The digitalization of Agricultural data is critical to the success of smart farming and global sustainability. Weather data and predictive weather analytics are crucial to better farm management and impacts the agricultural value chain from farmers to banks to traders to insurers – weather matters! The success of famer is dependent on well a farmer can proactively prepare for an upcoming growing season for a given crop. With the increase in weather volatility and extreme events, it is critically important to have access to accurate forecasts/data and Ag analytics for their specific farm/field for better farm management. This panel session discusses why it's critical to proactively plan and leverage precision weather and Ag analytics to optimize critical discussion across Agribusiness.

Atmospheric, Oceanic Sciences and Meteorology Departments across the country are faced with preparing the student {Alice} for an enabling career where she can take advantage of opportunities and emerging trends by confidently pitting herself against new challenges that bring forth acquired skills and competencies to ensure her relevance and significance in a dynamic environment while advancing the weather enterprise forward through innovation and growth. How does one best prepare for this rapidly evolving landscape? In organizing the next report on the future of the weather enterprise, the National Academies’ Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate points to advances in technology and innovation, unprecedented improvements in forecasting systems including hyper-local weather and the emphasis on markets for sub-seasonal-to-seasonal forecasting, and new observational networks, are demanding more from the weather enterprise and driving greater collaboration and sharing among the sectors. We can use the National Academies’ guidance, as well as the perspectives gleaned from participants here, as a looking glass through which to create the vision for the next gen workforce. Millersville University’s Master of Science in Integrated Scientific Applications (MSISA) is an example of a program designed to address the workforce needs with a mission to produce professionals with cross-disciplinary scientific skills and business acumen. The MSISA degree was developed in response to local and national trends (e.g., Nat’l Acads’) indicating the need for highly skilled, technically astute scientists possessing good business sense and excellent collaboration and communication skills. We use venues such as the Washington Forum to gain insight into emerging trends, to adjust our curriculum if necessary, and network with those on the bow wave of change. What new business knowledge is concomitant with advances in technology (e.g. AI, data mining, machine learning, automated vehicles), new forecasting systems, and changing market forces? What are some of the anchor indicators to watch for in the next five to ten years in order to better educate students to be poised to take advantage of these opportunities? Where/How do we place ourselves in enterprise-space to optimize our value to the student, university, professional community, and the weather enterprise. This presentation hopes to stimulate a discussion among Forum participants that will address some of these issues and help bring new insights to a changing enterprise terrain.

Hurricanes do more damage on American soil in most years than any other type of natural disaster. According to the National Center for Environmental Information, the major hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria brought an estimated $265 billion in property damage in 2017. In the same year, according to the Insurance Information Institute, 147 lives were lost due to hurricanes and tropical storms that made landfall in the continental United States, and a widely-cited study by George Washington University estimates that 2,975 people tragically died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria’s devastating impacts. Much of this damage and loss of life could be avoided in the future if proactive measures are taken to improve infrastructure and build smarter. These panelists will draw from their own areas of expertise to provide insight into societal needs and present potential solutions to create a more storm-resilient nation.

Capabilities of space-based observing systems for weather have increased to a level that was impossible to predict 60 years ago when the first weather satellite was launched. These technology advances enabled the development of applications that are now the backbone of forecasting. Industry R&D has enabled advances in sensors and spacecraft through the years, but investments for future systems will not be driven exclusively by higher performance requirements. A panel discussion will address how emerging technologies may influence design choices for future operational systems.

Developing artificial intelligence-powered (AI) applications is the targeted focus of major R&D investments across the technology world and the Weather Enterprise. However, the potential for these tools to improve weather analyses or forecasts depends on one’s perspective; veterans of the weather enterprise are rightfully skeptical of AI as a “magic bullet" to improve forecasts, given the sophistication of our current tools. AI-powered applications do have the potential to augment many practical aspects of meteorology, ranging from improving the automation of publicly-consumable weather data products, to both analyzing large volumes of real-time data and helping to refine forecasts. But to accomplish this, the community will both need to identify gaps in our analysis and forecasting ecosystems, as well as invest in software and data engineering to effectively connect our vast atmospheric data and model archives to machine learning software.

