1. Global Earth Observation System of Systems Carla Sullivan Senior Policy Advisor National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration North America Land Cover Summit September 20, 2006 Carla Sullivan Senior Policy Advisor National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration North America Land Cover Summit September 20, 2006 The Role of Land Observations

2. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 2 GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of Systems A distributed system of systems Improves coordination of strategies and observation systems Links all platforms: in situ, aircraft, and satellite networks Identifies gaps in our global capacity Facilitates exchange of data and information Improves decision-makers’ abilities to address pressing policy issues

3. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 3 Provide the right information, in the right format, at the right time, to the right people, to make the right decisions.

4. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 4 National and International Coordination INTERNATIONAL Adopted formal GEO organization and 10-year implementation plan Held GEO I in May 2005, and GEO II in December 2005 Selected new GEO Secretariat Director, Jose Achache Accepted 2006 Work Plan, adopted a budget and formally created GEO Committees Architecture and Data; Capacity Building; Science and Technology; User Interface; and Working Group on Tsunami Activities NATIONAL US Strategic Plan provides the framework for the US contribution to GEO USGEO tracking US activities to GEO WorkPlan USGEO focusing on 6 Near-Term Opportunities Disasters Drought / National Integrated Drought Information System Land Observation Air Quality Sea Level Data Management

5. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 5 Global Earth Observation System of Systems Integrated Observations & Data Management

6. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 6 GEOSS Benefits: 2006 Work Plan Tasks Disasters Encourage in-situ and space agencies to (i) systematically record data over coastal regions subject to tsunami risk, and (ii) archive data in a form easily accessible to all countries. Building on existing techniques, create a plan for the production in coastal zones of high-resolution (i) near-shore bathymetric maps, (ii) land use/land cover maps, and (iii) digital elevation models.

7. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 7 GEOSS Implementation: Used for Disaster Recovery Land remote sensing data used after Hurricane Katrina New Orleans after flooding

8. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 8 GEOSS Benefits: 2006 Work Plan Tasks Energy Conduct a survey and assessment of energy management needs in terms of Earth observations (in-situ, airborne, and space-based) and products in cooperation with national energy agencies and associations, focusing on gaps and requirements for new observations. Initiate and maintain a dialogue between decision-support tool providers and energy production & distribution managers to identify requirements for the development of improved and/or new tools. Climate Establish actions securing the provision of key data for climate studies and forecasting from satellite systems. Consolidate the role of existing intergovernmental mechanisms for terrestrial observations needed for climate studies and forecasting. Develop a framework for the preparation of guidance materials, standards, and reporting guidelines for terrestrial observing systems for climate and associated data, metadata, and products to expand the comprehensiveness of current networks, facilitate exchange of data, and provide strategic direction to the terrestrial climate sector.

9. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 9 Intersection: GEOSS Benefit Areas Climate Variations Affect Other Benefit Areas NOAA’s Satellite Views of El Niño

10. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 10 GEOSS Benefits: 2006 Work Plan Tasks Agriculture Consult with scientists and experts from the fisheries, aquaculture, coastal zone management and Earth observation communities at international and regional levels to identify opportunities for enhanced utilization of Earth observations in fisheries and aquaculture. Utilizing global and regional high-resolution land-cover datasets (e.g. GLOBCOVER) and earlier 1-km resolution land cover data sets (e.g. Global Land Cover 2000), implement production of a high-resolution global land-cover change dataset and report. Propose mechanisms for regular analysis and reporting on land cover change building on current efforts and promulgate the use of these products, especially in developing countries. Initiate an international assessment effort on forests and forest changes utilizing ongoing land cover mapping projects (e.g. GLOBCOVER). Ensure application of standardized classifications and harmonization of existing datasets. Advocate funding for demonstration projects to produce global irrigated area/crop production datasets and promulgate sustained monitoring efforts utilizing the validated methodologies.

11. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 11 GEOSS Implementation National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Goal: To enable the Nation to move from a reactive to a more proactive approach to droughts. www.westgov.org/wga/publicat/nidis.pdf

12. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 12 Monitoring 7 years of drought in the Horn of Africa from NOAA Operational Polar- Orbiting Satellites GEOSS Implementation Drought Monitoring in Africa Sensor: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)

13. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 13 GEOSS Implementation GeoNetcast Communication & Delivery Implementation of GEONetCast: Open exchange of data and information Worldwide information distribution Role of members in participating organizations Implementation of GEONetCast: Open exchange of data and information Worldwide information distribution Role of members in participating organizations

14. GEOSS: The Role of Land Observations 14 Norway Paraguay Philippines Portugal Republic of Korea Republic of the Congo Russian Federation Slovak Republic Slovenia South Africa Spain Sudan Sweden Switzerland Thailand Tunisia Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom United States Uzbekistan 65 Countries and the European Commission and 43 Organizations Algeria Argentina Australia Bahrain Belgium Belize Brazil Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chile China Croatia Cyprus Denmark Egypt European Commission Finland France Germany Guinea-Bissau Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Ireland Israel Italy Japan Kazakhstan Latvia Luxembourg Malaysia Mali Mauritius Mexico Morocco Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Niger Nigeria www.earthobservations.org