Building a Global Earth Observation System
of Systems (GEOSS)
5th Jubilee International Conference
on Cartography & GIS
Barbara J. Ryan
Director, GEO Secretariat
16 June 2014
Varna, Bulgaria
A Global, Coordinated, Comprehensive and
Sustained System of Observing Systems
GEOSS
• Improve and Coordinate Observation Systems
• Advance Broad Open Data Policies/Practices
• Foster Increased Use of EO Data and
Information
• Build Capacity
GEO Objectives
Created in 2005, to develop a coordinated and sustained
Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) to
enhance decision making in nine Societal Benefit Areas
(SBAs)
GEO today:
91 Members
77 Participating
Organizations
© GEO Secretariat
77 Participating Organizations
A broad Commercial Sector spans the entire information value chain
Data
providers
Value-Added
providers
Downstream
users
Ecosystem Classification & Mapping
(Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, EC,
Italy, Paraguay, USA, RCMRD, UNESCO)
* SHARE mountain stations
operational
* All ecosystem mapping
data available; DataCORE
* New maps of growing
season
* Atlas of 40 Chinese
World Heritage Sites
* Decision-making support:
ABCC program
© GEO Secretariat
Advanced Land-Cover Products
(Canada, China, EC, Greece, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria,
Spain, Sweden, UK, USA, Spain, EEA, ESA, GTOS, ISPRS)
* Global 30m products
* Major land cover types
(eg. wetland)
* Independent validation
databases
* Global Land Cover Portal
* Growing int’l consensus
Global Forest Information System
(Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, USA, CEOS, FAO)
* Forest Carbon
Tracking ongoing
* Demo in 12
countries (Congo)
* Coordinated space
data acquisition
* In-situ validation
* Regional capacity
building growing
(US Silvacarbon)
Mexico
In-situ forest measurements
Columbia
Global & Local Urban Footprints
(China, EC, Germany, Greece, Italy, Pakistan, USA)
* 35-yr evolution of
26 mega-cities
* Global night-time
lights for 2012
* Urban Heat Island
patterns
* Over 3’700 cities
mapped using
ASTER (15m)
Manila
Monthly Wheat Prices
1960-2011
Nominal wheat price in US $/Metric Ton
2008 Price
hikes
Droughts:
Australia &
Ukraine
2010/11 Price
hikes
Drought:
Russia
Landsat 1
Launched
(1972)
1971/2’s
price hike
Today
3x
Source: World Bank
Crop Information for Decision-Making
(Canada, China, EC, France, Japan, Kazakhstan,
India, Mexico, Russia, USA, CEOS, FAO)
* GEOGLAM part
of G20 Action
Plan on Food
Price Volatility
* New crop outlook
* Rice crop
monitoring
* Draft space
strategy
GEOSS Common Infrastructure
GEOSS Resources
-
10,000,000
20,000,000
30,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
60,000,000
70,000,000
Resources
Resources 300 100,000 1,002,000 14,000,000 65,000,000
2010 2011 (Sep) 2011 (Nov) 2012 (Nov) 2014 (Apr)
Introduction
of the
Brokering
approach
GEOSS Current Assets (May 2014)
Space
TimeGEOSS
GEOSS
Hypercube
Space
Time
Precipitation in
Greece
(1946-2013)
GEOSS Targeted Gaps
Large spatial and temporal gaps in specific data sets
Space
Time
West Africa drought
observations
(1995–2013)
East Africa
drought
observations
(2010 – 2012)
GEOSS Targeted Gaps
Uncertainty over continuity of observations
Large spatial and temporal gaps in specific data sets
Space
Time
West Africa crop prediction
(2014-2015)
West Africa Land Use
(1990-2005)
GEOSS Targeted Gaps
Large spatial and temporal gaps in specific data sets
Space
Time
Precipitation in
Africa
(1992-2012)
GEOSS Targeted Gaps
Large spatial and temporal gaps in specific data sets
Global water
bodies (1998-
2005)
Space
TimePrecipitation in
Africa (
GEOSS should be making this cube as
dense and transparent as possible GCI
GCI
Searches
Crops
obs.
Asia
(2005-
2010) Global Climate
predictions
(2012-2032)
Faults monitoring in South
America (1980-2014)
Ecosystems mapping in
Europe (1987-2010)
Major disasters in South
Asia (1992-2005)
West Africa
Land Use
(SB)
(1990-2005)
GEOSS Implementation Requires:
Data Sharing Principles
• Full and Open Exchange of Data
• Data and Products at Minimum Time Delay
and at Minimum Cost
• Free of Charge or Cost of Reproduction
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Free data policy
October 1, 2008
ScenesinMillions
Increasing Demand for Free Landsat Data
11,898,738 Landsat
Scenes distributed
as of June 2013
• Data delivered to 186 countries
• User shift to multi-year scenes at same location
• Exceeded 11 million scenes to date
Daily Average = 53 scenes best year of sales (2001)
Daily Average ≅ 5,700 scenes web-enabled data delivered
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13
RADARSAT Images Acquired by the Government of
Canada
R1 + R2R1
E
S
T
I
M
A
T
E
D
Radarsat-2
Canada’s Experience
• Continue improving Earth observations worldwide
• Urge the adoption and implementation of data sharing
principles globally
• Advance the GEOSS information system
• Develop a comprehensive interdisciplinary knowledge base
• Cultivate global initiatives
Ministerial Guidance
• Broad open data policies/practices essential for publically funded
collections & must be strengthened
• Economic value in downstream elements – value-added products
and services
• Broader stakeholder engagement needed, including the private
sector
• Strengthen policy linkages/mandates
• National, Regional and International collaboration is essential
Summary
Open worldwide to any non-commercial entity, individual or team (students, scientists and
developers) wanting to unleash the power of Earth Observation data
to allow us all to make smarter decisions.
Be inspired, unleash the power and win cash prizes ($20,000 USD).
Register by Thursday, 31 July 2014 and submit Apps by Sunday, August 31 2014.
Join in www.geoappathon.org
@geosec2025 #geoappathon
GEO-XI Plenary
13-14 November 2014
Libreville, Gabon
Barbara J. Ryan
bryan@geosec.org
http://www.earthobservations.org