The era of satellite remote sensing successfully gave the world a global view of its oceans. Advances in remote sensing techniques have started to provide critical longer-term knowledge of the ocean dynamics. Surface and near surface measurements are routinely collected from space on ocean temperatures, height, color, roughness, salinity, currents and ice, all critical parameters for commerce, weather forecasting, national security and fisheries. Looking forward, there are significant challenges to maintaining and expanding this space-based infrastructure. Existing data records must be extended if we are going to see and understand longer trends. New measurements are needed increase our knowledge of the global ocean, especially those that provide a broader range of physical properties and at a greater depth, plus those that better characterize ocean-atmospheric exchange. We must balance the costs to continue heritage observations and add potentially game-changing new measurements: new technologies, and new models- physical and biogeochemical, development cycle, and business, are needed. Innovations must be found across the public, private, and academic sectors. New mission architectures will be required. Ultimately, satellites measurements and models will not be complete. In-situ measurements will always be required to help calibrate the satellites and take more complete data sets. There are critical parameters that cannot be measured from space (e.g. dissolved gases). And measurements at finer spatial scales (than those of satellites) and greater depths will be needed, too, for a complete picture. This panel will look at some of the innovations that are being investigated as we move forward to achieve better ocean science. This includes new technologies that make unique measurements of the subsurface as well as new approaches to bring down the cost of heritage observations without suffering loss in calibration accuracy that would impact the necessary long-term trends.

Nearly $2 trillion worth of imports and exports are transported aboard 60,000 ocean-faring vessels through the nation’s seaports each year, while over 11 million Americans board cruise ships from these same ports annually. Much of this shipping is along routes that are impacted by severe storms at sea, extratropical, tropical, and even polar. Despite investments made in weather forecasting that have substantially improved predictability, ships still transit into hazardous conditions, sometimes unavoidably. Weather conditions, tides, and currents in ports and harbors can impact the timing of vessel movements, port operations, and the entire ground transportation system. Our ability to observe, understand, and predict the interaction between the ocean and atmosphere, in the open oceans as well as the littoral, supports Blue Economy initiatives as well as maritime security. This panel will explore opportunities for improving safety at sea and enhancing our national and economic security by building partnerships among service providers and users, to improve the value of the forecasts, aid in the avoidance of extreme weather conditions at sea, integrate weather and oceanographic information with shipboard navigation systems, and enhance research and development to improve predictability of the maritime environment.

The U.S. Group on Earth Observations (USGEO) is chartered as a subcommittee under the National Science and Technology Council. USGEO is developing the second National Plan for Civil Observations, which recognizes the Earth Observations Enterprise and the evolving, multi-sectoral approaches to Earth observations to serve multiple industries and support national objectives. This supports the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) vision of strengthening the connective tissues among the components that make up this ecosystem - the government (Federal, State, Local and Tribal), academia, not-for-profit organizations, and the commercial sector. “We need to think of the enterprise as a whole not just about our piece of the enterprise. And also portfolios across that enterprise,” said OSTP Director Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Special Session, on 15 February 2019. Further there is a changing landscape on the provisioning of Earth observation data and analytics that presents both challenges and opportunities. Therefore, USGEO and interagency community are developing activities that can advance sustained, positive interactions within the Enterprise. To understand the landscape, USGEO will facilitate a panel to raise key, timely topics and to support engagement with community members with the ultimate goals of (1) helping to create a robust Earth Observations Enterprise and (2) accelerate the exploitation of Federally-funded and other Earth observations. The AMS community is familiar with the Global Weather Enterprise, and this panel will build on lessons to explore opportunities and challenges of engaging with the Earth Observations Enterprise.

This “coffee-talk” style panel is intended to articulate the value of weather information and services and encourage dialogue among the Weather, Water and Climate Enterprise (Enterprise) on the importance of our value chain that links our academic, private, non-governmental and governmental sectors. The panelists will articulate the importance of thorough and repeatable economic analysis in qualifying and quantifying weather information and services. Our individual missions and business models can maintain a healthy balance between the American competitive spirit and working together to help build safe, sustainable communities in harmony with their environment. That is a large task with immense value, yet we need to be able to communicate who we are and what we do with pragmatism and in real-world terms in order to thrive among competing interests of our time. It is important to foster the Enterprise’s recognition for building capacity for qualifying and quantifying weather information and services. It therefore behooves the Enterprise to work together in providing economic justification and articulation of our collective return on investment, within and across sectors, to ensure that our Enterprise as a whole is strong and vibrant, especially amid competing interest of our time. Outcome of Panel: Build and support the capacity for demonstrating current and future value (in terms of cost avoidance, economic competitiveness globally, etc.), thereby ensuring a sustainable baseline for Enterprise investment.