1. International and National Earth Observation Activities
Update to:
CEOS/WGISS
Glenn K. Rutledge
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Climatic Data Center
Tromso, Norway
May 13, 2004

2. President’s Statement
Our cooperation will enable us to develop the capability to predict droughts, prepare for weather emergencies, plan and protect crops, manage coastal areas and fisheries, and monitor air quality

3. The Earth Observation Summit
Washington, DC, July 31, 2003
Summit represented a high level governmental/political commitment to move toward a comprehensive, coordinated, global network:
Issued declaration to support this concept
Launched development of 10-year implementation plan
Established the Group on Earth Observations with US (NOAA) Co-Chair 3

4. Earth Observation Summit Declaration
Affirmed need for timely, quality, long-term, global information as a basis for sound decision making.
Recognized need to support:
Comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained Earth observation system or systems;
Coordinated effort to address capacity-building needs related to Earth observations;
Exchange of observations in a full and open manner with minimum time delay and minimum cost; and
Preparation of a 10-year Implementation Plan, building on existing systems and initiatives by European ministerial in late 2004
Established ad hoc Group on Earth Observations (GEO) to develop Plan
Invited other governments to join.

5. Participating Governments
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Belgium
Belize
Brazil
Cameroon
Canada
China
Cyprus
Denmark
Egypt
Finland
France
Gabon
Germany
Greece
India
Iran
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan, co-chair
Kazakhstan
Mexico
Morocco
Mozambique
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Portugal
Republic of the Congo
Republic of Korea
Russian Federation
South Africa, co-chair
Spain
Sudan
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States, co-chair
Uzbekistan
European Commission, co-chair

6. Participating International Organizations
Association for the Development of Environmental Information (ADIE)
Central American Commission for the Environment and Development (SICA/CCAD)
Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS)
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)
European Environmental Agency (EEA)
European Space Agency (ESA)
European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Global Climate Observing System (GCOS)
Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS)
Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS)
Integrated Global Observing Strategy Partnership (IGOS-P)
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
International Council for Science (ICSU)
International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP)
International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research (IGFA)
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
Network of European Meteorological Services/Composite Observing System (EUMETNET/EUCOS)
Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO)
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
World Bank (IBRD)
World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

7. The Earth Observation Summit Washington DC, July 31, 2003
The Summit represented a high level governmental/political commitment to move toward a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained global network:
Issued declaration to support this concept
Launched development of 10-Year Implementation Plan
Established the ad hoc intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) with 4 Co-Chairs:
U.S. – Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., Administrator National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
2) EC – Director General Achilleas Mitsos Directorate General for Research
3) Japan – Mr. Akio Yuki, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT)
4) South Africa – Dr. Rob Adam, Director-General, Department of Science and Technology

8. Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO)
Membership open to all countries
47 countries (including the EC) are now represented
International organizations are participants
26 organizations are now represented
Organized into 5 subgroups
Established GEO Secretariat
Established Implementation Plan Task Team

9. Definitions of Comprehensive, Coordinated, and Sustained
addresses a wide variety of decision makers and applications
encompasses in situ, mobile, airborne and satellite observations
includes future, current, and predecessor systems
Coordinated
leverages existing standards, policies, and programs worldwide
Sustained
addresses the need for continued, long-term financial and in-kind support for priority programs including both operational and relevant, agreed-upon research and development programs

10. Earth Observation System Components
Decision Support Tools
Assessments Decision Support Systems
Decision Support
Management Decisions
Policy Decisions
Societal Benefits
High Performance Computing, Communication, & Visualization Standards & Interoperability
Predictions
Observations
Monitoring & Measurements
remotely-sensed
in situ
Earth Science Models
Oceans
Ice
Land
Atmosphere
Solid Earth
Biosphere
Earth Observation Systems
Remotely-sensed
In situ
Earth System Models
DATA
On-going feedback to optimize value and reduce gaps

11. Group on Earth bservations GEO Structure GEO
US, EC, Japan, South Africa (Co-Chairs)
Architecture Subgroup
GEO Secretariat
(US providing
Administrative Secretariat,
with support
from other
countries and
international
organizations)
Capacity Building Subgroup
Data Utilization Subgroup
International Cooperation
Subgroup
User Requirements and
Outreach Subgroup

12. GEO Subgroup Co-Chairs
Group on Earth
bservations
GEO Subgroup Co-Chairs
GEO Architecture Subgroup
Brazil, France, Japan, United States, WMO, ESA
GEO Capacity Building Subgroup
Argentina, Belize/CCAD, Brazil, Israel, Republic of Congo, United States
GEO Data Utilization Subgroup
Brazil, Canada, United States, ECMWF
GEO User Requirements Subgroup
Canada, Italy, United Kingdom, CEOS
GEO International Cooperation Subgroup
Australia, United States, IOC

