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At least 325 records · Page 18

The total Earth Resources System of the 1980's: A view of the future

The study was organized to address the total earth resources system in the broadest sense: distinguishing characteristics of the resources form the input, and information from user models forms the output. The effort began with a treatment of resource management requirements which traced information needs back to budgets, laws, and charters. These requirements were used to structure a 1980's scenario and to define thirty broad resource management missions (or applications) which could be confidently expected to be carried out by the future system. A classical systems approach was followed to assess the current state-of-the-art, structure system requirements, and to define the necessary platforms, sensors, and ground system architecture. The study of two resource management missions in additional detail was conducted to illuminate problems of transition from R&D to operational systems. The space shuttle's role in the system received special attention and a mission able to be served by an early flight was defined.

Cheeseman, C. E.↗

OpenET: Filling a Critical Data Gap in Water Management for the Western United States

The lack of consistent, accurate information on evapotranspiration (ET) and consumptive use of water by irrigated agriculture is one of the most important data gaps for water managers in the western United States (U.S.) and other arid agricultural regions globally. The ability to easily access information on ET is central to improving water budgets across the West, advancing the use of data-driven irrigation management strategies, and expanding incentive-driven conservation programs. Recent advances in remote sensing of ET have led to the development of multiple approaches for field-scale ET mapping that have been used for local and regional water resource management applications by U.S. state and federal agencies. The OpenET project is a community-driven effort that is building upon these advances to develop an operational system for generating and distributing ET data at a field scale using an ensemble of six well-established satellite-based approaches for mapping ET. Key objectives of OpenET include: Increasing access to remotely sensed ET data through a web-based data explorer and data services; supporting the use of ET data for a range of water resource management applications; and development of use cases and training resources for agricultural producers and water resource managers. Here we describe the OpenET framework, including the models used in the ensemble, the satellite, meteorological, and ancillary data inputs to the system, and the OpenET data visualization and access tools. We also summarize an extensive intercomparison and accuracy assessment conducted using ground measurements of ET from 139 flux tower sites instrumented with open path eddy covariance systems. Results calculated for 24 cropland sites from Phase I of the intercomparison and accuracy assessment demonstrate strong agreement between the satellite-driven ET models and the flux tower ET data. For the six models that have been evaluated to date (ALEXI/DisALEXI, eeMETRIC, geeSEBAL, PT-JPL, SIMS, and SSEBop) and the ensemble mean, the weighted average mean absolute error (MAE) values across all sites range from 13.6 to 21.6 mm/month at a monthly timestep, and 0.74 to 1.07 mm/day at a daily timestep. At seasonal time scales, for all but one of the models the weighted mean total ET is within ±8% of both the ensemble mean and the weighted mean total ET calculated from the flux tower data. Overall, the ensemble mean performs as well as any individual model across nearly all accuracy statistics for croplands, though some individual models may perform better for specific sites and regions. We conclude with three brief use cases to illustrate current applications and benefits of increased access to ET data, and discuss key lessons learned from the development of OpenET.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Observation of Hydrological Processes Using Remote Sensing: Volume 2: The Science of Hydrology - Chapter 2.14

