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Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Foreword by Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Introduction by José Achache,
Director, Secretariat, Group on Earth Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Preface by Mosibudi Mangena,
Minister of Science & Technology, Republic of South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Statement from Dr Zheng Guoguang,
Co-Chair, Group on Earth Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Statement from Janez Potocnik,
European Commissioner for Science and Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Statement from Dr Phil Mjwara, Director-General, Department of
Science & Technology, Republic of South Africa and GEO Co-Chair . . . . . . . .9
Statement from VADM Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., US Navy (Ret.),
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and
US Co-Chair, GEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Statement from Wolfgang Tiefensee,
German Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs . . . . . . .14
Statement from Cristina Narbona, Minister of Environment, Spain . . . . . . .15
Statement from Dr Keiji Tachikawa,
President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Statement from Jean-Jacques Dordain,
Director-General of the European Space Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Statement from Michel Jarraud,
Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization . . . . . . . . . . . .18
I
N
ATIONAL
& R
EGIONAL
R
EPORTS
Delivering GEOSS – the value and the vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Dr Susan L. Barrell, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
Coordinating GEO in Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
The Canadian Group on Earth Observations
Chinese space-based Earth observation
system – a contribution to GEOSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
China Meteorological Administration
Getting the full picture: the European Commission and GEOSS . . . . . .30
European Commission
GMES and GEOSS: towards a new era in Earth observation . . . . . . . . . .34
V. Liebig, Director, ESA Earth Observation Programmes
Implementing GEOSS in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Jörn Hoffmann, D-GEO Secretariat, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Space
Agency
Earth observations – JAXA’s role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Kazuo Umezawa, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Earth observation in South Africa – an increasingly pivotal function . . .42
Department of Science and Technology
The INM’s Izaña Atmospheric Research Centre,
a GEO-oriented experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Emilio Cuevas, Director, Izaña Atmospheric Research Centre, Instituto Nacional
de Meteorologia (INM), Spain
GISTDA’s viewpoint towards GEOSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Dr Thongchai Charuppat, Director, GISTDA
The UK piece of the GEO puzzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Mark Churchyard and Ruth Kelman, BNSC Partnership
United States Group on Earth Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Gene Whitney, OSTP; Teresa Fryberger, NASA; Helen Wood, NOAA
II
T
HE
G
LOBAL
E
ARTH
O
BSERVATION
S
YSTEM OF
S
YSTEMS
C
OMPONENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Observing Systems
More ‘eyes in the skies’ provide a full picture: a report
from the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) . . . . . . . . .58
Barbara J. Ryan, US Geological Survey (2007 CEOS Chair); Timothy S.
Stryker, US Geological Survey; Rebecca L. Johnson, Science Applications
International, contractor to the US Geological Survey
The Sensor Web: GEOSS’s foundation layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Ingo Simonis, GEO Spatial Research
GCOS, a system of systems for the global
observation of climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Gilles Sommeria, GCOS Secretariat; John W. Zillman, Chairman, GCOS
Steering Committee and David Goodrich, Director, GCOS Secretariat
Argo – a global ocean observing system for the 21st century . . . . . . . . .67
Howard Freeland, Institute of Ocean Sciences/Fisheries and Oceans Canada;
Dean Roemmich, Scripps Institute of Oceanography; John Gould, National
Oceanography Centre, and Mathieu Belbéoch, Argo Technical Coordinato
r
The blue planet – observations of the global ocean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
D. James Baker, Tom Gross and Howard S. J. Roe, Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and Partnership for Observation
of the Global Ocean; the GOOS writing team
Why the world needs a Global Ocean Observing System . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Keith Alverson, Chief of Ocean Observations and Services, IOC/UNESCO
Toward a global biodiversity observation network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Bruno A. Walther and Anne Larigauderie, DIVERSITAS, Muséum National
d’Histoire Naturelle; Neville Ash, UNEP-WCMC; Gary N. Geller, NASA
Ecological Forecasting Program; Norbert Jürgens, University of Hamburg;
Meredith A. Lane, Global Biodiversity Information Facility Secretariat
Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Ira Rubinoff, Smithsonian Institution, Office of the Undersecretary for Science;
Eldredge Bermingham and Charles Lydeard, Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute; Stuart J. Davies, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Arnold
Arboretum, Harvard University
European geological surveys and GEOSS – observing the
Earth beneath our feet: why does it matter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Patrice Christmann, Secretary-General, EuroGeoSurveys
NSF’s observing systems: platforms for
large-scale environmental research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Arden Bement, Jr., Director; James Collins, Assistant Director for Biological
Sciences; Jeannette Wing, Assistant Director for Computer and Information
Sciences and Engineering; Richard Buckius, Assistant Director for Engineering;
Jarvis Moyers, Acting Assistant Director for Geosciences; David Lightfoot,
Assistant Director for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; Daniel Atkins,
Director, Office of Cyberinfrastructure; Karl Erb, Director, Office of Polar
Programs; Kathie Olsen, Deputy Director, US National Science Foundation
New marine observing systems around Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Geoff Brundrit and Stewart Bernard, GOOS Africa; Mika Odido, ODINAfrica
and Lucy Scott, ACEP
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