Shepherd on the future of weather satellites

Easy access to precise weather information, the beauty and accuracy of real-time satellite imagery in particular, almost seems commonplace at this point. But that doesn't mean the system providing that data is secure in today's world of tight budgets. In National Georgraphic news, professor J. Marshall Shepherd speaks to the strains on an aging system and explains the problems with replacing it:

a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report highlights the fact that this monitoring network—which weather forecasters and climate researchers rely on—is in trouble.

That's because these U.S.-owned satellites are aging, and there are serious concerns about whether their replacements will be ready by the time they start to break down, said J. Marshall Shepherd, president of the American Meteorological Society and a professor at the University of Georgia in Athens. (Read about the history of satellites.)

The replacement program, known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), has suffered under ballooning budgets, mismanagement, and political wrangling. That's partly what prompted the GAO to put weather data on its list of government operations at high risk.

The report stated that "potential gaps in environmental-satellite data beginning as early as 2014 and lasting as long as 53 months have led to concerns that future weather forecasts and warnings—including warnings of extreme events such as hurricanes, storm surges, and floods—will be less accurate and timely."

"But even a 17-month gap, [the shortest estimate for a potential data gap], dramatically affects weather forecast ability, which could lead to challenges to protecting life and property," Shepherd said.

The ability to navigate budget priorities is a product of many factors; let's hope that the public is able to weigh in on securing this essential system. Shepherd's warnings are crucial to the conversation.