ESRL Global Systems Division
2nd NOAA/NASA/DOE Workshop for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles a Success
A workshop on the Utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for Global Climate Change Research was held in Boulder, CO, on December 7 and 8. Participants addressed the technologies needed for transformational Earth observation capabilities, enabled by UAVs, that will directly support the Nation's weather research efforts and climate change observation goals under the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.
This was the second in a series of workshops sponsored by the NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL), NASA Science and Aeronautics Research Mission Directorates, and DOE Office of Science. Their primary concentration involves the challenges of suborbital observations and the evolution of advancing technologies, such as UAVs, as an integrated part of a national and global Earth observation network. In particular, the collaboration brings to bear knowledge, expertise, and resources of each agency in a synergistic manner that responds to the President's challenge for America's Earth Science Community to take a leadership role in developing the International Earth Observation System.
The Boulder workshop included 80 participants from the sponsoring agencies, as well as researchers, scientists, engineers, and industry representatives who built upon the mission's concepts developed at the precursor workshop held last August at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA. A reception/poster session was hosted by the University of Colorado-Boulder Space Grant Consortium and the Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles at the CU-Boulder Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. The attendees had the opportunity to participate in discussions that will ultimately influence the development of near-term observational mission concepts and their associated technology portfolios. A third workshop is planned for spring 2005.
Name: Sara Summers