National critical technologies report.

  • Office of Science and Technology Policy
Date:
1995
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: National critical technologies report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    51/226 (page 25)
    MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT Environmental monitoring and assessment technologies are critical for understanding and predicting changes in the environment and for responding to the many pressing environmental problems which we currently face. Key technologies for environmental monitoring and assessment range from the macro level down to the micro and even molecular/nano level: satellite-based systems; airborne, land-based and ocean-based systems; networked monitoring systems; micro electromechanical systems and biomarkers. Such systems monitor at all levels: global; biosphere; ecosystems; regions; cities; towns; individual factories and homes; individual persons and organisms; to individual genes and chromosomes. Environmental issues that they monitor include: global warming, ozone depletion, regional air quality, biodiversity loss, point source emissions of air, water and hazardous waste, indoor air quality, noise pollution, and human health effects at the gene/chromosome level. Integrated environmental monitoring During the past few years, there has been increasing attention paid to the monitoring and control of pollution and other forms of environmental damage. The integration of the sensors, deployed to monitor various parameters in the environment, with the analysis of the information they collect, is an example of an integrated system. More specific examples include the environmental controls on power plants, both solid fuel and nuclear, the monitoring of acid rain damage in a forest, or an airborne military system to monitor chemical signatures over a suspected chemical weapons plant. Integrated environmental monitoring technologies contribute to several national goals. By providing data which permit assessment of environmental effects on health, as well as by increasing food security through better monitoring and prediction of natural disasters, these technologies contribute to the health of the U.S. population. Environmental monitoring technologies also contribute to job creation and economic growth in a variety of ways. These technologies provide the basis on which the success of the “clean car” produced by Partnership for the New Generation Vehicle can be judged and on which environmentally friendly construction designs can be based. They contribute to the efficiency of physical infrastructure by providing a basis for a better understanding of how climate and weather affect transportation. They provide the basis on which energy production and utilization methods can be judged for their environmental effects. Finally, these technologies provide data which are a prerequisite for ecosystem management and ex post monitoring and evaluation for understanding interaction of humans with the environment. Integrated monitoring and assessment technologies can make a significant contribution to our national security as well. By providing the ability to identify