1. National Integrated Drought Information System: U.S. Drought Portal
Timothy W. Owen1, Mark Svoboda2, and Roger Pulwarty3
1. NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
2. National Drought Mitigation Center
3. NOAA’s Climate Program Office
U.S. Drought Monitor Forum Portland, Oregon October 11, 2007

2. So…What is Drought?
“Drought is a persistent and abnormal moisture deficiency having adverse impacts on vegetation, animals, or people.”
- National Drought Policy Commission Report, May 2000

3. NIDIS Builds Upon Collaborative Successes!
What is NIDIS? A National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)
National Integrated Drought Information System
NIDIS: An integrated, interagency national drought monitoring and forecasting system that provides:
An early warning & forecast system for drought.
Drought impact and causation education.
Information for drought mitigation.
An interactive, web-based drought portal.
Improved observational capabilities.
Source: U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System: National Integrated Drought Information System Integration Framework
The importance of a drought early warning system:
• Allows for early drought detection
• Allows for proactive (mitigation) and reactive (emergency) responses
• “triggers” actions within a drought plan
• Provides for impacts on policy/management decisions
Bottom line – provides information for decision support
NIDIS Builds Upon Collaborative Successes!

4. NIDIS Interagency Partners Federal Level
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Agricultural Research Service, Cooperative State Research, Education, Farm Service Agency, Forest Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Risk Management Agency
U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC): International Trade Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
U.S. Department of Energy (DoE): Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Office of Science
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) Directorate
U.S. Department of the Interior (DoI): Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey,
U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT): Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Highway Administration, Surface Transportation Board
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Farm Credit Administration (FCA)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Internal Revenue Services
International Trade Commission (USITC)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Small Business Administration (SBA)

5. NIDIS Interagency Partners Regional, State, Tribal, and Local Levels
Western Governors’ Association – a key sponsor of early NIDIS development efforts and ongoing concerns representing drought in the Western States;
Western States Water Council – represents water managers in the Western United States;
National Conference of State Legislatures – drought monitoring and mitigation activities will require state support, much of which require state legislative involvement
National League of Cities – water availability and quality issues
American Association of State Climatologists – an organization state-appointed individuals, many of whom are active participants in the Drought Monitor or serve on drought monitoring committees within their respective states. Most are housed at universities and also conduct applied climate research;
National Drought Mitigation Center – A national clearinghouse for drought-related information, research, mitigation measures, and operational home of the Drought Monitor and operational home of the Drought Monitor and Drought Impact Reporter;
Native American tribal governments – mostly located in arid regions in which water is a vital concern:

6. NIDIS Genesis Identifying the Need
Early warning & forecast system
Education Drought portal
Mitigation Observational capability
“(We) contend that we can reduce this nation’s vulnerability to the impacts of drought by making preparedness— especially drought planning, plan implementation, and proactive mitigation— the cornerstone of national drought policy..”
— National Drought Policy Commission Report, May 2000
“NIDIS should improve and expand the compilation of reliable data on the various indicators of droughts, and it should integrate and interpret that data with easily accessible and understandable tools, which provide timely and useful information to decision-makers and the general public. Western Governors believe NOAA should be designated as the federal lead for NIDIS.
— Western Governor’s Association Report, June 2004
“Characteristics of disaster-resilient communities:
Relevant hazards are recognized and understood.
Communities at risk know when a hazard event is imminent.
Individuals at risk are safe from hazards in their homes and places of work.
Communities experience minimum disruption … after a hazard event has passed.”
— National Science and Technology Council, June 2005
“Near-term opportunities identify observing systems or integration of components that meet high priority societal needs, and make improvements to inadequate existing systems that can be completed within 5 years and have tangible, measurable results.
Improved Observations for Disaster Warnings
Global Land Observation System
Sea Level Observation System
National Integrated Drought Information System
Air Quality Assessment and Forecast System
Architecture and Data Management.”
— U.S. Group on Earth Observations, September 2006

7. NIDIS Genesis An Integrated Approach Matters!
Spot the Differences!

8. NIDIS Vision and Implementation Plan A Pathway to Operationalization
A dynamic and accessible drought risk information system that provides users with the ability to determine the potential impacts of drought, and the decision support tools needed to better prepare for and mitigate the effects of drought.
The NIDIS Implementation Plan (June 2007) calls for the establishment of a U.S. Drought Portal (drought.gov) is a key component to realizing this vision.

