Alternative Datasets for Identification of Earth Science Events and Data

Alternative, or non-traditional, data sources can be used to generate datasets which can in turn be analyzed for temporal, spatial and climatological patterns. Events and case studies inferred from the analysis of these patterns can be used by the remote sensing community to more effectively search for Earth observation data. In this paper, we present a new alternative Earth science dataset created from the National Weather Service’s Area Forecast Discussion (AFD) documents. We then present an exploratory methodology for identifying interesting climatological patterns within the AFD data and a corresponding motivating example as to how these data and patterns can be used to search for relevant events or case studies.