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CONTENTSReport 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:
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