IEEE GEOSS Workshop – Implementing a System of Systems II

Implementing a System of Systems II – Advanced Communications and networking Technologies

IEEE GEOSS Workshop – Implementing a System of Systems II

This is the summary of a workshop  held in Honolulu, HA, USA on January 12, 2007. This one-day free workshop is focused on advanced communications and networking technologies for disaster management and relief in support of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). It is one of an ongoing series of IEEE-sponsored regional meetings across the globe in support of GEOSS*.

Background

The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is a complex system of sensors, communication devices, storage systems, computational and other devices used to observe the Earth and gather the data needed for a better understanding of the Earth’s processes. In addition, GEOSS includes models and processes to create information from the observational data. The 2003 Earth Observations Summit established the objective “to monitor continuously the state of the Earth, to increase understanding of dynamic Earth processes, to enhance prediction of the Earth system, and to further implement our international environmental treaty obligations”.

The GEOSS Implementation Plan states that GEOSS will provide the overall conceptual and organizational framework for integrated global Earth observations to meet user needs. GEOSS will be a “system of systems” consisting of existing and future Earth observation systems, supplementing but not supplanting their own mandates and governance arrangements. It will provide the institutional mechanisms for ensuring the necessary level of coordination, for strengthening and supplementing existing Earth observation systems, and for reinforcing and supporting component systems in carrying out their mandates.

The emphasis of GEOSS is on societal benefits, initially in nine key areas. Sound management of the Earth system, in both its natural and human aspects, requires information that is timely, of known quality, long-term, and global. Interpretation and use of Earth observations requires information on drivers and consequences of change, including geo-referenced socio-economic data and indicators. The nine areas addressed in the implementation plan are:

• Disasters: Reducing loss of life and property from natural and human-induced disasters
• Health: Understanding environmental factors affecting human health and well-being
• Energy: Improving management of energy resources
• Climate: Understanding, assessing, predicting, mitigating, and adapting to climate variability and change
• Water: Improving water resource management through better understanding of the water cycle
• Weather: Improving weather information, forecasting and warning
• Ecosystems: Improving the management and protection of terrestrial, coastal and marine resources
• Agriculture: Supporting sustainable agriculture and combating desertification
• Biodiversity: Understanding, monitoring and conserving biodiversity
All of the above societal benefit areas of the Implementation Plan are important for this IEEE GEOSS Workshop, which will focus on implementing the system of systems that is GEOSS. GEOSS Communications for Disaster Management and Relief Advanced communications systems that provide rapid dissemination of GEOSS information and related networking technologies are critical for meeting the requirements of GEOSS. The relevant communications technology areas include (but are not limited to) satellite communications, ad hoc and sensor communications and networking, free-space optical (FSO) communications systems, broadband wireless networks, communications protocols and communications standards.

These technologies are essential for mitigation of disasters and supporting post-disaster relief efforts. Key representatives from industry, academia, and government will be providing invited talks on these and related issues that impact GEOSS implementation for disaster mitigation and relief.

About this Workshop

The “IEEE GEOSS Workshop – Implementing a System of Systems” is a dialogue for those interested in the engineering of GEOSS. Key engineering challenges will be highlighted at the workshop and an informal environment will be provided for exchange of implementation ideas and to make recommendations. To facilitate this exchange, the workshop will provide an overview of the GEOSS architecture and participants will be encouraged to develop consensus recommendations. Recommendations of the IEEE GEOSS Workshop will be available to the GEO committees formulating GEOSS through the ICEO GEOSS committee representatives. In summary, the workshop is a forum for users to interact with technologists to address the engineering challenges of an enabling system of systems for Earth data and information for the benefit of society.

The GEOSS workshop will be held in immediately preceding and in association with the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) 2008 conference “Telecom with a Vision (PTC`08),” located at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii, January 13-16 2008. For more information on the GEOSS workshop contact either of the workshop organizers:

- Adam Livne – Technion, Asher Space Research Institute and IEEE ComSoc (a.livne@ieee.org)
- Al Gasiewski – University of Colorado and ICEO (al.gasiewski@colorado.edu)* GEOSS (the Global Earth Observation System of Systems) reflects a global scientific and political consensus that information vital for societies requires comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained Earth observations. The GEOSS 10 Year Implementation Plan is directed by the Group on Earth Observations, an intergovernmental organization comprised of 72 countries, the European Commission, and 46 international organizations. (see http://earthobservations.org/ )