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CONTENTSCEOS Holds Meeting on Integrated Global Observing Strategy
Report from the Second CEOS WGISS Meeting---This page
WIGSS Subgroups Meet in Japan
News of The Working Group on Calibration and Validation
10th CEOS Plenary Advisory Note 1, April 1996
CEOS EO mission/instruments capabilities and user requirements: the database goes on-line
Windows-based Metadata Generator for CEOS IDN now available - DIFENT
Launch of ADEOS/H-II Launch Vehicle Flight No.4/News Highlight/Meeting Calendar
Report from the Second CEOS WGISS Meeting
Helen M.Wood
Director, Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution
NOAA/NESDIS
The second meeting of the CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS) was held at the Earth Observation Research Center in Tokyo on May 27-29, 1996, hosted by STA/NASDA, with logistical assistance from the Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan. WGISS-2 had over 40 participants (plus about 20 more Subgroup members at a joint WG/SG session on May 29). Representatives attended from 17 CEOS participating agencies. Helen Wood, WGISS Chair, led the meeting along with the WGISS Vice Chairs, Hiroshi Kikuchi of STA/NASDA and Gerard Szejwach of IGBP.
- The meeting was very successful, completing the integration into WGISS
of the work of its two predecessor groups, the Interim Working on Data
and the Working Group on International Network Services. Most of the first
day of the meeting was spent reviewing the WGISS Five Year Plan. Since
the inaugural WGISS meeting last November, the Plan has been intensively
revised by an interagency Writing Team, led by Alan Haskell of BNSC/DRA,
and reviewed by the entire WGISS membership. WGISS-2 approved Version 1.0
of the Plan,which will be presented at the CEOS Plenary in November1996.
The Plan identifies six broad areas of work for WGISS: user consultation,
data and information management, user services, data standards, CEOS information
services, and promotion. To organize its tasks, WGISS established three
subgroups:
-- Access Subgroup, to work on increasing the accessibility of data and information to users; Chair is Terry Fisher of CCRS and Vice Chair is Gerhard Triebnig of ESA;
-- Data Subgroup, to foster the interuse of data by enhancing compatibility of data content, formats, and data application tools; Chair is Gunter Schreier of DARA/DLR and Chair is Wyn Cudlip of BNSC/DRA; and
-- Network Subgroup, to promote international coordination of network infrastructure and improve network security and performance; Chair is Richard desJardins of NASA and Vice Chair is Kohei Arai of NASDA/Saga University.
WGISS also established a User Panel, to help ensure that WGISS activities are suitably user-driven and meet user needs. The User Panel will be led by Gerard Szejwach,WGISS Vice Chair for facilitating interaction with users.
Much of the second day of the meeting was devoted to a review of existing activities and consideration of new ones.WGISS approved the following activities as new WGISS tasks:
-- Hazards and Emergency Response, led by Miriam Baltuck of NASA, to facilitate cooperation in the rapid exchange of data and information in response to disasters;
-- WGISS Strategy, led by Hiroshi Kikuchi of STA/NASDA, to integrate the top-down strategies of WGISS and the bottom-up task team activities;
-- CEOS Information Locator Service, led by Thomas Ruwwe of DARA; the CEOS Plenary supported the DARA proposal to develop a pilot project and asked DARA to work with WGISS to facilitate the electronic exchange of information between CEOS participating agencies and developing countries;
-- Ocean Color, led by John Withrow of IOC, to work with the International Ocean Color Coordination Group on the integration of ocean color data from different sensors and the accessibility of ocean color data;
-- CEOS InfoNext, led by Salim Ansari of ESA, to plan for technology enhancements of the on-line CEOS Information System;
-- Network Architecture and Network Resource Planning, led by Dieter Sundermann of DARA/DLR, to plan coordinate links for global Earth observation and environmental information networks; and
-- Network Security, led by Grant Miller of NASA, to prevent unauthorized access to networks and develop an Acceptable Use Policy.
The WGISS members expressed their thanks for the years of hand work performed by the outgoing Interim Subgroup Chairs (and formerly Chairs of Working Group on Data Subgroups): George Saxton of NOAA, Catalog Subgroup; Wyn Cudlip of BNSC/DRA, Format Subgroup; Kohei Arai of NASDA/Saga University, Network Subgroup; and Gunter Schreier of DARA/DLR, Auxiliary Data Subgroup. Their leadership and enthusiasm helped to ensure that valuable momentum was not lost during the formation of WGISS.
The WGISS-2 meeting concluded on the morning of May 29 with a half-day joint session with the interim WGISS subgroups to discuss the newly-approved Five Year Plan and subgroup structure. WGISS solicited the cooperation of subgroup members, Interim Subgroup Chairs, and newlyappointed Subgroup Chairs and Vice Chairs in effecting a rapid transition to the new subgroup structure and full implementation of the Five Year Plan.
The next WGISS meeting will be held on October 8-10,1996, hosted by DARA at the DLR facilities in Neustrelitz, Germany. WGISS-4 will be May 13-15, 1997, in Ottawa, Canada, hosted by CCRS. For more information about WGISS, please contact Helen Wood, WGISS Chair, at hwood @ nesdids. noaa. gov or fax +1-301-457-5184, or Jean Schiro-Zavela, WGISS Secretariat, at jschiro-zavela @ nesdis.noaa. gov or fax +1-301-736-5828.
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