13. Implementation Plan Task Team
The Implementation Plan Task Team (IPTT) will draft the International 10-Year Implementation Plan
IPTT is made up of one representative nominated by each GEO Co-Chair:
European Commission, David Williams of EUMETSAT
Japan, Toshio Koike of Tokyo University
South Africa, Robert Scholes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
United States, Ivan DeLoatch of USGS

14. Group on Earth Observation (GEO) – Draft Timeline
= GEO Secretariat Meetings
= GEO Meetings planned
= GEO Meetings notional
= E.O. Summits A S O N D J F M
Earth Observation Summit-1 July 31, 2003 United States
Initial GEO Meeting—August 1-2, 2003
GEO-2 Italy
November 28-29, 2003
GEO-3 South Africa
February 25-27, 2004
Earth Observation Summit-2 April 25, 2004 Tokyo, Japan
GEO-4 Tokyo, Japan
April 22-23, 2004
GEO-5 Ottawa, Canada
October 2004
Earth Observation Summit-3 Brussels, Belgium February 2005
GEO-6 Brussels, Belgium
February 2005
2003
2004 14
2005
3/5/04

15. Implementation Plan Development
Group on Earth
bservations
Implementation Plan Development
Subgroups & Secretariat compose
Draft Framework Document
GEO 2
Work review
- ITALY -
Earth Obs Summit I
and GEO 1
- UNITED STATES -
Draft Framework Document components for GEO II
GEO Sub-Group
Chairs
Working Meeting & GEO-3
- SOUTH AFRICA -
Establishes
Architecture
Subgroup
GEO Secretariat
Data Utilization
Subgroup
Earth Obs
Summit II
and GEO-4
GEO Delivers Draft Framework Document for approval
- JAPAN -
Earth Obs Summit III
GEO-6 delivers Draft 10-year Plan
- EUROPE -
Capacity Building
Subgroup
User
Requirements &
Outreach
Subgroup
GEO-5 reviews
Draft 10-year
Plan
- Ottawa -
Implementation Plan Task Team
Draft 10-year Plan
Int’l Cooperation
Subgroup

16. Summary of Activities Group on Earth bservations Accomplishments GEO-1
Subgroups formed, TORs established
Subgroups began work by October 1, 2003
GEO-2
GEOSS - a system of systems
Existing individual observing systems remain within their mandates
New observing components and to exchange and disseminate observational data between those components
GEOSS participants agree on global interoperability specification
All individual observing components adhere

17. Summary of Activities Group on Earth bservations Accomplishments GEO-3
Draft Communiqué
Invites governing bodies of international and regional organizations sponsoring existing Earth observing systems to support GEO actions
Draft Frame Work Document
Notes WMO achievements and the need for advancements in other areas including WCRP, GOOS, ISDR, GCOS and IGOS Themes
New Implementation Plan Task Team (IPTT)
Four members – GEO Co chairs
Will prepare the 10-Year Implementation Plan
Capacity Building will initially focus on Education and Training

18. IPTT Group on Earth bservations Terms of Reference
to describe observational elements of GEOSS
to identify mechanism for determining observational gaps
to describe interfaces and interoperability interface
to describe the communications network for exchange of GEOSS observations
to define a set of geo-products which are to be considered as part of GEOSS
to describe specific mechanisms for capacity building in developing countries
to propose the basic time schedule for updating and evaluating 10 Year Plan
to establish performance measures of success in terms of societal benefits
to describe the modalities for the effective involvement of user communities

19. IPTT Group on Earth bservations Membership
One from each GEO Co Chair (only one identified to date)
Prof I. Koike, Univ. of Tokyo
Dr Williams – EC (EUMETSAT)
Dr Bob Scholes - South Africa
Schedule
Meeting during pre-sessions for GEO-4
High-level outline Framework Document completed and presented for approval at EOS II
Coordination
Close coordination with the Sub Groups

