GEOSS AIP Pilot - Initial Scenario

GEOSS Architecture Implementation Pilot: Air Quality Scenario Development

(This page is based on the template provided by GEOSS Architecture Workgroup.) Example Scenario - Energy - Solar Scenario

Summary

Template: Provide a summary of the scenario and the community that the scenario supports.
Wildfire events can cause extraordinary damage to public and private property along with serious health effects to emergency personnel and the general public. Smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning vegetation and man-made structures. Smoke can harm the eyes, irritate the respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. Low visibility in smoke events can be a significant hazard for transportation, and can hamper firefighting. Smoke events can occur anywhere and affect any community.

During such events local officials and decision-makers must be provided with the information and data they need to adequately communicate health risks and precautions to the public. To properly respond and issue guidance, decision-makers need straight-forward access to information. Such information includes air quality monitoring and forecast information, meteorological, satellite, and geographical data. The media also plays an important role in getting information to the public about hazardous air quality conditions and the forecast. Providing timely information and imagery is very helpful for effective use of the media.

Template: Identify the specific decisions to be made.

Identify existing data sources (air quality networks, meteorological (current observations and forecasted), applicable satellite measurements, geographical context)
What, When, and Where to monitor pollutants (depending upon existing air quality network surrounding the wildfire event)
Understanding of forecasts (air quality and meteorology)
Understanding of Public Health Action Levels during an emergency
Issuing Public Advisories
Behavioral changes due to poor AQ: staying indoors, etc.

Template: Provide references for additional information.

White paper on EPA / AirNow actions / Lessons learned in 2007 Wildfire

Context and pre-conditions

Template: Identify the actors in the scenario. Actors are any persons involved in the scenario.

National Environmental agency
National Meteorological agency
National Health agency (if separate from National Environmental agency)
National Land Management agency
National Space agency
Local Environmental agencies
Local emergency personnel
Consulting companies
GEOSS Portal integrator? (took from Energy scenario)
Local media (print, online, broadcast)
Public

Template: List, at a summary level, the specific information assumed to be available before the scenario begins.
The behavior of smoke depends on many factors, including the fire’s size and location, the topography of the area and the weather. Smoke (PM2.5) from large wildland fires can be transported hundreds or thousands of kilometers to a forecast region. Smoke events can increase the background levels of PM2.5, thus combining transported PM2.5 with locally-generated PM2.5 to produce a more severe episode. Depending on concentrations, this transported PM2.5 could trigger an exception event and/or degrade visibility.

Air quality forecasts provide the public with air quality information with which they can make daily lifestyle decisions to protect their health. This information allows people to take precautionary measures to avoid or limit their exposure to unhealthy levels of air quality. Pre-determined safe / unhealthy / hazardous levels of pollutants (from federal/national air quality standards such as the United States NAAQS, TLVs, etc) and standard descriptions of hazards and effects from PM2.5 help provide context for decision-makers and the public from PM2.5 concentrations or a standardized health index such as the Air Quality Index.

Information available before scenario begins (via GEOSS portals)

Meteorological data
- Observed and forecasted surface meteorological data (such as temperature, surface wind speed and direction, humidity)
- Observed and forecasted aloft large-scale (1000 km or more) atmospheric parameters (such as 850 and 500 millibar heights, temperature, wind speed, dew point)
- HYSPLIT trajectories (NAM/NDAS Models (40km) - forward trajectories can be used to estimate the transport direction and potential time the smoke or dust might enter a particular forecast region
Geographical data
- land use for knowing affected and forecast areas
- demographic data for understanding impacted population: different age groups have different sensitivities to poor AQ, for example
- fuel type - important input for smoke models BlueSky RAINS
Air Quality information
- Particle pollution ground observations (for United States and Canada, EEA?)
- Air quality forecasts for particle pollution areas (for United States, AIRNow, Canada, Europe – EEA)
- Established air quality programs which issue public alerts
Air Quality Numerical Forecast Models?
- NOAA Smoke Forecast Tool
- BlueSky RAINS
- private numerical models (Baron Advanced Meteorological Systems)
Satellite data
- graphical satellite data, (true color and/or aerosol optical depth (AOD) imagery) MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (MODIS instrument on board the Terra or Aqua satellite)
- GOES Aerosol and Smoke Product (GASP). Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite East (GOES-12) NOAA Satellite and Information Service
- NOAA fire locations - Hazard Mapping System Fire and Smoke Product
- National Interagency Fire Center with real-time and historical fire data and statistics
- National Fire Weather Center
- NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory – Wildfire/Forest Fire Smoke Forecasting
- Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) sensor on NASA's Terra satellite (22-km horizontal resolution) measurements in the lower part of the atmosphere - global
Specific processing
- collection / QC of ambient air quality data by an air quality data management system
- local or regional air quality forecast generated by numerical model (requiring air quality and meteorological data) or human forecaster
- integrating air quality data, forecasts with available satellite data products
- develop context and understanding of air quality conditions and forecasts for the event
- develop and issue communication piece to decision-makers and/or public
- distribute data/information through established channels
GUI development and GEOSS portal integration
- Exploit Web service description (GEOSS portal integrator)
- Build GUI (GEOSS portal integrator)
- map / image production for release to media, public
- distribute data/information/graphics
- ?

Template: List, at a summary level, the specific processing and collaboration functionality assumed needed in the scenario.

Scenario Events

Template: The scenario should be elaborated as a set of steps that result in the creation of decision support products developed in collaboration by the actors.

Template: Use the table to identify the main sequence of events in the scenario. In the course of the scenario you may identify an alternative branch step that could be taken, but then return to the main sequence steps.

GEOSS Architecture Implementation Pilot: Template

(This page is currently a template provided by GEOSS-OGC that will be completed. )

If you have a position paper on this session either send your position paper to George Percivall and it will be posted and linked to this Workshop Session or add a comment on this page below and include a link to your paper.

Summary

Provide a summary of the scenario and the community that the scenario supports.
Identify the specific decisions to be made.
Provide references for additional information.

Context and pre-conditions

Identify the actors in the scenario. Actors are any persons involved in the scenario.
List, at a summary level, the specific information assumed to be available before the scenario begins.
List, at a summary level, the specific processing and collaboration functionality assumed needed in the scenario.

Scenario Events

The scenario should be elaborated as a set of steps that result in the creation of decision support products developed in collaboration by the actors.
Use the table to identify the main sequence of events in the scenario. In the course of the scenario you may identify an alternative branch step that could be taken, but then return to the main sequence steps.