Improving water management can make a significant contribution to achieving most of the Millennium Development Goals established by the UN General Assembly in 2000, especially those related to poverty, hunger, and major diseases. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 recognized this need. Water and sanitation in particular received great attention from the Summit. The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation recommended to improve water resources management and scientific understanding of the water cycle through joint cooperation and research. For this purpose, it is recommended to promote knowledge sharing, provide capacity building, and facilitate the transfer of technology including remote-sensing (RS) and satellite technologies, especially to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and to support these countries in their efforts to monitor and assess the quantity and quality of water resources, for example, by establishing and/or further developing national monitoring networks and water resources databases and by developing relevant national indicators. The Johannesburg Plan also adopted integrated water resources management as the overarching concept in addressing and solving water-related issues. As a result of the commitments made in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, several global and regional initiatives have emerged. Current international initiatives such as the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program of the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) 10-Year Implementation Plan, have all identified Earth observation (EO) of the water cycle as the key in helping to solve the world s water problems. The availability of spatial information on water quantity and quality will also enable closure of the water budget at river basin and continental scales to the point where effective water management is essential (e.g., as requested by the European Union s Water Framework Directive (WFD), as well as national policies). Geo-information science and EO are vital in achieving a better understanding of the water cycle and better monitoring, analysis, prediction, and management of the world s water resources. The major components of the water cycle of the Earth system and their possible observations are presented. Such observations are essential to understand the global water cycle and its variability, both spatially and temporally, and can only be achieved consistently by means of EOs. Additionally, such observations are essential to advance our understanding of coupling between the terrestrial, atmospheric, and oceanic branches of the water cycle, and how this coupling may influence climate variability and predictability. Water resources management directly interferes with the natural water cycle in the forms of building dams, reservoirs, water transfer systems, and irrigation systems that divert and redistribute part of the water storages and fluxes on land. The water cycle is mainly driven and coupled to the energy cycle in terms of phase changes of water (changes among liquid, water vapor, and solid phases) and transport of water by winds in addition to gravity and diffusion processes. The water-cycle components can be observed with in situ sensors as well as airborne and satellite sensors in terms of radiative quantities. Processing and conversion of these radiative signals are necessary to retrieve the water-cycle components.

Wilder, Peter↗

Considerations in Managing the Fill Rate of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Reservoir Using a System Dynamics Approach.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate simulated fill rate scenarios for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam while taking into account plausible climate change outcomes for the Nile River Basin. The region lacks a comprehensive equitable water resource management strategy, which creates regional security concerns and future possible conflicts. We employ climate estimates from 33 general circulation models within a system dynamics model as a step in moving toward a feasible regional water resource management strategy. We find that annual reservoir fill rates of 8-15% are capable of building hydroelectric capacity in Ethiopia while concurrently ensuring a minimum level of stream flow disruption into Egypt before 2039. Insofar as climate change estimates suggest a modest average increase in stream flow into the Aswan, climate changes through 2039 are unlikely to affect the fill rate policies. However, larger fill rates will have a more detrimental effect on stream flow into the Aswan, particularly beyond a policy of 15%. While this study demonstrates that a technical solution for reservoir fill rates is feasible, the corresponding policy challenge is political. Implementation of water resource management strategies in the Nile River Basin specifically and Africa generally will necessitate a national and regional willingness to cooperate.

system dynamics↗

Decision Making Training in the Mission Operations Directorate

At JSC, we train our new flight controllers on a set of team skills that we call Space Flight Resource Management (SFRM). SFRM is akin to Crew Resource Management for the airlines and trains flight controllers to work as an effective team to reduce errors and improve safety. We have developed this training over the years with the assistance of Ames Research Center, Wyle Labs and University of Central Florida. One of the skills we teach is decision making/ problem solving (DM/PS). We teach DM/PS first in several classroom sessions, reinforce it in several part task training environments, and finally practice it in full-mission, full-team simulations. What I am proposing to talk about is this training flow: its content and how we teach it.

O'Keefe, William S.↗

The avoidance of unwanted catch and cooperation: the case of the British Columbia groundfish trawl fishery

Abstract This paper focuses on a particularly successful avoidance of unwanted catch of protected, endangered, and threatened (PET) species in the form of ecologically important sponge and coral, to be found off Canada's Pacific coast. The fishery causing the unwanted catch—the British Columbia groundfish trawl fishery. A campaign to protect the sponge/coral led by environmental NGOs (ENGOs) resulted in the industry's access to the key California market being threatened. For reasons explained, the national resource manager's ability to take effective direct action had become severely compromised. The groundfish trawl fishing industry responded to the economic threat with a bottom up approach to the unwanted catch problem, by negotiating a habitat agreement with a consortium of ENGOs, with the blessing and full support of the national resource manager. The agreement, now in its tenth year of operation, has proved to be a remarkable success in avoidance of unwanted catch. The paper argues that the success rests fundamentally upon the fact that the fishers have been and are playing a stand alone stable cooperative game, which has led them in turn to play stable cooperative games with both the national resource manager and the ENGO consortium. The paper analyses the factors leading to the stand alone stable cooperative fisher game, doing so by necessity through the lens of game theory.

