Preparing for the flood...of data

In five short years the first of a new international constellation of geostationary weather satellites will rain an astonishing volume of data from the skies. But what new information derived from the data flood will be best served up for the broadcast industry? And how will it be served?

The informed public already expects a visualization of any environmental event happening anywhere in the world, right now - a difficult proposition. In a future clogged with 5-minute global views in 16 surface and atmospheric imager bands, fluffy TV cloud images will be passe. New sensors will gather the data, but newer information technology must be grown to serve the media with information-rich views in creative, flexible, and near-instantaneous ways.