1. ESA-FAO GEOPortal STATUS & PLANS www.geoportal.org
ADC 8 Meeting
Boulder, September 2008
M. Albani

2. Contents GCI Introduction ESA/FAO GEOPortal Current Status
ESA Participation to AIP Phase 2
GEOPortal
FEDEO EO Community Clearinghouse
Service Support Environment
Conclusions

3. The Picture
Say it is from CFP

4. GEOSS Common Infrastructure
GEO Web Portal: Single access point to EO information and services.
GEOSS Clearinghouse (AIP Phase 2 CFP definition): allows to search metadata on data, services, documents, ontologies, coordinate reference systems, and other resource types nominated within GEOSS via several interfaces with catalogues, databases, etc.
Searchable via API from external clients such as the GEO Web Portal through a standard interface (OGC CSW 2.0.2)
Registries: to register services/components that will be then accessible through the GEOPortal (via the Clearinghouse if needed or via Community Portals depending on the type of component/service).
Standards/requirements registries, Wiki.

5. ESA/FAO GEOPortal (1) Developed by ESA in collaboration with FAO.
Currently operational and available on line at the link:
One of the three candidates developed in response to a set of requirements from the GEOsec for the implementation of a GEO Web Portal serving the GEO User Community.
Part of the GEOSS Common Infrastructure currently in the Initial Operational Capability phase. 5

6. ESA/FAO GEOPortal (2)
Based on Open Source components, it can be freely installed and configured at GEO members’ premises.
It can be configured to create for example a Portal for a specific SBA.
A gateway to Global Earth Observation data, information and services that are of interest to the GEOSS user community.
It complements Community Portals and other Portals operated by GEO Members and Participating Organizations and does not belong to any single member or organization.
The GEOportal contains today more components/services and information than the one available in the registries (additional info is routinely added for new registered and non registered components/services, content management).

7. ESA/FAO GEOPortal Services
Based on the GEO recommended standards and following the Geospatial Portal Reference Architecture of the OGC the GEOPortal provides a variety of services:
Geospatial Portal Service providing interfaces to users for viewing, discovering data, information & services available in GEOSS.
Portrayal Viewer Service allowing the display and handling of maps and context information from various sources through WMS services.
Interfaces to Catalogue Services of the GEOSS Clearinghouse, allowing distributed catalogue search in an interoperable manner.
Browse through a comprehensive directory of service providers.
Retrieval of Earth observation education, training and capacity building resources.

8. High-level structure of the information according to the nine GEO societal benefit areas, SBAs.
Access to different types of information primary via Societal Benefit Area selection and Geographical selection.

9. ESA/FAO GEOPortal Current Status
Operations and content management secured with same service level as other ESA web portals:
Operations of the technical infrastructure of the underlying GEOPortal system.
Maintenance of the information contained locally within the GEOPortal and insurance of the consistency of the links and interfaces to GEOSS.
Any resource newly available to GEOSS will be accessible through the GEOPortal (coupled to the GEOSS Clearinghouses and GEOSS Registries).
Already widely used: thousands of visits per month from many countries around the world.
Resources including the ones proposed and implemented in the framework of GEO activities (i.e. output of GEO tasks and pilots)

10. Next steps: ESA Participation to AIP Phase 2
Proposal submitted in cooperation with several partners, aiming at augmenting the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) and at supporting the current GCI IOC phase, three different contributions.
GEOPortal in cooperation with FAO.
Maintenance of the current capabilities and functionalities (both operationally and in terms of content management).
Consolidation and further integration of communities portals, information systems, datasets and services in support to GEO Secretariat and to respond to GEO Societal Benefit Areas needs.
Addition of new functionalities or improvement of the available ones.
Consolidation of interoperability and interfaces with GEOSS Clearinghouses and registries.
Feedback and needs from GEOSS User community, IOC Task Force and GEO Secretariat will be the main driver for the evolution of the GEOPortal.
in coordination with other space agencies through the Ground Segment Coordination Body and

11. Next steps: ESA Participation to AIP Phase 2
FedEO EO Community Clearinghouse in cooperation with Eumetsat, International Charter “Space and Major Disasters”, CNES.
Allows distributed catalogue search of EO data and products using the interoperability protocols defined for GMES (now Kopernikus) in the Heterogeneous Mission Accessibility project (HMA), promoted in the FedEO AIP Phase 1 pilot and actually OGC standards.
Several EO mission owners will be (or are) implementing the HMA standard based interfaces.
High quality metadata can be provided to users through the GEOPortal interface.
Main activities will be to improve and consolidate the prototype developed in the AIP Phase 1 FedEO initiative and to increase the number of EO catalogues accessible through it.
with the inherent advantages deriving from these standard interfaces that were specifically defined for EO data.
GMES, European Contribution to GEOSS

12. FedEO EO Community Clearinghouse

13. Next steps: ESA Participation to AIP Phase 2
SSE – Workflow, Conformance Testing and Test Environment.
Support the creation of new GEOSS services and the development of scenarios relevant to the different SBAs.
Allows to test HMA and OGC standard based interfaces (for catalogues, orders, processing and access to the data) to ensure proper and interoperable use of GEOSS components and services.
with the inherent advantages deriving from these standard interfaces that were specifically defined for EO data.
Dedicated Catalogue
Test Client

15. Context of ESA AIP Phase 2 Contributions

16. Conclusions
As part of the GCI IOC, the ESA/FAO GEOPortal already constitutes a main access point to worldwide information on Earth Observation capabilities and services.
ESA proposal for AIP Ph2 consists of an environment where:
New GEOSS services can be built and GEOSS components can be tested with respect to a set of consolidated HMA and OGC standard based interfaces.
Access is provided to catalogue services with the standard interfaces.
Access to GEOSS resources and data is provided to the GEOSS User community.
ESA has secured the operations and content management of the GEOPortal including improvements and upgrades.
Feedback and needs from GEOSS User community, IOC Task Force and GEO Secretariat will be the main driver for the evolution of the GEOPortal.

17. Contacts Mirko Albani (ESA), Mirko.Albani@esa.int
Jolyon Martin (ESA),
Pier Giorgio Marchetti (ESA),
GEOPortal:
Service Support Environment: