Earth observation, which refers to the collection, measurement, processing, modeling and dissemination of data, can greatly enhance our knowledge of the Earth and how it functions. Earth observations consist of studying the Earth’s air, water and land by conducting ground, airborne or space-based observations. Data are collected using satellites, sensors, buoys, weather stations, seismometers, gages and other devices. [1]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies several tools for processing the collected data. These tools include measurement and monitoring, modeling, environmental decision support tools, and other programs to observe air and water and to promote land preservation and restoration, healthy communities and ecosystems and compliance and stewardship.

In addition to collecting and processing environmental data, the information must be properly maintained and disseminated in order to be useful to the world community. The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is an ad hoc intergovernmental organization formed during the first Earth Observation Summit (July 31, 2003) to develop a plan for implementing an integrated earth observation system-the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The goal of GEOSS is to provide coordinated, comprehensive, sustained observations of the Earth’s systems.

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a GEO participant, researches and gathers data about global oceans and the atmosphere and operates the U.S. system of environmental satellites. Information gathered through NOAA’s El Nino ocean observing and forecasting system alone provides an annual economic return of 13 to 26% to the U.S. [2] Connecting U.S. earth observation systems with systems of other countries can provide global economic, environmental and social benefits.

GEOSS’s 10-Year Implementation Plan states that understanding the earth’s systems is critical to enhance human health, safety and welfare, alleviate human suffering including poverty, protect the global environment, reduce disaster losses, and achieve sustainable development. [3] Integrating information from disparate resources from around the globe can lead to increased understanding of the workings of the Earth and enhanced knowledge of how we are affected by nature’s processes and how our actions might be affecting the Earth’s systems.

Nine areas of societal benefits are the focus of GEOSS, an association made up of 64 member countries and the European Union and more than 40 international organizations. The areas of potential benefits to the world community include:

• 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. [3]

The 2006 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium featured a full day workshop covering two of the nine areas of societal benefits-air quality and climate.

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is working to establish a global early warning system, the Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean. Through a coordinated network of systems consisting of enhanced seismographic networks, networks of real-time sea-level gauges and deep-sea ocean pressure sensors, along with national tsunami warning centers linked to national disaster management systems, the organization aims to mitigate the disastrous effects of Indian Ocean earthquakes and tsunamis. [4]

Researchers at the Space Science Institute are expanding knowledge of planetary workings and further connecting the system of systems by studying weather beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Current research includes studies of seasonal changes on Uranus and Neptune, star birth, and imaging science for the Cassini mission to Saturn.

Among other research areas, the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), a research institute jointly sponsored by NOAA and the University of Colorado at Boulder, focuses on environmental observations, modeling and forecasting. In situ and satellite measurements are gathered to better understand the Earth as a integrated system by using modeling and data analysis to increase understanding of how polar regions affect and respond to climate change in other regions.

References
[1] Group on Earth Observations http://www.earthobservations.org/index.html.
[2] National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. “Earth Observation System Will Revolutionize Understanding Of How Earth Works U.S. Spearheads Global Initiative.”
[3] “The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) 10-Year Implementation Plan."
[4] UNESCO. “The Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System: one year after.”