Grønbæk, L.↗

Creating a GIS-Based Decision-Support System

Tilting the Balance: Climate Variability and Water Resource Management in the Southwest, a regional conference hosted by the Pan American Center for Environmental Studies, will be held at The University of Texas at El Paso on March 2-4, 1998. The conference is supported through the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) established by the President in 1989, and codified by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The NASA Mission to Planet Earth program is one of the workshops sponsors. The purpose of the regional workshops is to improve understanding of the consequences of global change. This workshop will be focused on issues along the border and the Rio Grande River and thus will bring together stakeholders from Mexico, California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado representing federal, state, and local governments; universities and laboratories; industry, agricultural and natural resource managers; and non-governmental organizations. This paper discusses the efforts of the NASA PACES center create a GIS-based decision-support system that can be used to facilitate discussion of the complex issues of resource management within the targeted international region.

Alvarado, Lori↗

Mentoring SFRM: A New Approach to International Space Station Flight Controller Training

The Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) of the Johnson Space Center is responsible for providing continuous operations support for the International Space Station (ISS). Operations support requires flight controllers who are skilled in team performance as well as the technical operations of the ISS. Space Flight Resource Management (SFRM), a NASA adapted variant of Crew Resource Management (CRM), is the competency model used in the MOD. ISS flight controller certification has evolved to include a balanced focus on development of SFRM and technical expertise. The latest challenge the MOD faces is how to certify an ISS flight controller (operator) to a basic level of effectiveness in 1 year. SFRM training uses a two-pronged approach to expediting operator certification: 1) imbed SFRM skills training into all operator technical training and 2) use senior flight controllers as mentors. This paper focuses on how the MOD uses senior flight controllers as mentors to train SFRM skills. Methods: A mentor works with an operator throughout the training flow. Inserted into the training flow are guided-discussion sessions and on-the-job observation opportunities focusing on specific SFRM skills, including: situational leadership, conflict management, stress management, cross-cultural awareness, self care and team care while on-console, communication, workload management, and situation awareness. The mentor and operator discuss the science and art behind the skills, cultural effects on skills applications, recognition of good and bad skills applications, recognition of how skills application changes subtly in different situations, and individual goals and techniques for improving skills. Discussion: This mentoring program provides an additional means of transferring SFRM knowledge compared to traditional CRM training programs. Our future endeavors in training SFRM skills (as well as other organization s) may benefit from adding team performance skills mentoring. This paper explains our mentoring approach and discusses its effectiveness and future applicability in promoting SFRM/CRM skills.

Huning, Therese↗

Mentoring SFRM: A New Approach to International Space Station Flight Control Training

The Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) of the Johnson Space Center is responsible for providing continuous operations support for the International Space Station (ISS). Operations support requires flight controllers who are skilled in team performance as well as the technical operations of the ISS. Space Flight Resource Management (SFRM), a NASA adapted variant of Crew Resource Management (CRM), is the competency model used in the MOD. ISS flight controller certification has evolved to include a balanced focus on development of SFRM and technical expertise. The latest challenge the MOD faces is how to certify an ISS flight controller (Operator) to a basic level of effectiveness in 1 year. SFRM training uses a twopronged approach to expediting operator certification: 1) imbed SFRM skills training into all Operator technical training and 2) use senior flight controllers as mentors. This paper focuses on how the MOD uses senior flight controllers as mentors to train SFRM skills.

Huning, Therese↗

Microgrid Energy Management System Integration with Advanced Distribution Management System