9. NIDIS Implementation Plan Overview
Provide pathways and support mechanisms to:
Develop leadership and partnerships to ensure successful implementation of an integrated national drought monitoring and forecasting system at federal, state, and local levels;
Foster, and support, a research environment that focuses on risk assessment, forecasting, and management;
Create a drought “early warning system” capable of providing accurate, timely, and integrated information on drought conditions and associated risks at relevant spatial scales to facilitate proactive decisions;
Provide interactive delivery systems including an internet portal, as part of the early warning information system, for easily comprehensible and standardized products; and
Provide a framework for increasing public awareness and educating those affected by drought on how and why droughts occur, and how they impact human and natural systems.

10. NIDIS Implementation Plan Governance Structure

11. NIDIS Implementation Plan Pilot Project Planning

12. A Drought Early Warning System Achieving the NIDIS and USDP Vision for Global Applications
Description: An early warning of international drought conditions for water management, agriculture, human health, energy as related to drought preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery
Importance: A system of systems will weave together current and future global drought related observations and data management systems:
to take on the growing worldwide threat of drought
for global data & information sharing, communication, & capacity building
to mitigate annual losses due to drought estimated in the U.S. alone at $6-8 billion
Why Now: IPCC projects increases in the frequency & intensity of drought due to climate change. Population pressures on existing water resources are expected to continue.
Many nations have important components of a drought early warning system. No one nation has all the tools, products, and data to deliver the best system.

13. Drought Early Warning System Benefits
Water Supply and Energy
Preparedness: Historical information used to minimize drought related risk (examples)
Allow planners and policy makers to develop optimal procedures and associated actions from drought impacts
Response: Drought occurs somewhere on the planet every year & can persist for years.
System will provide the quantitative information necessary for timely and measured response
Mitigation: A myriad of problems stem from drought. (examples)
Water supply, water quality, agriculture, energy production, fire, human health, etc.
Information for planning mitigations supported by a comprehensive analysis of drought severity
Recovery: Critical drought information
Enables countries to access more comprehensive tools and observations for emergency managers and planners
Agriculture
Fire

14. North American Drought Monitor
Drought Early Warning System North American Drought Monitor expanded internationally
The U.S. proposes the development of an International Drought Early Warning System that will:
present needed information for drought response, planning, mitigation, and recovery
support the capability to provide data and information required for local, national, and regional decisions on drought
aid local, national , and regional decisions regarding human and environmental health & welfare during drought
act as a data integrator to complement and support UN programs related to drought
Examples: WMO/World Weather Watch, Famine Early Warning System, United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
North American Drought Monitor
Concept to be expanded internationally

15. Summary
NIDIS’ U.S. Drought Portal Provides a Window for Interagency Data Collaboration and Dissemination
The initial phase of the USDP (November 2007) will allow drought experts and general users to answer key questions about drought on an end-to-end basis.
A drought early warning system would enable GEO Nations to have more comprehensive and coordinated activities for:
preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery from drought that affect such societal issues as water management, agriculture, human health, energy, and many others

16. Backup/Extras

17. NIDIS – U. S. Drought Portal drought
NIDIS – U.S. Drought Portal drought.gov: A Window on Drought Information
Why a Portal?
A Web site and services that improve the access,
processing, and sharing of structured and unstructured
information within and across a given “enterprise” through:
Portlets - Components of a portal web site that provide aggregated, reusable access to specific information sources or applications (e.g., remote web services, search engines). Access is standardized and reusable (using APIs [application programming interfaces]).
Web Services - Applications and utilities that allow data exchange in a highly interoperable, standardized language/vendor/platform-neutral manner. Crawlers and other content aggregation are supported.
Communities - A virtual workspace of a portal for collaboration, communication, and information dissemination/collection. Communities contain portlets and projects.
Projects - Workspaces within a community that involves subsets of Portal membership. Projects contain portlets and can be part of one or more communities, facilitating collaboration via overviews, discussions, and document/project management.

18. U.S. Drought Portal Home Page Showcase Portlets and Key Themes
1.) U.S. Drought Monitor
(NOAA, USDA, NDMC)
2.) Climate Prediction Center
Seasonal Forecast (NOAA)
3.) Drought Impacts Reporter (NDMC) 1. 2. 3.

19. U.S. Drought Portal Home Page Showcase Portlets and Key Themes1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Key Themes
1.) Current Drought
2.) Forecasts
3.) Impacts
4.) Planning
5.) Education
6.) Research

20. U.S. Drought Portal Key Theme Example Current Drought