to expand U.S. tsunami warning capabilities. Since then, the nation has made progress in several related areas on…
	Tools and Methods for Estimating Populations at Risk from Natural Disasters and Complex Humanitarian Crises Worldwide, millions of people are displaced annually because of natural or industrial disasters or social upheaval. Reliable data on the numbers, characteristics, and locations of these populations can bolster humanitarian relief efforts and recovery programs. …

Science for Climate Change Decision-Making

Earlier this month the World Meteorological Organization announced that the year 2010 is almost certain to rank among the top three warmest years since the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850. WMO’s data show that 2001-2010 is the warmest ten-year period on record. In November WMO reported that concentrations of the main greenhouse gases have reached their highest levels recorded since pre-industrial times.

This year, the National Research council produced a number of studies that directly address climate change and its effects. Advancing the Science of Climate Change reviews the current scientific evidence regarding climate change and examines the status of the nation’s scientific research efforts. It also describes the critical role that climate change science, broadly defined, can play in developing knowledge and tools to assist decision makers as they act to respond to climate change. The report explores seven cross-cutting research themes that should be included in the nation’s climate change research enterprise, and recommends a number of actions to advance the science of climate change—a science that includes and increasingly integrates across the physical, biological, social, health, and engineering sciences.

Advice on prudent short-term actions and long-term strategies to deal with the effects of climate change can be found in the companion reports Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change, Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change, and Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change.These titles and others from the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate provide information and direction for research and decision making.

	Advancing the Science of Climate Change Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for–and in many cases is already affecting–a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the…
	Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change Across the United States, impacts of climate change are already evident. Some extreme weather events such as heat waves have become more frequent and intense, cold extremes have become less frequent, and patterns of rainfall are likely changing. The…
	Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change Climate change, driven by the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, poses serious, wide-ranging threats to human societies and natural ecosystems around the world. The largest overall source of greenhouse gas emissions is the burning…
	Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change Global climate change is one of America’s most significant long-term policy challenges. Human activity–especially the use of fossil fuels, industrial processes, livestock production, waste disposal, and land use change–is affecting global average…
	Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts over Decades to Millennia Emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels have ushered in a new epoch where human activities will largely determine the evolution of Earth’s climate. Because carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is long lived, it can effectively lock the Earth…
	Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Methods to Support International Climate Agreements The world’s nations are moving toward agreements that will bind us together in an effort to limit future greenhouse gas emissions. With such agreements will come the need for all nations to make accurate estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and to monitor…
	Monitoring Climate Change Impacts: Metrics at the Intersection of the Human and Earth Systems The stresses associated with climate change are expected to be felt keenly as human population grows to a projected 9 billion by the middle of this century, increasing the demand for resources and supporting infrastructure. Therefore, information to assess…
	Assessment of Intraseasonal to Interannual Climate Prediction and Predictability More accurate forecasts of climate conditions over time periods of weeks to a few years could help people plan agricultural activities, mitigate drought, and manage energy resources, amongst other activities; however, current forecast systems have limited…
	When Weather Matters: Science and Service to Meet Critical Societal Needs The past 15 years have seen marked progress in observing, understanding, and predicting weather. At the same time, the United States has failed to match or surpass progress in operational numerical weather prediction achieved by other nations and failed to…
	Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States Recent advances in air pollution monitoring and modeling capabilities have made it possible to show that air pollution can be transported long distances and that adverse impacts of emitted pollutants cannot be confined to one country or even one continent….
	Uncertainty Management in Remote Sensing of Climate Data: Summary of a Workshop Great advances have been made in our understanding of the climate system over the past few decades, and remotely sensed data have played a key role in supporting many of these advances. Improvements in satellites and in computational and data-handling techniques…

