South America Satellite Coverage Limits Natural Disaster Effects
12 April 2007
New coverage keeps constant vigil over conditions that trigger severe weather
Washington – South Americans and millions of others in the Western Hemisphere are benefiting from a repositioning of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) geostationary operational environmental satellite (GOES-10) spacecraft, a move aimed obtaining more information to lessen the effects of natural disasters in the region.
NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher announced the satellite's shift from a position above the equator in the west to a new spot in orbit during an April 10 news conference at the Embassy of Brazil in Washington.
“You might think of the coverage as providing a constant vigil over atmospheric conditions that trigger severe weather,” he said, “and the United States welcomes this chance to provide good data to our Latin American neighbors.”
"The satellite is functioning well and ready for hurricane season," said Gilberto Câmara, director of Brazil's national space research institute (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais). "In the past, coverage has been interrupted during hurricanes and other severe weather events in the U.S. Now, South Americans will have continuing satellite coverage. We will no longer be left in the dark."
The GOES-10 shift is related to the development of the global earth observation system of systems (GEOSS) in the Americas – a Western Hemisphere initiative designed to advance the worldwide GEOSS, established in 2004 to provide comprehensive, coordinated Earth observations from thousands of instruments worldwide, transforming the data they collect into societal benefits related to global public health, energy, agriculture, and weather and climate.
“Around the globe,” Lautenbacher said, “68 countries, the European Commission and 46 global organizations are working to advance GEOSS through the Group on Earth Observations,” which was established by a series of three ministerial-level summits beginning in 2002.
The nine countries in the group are Argentina, Brazil, Belize, Canada, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay and the United States.
GEOSS AND THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
Through the Western Hemisphere initiative, NOAA is exploring partnerships with countries and scientific organizations in the Americas and the Caribbean to share Earth observations and to develop and strengthen data networks.
The nations will work together to ensure satellite data are disseminated and training is available to enable full use of the new information.
NOAA's GOES satellites orbit the equator at a speed matching the planet's rotation, allowing them to hover over one position. They give scientists detailed weather measurements and imagery that are used to develop short-term forecasts that help protect life and livelihoods.
In South America, the new satellite coverage already is having an impact. On March 8, for example, Argentina traced a low-pressure development and then issued a high-rainfall alert that helped save lives in Buenos Aires and other highly populated areas.
The new coverage also contributes to better fire detection in western Brazil’s Amazon rain forest.
GOES-10 is giving South America images of the Earth's atmosphere system twice as frequently as before. South America now receives coverage nearly as far south as the South Pole, with images captured every 15 minutes. History proves there is a vital need for the advance warning this information may offer.
During the 1990s in South America, natural disasters caused nearly 70,000 deaths, more than 50 percent from flooding. Storms, cyclones, hurricanes and mudslides caused another 20 percent of the deaths. In May 2003, the largest flooding in 500 years hit Argentina's north-central region, displacing more than 100,000 people and causing $1 billion in damage.
“Countries in the Western Hemisphere will work together to ensure that the satellite data is disseminated,” Lautenbacher said, “and that training is available to enable full use of the new information.”
More information about NOAA Global Earth Observations and GEOSS in the Americas is available on the NOAA Web site.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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