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CONTENTS
Report from the 9th CEOS Plenary in Canada---This page
Australian
Research Agency Chairs CEOS
CEOS Working
Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS)
CEOS and Ocean
Color
What is the
international Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research (IGFA)
The Centre
for Earth Observation (CEO) Technical Activities in the CEOS
Framework
Framework/CEOS
Holds First Open ForumsNews Highlights/ Meeting Calendar
Summary of
User Requirement Workshop
1993 CEOS
Meeting Calender
Report from the 9th CEOS Plenary in Canada
Garry M.Lindberg
Vice President,Corporate Development,Canadian Space Agency(CSA)
The ninth CEOS Plenary meeting was held in Saint-Hubert,Canada on October
11-13,1995.The meeting was hosted by the Canadian SpaceAgency (CSA),the
1995CEOS Chair.A total of 79 participants representing 26 organizations
attended the meeting.
Dr.Garry Lindberg,CEOS Chairman 1995,opened the Plenary and introduced
Mr.Mac Evans,President of CSA. In his welcome speech Mr.Evans noted the
considerable growth of CEOS since 1988 when he had chaired the first Plenary
in Canada. Mr. Evans said that the creation of CEOS in 1984 had forecast
the needs of the nations of the world and that it gives him pleasure to
see the importance that the nations of the world attribute to this activity.
He emphasized that EO is a priority area of the Canadian Space Program
and that the CSA will continue to support the actions and initiatives of
CEOS and its working groups.
CEOS Task Force on Planning and Analysis
Dr. Lindberg summarizes the outcomes of the 1995 CEOS User Requirements
Workshop. He noted that the workshop participants recognized that there
are data users not completely represented by CEOS Affiliates that would
need to be considered in the CEOS requirements assessment process,once
the focussed effort of the Task Force was complete.
The Task Force's overall objective was to assess whether current and
planned satellite instruments provide information sufficient to meet user
requirements. During 1995 the Task Force studied Dossier Volumes A and
C and found disparities and lack of detail in the information contained
therein and was unable to conduct a thorough comparative analysis of the
two documents. Therefore,it proposed anew information structure for the
Dossiers based on a standard format to be completed by user and providers.The
new format will enable the comparative requirements analysis that will
provide information on compatibility,gaps, and duplications.
The time frame allocated to the Task Force to accomplish its mandate
was extended up to the 1996 CEOS plenary. The Plenary approved that the
Task Force continue with a single chair, Dr.Bizzarri of ASI.
CEOS Dossiers
The biennial update of the Dossier is planned during 1996,in accordance
with the CEOS Future Strategy.In conjunction with the efforts of the Task
Force on Planning and Analysis, ESA offered to provide a database version
of Volumes A and C available on-line at ESA/ESRIN,incorporating an interactive
search capability.
Working Groups Realignment
WGCV,WGD,and WGINS provided status reports on their activities. The
WGCV Strategic Plan is now available through the CEOS Infosys system. Mr.
Lauritson of NOAA,Chair of WGD, noted a prototype bulletin board,accessible
through CEOS Infosys, for posting and reading purge alert messages.
A joint proposal from WGD and WGINS to disband these two working groups
and create a single working group, the Working Group on Information Systems
and Services (WGISS) was presented to the Plenary. The Plenary approved
the merger of the two working groups and appointed MS.Helen Wood of NOAA
to serve as WGISS Chair. The Plenary also appointed Mr.Hiroshi Kikuchi
of STA/NASDA to serve WGISS Vice-Chair(designated to assume the Chair after
two years), and Dr. Gerard Szejwach, who is transiting from EUMETSAT to
IGBPDIS, to serve as WGISS Vice-Chair charged to facilitate effective interaction
with users.
The overall objective and specific goals of WGISS as ontlined in the
Terms of Reference are given below:
to be continued
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