Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
Earth Networks

We all live on planet Earth. Our environment matters. How is it changing? Why is it changing? How can we precisely know, on local scales, the cause of extreme weather, floods, coastal erosion, and oceanic acidification? What does it mean for us and what can we do about it?

We believe that answering these questions begins with establishing scientifically reliable, robust and continuous measurements of environmental attributes. While climate change is well understood at global scales, additional observations and science are needed on finer temporal and spatial scales to develop the level of understanding required to solve the challenges that society will face in the decades ahead. How do we take continuous observations and how we convert those observations into environmental intelligence, in real-time? This talk will explore how this very task is being accomplished to address key climate adaptation and mitigation challenges.

Since the 1970s, 95 % of fatalities from extreme weather have occurred in the developing world and overall $200B is lost annually due to severe weather. Many global meteorological services lack technology and tools to effectively monitor and warn of pending severe weather events. Amazingly, an estimated 6.5 billion people in the world lack access to quality weather information and warnings. Yet there are 6 billion mobile phones in use. Can we generate and deliver severe weather warnings in real-time? This talk will show how that is possible and being done today.

The famous Mauna Loa record was established by Dr. Charles David Keeling in 1958 at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and this continuous measurement is the foundation of much climate science, and has documented the rapid rise of global greenhouse gas concentrations. Cities today drive 70% of global carbon emissions that our driving up global GHG concentrations. There is an urgent and unmet need to consistently measure and track carbon emissions for cities and for the planet. Private/public partnerships are today being created to measure carbon emissions from urban to continental scales. This talk will share the approach and results from the initial deployment of what will become the largest greenhouse gas measurement network to continuously monitor global emissions, as being implemented by Earth Networks, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NIST, NOAA and other leading institutions.

Discussion topics will include:

? The use of lightning detection from the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network to create a cost-effective radar-like visualization tool and severe weather alerts
? How Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Earth Networks are collaborating on the creation of a new GHG network capable of providing trustworthy, actionable GHG emissions data
? The global expansion plans for the both GHG and Total Lightning Networks throughout the United States, Brazil and other locations
? How the use of detailed emissions data will provide policy makers and researchers with data to understand the variability of GHGs in space and time

The availability of empirical, standardized data builds trust and encourages commitment to a sustainable economy by providing one set of guidelines for all stakeholders to follow. Building strong public/private partnerships will also strengthen the development and commitments toward executing effective climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. This side event will give evidence that the equitable distribution of responsibility toward sustainable development and resiliency is possible thanks to the development of science-based public/private partnerships.