The Integrated Distribution Management System (IDMS) project was initiated to demonstrate the interactive operation of microgrid systems and the distribution systems with which they interconnect. The key technologies for this are the microgrid management system and the utility distribution management system. The IDMS project successfully demonstrated that a utility’s advanced distribution management system/distributed energy resources management system (ADMS/DERMS) could effectively manage microgrids to provide visibility and control functionalities as well as use the microgrid as a dispatchable resource to support the utility grid. The DERMS accomplishes this by determining active and reactive power needs at the point of common coupling (PCC) using advanced applications like volt/VAR watt optimization (VVWO) and load relief (LR) with the underlying core applications state estimation (SE) and load flow (LF). The ADMS/DERMS can use the microgrid as a resource to resolve and prevent violations in the grid and to optimize the operational working state of the grid. The IDMS project demonstrated that a utility-operated ADMS with embedded DERMS functionality can flexibly manage a variety of microgrids and other aggregated distributed energy resources (DER) in concert with the wider distribution grid. Microgrids can provide grid services in any number of different ways to meet the operational needs of the distribution utility. The manner of aggregation — microgrid or virtual power plant — is not necessarily relevant to the utility as long as the grid services from the aggregated DER are available and can be managed by its ADMS/DERMS for the stability and reliability of the grid. The IDMS project demonstrated this integrated ADMS concept by combining hardware/software-in-the-loop testing with commercial products from different vendors and a utility’s network model. The project integrated the Schneider Electric EcoStruxure™ ADMS with DERMS with the Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) POWERMAX ® Microgrid Control System, and the simulated resources with energy company PECO’s model of a utility-owned microgrid, establishing an operational relationship in which the utility manages the operational functionality of a microgrid at the PCC and that provides the utility with the capability to control the comprehensive power system, inclusive of the macrogrid and microgrid.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

An integrated GIS/remote sensing data base in North Cache soil conservation district, Utah: A pilot project for the Utah Department of Agriculture's RIMS (Resource Inventory and Monitoring System)

A basic geographic information system (GIS) for the North Cache Soil Conservation District (SCD) was sought for selected resource problems. Since the resource management issues in the North Cache SCD are very complex, it is not feasible in the initial phase to generate all the physical, socioeconomic, and political baseline data needed for resolving all management issues. A selection of critical varables becomes essential. Thus, there are foud specific objectives: (1) assess resource management needs and determine which resource factors ae most fundamental for building a beginning data base; (2) evaluate the variety of data gathering and analysis techniques for the resource factors selected; (3) incorporate the resulting data into a useful and efficient digital data base; and (4) demonstrate the application of the data base to selected real world resoource management issues.

Wheeler, D. J.↗

The Invasive Species Forecasting System

The Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) provides computational support for the generic work processes found in many regional-scale ecosystem modeling applications. Decision support tools built using ISFS allow a user to load point occurrence field sample data for a plant species of interest and quickly generate habitat suitability maps for geographic regions of management concern, such as a national park, monument, forest, or refuge. This type of decision product helps resource managers plan invasive species protection, monitoring, and control strategies for the lands they manage. Until now, scientists and resource managers have lacked the data-assembly and computing capabilities to produce these maps quickly and cost efficiently. ISFS focuses on regional-scale habitat suitability modeling for invasive terrestrial plants. ISFS s component architecture emphasizes simplicity and adaptability. Its core services can be easily adapted to produce model-based decision support tools tailored to particular parks, monuments, forests, refuges, and related management units. ISFS can be used to build standalone run-time tools that require no connection to the Internet, as well as fully Internet-based decision support applications. ISFS provides the core data structures, operating system interfaces, network interfaces, and inter-component constraints comprising the canonical workflow for habitat suitability modeling. The predictors, analysis methods, and geographic extents involved in any particular model run are elements of the user space and arbitrarily configurable by the user. ISFS provides small, lightweight, readily hardened core components of general utility. These components can be adapted to unanticipated uses, are tailorable, and require at most a loosely coupled, nonproprietary connection to the Web. Users can invoke capabilities from a command line; programmers can integrate ISFS's core components into more complex systems and services. Taken together, these features enable a degree of decentralization and distributed ownership that have helped other types of scientific information services succeed in recent years.

