Introduction to GEO/GEOSS and GEO Cold Region

Yubao Qiu GEO Secretariatyqiu@geosec.org

26 October 2012Beijing, China

U.S. Department of State,Washington DC July 31, 2003

GEO, the Group on Earth ObservationsAn Intergovernmental Organization with 89 Member Countries, the

European Commission and 64 Participating Organizations

There is a Need to coordinate observations and to Share all Earth Observation Data in Standard Interoperable Formats.

GEO members : space ability

Disaster EnergyEnergyClimateWater Health Weather Ecosystem Agriculture Biodiversity

GEO POs : Sci & Tec oriented

Disaster EnergyEnergyClimateWater Health Weather Ecosystem Agriculture Biodiversity

GEOSS: A Global, Coordinated, Comprehensive andSustained System of Observing Systems

Built from the expansion and interlinking of existing observation and information systems and the investments of Members and Participating Organizations in new systems.

How GEO works

• Coordinating activities of Members and Participating Organisations

• Supporting the development of capabilities for Observations, Processing and Information Dissemination

• Encouraging cross-cutting approaches

The GEO implementation tool is the Workplan

The GEO Workplan

To address targets of the Implementation Plan and track relevant progress, the main tool is a Workplan, approved every year by the GEO Plenary.

The Plan is structured in tasks encompassing all the SBA’s and the transverse areas leading to the progressive definition and implementation of GEOSS

Current Workplan is the 2012-2015, available at GEO website http://www.earthobservations.org/

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Aichi Biodiversity TargetsStrategic Goal A Strategic Goal B Strategic Goal C Strategic Goal D Strategic Goal E

Cross Cutting Area

Cold Region?

Working Plan 2012-2105

Target and Task

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Aichi Biodiversity TargetsStrategic Goal A Strategic Goal B Strategic Goal C Strategic Goal D Strategic Goal E

Working Plan 2012-2105

Target and Task

Global Issue: The Cryospheric Components

It includes snow, sea ice, lake and river ice, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, permafrost and seasonally frozen ground, and solid precipitation

Heritage: IGOS-P, IPY, GEO Tasks

By Jeff Key, 2010

“Legacy of the International Polar Year 2007-08”, AR-09-03b. (Subtask of AR-09-03: Advocating for Sustained Observing Systems)

Another subtask, “Accelerating the Implementation of the Global Climate Observing System” (CL-09-02), includes the Global Cryosphere Watch.

A few other tasks address snow and ice issues at least peripherally (e.g., CL-06-01, EC-09-01).

A contribution to GEOSS : The GCW - The cryosphere community of practice concept is part of the GCW strategy.

WP2012-2015: GEO - Information Services for Cold Region WP2012-2015: GEO - Information Services for Cold Region

Disaster EnergyEnergyClimateWater Health Weather Ecosystem Agriculture Biodiversity

Space Observations In-situ Measurements

Needs

Services

Observation Platform Coordination

Now : GEO Cold RegionContribution: Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, United States, IEEE, SAON, WMO, INTERACT, ICIMOD, CLIC…

In Work plan 2012-2015: Priority ActionsPromote the implementation of the SAON project (Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks; see also IN-01-C3-Promotion and Coordination across Surface-based and Space-based Observing Systems)GLIMS, GlobGlacier, and the National Snow and Ice Data Center. see also IN-01In-situ and remotely-sensed data measuring frozen ground, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, and snow. (incl. INTERACT, and etc)Link Polar Data Catalogue, National Snow and Ice Data Centre, and SAON through GEOSS interoperability standards (as part of GCW)

New Actions:Provide the CryoClim Cryospheric climate monitoring serviceIntegration of Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS) in GEOSSProviding the essential climate variable sea ice for the Arctic and the AntarcticSnow Cover mapping and experiment for the Tibetan Plateau Glacier dynamics mapping in Tibetan Plateau using satellite observations

PSTG…

GCW…

Global Initiatives:Arctic:SAONINTERACTAntarctic:…The third pole

CEOS IGOS-P Cryo.

GEO Web PortalRegional GEOSS

GEO Broker

Output:

1) Science-based vision2) User Driven3) Strategy Driven4) Development: suggestions

The way forward…?

Thank you!

GEO Cold Region: COLD-REGION@list.geosec.org