The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) was built by the
Group on Earth Observations
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) coordinates international efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). It links existing and planned Earth observation systems and supports the development of new ones in cases of p ...
(GEO) on the basis of a 10-Year Implementation Plan running from 2005 to 2015. GEOSS seeks to connect the producers of environmental data and decision-support tools with the end users of these products, with the aim of enhancing the relevance of Earth observations to global issues. GEOSS aims to produce a global public infrastructure that generates comprehensive, near-real-time environmental data, information and analyses for a wide range of users. The Secretariat Director of Geoss is Barbara Ryan.
Earth observation systems
Earth observation
Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote-sensing technologies (Earth observation satellites) or through direct-contact sensors ...
systems consist of instruments and models designed to measure, monitor and predict the physical, chemical and biological aspects of the Earth system. Buoys floating in the oceans monitor temperature and salinity; meteorological stations and balloons record air quality and rainwater trends; sonar and radar systems estimate fish and bird populations; seismic and
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
(GPS) stations record movements in the Earth’s crust and interior; some 60-plus high-tech environmental satellites scan the planet from space; powerful computerized models generate simulations and forecasts; and early warning systems issue alerts to vulnerable populations.
These various systems have typically operated in isolation from one another. In recent years, however, sophisticated new technologies for gathering vast quantities of near-real-time and high-resolution Earth observation data have become operational. At the same time, improved forecasting models and decision-support tools are increasingly allowing decision makers and other users of Earth observations to fully exploit this widening stream of information.
With investments in Earth observations now reaching a critical mass, it has become possible to link diverse observing systems together to paint a full picture of the Earth’s condition. Because the costs and logistics of expanding Earth observations are daunting for any single nation, linking systems together through international cooperation also offers cost savings.
Implementation
As a networked system, GEOSS is owned by all of the GEO Members and Participating Organizations. Partners maintain full control of the components and activities that they contribute to the system of systems. Implementation is being pursued through a Work Plan consisting of over 70 tasks. Each task supports one of the nine societal-benefit or four transverse areas and is carried out by interested Members and Participating Organizations. Governments and organizations have also advanced GEOSS by contributing a variety of “Early Achievements”; these “First 100 Steps to GEOSS” were presented to the 2007 Cape Town Ministerial Summit.
Interlinking observation systems requires common standards for architecture and data sharing. The architecture of an Earth observation system refers to the way in which its components are designed so that they function as a whole. Each GEOSS component must be included in the GEOSS registry and configured so that it can communicate with the other participating systems. In addition, each contributor to GEOSS must subscribe to the GEO data-sharing principles, which aim to ensure the full and open exchange of data, metadata and products. These issues are fundamental to the successful operation of GEOSS.
GEOSS will disseminate information and analyses directly to users. GEO is developing the GEOPortal as a single Internet gateway to the data produced by GEOSS. The purpose of GEOPortal is to make it easier to integrate diverse data sets, identify relevant data and portals of contributing systems, and access models and other decision-support tools. For users without good access to high-speed internet, GEO has established GEONETCast, a system of four communications satellites that transmit data to low-cost receiving stations maintained by the users.
At present, GEONETCast seems still in its infancy, yet some tools have already been worked out. Th
GEONETCast toolboxhas been made available and contains tools to access some radar altimetry, vegetation, satellite prediction and maritime information. Other useful information available through GEONETCast is vegetation and desert locust information provided under the DevCoCast project, which is a subproject of GEONETCast.
User groups
The growing demand for Earth observation data and information is the driving force behind GEOSS. The GEOSS Implementation Plan identifies nine distinct groups of users and uses, which it calls “
Societal Benefit Areas
The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) was built by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) on the basis of a 10-Year Implementation Plan running from 2005 to 2015. GEOSS seeks to connect the producers of environmental data and decisi ...
”. The nine areas are disasters, health, energy, climate, water, weather, ecosystems, agriculture and biodiversity. Current and potential users include decision makers in the public and private sectors, resource managers, planners, emergency responders and scientists.
Related initiatives
GEOSS can be characterized as a contribution towards the establishment of a
spatial data infrastructure.
It is one of three related initiatives that are the subject of the GIGAS (GEOSS, INSPIRE and
GMES an Action in Support) harmonization project under the auspices of the
EU 7th Framework Programme
The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europea ...
.
Participating organizations
* AARSE:
African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
* ACCREC:
African Climate Change Research Centre
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
* ADIE:
Association for the Development of Environmental Information
* ADPC:
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
*
Afriterra Foundation
* APN:
Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research
The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) is an intergovernmental network that promotes policy-oriented research and capacity-building activities related to global change in the region. APN receives financial contribution from th ...
