Transcript New Ways to Communicate & Collaborate within the Weather

New Ways to Communicate & Collaborate
within the Weather & Climate Enterprise
Veronica Johnson – AMS Board on Enterprise
Communication NBC 4 Washington, DC & Eve
Gruntfest - AMS Board on Societal Impacts
University of Colorado-Colorado Springs,
Session 1: Communicating & Connecting
Reports on Exciting Projects that Integrate
Meteorology & Social Science
AUGUST 11, 2008
Societal Impacts Program
Jeff Lazo
NCAR
www.sip.ucar.edu
Societal Impacts Program
. . . improve the societal gains from
weather forecasting by infusing social
science and economic research, methods,
and capabilities into the planning,
execution, and analysis of weather
information, applications, and research
directions.
Research Organizations
Private sector
WeatherUSEnterprise
Government
Academics
International
Societal Impacts Program
Community Development and Support
• AmericanResources
Meteorological Society
Information
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Weather
and Society Watch
Primary
Research
• National Research Council
•• Extreme
Weather
Overall US
SectorSourcebook
Sensitivity Assessment
•
World
Meteorological
Organization
Weather
and
Society
*
IntegratedGroup
Studies (WAS*IS)
•• Weather
and
Society
Discussion
Communicating Uncertainty
• National
Science Foundation
• Sources, Perceptions, Uses, and Values
• Hurricane Warning Communication and Valuation
• Storm Data
WAS*IS
CULTURE CHANGE
weather & society * integrated studies
www.sip.ucar.edu/wasis/
Sponsored by the NCAR Societal Impacts Program
Weather and Society * Integrated
Studies (WAS*IS)
Eve Gruntfest and Julie Demuth
AMS Summer Community Meeting, Boulder, CO
August 11, 2008
WAS*IS addresses two persistent issues
“I want to do work that integrates
meteorology & societal impacts BUT…
– I don’t know how, and…
– I don’t know anyone else who
does this kind of work”
WAS*IS Vision
To change the weather enterprise by
comprehensively & sustainably integrating social
science into meteorological research & practice
WAS*IS Mission
1. Build an interdisciplinary community of
practitioners, researchers, & stakeholders —
from the grassroots up — who are dedicated
to the integration of meteorology & social
science
Capacity building -- creating a community for lifelong
collaboration & support!
WAS*IS Mission
2. Provide opportunities to learn and examine
ideas, methods, and examples related to
integrated weather-society work
• Tools – GIS, surveys, qualitative methods
• Concepts – problem definition, speaking the same
language, end-to-end-to-end process
• Topics – risk perception, vulnerability, resilience
The WAS*IS Adventure
• Began as 1 workshop … now 6 (so far)!
•
•
•
•
•
Original 2-part Boulder WAS*IS (Nov 2005, Mar 2006)
Condensed 3-day Norman WAS*IS (April 2006)
Summer WAS*IS (July 2006)
Australia WAS*IS (end of January 2007)
Summer WAS * IS (July 2007)
2008 Summer WAS*IS is in progress
.
.
.
As of August 15, 2008, 171 WAS*ISers!
Some of the WAS*IS accomplishments?
TEACHING - New course offerings in Weather &
Society U North Carolina Asheville
U of Oklahoma
U of Colorado Denver
RESEARCH
• Grants
•Publications
•Presentations at professional meetings
Chris Godfrey
NEW JOBS
WAYS OF DOING BUSINESS STARTING TO CHANGE
DIALOGUES WITHIN & BETWEEN AGENCIES – sensitivity
to societal impacts
Sam Ng
Questions relevant to the Enterprise
 How do people use forecast and warning information to make





decisions?
What weather forecast and warning information do people
want?
How can we better understand varying levels of impacts
caused by weather events?
How are people affected differently by the same weather
events due to their varying vulnerabilities and abilities to
take action?
How can we more effectively communicate weather forecast
uncertainty information?
How do we provide good weather forecast and warning
information given the proliferation of information (sources,
media, modes)?
CULTURE CHANGE IS
UNDERWAY
Today’s presenters will show
you some of the WAS*Isers’
work
WAS*ISers are changing the
culture to integrate societal
impacts in sustainable ways
Thanks for the opportunities to develop WAS*IS concept
& workshops
Most support from
The National Center for Atmospheric
Research
The Societal Impacts
Program (SIP)
US Weather Research Program
Additional funding from
National Oceanic & Atmospheric University of Oklahoma, &
Administration (NOAA)
Monash University
Sustainability Institute,
Australian Bureau of
Meteorology, Emergency
Management Australia &
others
Social science woven into
Meteorology (SSWIM)
New initiative @ The National Weather
Center – Norman, OK
May 1, 2008- April 30, 2011
Funding ~50% NOAA &
50% U of Oklahoma
Three main goals
1. To recognize & develop the existing social science
activities in Norman
2. To build a strong integrated community of practitioners,
researchers, & others with particularly early career folks
to coordinate new projects & proposals that weave social
science into the fabric of the National Weather Center
3. To assess the viability & interest in a new
interdisciplinary Ph.D. program at the University of
Oklahoma focused on the societal impacts of weather &
climate change
Focus on the willing – no one being dragged into
these new projects
3 year effort personnel
• Dr. Eve Gruntfest geographer with 30 years experience as
social scientist working with meteorologists - .25 time
• 2 Ph.D. students working on interdisciplinary degrees Dedicated to integrating social science into National
Weather Center
• 1 full time Post-doc - Poised to take leadership of
integrated social science activities
Heather Lazrus
• Environmental anthropologist
• Extensive experience with NOAA Fisheries –
conducting interviews in Alaska & Pacific
Northwest
• How climate change & new policies
affecting livelihoods & outlooks
• Dissertation research
• 10 months living on TUVALU, small island
nation in South Pacific – how are THEY dealing
with sea level rise?
Kim Klockow
• Interdisciplinary Ph.D. - Meteorology &
Economics
• Master’s work
• Interviewing farmers about how they
value weather information from the
Oklahoma mesonet
• Ph.D. to focus on new ways to verify
warnings
Gina Eosco
• Pursuing Ph.D. in risk communication
• Master’s work
• Interviewing forecasters & government officials
about their interpretation, objective, & desired
behavioral responses to the cone of uncertainty,
a hurricane track graphic tool