Moscone Center in San Francisco, site of the 2008 AGU fall meeting.

Years ago, most Earth science researchers analyzed space-based observations and model runs and published their results in scientific journals and presented them at professional society conferences like the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting. When I was asked who our stakeholders were, I would say that Congress was one of the key ones and other policy makers, but without too much conviction. I didn’t think too much about how our science results were used in any practical sense.

The situation has changed dramatically during the last 20 years. The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole led to an unprecedented quest to understand the reasons for its formation and the potential implications of its growth. Science results and models were used by policy makers to negotiate a major international treaty, the Montreal Protocol, which has successfully led to the elimination of the worst ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and also bought us a little bit of additional time to respond to climate change, since the CFCs are also significant greenhouse gases. Researchers saw the direct application of their research results in informing policy decisions relating to the atmosphere.

The NASA Applied Sciences Program has been one of the pathfinder programs in demonstrating the direct utility of Earth observations for informing policy and management decision making. Until recently, scientists who did applications-related research found it difficult to find an appropriate venue to communicate their results. Conferences often ran a few specialized sessions relating to science and society, often held in obscure areas, which were only peripherally related to the work being presented. Journals often found these projects to be too “applied” so it was difficult for scientists to get their work published.

At this year’s AGU Fall meeting, it’s clear to me that applications-related research has come of age and is very much in the mainstream. Papers and posters demonstrating the practical utility of Earth observations or related models for societal benefit are appearing in all kinds of sessions at this year’s meeting. And this work is being done by researchers not just at NASA, but at other Federal agencies, and universities worldwide. I’ve listened to some excellent papers on climate change impacts on water resources which were supported by the NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program.

So, almost anywhere you turn at AGU - in space-weather, global environmental change, public affairs, or the traditional atmospheric sciences themes - you’ll find applications-oriented research being presented. It’s a good feeling to see the evolution of this type of research and a testament to the NASA Applied Sciences Program and related programs in a number of other agencies who broke new ground to ensure that this important work has found a home at conferences like the hugely popular AGU Fall meeting.