1. CEOS Ad Hoc Working Group on GEOGLAM
Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
CEOS Ad Hoc Working Group on GEOGLAM
B. Doorn (NASA), S Cherchali (CNES)
CEOS SIT-33
Session 6 and Agenda Item 6.5
Boulder, CO, USA
24 – 25 April 2018

2. GEOGLAM Maturity and Viability
Well supported GEO Flagship with strong policy mandate and broad agriculture network
Project Office supported within GEO Sec for at least 2-3 years (sources growing: Germany, Canada, China, US)
Explicit priority on EO coordination and an active EO point of contact (Boulder’s own Alyssa Whitcraft)
G-20 Ministerial profile
GEOGLAM AHWG EO coordination needs highly complementary with other CEOS efforts
Acquisitions
Data products (e.g. optimised ARD formats)
Tools (e.g. Data Cube)
Community (e.g. LSI-VC, SDCG, Leadership forums, Disasters, Capacity Building)

3. GEOGLAM: Continued Strong Mandate
Strong Support from G20
2017 Re-endorsement; 2018 pending
GEOGLAM prepared Stocktaking Report
Contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Short Term: Highlight existing contributions to meeting and monitoring progress toward goals, targets, and indicators
Medium & Long Term:
Quantitative metrics from R&D activities
Work with Custodial Agencies (UN) to advocate for geospatial metrics
Target national-level reporting agencies to increase EO-stats communication
Strengthen international cooperation and identify institutional homes for activities

4. EO Data Coordination Central to GEOGLAM

5. computational environments, capacity, communication, interoperability;
Agri-4: CEOS Strategic Response to GEOGLAM Requirements Changing EO Landscape
In 2012, the first CEOS Strategic Response was constrained by acquisition of data at appropriate resolutions
Currently, the AHWG deliverable is a “refresh” of the 2012 Strategic Response and now the response includes data access and use:
computational environments, capacity, communication, interoperability;
multi-sensor solutions are common;
in-situ agriculture validation data are a constraint to EO adoption.

6. Original group – many familiar faces
The original group (2012)
GEOGLAM CEOS Workshop on OBSERVATION REQUIREMENTS CSA, Montreal July 10-11, 2012
Original group – many familiar faces
Tabulating the satellite observation requirements
(spatial resolution, frequency, and period of coverage)
for GEOGLAM
16 participants

7. 2018 GEOGLAM Requirements Group More diverse, greater numbers –
GEOGLAM CEOS Workshop on Operational User Requirements
EC JRC, DG GROW Support, Ispra April 2018
More diverse, greater numbers –
representative of growing community
priorities and visibility of EO in key decision making processes
~40 participants

8. GEOGLAM Requirements Timeline
2010 Defourny Diagram
Conceptual requirements
GEOGLAM Reqs v1
Spatially explicit requirements by product/ variable and by sensor type
R&D-driven Refresh
Question template to R&D sites
New variables
Minimum vs. preferred
2017
CEOS SIT TW
Discussion of R&D results, recognition of need for operational perspective
State of use information
2018
JRC
Survey deployed
National Users
Regional Users
Global Users
Platforms for Use

9. Outcomes of the Meeting (Preview)
State of Use of EO Data by Operational Entities
National, regional, global monitoring agencies
Identifying current gaps in acquisition
Updating GEOGLAM EO Requirements Table
Data Access, Storage, Processing, and Utilization Requirements
Inventory of modalities – tools, processors, and ICT
Huge demand for cloud solutions from all countries
Digital Belt & Road Agriculture Meeting, GEOGLAM ExCom Meeting, and GEOGLAM Annual Meeting on Cloud Infrastructure and Knowledge Management. – Aug 2018, Beijing, China
Identification of synergies between different ICT systems
Identification of key priority for multifaceted capacity development and operationalization approach
Broad GEOGLAM Programmatic Direction
Consensus to strengthen within-GEOGLAM Thematic Coordination Team on EO data coordination (enhanced feedback to CEOS)

10. CEOS Issues (Preview) GENERAL
(lack of) in situ data is a critical challenge for operational uptake of EO
CEOS/Space Agency role in ground observation networks
GEOGLAM & CEOS could work together on quality control to advise users on data adoption (e.g. CEOS  data (ARD, MRI efforts); GEOGLAM  articulation of product metadata; storage/curation in KMS)
Continued interest in access to archival data from CEOS agencies
Interoperability with historical data a key focus to derive maximum value from m data
Need for help to develop “standard agricultural products” – such as NDVI, ET.
(WG Cal/Val)
GEOGLAM focus on thematic datasets for agriculture (beyond surface reflectance, gamma/sigma naught) – products & tools
(LSI-VC)
Coordination across GEOGLAM activities after planning with target audience is critically important to partners in developing countries.
(WG CapD)

11. Next Steps for Agri-4 Deliverable
Continue collecting survey responses (opportunity to expand CEOS-curated questions on ARD, MRI, etc.)
Integrate JRC Workshop presentations, survey responses, and breakout group summaries
Generate Final Requirements Document
 A resource to CEOS to understand GEOGLAM’s near, medium, and long-term needs
State of Operational Use of EO
State of R&D ( surveys; updates from research community at JECAM Annual Meeting, Sep 2018, Chinese Taipei)
Challenges and ways forward.
Present summary to CEOS at Plenary 2018

12. AHWG Lifecycle - General Views
CEOS needs a responsive capability to address emerging topics which may not require permanent / structural support
CEOS ad hoc WG lifecycle could be coupled to the CEOS Work Plan horizon
i.e. 3-year initial lifespan with 3-yearly reviews
Structure annual Plenary item around reporting
Permanent status/presence may help with attracting CEOS contributions to Agriculture research and applications
AHWG is currently seeking expanded membership and more comprehensive engagement with CEOS agency activities

13. Lifecycle - GEOGLAM Ad Hoc WG Views
AHWG prefers to focus on maintaining and improving outcomes
Support agriculture as a space agency priority
Consolidate EO for agriculture/food security programs supported by space and agriculture agencies
Better connect the agriculture community in EO activities
Better connect space data provider activities to agriculture community
Organizational nature of AHWG’s within CEOS should be decided by CEOS leadership.
We are coordinating with LSI-VC at joint meetings.
Expect continued and increased coordination and representation with other CEOS activities
e.g. WG CapD, SDG AHWG, and others

14. Questions?