* CATHALAC:
Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean
* CEOS:
Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
* CEDARE:
* CGMS:
Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites
The Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) is an international organization created in 1972 to coordinate the satellite systems that support global operational meteorology.
Description
CGMS came into being on 19 September 19 ...
* CMO:
Caribbean Meteorological Organization
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
* COSPAR:
Committee on Space Research
The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) was established on October 3, 1958 by the International Council for Scientific Unions (ICSU). Among COSPAR's objectives are the promotion of scientific research in space on an international level, wi ...
*
DIVERSITAS
* EARSC:
European Association of Remote Sensing Companies
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
* ECMWF:
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by most of the nations of Europe. It is based at three sites: Shinfield Park, Reading, United Kingdom; Bologna, Italy; an ...
* EEA:
European Environment Agency
* EIS-AFRICA:
Environmental Information Systems
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
- AFRICA
* EPI:
Environment Pulse Institute
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
* ESA:
European Space Agency
* ESEAS:
European Sea Level Service
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
* EUMETNET:
Network of European Meteorological Services
EUMETNET (acronym of ''European Meteorological Network'') is a network of 31 European National Meteorological Services based in Brussels, Belgium. It exists to provide a framework to organise co-operative programmes between the members in fields ...
- Composite Observing System
* EUMETSAT:
* EuroGeoSurveys:
Association of the Geological Surveys of the European Union
Association may refer to:
*Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal
*Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry
*Voluntary associatio ...
* FAO:
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
of the United Nations
* FDSN:
International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks
The International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks, or FDSN, is a global organization consisting of groups that install and maintain digital, broadband seismic recorders either nationally or globally. Any organizations operating more tha ...
* GBIF:
Global Biodiversity Information Facility
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...
* GCOS:
Global Climate Observing System
The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) was established in 1992 as an outcome of the Second World Climate Conference, to ensure that the observations and information needed to address climate-related issues are obtained and made available to ...
* GSDI:
Global Spatial Data Infrastructure
* GOOS:
Global Ocean Observing System
* GTOS:
Global Terrestrial Observing System
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
* IAG:
International Association of Geodesy
The International Association of Geodesy (IAG) is a constituent association of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. Overview
The precursors to the IAG were arc measurement campaigns. The IAG was founded in 1862 as the ''Mitteleuro ...
* ICSU:
International Council for Science
* IEEE:
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
* IGBP:
International Geosphere-Biosphere Program
* IGFA:
* IHE
Delft Institute for Water Education
Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
* IHO:
International Hydrographic Organization
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States.
A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...
* IISL:
International Institute for Space Law
* ILTER:
International Long Term Ecological Research Network
The Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER) consists of a group of over 1800 scientists and students studying ecology, ecological processes over extended temporal and spatial scales. Twenty-eight LTER sites cover a diverse set of ecosystems. ...
* INCOSE:
International Council on Systems Engineering
The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE; pronounced in-co-see) is a not-for-profit membership organization and professional society in the field of systems engineering. INCOSE has about 17000 members including individual members, ...
* IO3C:
International Ozone Commission
* IOC:
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) was established by resolution 2.31 adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO. It first met in Paris at Unesco Headquarters from 19 to 27 October 1961. Initially, 40 States becam ...
* ISCGM:
International Steering Committee for Global Mapping
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* International (Kevin Michael album), ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* International (New Order album), ' ...
* ISDR:
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction The United Nations General Assembly designated the 1990s as International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).
Its basic objective was to decrease the loss of life, property destruction and social and economic disruption caused by natural ...
* ISPRS:
International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) is an international non-governmental organization that enhances international cooperation between the worldwide organizations with interests in the photogrammetry, remote sens ...
* OGC:
Open Geospatial Consortium
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), an international voluntary consensus standards organization for geospatial content and location-based services, sensor web and Internet of Things, GIS data processing and data sharing. It originated in 199 ...
* POGO:
Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean
*
Radiant Earth
* RFF:
Resources for the Future
Resources for the Future (RFF) is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 1952 that conducts independent research into environmental, energy, and natural resource issues, primarily via economics and other social sciences. Headquartered in ...
* SICA/CCAD:
* SOPAC:
South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission
The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) was an inter-governmental regional organisation dedicated to providing services to promote sustainable development in the countries it serves. In 2010, its functions had been transferred to ...
* UNCBD:
United Nations Convention on Biodiversity
* UNEP:
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
* UNESCO:
* UNFCCC:
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in ...
* UNITAR:
United Nations Institute for Training and Research
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations system. UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries with special attention ...
* UNOOSA:
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is an office of the U.N. Secretariat that promotes and facilitates peaceful international cooperation in outer space. It works to establish or strengthen the legal and regulatory framew ...
* UNU-EHS:
United Nations University
The (UNU) is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve global issues related to human development and welfare thr ...
- Institute for Environment and Human Security
* WCRP:
World Climate Research Programme
The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is an international programme that helps to coordinate global climate research. The WCRP was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Inter ...
* WFPHA:
World Federation of Public Health Associations
* WMO:
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics.
The WMO originated from the Intern ...
Societal Benefit Areas
Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs)
GEO's Societal Benefit Areas
/ref> are eight environmental fields of interest, all of which relate to climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
, around which the GEOSS project is exerting its efforts. These include the categories and subcategories below.
A preliminary hierarchical vocabulary has been created. Currently, the hierarchical vocabulary structuring these societal benefit categories and their subcategories are available only in English. However, translations have been created for French, Spanish and Italian versions by Claudia Cialone and Kristin Stock of the Centre for Geospatial Science (CGS) at the University of Nottingham
, mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom
, established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status
, type = Public
, chancellor ...
, UK, with input from a number of people from the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
The National Research Council (Italian: ''Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, CNR'') is the largest research council in Italy. As a public organisation, its remit is to support scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Rome. ...
(CNR) in Italy, the University of Zaragoza and the European Union Joint Research Centre
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's science and knowledge service which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to European Union (EU) policy. The JRC is ...
(JRC). Translations have also been accomplished for a Slovenian version of the SBAs by the Biotehnical faculty of the University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students.
History Beginnings
Although certain ...
, SI.
Disaster Resilience
This SBA is meant to increase the system of the earth observation
Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote-sensing technologies (Earth observation satellites) or through direct-contact sensors ...
to protect human lives from natural hazards such as tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
, sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
and lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
ice, floods, volcanic eruptions
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...
, wild fires etc.
Public Health Surveillance
The health SBA is meant to understand and to prevent the environmental factors related to human diseases. Some subcategories included in this concern infectious diseases, respiratory problems, environmental stress, accidental death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
and injury and so forth.
Energy and mineral resource management
This SBA is concerned with the preservation and the operations related to energetic sources, and their renewability. Some examples of subcategories for this field are: oil & gas exploration, refining and transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
operations, renewable energy operations, global energy management
Energy management includes planning and operation of energy production and energy consumption units as well as energy distribution and storage. Objectives are resource conservation, climate protection and cost savings, while the users have per ...
etc..
Water resources management
The water topic is inherent to hydrological
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...
research, evaluation and management and the impact of humans on the water cycle
The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle, is a biogeochemical cycle that describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. The mass of water on Earth remains fairly cons ...
. The area includes subfields of interest such as global biogeochemistry
Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the cryosphere, ...
, fisheries and habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
, telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
and navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
, predictions
A prediction (Latin ''præ-'', "before," and ''dicere'', "to say"), or forecast, is a statement about a future event or data. They are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge. There is no universal agreement about the exact ...
etc.
Infrastructure and transport
This category provides information for Earth observations support for planning, monitoring and management of infrastructure (dams, roads, rail, ports and pipelines) and transportation (air, land and sea).
Food security and sustainable agriculture
This field of concern embraces all those agricultural activities, or related subjects such as grazing
In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...
systems, the economic trade of agricultural products, for monitoring the global condition of food including the prevention of desertification.
Biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability
This area is meant to disseminate information related to the investigation on the genetic diversity of species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
and more generally on the natural resources
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...
of the different ecosystems
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...
and the services available for their conservation.
References
* Chuvieco, Emilio (2008) ''Earth Observation of Global Change: The Role of Satellite Remote Sensing in Monitoring the Global Environment'' Springer page 10
* Luzeaux, Dominique; Ruaul, Jean-René (eds) (2013) ''Systems of Systems'' John Wiley & Sons pg 215-218
External links
official website
List of web sites of GEO Participating Organizations
GEOSS Best Practices Wiki, Entries by the GMES Network of Users
Canadian Group on Earth Observations
Austrian GEO
Europe GMES
CATHALAC
The Netherlands and GEO
US GEO
US EPA
South_African_Environmental_Observation_Network
.html" ;"title="South African Environmental Observation Network">South African Environmental Observation Network
">South African Environmental Observation Network">South African Environmental Observation Network
Earth observation projects
{{more categories, date=September 2020
International geographic data and information organizations
Climate change and the environment
2000s in the environment
2010s in the environment