The U.S. Department of Defense has announced that it will no longer provide critical satellite weather data, a move that jeopardizes hurricane forecasting efforts during the peak season. For over 40 years, the Defense Department's satellites have been vital for atmospheric and oceanic data collection. This information has been processed by the Navy and shared with scientists and forecasters. The decision appears to stem from cybersecurity concerns, although the functional satellites will still be utilized by the Defense Department without shared access to external entities like scientists.
"I was surprised, given how important it is for forecasting hurricanes and monitoring important features like sea ice," says Brian Tang, a hurricane researcher at the University at Albany.
"It's not an issue of funding cuts," says Mark Serreze, the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, emphasizing cybersecurity concerns as the reason for discontinuing data.
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