This is a summary of a Workshop to be held in Pretoria, South Africa on October 29-30. This Workshop is focused on Users and their interaction with the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. Workshop flyers are available as a Powerpoint (993kb) or as a PDF (96kb)

Summary

GEOSS is designed to support users in applying earth observation data to achieve benefits for society within the context of a sustainable environment. The focus of the system is to provide uniformity and ease of use despite the scale and complexity of this endeavor. Working closely with Users to understand their needs and to establish requirements for the system is one of the first steps for a successful GEOSS implementation. This workshop provides an opportunity for users at all levels to understand the architecture approach for the global observation system. It is also a forum for giving feedback to developers so that the system will support what is needed to achieve significant benefits to our society at local, national and global levels.

Background

The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is a complex system where sensors, communications and other devices are used together to observe the Earth. In addition, GEOSS includes models and processes to create information from the observations. The Washington Summit of July 2003 established the objective “to monitor continuously the state of the Earth, to increase understanding of dynamic Earth processes, to enhance prediction of the Earth system, and to further implement our international environmental treaty obligations”, and thus the need for “timely, quality, long-term, global information as a basis for sound decision making”.

The Implementation Plan states that GEOSS will build towards integrated global Earth observations to meet user needs. GEOSS will be a “system of systems” consisting of existing and future Earth observation systems, supplementing but not supplanting their own mandates and governance arrangements. It will provide the institutional mechanisms for ensuring the necessary level of coordination, strengthening and supplementation of existing global Earth observation systems, and for reinforcing and supporting them in carrying out their mandates.

The emphasis of GEOSS is providing societal benefits, initially in nine areas. Sound management of the Earth system, in both its natural and human aspects, requires information that is timely, of known quality, long-term, and global. Interpretation and use of Earth observations requires information on drivers and consequences of change, including geo-referenced socio-economic data and indicators. The nine areas addressed in the implementation plan are:

1. Disasters: Reducing loss of life and property from natural and human-induced disasters
2. Health: Understanding environmental factors affecting human health and well-being
3. Energy: Improving management of energy resources
4. Climate: Understanding, assessing, predicting, mitigating, and adapting to climate variability and change
5. Water: Improving water resource management through better understanding of the water cycle
6. Weather: Improving weather information, forecasting and warning
7. Ecosystems: Improving the management and protection of terrestrial, coastal and marine resources
8. Agriculture: Supporting sustainable agriculture and combating desertification
9. Biodiversity: Understanding, monitoring and conserving biodiversity

Architecture

Ultimately, GEOSS will provide the user with easy access to information and products necessary to understand and manage the societal benefit areas identified above. The success of GEOSS will depend on data and information providers accepting and implementing a set of interoperability arrangements, including technical specifications for collecting, processing, storing, and disseminating shared data, metadata, and products. GEOSS will draw on existing Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) components as institutional and technical precedents in areas such as geodetic reference frames, common geographic data, and standard protocols. GEOSS will promote the use of common mechanisms for the cataloguing of archives, including how to access them. To understand the interaction of man with his environment, it is critically important to blend socio-economic data with Earth Observation data. Consequently, GEOSS will emphasize promoting the accessibility of socio-economic data products, including census data, economic activity, and political boundaries. Also, GEOSS will advocate harmonized methods in the modeling and analysis techniques needed to transform data into useful information. Underlying this high level approach are details of the recommended architecture given in the technical implementation plan developed by GEO and referenced in the Earth Observation Summit III in February 2005. The success of the architecture and of GEOSS will be its ability to support users, who need consistent, reliable information that is readily accessible.

The Users and the GEOSS Architecture

How does the user work with GEOSS? The GEOSS implementation plan states that GEO will establish, within 2 years, a process for reaching, maintaining, and upgrading GEOSS interoperability arrangements, informed by ongoing dialogue with major international programs and consortia. An important part of this process is for users to understand and work with the information system described in the Architecture.

The GEOSS architecture will be based on existing (and new) components. Thus, users may be familiar with some segments of GEOSS. However, the creation of a system of systems, as envisioned in GEOSS, brings together disparate data sets and information systems, not all of which are familiar to each user. For this reason, an implementation approach which allows for users to work with one or two case studies will help the development process. In this way, the user issues can be addressed earlier. Some may suggest that user encounters should wait until the architecture is more complete. While such a traditional approach has been employed for a long time, recent experience shows that a phased (or spiral) development gives near term utility that is important to see progress in societal benefit areas.

The User and the GEOSS Architecture workshop is an early dialogue for users looking at GEOSS and its benefits to their application area. Disaster preparedness and response will be discussed at the workshop and an informal environment will be provided for exchange of ideas and to make recommendations. To help with this exchange, the workshop will provide a overview of the architecture and a demonstration of some of its capabilities. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions to further their understanding of the information system and the GEOSS approach. Recommendations of the workshop will be available for science and technology teams as we move forward with GEOSS implementation. In summary, the workshop is a forum for users to interact with technologists to address the benefits and challenges of an advanced global system of systems providing earth observing data and information for the benefits of society