Workshop: Water Cycle Missions for the Next Decade
A CREW proposal submitted to NASA-ROSES-2012 E2: TWSC: Topical Workshops, Symposia, and Conferences (NNH12ZDA001N-TWSC), $49,400, 1 mo/yr, 10/01/2012 – 9/30/2013.
The objective of this proposed workshop is to gather wisdom and determine how to prepare for the next generation of water cycle missions in support of the second Earth Science Decadal Survey.
The workshop will start with a short plenary that briefly provides the historical context, reviews lessons learned from the post-2002 Easton workshop, the first Decadal Survey, results and gap analysis from a water cycle observations synthesis project, and presents an overview of relevant technology advancements and readiness.
Following the plenary, we will discuss the intersection between science questions, technology readiness and satellite design optimization in a series of breakout group discussions designed to form the seeds of a set of water cycle mission formulation groups. The workshop will formulate next-generation water cycle mission working groups and white papers, designed to identify capacity gaps and inform future NASA solicitations (e.g. ESTO, NEWS, THP, etc.?).
As the workshop will cover the breadth of the water cycle, an in-depth pre-meeting information packet will be provided prior to the workshop for participants to learn the “basics” of near-term planned missions and activities (e.g. GPM, SMAP, Earth Ventures).
The intended outcome of this workshop is to identify the vision for the next decade of water cycle satellite observations, and to develop a roadmap and action plan for developing the foundation for these missions. Achieving this outcome will result in optimized community investments and better functionality these future missions, and will help to foster broader range of scientists and professionals engaged in water cycle observation planning and development around the country, and the world.