NOAA Report David Clark NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC CEOS/WGISS 18 Beijing, China September 9, 2004

Updates and Status Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System (CLASS) Group on Earth Observations (GEO) NOAA Observing Systems Architecture (NOSA) electronic Geophysical Year (IGY)

CLASS Vision NOAA's National Data Centers and their world-wide clientele of customers look to CLASS as the sole NOAA IT infrastructure project in which all current and future large array environmental data sets will reside. CLASS provides permanent, secure storage and safe, efficient access between the Data Centers and the customers.

CLASS Overview CLASS is a web-based data archive and distribution system for ALL NOAA/NESDIS environmental data Archive … ingest, storage, metadata management, and data quality assurance Distribution … access, visualization, and data delivery CLASS currently supports POES, DMSP, and GOES data sets, plus RadarSat (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and SeaWiFS (Ocean Color Product) CLASS will support additional campaigns, broader user base, new functionality currently being defined –CLASS concurrently supports both ongoing operations and new requirements implementation

Boulder System Overview – Distributed Redundant Sites Ingest process Operational inventory Archiver Archive interchange Robotic storage Supplier Ingest process Operational inventory Archiver Archive interchange Robotic storage Suitland Asheville Operational datastore USER

Group on Earth Observations Update Development of a Global Observation System

Earth Observation Summit II 43 Ministers & Heads of Delegation in attendance 25 International Organizations represented Prime Minister Koizumi gave keynote on importance of observations to the global environment and economy Adopted Framework for Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), along with Ministerial Communiqué

GEOSS Will Be... Comprehensive –Includes observations & products gathered from all components Coordinated –Leverages contributing members resources to accomplish the system Sustained –By will & capacity of members A distributed system of systems –Addressing data utilization challenges –Facilitating/building on current & new capacity building efforts

GEOSS Architecture Earth System Models Oceans Ice Land Atmosphere Solid Earth Biosphere Earth Observation Systems Remotely-sensed In situ High Performance Computing, Communication, & Visualization Standards & Interoperability Observations Predictions Decision Support Assessments Decision Support Systems Policy Decisions Management Decisions Societal Benefits DATA Ongoing feedback to optimize value & reduce gaps GEOSS common approachesSystems within their mandates

GEO Process Developing the 10-Year Plan EOS-1 Declaration created ad hoc Intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) to develop a 10-Year Implementation Plan 48 Countries + EC & 29 International Organizations currently represented Four Intergovernmental Chairs: –Mr. Akio Yuki, Japan –Mr. Achilleas Mitsos, European Commission –Dr. Rob Adam, South Africa –VADM Conrad Lautenbacher, USN (Ret.), United States

GEO 5 November ’04, Ottawa, Canada Aggressive pace thus far; much to do To complete at GEO 5 –10 Year Implementation Plan (negotiated) –Technical Blueprint (not negotiated) –Communiqué of EOS-III (negotiated) GEO 5 meeting critical to progress –Only 75 days between GEO5 and Earth Observation Summit III to be held in Brussels, Belgium, February 2005

GEO-6 and EO Summit III GEO-6 Brussels, Belgium, February 14-15, 2005 Earth Observation Summit-III Brussels, Belgium February 16, 2005

Interagency Working Group on Earth Observations Mirrors International process – societal benefits –Benefits as drivers of process –5 teams – provide inputs into the US and intergovernmental technical reports which serve as the foundation for the plans Public Meeting held in June ’04 for technical review / comments on technical activity reports July 30 (anniversary of Earth Observation Summit I) scheduled release of first draft of US plan –Public comment period –Release of final US Plan by year’s end

NOAA Observing Systems Architecture NOSA - Building the Foundation for NOAA’s Integrated Environmental Observation and Data Management System

Integration of science data and NOSA Sea Surface Temperature and Ocean Observing Systems

Integrated Satellite and In-Situ Data Access

Argo Floats

Observation Density

Observation Density by Observing System

NOSA Geospatial Database Of the 98 Observing Systems in NOAAForge: 71 observing systems have geospatial data and are shown on the map 27 are still missing any geospatial information At least 10 layers are shown which are not on the NOAAForge list and are collaborations with other agencies

The Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) D.N. Baker, C. Barton, B. Fraser, V. Papitashvili, A. Rodger, B. Thompson, J.H. Allen, B. Arora, D. Kerridge, and Y. Kamide

IGY: International Geophysical Year Objectives: –Allowed scientists to participate in global observations of geophysical phenomena using common instruments and identical data processing –Gathered data on geophysical phenomena from around the world –Established the World Data Center system

International Year of Planet Earth – The International Union of Geosciences is leading the planning for the Planet Earth Program. Sponsored by the UN and UNESCO, Planet Earth will interpret the history of the Earth and use that knowledge as a basis for forecasting likely future events International Heliophysical Year – IHY will be sponsored by ICSU, with the goal of fostering international cooperation in the study of heliophysical phenomena now and in the future International Polar Year – IPY will be sponsored by ICSU, and will expand understanding of the key roles of the polar regions in the globally-linked environment Electronic Geophysical Year – The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics is sponsoring, and ICSU will endorse, the eGY to promote a revolution in geoscientific data availability and access worldwide. This is a coordinated international initiative, making full use of the capabilities offered by modern information management and digital communications. The US is an active partner and it is timely for agencies to have an influence on this planning Planning for International Programs

eGY Objectives Digitize and make available analog records Make existing data sets available –Free access to all Develop a system of Virtual Observatories Embrace and extend the IGY principles of data sharing and scientist involvement

Virtual Observatory Components Distributed databases accessed through a single portal Data Visualization Format Conversion Data Acquisition Location Discovery

Virtual Observatories The best way to describe a virtual observatory is to give an example. The Virtual Radiation Belt Observatory –Assemble data from all available sources Data from NOAA satellites (POES, GOES and NPOESS) Data from EUMETSAT satellites (MetOp) Data from NASA satellites (SAMPEX, POLAR) Data from DoD satellites (HEO, etc.) –Data Management System Local data servers provide data to global data servers which provide data in a standard data model to the applications software, the data assimilation model and to the physical models in response to requests This approach takes advantage of the SPIDR, ESG and CDAWeb systems operating at NGDC, AFCCC and NASA –Merge with data assimilation models and physical models Center for Integrated Space weather Models (CISM) funded by NSF Existing virtual observatory systems include the Virtual Solar Observatory, the Virtual Ocean Observatory, etc.

Virtual Radiation Belt Observatory Data system that meets engineering, operational, and scientific needs. –Climatology model for designing satellites. –Nowcasts/forecasts that provide situational awareness for satellite operators. –Long term archives of simulated and observed data for testing scientific theory. User Interface and Displays Near Real Time Data Long Term Archival Data Gateway to distributed data Climatology Models Nowcast/ Forecast Models GOES POES POES

A Concept of Carbon Cycle Virtual Observatory Dust from MODIS Fires and smoke plumes Distributed fossil fuel aerosols from nighttime lights Authoritative descriptions of radiative forcing by aerosols for climate studies requires disparate data sets to drive numerical models.

Virtual Observatories Access through a browser or an Application Programming Interface (API) “Small box” uses registry of XML data service schema to construct appropriate queries for each relevant data service API or browser can refine queries Final data transfer is direct to requestor (no middleman)

eGY Characteristics Timeliness: Virtual Observatory software becoming available Interdisciplinary: Data sharing and data accessibility common issues in all fields of geophysics Affordable: Simple technology Cost Effective: More/better science for money Inclusive: Opportunities for developed and developing countries Capacity Building: Provide relevant research experience for younger scientists Complementary to IPY and other I*Y initiatives