1. drought.gov National Integrated Drought Information System:
An Overview
drought.gov
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
Shenandoah Valley Natural Systems Symposium Winchester, Virginia October 15-16, 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. What is the Current Drought Locally?

4. 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!

5. NIDIS Interagency Partners Federal, State, Tribal, Local Levels
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 & 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)
Western Governors’ Association – a key sponsor of early NIDIS development efforts and ongoing concerns
Western States Water Council – represents water managers in the Western United States
Foundation for Earth Science (ESIP)
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.
National Drought Mitigation Center – A national clearinghouse for drought-related information, research, mitigation measures, 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. 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.
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 groups to access more comprehensive tools and observations for emergency managers and planners
Agriculture
Fire

7. 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 the cornerstone of national drought policy..” — National Drought Policy Commission Report, May 2000
“NIDIS should improve and expand 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 Governor’s Association Report, June 2004
“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
— U.S. Group on Earth Observations, September 2006
National Integrated Drought Information System
Air Quality Assessment and Forecast System
Architecture and Data Management.”

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

9. 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.

10. NIDIS Implementation Plan Overview
Provide pathways and support mechanisms to:
Develop leadership and partnerships
Foster and support a research environment
Create a drought “early warning system”
Provide interactive delivery systems including the drought.gov portal
Provide a framework for increasing public awareness through education

11. 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.

12. Service-Oriented Architecture – Foster ease of communication!
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:
Service-Oriented Architecture – Foster ease of communication!

13. 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.

14. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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 groups 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