Extended Abstract (268K)3B.1
Using a light weight model to monitor a variety of grain crops in Africa
Eric J. Wolvovsky, Wyle Information Systems and NOAA/NWS/NCEP/CPC, Camp Springs, MD
Due to an increased awareness of international weather and climate related hazards, members of the humanitarian community as well as local and regional governmental institutions demand an increased knowledge of crop conditions for decision making purposes. We propose a new suite of crop monitoring tools that provide a straightforward analysis over the African continent, complementing existing monitoring techniques. The suite of products, generated at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center within its US Agency for International Development funded project, combine temperature, rainfall and fractional hours of daylight to compute moisture requirements for a variety of grains, the staple of the typical African diet. Light weight and strictly web-based, the suite of monitoring products was created in such a manner to balance computing resources, information requirements, and Internet connectivity limitations so that international users may access the data in a timely fashion. Additionally, the product output is made available to internal users in GIS format. Thus the data is presented such that scientists within NOAA and decision makers may utilize its contents to assist in monitoring food security conditions on a routine basis. Early results have shown the ability to identify known areas of crop stress when compared to field reports.
Supplementary URL: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/fews/
Session 3B, International Applications II
Monday, 12 January 2009, 4:00 PM-5:30 PM, Room 122BC
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