Space Weather Quarterly Volume 5, Issue 3, 2008

Abstract

Educating 2S pa c e W e at h e r Q ua r t e r ly (see L. Lanzerotti, Space Weather, 6, S01002, doi:10.1029/2007SW000385, 2008. However, I am happy to note that the Space Studies Board of the U.S. National Research Council took an important step toward setting a framework for achieving some of these "reliable estimates" in a workshop held in late May in Washington, D. C. The meeting drew active participation from the academic research community and major government agencies in the National Space Weather Program (http://www.nswp .gov), as well as a significant number of commercial interests large and small. These latter included enterprises that use space weather information for design decisions and/or successful operations, as well as vendors of space weather products and services. EDITORThe workshop explored several issues related to the economics of space weather. For example, the climatology of space radiation is essential for the design of the long-lived communications satellites that occupy geosynchronous orbit. Current radiation climate models are 30 or more years old and do not reflect major discoveries of the past few decades. Closely tied to this is the absence of reliable information on the statistics of the radiation environment: Are there upper limits to expected flux values, and should designs be based upon such limits (if they are known) or on some lesser (and less expensive to implement) values? What are the design and operations costs for not knowing this information? What are the costs to achieve such information and thus to make future design processes more robust?The policy-oriented participants provided many provocative (and productive) insights on space weather and its economic effects. These included discussions of the prioritization of risks (including space weather) to a business or government activity, as well as the perception of risks to the public. An important realization stressed by several participants was the central role of the complex electricity grid across the nation, which underpins essentially all contemporary technologies. What is the risk of a collapse of a major part of the grid from a space weather event? Equally important, can this risk and its economic consequences be examined without causing a "sky is falling" mentality? Where does a space weather risk to the grid rank with respect to other risks, natural and man-made?This workshop was an important initial forum for assembling a diverse and engaged group of individuals and organizations centrally involved with space weather concerns. The discussions illuminated numerous unresolved engineering, science, and policy issues related to the economics of space weather. However, solid economic information was often lacking in the discussions, partly because of the absence of such data and partly because of proprietary concerns. I hope the National Research Council can use this initial endeavor as the beginning of a more extensive process to delve into space weather economics. editorial W W W. ag u . o r g / j o u r n a l S ...