1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,800 In this modern age, weather forecasting is something that many of us take for granted. 2 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:14,600 We depend on accurate information from forecasters every day in order to make travel plans, dress 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:20,000 appropriately, and in cases of extreme weather, protect our lives and our property. 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,680 But unfortunately, weather predictions are still not as accurate as we would like. 5 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:28,440 In fact, you may be surprised to find out that forecasts over three days are still only 6 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,680 correct about 50% of the time. 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:35,480 In an effort to make weather prediction much more accurate, researchers at NASA are developing 8 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:42,240 a revolutionary new weather satellite instrument called GIFS, or the Geostationary Imaging 9 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,840 Foyer Transform Spectrometer. 10 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:50,560 GIFS will provide more than 1,000 times more data than current satellite weather sensors. 11 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:55,160 I spoke with Dr. Bill Smith at NASA Langley Research Center to find out more. 12 00:00:55,160 --> 00:01:00,040 GIFS is a revolutionary new satellite sensor, which will not only change the way we convey 13 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:04,320 weather information to the public, but will drastically improve weather forecasts. 14 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:09,360 Today, weather is very difficult to predict, although weather satellites provide two-dimensional 15 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:14,080 images of clouds, which help us detect where storms currently exist. 16 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,480 Quantitative temperature, moisture, and wind data are needed to forecast where storms will 17 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,360 develop and where they will move. 18 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:26,200 The poor vertical resolution of current satellite observations now limits the range of useful 19 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,640 forecasts to about three days. 20 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,720 Currently, weather predictions are not only made from information gathered from satellites 21 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:37,920 and radars, but a large part of the prediction information comes from ground-based weather 22 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:44,240 balloons, which are launched into the atmosphere every 12 hours, about 500 miles apart. 23 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:48,660 These readings create gaps of weather information between the balloons, with upper atmosphere 24 00:01:48,660 --> 00:01:51,020 conditions changing very quickly. 25 00:01:51,020 --> 00:01:55,620 Making timely, accurate predictions with old data can sometimes lead to a confusing weather 26 00:01:55,620 --> 00:01:56,620 picture. 27 00:01:56,620 --> 00:02:02,020 To help change this, the GIFS satellite will update weather information used for atmospheric 28 00:02:02,020 --> 00:02:07,900 predictions in minutes rather than hours, without gaps in the geographical location. 29 00:02:07,900 --> 00:02:12,100 Most of the weather information needed for visualizing the current state of the atmosphere 30 00:02:12,100 --> 00:02:15,540 will come from GIFS, making the weather picture much clearer. 31 00:02:15,540 --> 00:02:19,100 GIFS is a three-dimensional digital movie camera. 32 00:02:19,100 --> 00:02:25,380 Being on a geostationary satellite and with a 3-D camera, you can actually see water vapor, 33 00:02:25,380 --> 00:02:30,380 temperature, and even pollutant gases move in the atmosphere. 34 00:02:30,380 --> 00:02:34,860 We will be able to see the temperature changes, the flow of water vapor molecules, and the 35 00:02:34,860 --> 00:02:40,820 upwards by rolling air before the clouds appear, enabling us to detect the storm's location 36 00:02:40,820 --> 00:02:43,700 even before the destructive forces develop. 37 00:02:43,860 --> 00:02:48,500 Also, being able to watch the motion of the atmosphere in three dimensions will enable 38 00:02:48,500 --> 00:02:54,460 meteorologists to predict the future position of the storm and its changing intensity. 39 00:02:54,460 --> 00:03:00,220 By providing today's weather forecasting models with more data, more often, it's projected 40 00:03:00,220 --> 00:03:05,620 that for the first time, weather forecasts can be made reliable many days in advance. 41 00:03:05,620 --> 00:03:11,140 Having reliable forecasts could potentially have huge economic advantages for our country. 42 00:03:11,140 --> 00:03:14,500 Outdoor workers will be better prepared for inclement weather. 43 00:03:14,500 --> 00:03:18,260 Homes and offices will be able to regulate thermostats better. 44 00:03:18,260 --> 00:03:24,020 And farmers and communities will be better prepared for storms, floods, and drought. 45 00:03:24,020 --> 00:03:29,620 Another potential economic and safety improvement will be in hurricane landfall predictions. 46 00:03:29,620 --> 00:03:35,500 Currently, 24-hour predictions are given in about a 300-square-mile radius of potential 47 00:03:35,500 --> 00:03:37,340 landfall locations. 48 00:03:37,340 --> 00:03:42,740 On average, it costs about $1 million per mile to evacuate a threatened coastline. 49 00:03:42,740 --> 00:03:48,260 Unfortunately, with poor forecasting, the public often delays evacuation until storms 50 00:03:48,260 --> 00:03:50,220 are very close to shore. 51 00:03:50,220 --> 00:03:55,380 If forecasters can make accurate landfall predictions within tens of miles rather than 52 00:03:55,380 --> 00:04:00,300 several hundreds of miles, more people might consider taking proper measures to secure 53 00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:03,100 their lives and their property. 54 00:04:03,100 --> 00:04:05,580 Will GIFS be able to help in aviation as well? 55 00:04:05,780 --> 00:04:10,980 Actually, GIFS will have a significant impact on both general aviation safety and the cost 56 00:04:10,980 --> 00:04:13,060 of commercial flight. 57 00:04:13,060 --> 00:04:17,980 With regards to general aviation safety, GIFS will help delineate where supercooled water 58 00:04:17,980 --> 00:04:23,460 exists in clouds, which causes airframe icing when an airplane comes in contact with it. 59 00:04:23,460 --> 00:04:29,060 It may also be possible to uplink this data directly into the cockpit of an aircraft. 60 00:04:29,060 --> 00:04:35,300 So a pilot looking at a screen, like a TV screen, will be able to see clouds which 61 00:04:35,300 --> 00:04:40,180 have these supercooled water droplets and avoid them during his flight. 62 00:04:40,180 --> 00:04:42,820 So what are your overall hopes for this system? 63 00:04:42,820 --> 00:04:48,780 Probably the most important thing is that GIFS will help us understand weather processes, 64 00:04:48,780 --> 00:04:49,780 understand climate. 65 00:04:49,780 --> 00:04:54,460 GIFS will be able to observe not only weather variables, but also atmospheric pollution 66 00:04:54,460 --> 00:04:57,460 and see how it's transported around the globe. 67 00:04:57,460 --> 00:05:01,780 And of course, understanding weather better will help us improve hurricane prediction 68 00:05:01,780 --> 00:05:06,380 and other severe tornadic storm forecasts and the like. 69 00:05:06,380 --> 00:05:12,700 All in all, GIFS is not only going to create a much better life for human beings, it's 70 00:05:12,700 --> 00:05:16,620 going to save us property and probably most important, save lives as well.