20. U.S. Plans

21. OSTP/OMB FY05 Budget Directives
“A key goal of the Administration’s R&D investments is to enhance capabilities to assess and predict key environmental systems.
“Assessment and prediction are important to improving our understanding of and ability to model climate change, but they also affect many other aspects of society, such as health, resource management, weather prediction, sustainable development, and economic prosperity.
“To this end, integrated, comprehensive, global observation systems are required for understanding, monitoring, and predicting changes to the Earth system (atmosphere, land, freshwater, ocean and ecosystems.)”
Linking Observations to Commerce: Example: Connecting obs to users at local level – including Houston/Galveston. Important: does not present global macro picture, but it does provide a sense of economic benefit.
Our economy relies upon the safe and efficient movement of goods and people. More than 95% of the goods in international commerce move by sea.
PORTS integrates real time data on winds, waves, water levels, currents, salinity, and other meteorological and oceanographic information and delivers nowcasts to mariners via phone or the internet in real time.
Important to safety. Provides accurate info for determining vessels’ draft and underkeel clearance. Every inch counts. One additional inch can mean more than $8,000 for a vessel carrying recycled paper and $50,000 if the cargo is meat.

22. and Technology Council
NSTC Structure
National Science
and Technology Council
Science Committee
Environment & Natural Resources Committee
Homeland & National Security Committee
Technology Committee
Subcommittee on Global Change Research
Air Quality Research Subcommittee
Interagency Working Group on Endocrine Disruptors
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Informatics Working Group
Ecological Systems Subcommittee
Toxics & Risk Assessment Subcommittee
Interagency Working Group on Mercury
Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction
Subcommittee on Oceans
(also reports to Committee on Science)
Subcommittee on Water Availability & Quality
Interagency Working Group on Earth Observations (IWGEO)
Subcommittee on Health and the Environment (also reports to Committee on Science and Commission on Homeland and National Security

23. Interagency Working Group on Earth Observations (IWGEO)
IWGEO reports to the White House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR)
15 agencies participate as members
CENR Subcommittee Co-chairs are ex officio members
Co-chairs
Ghassem Asrar, NASA
Cliff Gabriel, OSTP
Greg Withee, NOAA
5 Teams – mirror the GEO sub-group structure
Includes a planning and integration team for development of the US 10-year implementation plan

24. IWGEO Membership Co-Chairs
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Principals
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
Department of State
National Institutes for Environmental Health Studies
Principals (contd.)
National Institute for Standards and Technology
National Science Foundation
US Geological Survey
US Forest Service
Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Smithsonian Institute
Tennessee Valley Authority
White House Council on Environmental Quality
White House Office of Management and Budget
As you can see, we have made great strides in linking out technological abilities in observations to creating decision support tools to that benefit mankind.
This graphic illustrates our objective with the creation of such a system and it is one we are giving serious consideration in U.S. Government discussions on Earth observations.
The focus is really on the end product and we still have a long way to go to meet our end-users needs.
We still have a long way to go to meet the needs of our users. While my examples illustrate only a glimmer of what we can accomplish.

25. U.S. 10-year Implementation Plan
Focuses on societal benefits:
Reduce loss of life and property from disasters
Protect and monitor ocean resources
Understand climate, and assess and mitigate climate change impacts
Support sustainable agriculture and combat land degradation
Understand the effect of environmental factors on human health and promote well being
Develop the capacity to make ecological forecasts
Protect and monitor water resources
Will have flexibility to incorporate additional societal benefit areas
Will work to integrate these benefit areas with the international plan

26. IWGEO in the Year Ahead
Developing U.S. comments to international process
Developing U.S. 10-year Implementation Plan
Continuing to engage academic, industry, and non-profit partners to guarantee plan is comprehensive and useful
April and June workshops are being planned to coordinate expert input and comment
Industry alliance has been formed
Planning anniversary of Washington Summit event and roll-out of 10-year Implementation Plan for broad community review and comment
Continue education/outreach on the global initiative

27. Earth Observation Summit II
Ministers met for Earth Observation Summit II in Tokyo, Japan, on 25 April 2004, where they adopted the Framework Document for a 10-Year Implementation Plan for this initiative.
The plan itself will be presented at Earth Observation Summit III in February 2005.
For more information on GEO-IV and EOS II

29. Discussion 1 CEOS WGISS Input to GEO?
Data and System inter-operability required to meet objectives in GEO Framework Document
WGISS has worked to solve these very same issues
Pass this experience and lessons learned to Sub Groups
Develop a unified focus to address the GEO objectives
Several candidates already exist within CEOS WGISS:

30. Discussion 2 CEOS WGISS Input to GEO
Examples include (but not limited to):
NOMADS & CEOP (GDS, LAS, Web Portal, OPeNDAP)
IDN & ECHO
DIMS - ESA Service Support Environment
Geoconnections
Global Mapping
Data Portal Efforts and the Grid
As determined by WGISS

31. Open Discussion