Global Earth Observations and Scripps Institution of Oceanography Charles F. Kennel Director August 2004

Human Architecture Multi-Sensor Networks Cyber-Infrastructure Decision-Support Systems What is a Global Earth Observing System?

Human Architecture: International Framework G-8 Summit, Evian France, June 2, 2003 “ We will focus our efforts on … coordination of global observation strategies; … Earth Observation Summit, Washington, DC July 2003 “ We, … affirm the need for timely, quality, long-term, global information as a basis for sound decision making.” 48 countries members of GEO; 29 participating non-government organizations

Human Architecture The human architecture is developing, starting with government organizations representing producers of observing systems International framework for coordination is being developed Main participants are national governments supporting scientific programs Limited decision-support activities to date Participation of users at all levels will eventually be required

Multi-Sensor Networks Today Remotely sensed and in situ Spacecraft, aircraft, UAVs, ships, moorings, floats, Radars, lidars, physical, chemical and biological sensors… Oceans, atmosphere, land, ice Global to regional to local

Multi-Sensor Networks Tomorrow Today’s sensors and platforms require substantial infrastructure for power and communications Eventually, there will be hundreds of millions of “nano-sensors on cell-phones”

Cyber-Infrastructure Information management and architecture Communications Computing Modeling Visualization

Beyond Indicators to Decision-Support Tools If we connect GEO to effective decision support systems, then it will become a principal tool for achieving sustainability on a global scale. Photo credit: Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Project

The Internet: An Evolutionary Tale Phase 1: Early Internet (1970s) –Big servers and small number of clients –Government funded and controlled Phase 2: (late 1980s) –Distributed international network of largely scientific users Phase 3: Internet today –Hundreds of millions of users –Peer-to-peer –No centralized control –Use of a few powerful standards

Similar path for GEO? Phase 1: government operated networks between major installations Phase 2: distributed high-performance research network being established now Phase 3: work on miniaturization of sensors and distributed (Grid) computing; evolving to massive numbers of individual nodes

Human Architecture Needs to Evolve For the full array of environmental information –Phase 1: Government agencies in charge E.g., weather satellites, global weather models –Phase 2: Large sophisticated scientific and technology users engaged Regional forecast centers tied to universities looking at climate as well as weather –Phase 3: Broad user base with information products tailored to their needs and presented in their language Wide network of commercial value-added industries providing local forecasts for specific clients (frost warnings for citrus growers; snow forecasts for ski resorts; beach conditions, etc.)

New Management Concepts System of systems Multi-sector consortia Standards Interoperability Open communication Evolving, adaptive

Evolving Role of the Science Community Transferring designs, technologies, models, and tested systems to the public and private sectors Partnering in the governance and management of long-term observing and decision support systems Infusing new objectives and technologies into on-going systems Linking new capabilities to new users Research community is becoming more multi- disciplinary and service-oriented Originating science, creating models, & developing observing technologies Designing observing strategies and systems

Scripps Institution of Oceanography and GEO

The mission of Scripps is to seek, teach, and communicate scientific understanding of the oceans, atmosphere, Earth, and other planets for the benefit of society and the environment.

Scripps is … The UCSD Graduate School of Marine Science, with substantial undergraduate teaching A unique institution with breadth and depth across all Earth sciences, within a major research university Involved in international projects with 300+ institutions in 65 countries Operating a $140 million annual budget; mostly individual research grants to individual investigators, awarded on a competitive basis Responsible for 4 research ships, one research platform, fleet of remotely operated vehicles (ROV) & autonomous underwater vehicles(AUV), one spacecraft, collections, world’s largest oceanographic library, Birch Aquarium, Visualization Center, labs, engineering, test facilities, observatories

Education Programs PhD Concentrations Applied Ocean Sciences Integrated Ocean Science (Biological Oceanography& Marine Biology) Marine biodiversity & conservation Climate Sciences Geological Sciences Geophysics Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Physical Oceanography Significant undergraduate (Bachelor) teaching Earth Science Major Environmental Systems Major Masters in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

Basic research Basic research is a fundamental part of SIO’s mission We don’t know where curiosity-driven investigation will lead but we know it’s essential to progress Discovery for its own sake has value and contributes to society

Applied research Connecting with other disciplines –(e.g., economics, journalism, political science, engineering, health sciences, information technology …) Earth Observation Summit, July 2003 California Energy Commission Connecting with public and non-profit sector –science-based decision support Connecting with the private sector –“triple bottom line” - economy, environment, and society

Observations Ships Satellites Moorings Sensors Wireless communications Models Theory Applications End-to-End Research Capabilities

How Do We Connect? Collaborations with state and federal government & international organizations Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans

Scripps’ roles in GEO System design Sensor builder Data producer Value-added provider Science user Educator Communicator Government advisor Advocate

The Grand Convergence The convergence of earth science and information technology will lead to continuous awareness of earth’s systems and their interactions with human activities. We will use continuous awareness to manage our resources and environment, and our response to disasters Continuous awareness will promote integrated responses to emerging global environmental challenges

Conclusion As civilization becomes increasingly global and technologically sophisticated, our need for a global observing capability will grow. We are at the threshold of an endeavor that will span for the entire 21st century and beyond

1969 ARPANET commissioned by DoD for research into networking