Schnase, John↗

Lac du Flambeau - Climate Change Resilience Initiative (Final Report)

The goals of this project were to create a comprehensive Environmental Resiliency Plan and to increase the capacity of all Lac du Flambeau Tribal Program Managers to incorporate environmental impact thinking into the everyday management of their departments. Environmental Resiliency Planning utilized current Tribal documents, which include the Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP), the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Emergency Management Plan (EMP), and the Lac du Flambeau Strategic Energy Plan, as guidance throughout the process. A vulnerability assessment initiated our technical process and allowed us to identify, quantify, and prioritize (or rank) the vulnerabilities in our system. This set the stage for a reduction and resilience plan as well as providing insight for revisions of existing management plans such as the Energy and Integrated Resources Management Plans

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Methods and Experiences for Developing Abstractions for Data-intensive, Scientific Applications

Developing software for scientific applications that require the integration of diverse types of computing, instruments, and data present challenges that are distinct from commercial software. These applications require scale, and the need to integrate various programming and computational models with evolving and heterogeneous infrastructure. Pervasive and effective abstractions for distributed infrastructures are thus critical; however, the process of developing abstractions for scientific applications and infrastructures is not well understood. While theory-based approaches for system development are suited for well-defined, closed environments, they have severe limitations for designing abstractions for scientific systems and applications. The design science research (DSR) method provides the basis for designing practical systems that can handle real-world complexities at all levels. In contrast to theory-centric approaches, DSR emphasizes both practical relevance and knowledge creation by building and rigorously evaluating all artifacts. In this work, we show how DSR provides a well-defined framework for developing abstractions and middleware systems for distributed systems. Specifically, we address the critical problem of distributed resource management on heterogeneous infrastructure over a dynamic range of scales, a challenge that currently limits many scientific applications. We use the pilot-abstraction, a widely used resource management abstraction for high-performance, high throughput, big data, and streaming applications, as a case study for evaluating the DSR activities. For this purpose, we analyze the research process and artifacts produced during the design and evaluation of the pilot-abstraction. We find DSR provides a concise framework for iteratively designing and evaluating systems. Finally, we capture our experiences and formulate different lessons learned.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

The utility of short wavelength /less than 1 mm/ remote sensing techniques for the monitoring and assessment of hydrologic parameters

The paper reviews advances made in remote sensing applications to the fields of hydrology and water resources management, with emphasis on sensing from spacecraft platforms. An overview is presented of a remote sensing applications program for water resources management with attention given to water resources requirements and information content research. Consideration is also given to snowcovered area mapping in the Western United States, the use of Landsat imagery in land-use mapping and in the development of hydrological watershed models employed in flood control/waterworks planning and management.

Rango, A.↗

Transforming Science Data for GIS: How to Find and Use NASA Earth Observation Data Without Being a Rocket Scientist

NASAs Earth Observing System Data Information System (EOSDIS) manages Earth Observation satellites and the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), where the data is stored and processed. The challenge is that Earth Observation data is complicated. There is plenty of data available, however, the science teams have had a top-down approach: define what it is you are trying to study -select a set of satellite(s) and sensor(s), and drill down for the data.Our alternative is to take a bottom-up approach using eight environmental fields of interest as defined by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) called Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs): Disaster Resilience (DR) Public Health Surveillance (PHS) Energy and Mineral Resource Management (EMRM) Water Resources Management (WRM) Infrastructure and Transport Management (ITM) Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FSSA) Biodiversity and Ecosystems Sustainability (BES).

DAAC↗

Managing the Right Projects: Best Practices to Align Project and Corporate Strategies

If there's a human endeavor that exemplifies teamwork, it is space exploration. And that teamwork absolutely cannot happen effectively if the boots on the ground the people doing the work - don't understand how their work aligns with the larger goal. This presentation will discuss some best management practices from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center that have succeeded in helping employees become informed, engaged and committed to the space agency's important missions. Specific topics include: Alignment Criteria: Linking Projects To Corporate Strategy. Resource Management: Best Practices For Resource Management. Strategic Analysis: Supporting Decision Making In A Changing Environment. Communication Strategies: Best Practices To Communicate Change. Benefits Achieved And Lessons Learned.

Watkins, Bobby↗

NNSA/CEA Workflow (Workshop Report)

This report, prepared by the NNSA/CEA Workflows Working Group, briefly summarizes the presentations in the areas of domain specific workflows, end user environments, data management, job and resource management, and infrastructure, and then identifies six broad areas for potential collaboration. A key finding is that users could benefit from greater interoperability, compatibility, and composability of the workflow technologies under development and that point-to-point collaboration opportunities should be identified to explore these aspects.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