When NOAA drastically reduced the funds available for data rescue and digitization activities, Richard Crouthamel realized that rescuing critical climate data was in peril. Richard retired from NOAA to rescue the program using private donations and federal funds. Since then, IEDRO has became a major player in the international field of environmental data rescue and digitization, working closely with the World Meteorological Organization, NOAA, and the weather services of many countries.
Our Mission
To be a global leader in the pursuit of rescuing (imaging), digitizing and sharing all historic weather data, for the purposes of analysis and prediction, before it’s lost forever. To develop data rescue applications and systems that can decrease the cost and time required for digitization, while increasing accuracy of data entry. To make these systems and applications available for use in every geographic region by anyone with a vested interest – from the meteorologist and environmental science researcher to the farmer and local decision maker in an underdeveloped country.
Our Vision
The International Environmental Data Rescue Organization (IEDRO) estimates that the world loses hundreds of thousands of critical weather records every day, particularly in underdeveloped countries, to improper storage, loss and material deterioration. These data tell the stories of past weather events such as extreme winds, precipitation and storms, and thus could have been used to better predict drought, floods, the spread of disease (i.e. malaria, West Nile virus, dengue fever, yellow fever), and the impacts of climate change. Without the rescue of and access to this data, regions across the globe see unnecessary loss of infrastructure, agriculture, the economy and human life.
IEDRO’s mission is to locate, rescue (image), digitize, archive and share historic weather data across the globe, in areas of need, for the purpose of supporting applications in agriculture, infrastructure planning, disease prevention and climate change.
By rescuing and digitizing past extreme weather events (i.e. extreme winds, precipitation, storms), IEDRO empowers local decision-makers to adapt their infrastructure and agriculture to weather phenomena (extreme weather, climate change) while also better predicting the path of airborne disease. IEDRO believes that, when used regionally, rescued environmental data can reduce humankind’s suffering and death more than any other endeavor.
What We Do
IEDRO recovers and digitizes historical environmental data that are at risk of disintegrating or being discarded, particularly in developing countries. This vast knowledge offers the world community the ability to more accurately predict long-range weather patterns, and gives tools to meteorological professionals and others to:
- Better understand the nature and extent of global warming and climate change.
- Prevent famine and starvation.
- Provide more accurate lifesaving flood forecasts.
- Prevent the spread of airborne and insect-borne disease.
- Understand how to construct and reinforce buildings, bridges, and other public services to withstand predicted severe weather.
- Gain a clearer understanding of human history.
Our Activities
- International Climate Data Rescue (IC-DARE) Inventory
- On-site Training – Data Analysis and Visualization
- Climate Data Digitization Tools
- Alpha-Numeric Data Entry (workstations and crowdsourcing)
- Strip Chart Digitization Application