FREE FROM NAP: December 2010

	Examination of Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols: Phase I Report The federal government requires that most packaged foods carry a standardized label–the Nutrition Facts panel–that provides nutrition information intended to help consumers make healthful choices. In recent years, manufacturers have begun to include…
	The Power of Renewables: Opportunities and Challenges for China and the United States The United States and China are the world’s top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world’s clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely…
	High School Dropout, Graduation, and Completion Rates: Better Data, Better Measures, Better Decisions High school graduation and dropout rates have long been used as indicators of educational system productivity and effectiveness and of social and economic well being. While determining these rates may seem like a straightforward task, their calculation is in…
	The Role of Human Factors in Home Health Care: Workshop Summary The rapid growth of home health care has raised many unsolved issues and will have consequences that are far too broad for any one group to analyze in their entirety. Yet a major influence on the safety, quality, and effectiveness of home health care will be…
	Strengthening the National Institute of Justice The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the nation’s primary resource for advancing scientific research, development, and evaluation on crime and crime control and the administration of justice in the United States. Headed by a presidentially appointed…
	The 2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccination Campaign: Summary of a Workshop Series The 2009 H1N1 vaccination campaign was one of the largest public health campaigns in U.S. history, vaccinating one-quarter of the population in the first three months. The IOM held three workshops in Raleigh, NC; Austin, TX; and Seattle, WA to learn from…
	When Weather Matters: Science and Service to Meet Critical Societal Needs The past 15 years have seen marked progress in observing, understanding, and predicting weather. At the same time, the United States has failed to match or surpass progress in operational numerical weather prediction achieved by other nations and failed to…
	Research Priorities for Assessing Health Effects from the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: A Letter Report It is as yet uncertain how the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will affect the health of clean-up workers and volunteers, residents, and visitors in the Gulf. The IOM recommends that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services focus on researching psychological…
	Transforming Clinical Research in the United States: Challenges and Opportunities: Workshop Summary An ideal health care system relies on efficiently generating timely, accurate evidence to deliver on its promise of diminishing the divide between clinical practice and research. There are growing indications, however, that the current health care system and…
	Critical Code: Software Producibility for Defense Critical Code contemplates Department of Defense (DoD) needs and priorities for software research and suggests a research agenda and related actions. Building on two prior books–Summary of a Workshop on Software Intensive Systems and…

When Weather Prediction Matters

While many of us are anticipating barbecues, beach visits, and the last trip to the swimming pool to celebrate Labor Day weekend, those of us on the Eastern Seaboard are also keeping our eyes open to the possibilities of Hurricane Earl having an impact on our plans. We receive a lot of information about various storm scenarios, but what becomes evident from listening to meteorologists is that we still need more tools in order to predict with confidence the track of major storms. With a possibly active hurricane season ahead, it’s time to take a good look at our nation’s weather prediction abilities. The National Academies has information to offer about the current state of weather prediction, and makes suggestions for the future direction of research.

	When Weather Matters: Science and Service to Meet Critical Societal Needs The past 15 years have seen marked progress in observing, understanding, and predicting weather. At the same time, the United States has failed to match or surpass progress in operational numerical weather prediction achieved by other nations and failed to…
	Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up: A Nationwide Network of Networks Detailed weather observations on local and regional levels are essential to a range of needs from forecasting tornadoes to making decisions that affect energy security, public health and safety, transportation, agriculture and all of our economic interests….
	Uncertainty Management in Remote Sensing of Climate Data: Summary of a Workshop Great advances have been made in our understanding of the climate system over the past few decades, and remotely sensed data have played a key role in supporting many of these advances. Improvements in satellites and in computational and data-handling techniques…
	Completing the Forecast: Characterizing and Communicating Uncertainty for Better Decisions Using Weather and Climate Forecasts Uncertainty is a fundamental characteristic of weather, seasonal climate, and hydrological prediction, and no forecast is complete without a description of its uncertainty. Effective communication of uncertainty helps people better understand the likelihood of a…
	Fair Weather: Effective Partnerships in Weather and Climate Services Decades of evolving U.S. policy have led to three sectors providing weather servicesNOAA (primarily the National Weather Service [NWS]), academic institutions, and private companies. This three-sector system has produced a scope and diversity of weather…

Five New Books: Weather Science, Drug Safety, and more

Our usual collection of the new publications to NAP.edu this week includes a number of books on health and medicine, as well as a prepublication on weather. Four of the five new books this week have Free PDFs available to download.

All New Publications This Week

When Weather Matters: Science and Service to Meet Critical Societal Needs (prepublication)

Ethical Issues in Studying the Safety of Approved Drugs: A Letter Report (final)

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Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: Reducing the Treatment Gap, Improving Quality of Care: Workshop Summary (prepublication)

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Strategic Approach to the Evaluation of Programs Implemented Under the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (prepublication)

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A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century: Reinvigorating the NCI Cooperative Group Program (final)

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