The Full Picture

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Understanding the full extent of data and systems available

(and needed) for sharing

– observations systems, data-

bases, metadata, information systems, derived

information and products, etc.

Data policy framework

– data exchange, sharing, access,

publication, forwarding, cost (free and unrestricted vs.

charge for use)

Mapping and grids for geographic referencing of data

–

such as spatially distributed (e.g. satellite imagery),

point-value data (e.g. in situ surface-based instrumen-

tation) and trajectories (e.g. disease vectors)

Standards

– for observations, data and metadata

formats, storage, transmission, etc.

Data access mechanisms

– such as web-based portals

and information access interfaces. Recognizing there

will be a range of technical sophistication amongst

members contributing and accessing data

Infrastructure for data access

– e.g. low cost satellite

reception, bandwidth-friendly communications

Data and database management systems

– shared and/or

interoperable

Methodologies and assimilation systems

– for mixing data

of different spatial and temporal characteristics, as well

as spatial and point data, real-time and historical data

Guidance and standards for digitization of paper records

– to optimize electronic cataloguing and availability of

data, and to support effective data rescue programmes

Capacity building requirements

– to enable benefits of

GEOSS to be exploited for decision making; training in

lishment of new systems, but the ownership of those systems remains

with the members or groups of members.

A fundamental contribution of GEOSS, and the area where it can

add unique value, is through the definition of an effective interop-

erability framework through which the data from the various

systems, disciplines, earth system regimes and socio-economic

benefit areas can be exchanged, shared, integrated, distributed and

– critically – used. Even within individual socio-economic benefit

areas, the challenge of bringing together regional and global commu-

nities to harness experience, to develop common solutions to shared

problems, or to implement successful practices and systems in less

developed countries, will require a robust common operating frame-

work. To share data between entirely different user communities is

an even greater challenge, but the rewards of addressing the cross-

disciplinary nature of GEOSS successfully would be immense.

An interoperability framework is much more than defining

common data formats and protocols. It is much more than defining

a geospatial reference framework against which spatially distributed

and point-value data can be mapped. An effective interoperability

framework will take into account not just the characteristics of the

data, but the characteristics of the systems themselves, the owners

of the systems, the rationale for gathering the data, and the require-

ments of the existing and potential users of the data.

It follows, therefore, that an effective GEOSS interoperability

framework will be complex and multidimensional, and it will evolve

as the envelope of membership, systems and users expands. Some

key aspects that need to be considered in defining an interoper-

ability framework include:

Understanding user needs and capabilities

– for using and accessing data

The Willis Island Observing Office, which is operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, is illustrative of the

many dimensions of meteorological observations, from early warning of tropical cyclones to global climate monitoring

Photo: Roger Meagher

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