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CONTENTSCEOS Holds Meeting on Integrated Global Observing Strategy
Report from the Second CEOS WGISS Meeting
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---This page
Windows-based Metadata Generator for CEOS IDN now available - DIFENT
Launch of ADEOS/H-II Launch Vehicle Flight No.4/News Highlight/Meeting Calendar
CEOS EO mission/instruments capabilities and user requirements: the database goes on-line
Luigi Fusco
Head of Multimission Infrastructure Section
Remote Sensing Exploitation Department
ESA-ESRIN
One of the most visible output of the CEOS activities in the last years has been the production and publication of the so-called CEOS Dossiers, to set out the current and future plans of CEOS members and their relation to user need (specially those of CEOS Affiliate and Observer Members).
- The published Dossiers address:
„Space Agency Ground Segment Infrastructure (1992 Dossier)
„The Relevance of Satellite Missions to Global Environmental Programmes(1993 Dossier)
„Space Agencies Satellite Missions and Instruments (1994 Dossier)
Those documents are available in paper from and via the ceos InforSys. In particular a specific effort was done when the 1994 Dossier was also published in a database from on floppy disk (also available via CEOS InfoSys).
It was soon recognized the need to periodically (every two years ) update and maintain the information provided in the Dossiers, and to make the Dossier information accessible to a larger user community.
The updating task of the Satellite Missions and Instrument capabilities (1994 Dossier) and of the Affiliate Members user requirements (1993 Dossier) has been considered with high priority, as this was the most important input required by the established CEOS Plenary Task Force on Planning and Analysis (see L.Shaffer article on CEOS Newsletter No.5, Summer 1995).
ESA volunteered to provide the necessary system effort to build the on-line database of EO mission/instrument capabilities and user requirements to meet the expressed by the Task Force team, leaving to the Task Force members the responsibility of defining the parameters to be handled in the database and of filling the specific content.
CEOS Dossiers on line database: objectives
The implementation of the "CEOS Dossiers on line database" is under the responsibility of the team handling at ESA-ESRIN the CEOS InfoSys. The initial objectives of this development can be summarized in :
„make available on line the existing information (specially the 1994 Dossier database)
„provide information navigation capabilities in the database (e.g. hyperliks between missions, instruments, applications)
„provide an environment for on-line population and maintenance of specific information as defined by Task Force
„ensure compatibility with the CEOS InforSys
„provide on-line query of the database
During the initial development phase, considering the potential benefit of the on-line availability of such database, a few additional requirements were raised, mainly in terms of:
„completeness of information to describe mission/instrument capabilities and user requirements;
„hyperliks to other on-line information available at identified WWW servers
„tools for analysys of capabilities versus user communities requirements
„shared effort for maintenance (each member is responsible for its input validation and in the future for the updating of information)
CEOS Dossiers on line database: capabilities and plans
The system environment for the CEOS Dossier on line database is in place and is accessible via WWW(and via CEOS InfoSys). Although at present (August 96) the complete functionality is still under development and the population of the database need contribution from most of CEOS members, the anticipated formal version of the CEOS Dossier will include the following capabilities:
„The mission/instrument description is organized in the following levels of information:
- „Agency description and directory of Agency's satellite/instruments
programmes
„Programmatic features of satellites (and satellites series)
„Satellite description (orbit, communication and instrumentation information)
„Instrument description (measurement objectives, spectral characteristics, general and operational features)
„Instrument performances in terms of geophysical parameters.
At present some 60 applications derived from WMO, GAW, WCRP, GCOS, IOC, IGBP, EC and IUGG programmes are addressed, using some 90 geophysical parameters (e.g. temperature profile, sea surface temperature,...).
Each geophysical parameter quality is described, as applicable, in terms of horizontal and vertical resolution, accuracy, observing cycle, delay of availability and confidence level.
„Tools for analysis of capabilities versus user communities requirements.
In the present version of the Dossier some initial tools will be made available to allow interactive analysis of user applications requirements with the available and planned mission/instrument capabilities. (The list of geophysical parameters and the performance capabilities of each instrument are consistent with the definition of the Affiliate programmes requirements.)
It is important to mention that the responcibility for the definition of requirements and mission/instrument description parameters, and the maintenance of the database content stays with the Task Force members, while ESA-ESRIN has been only in charge of the database system environment development.
In terms of future plans, it is intended to
„maintain the reference version of the database whitin the CEOS InfoSys,
„make available copy of the database for stand-alone PC utilisation,
„consider the generation of paper copies of some of the dossier information,
„consider the integraton of the on-line database with information available in the CEOS International Directory Network (IDN),
„consider the inclusion of related information, such as G/S systems and available/planned data products.
It is expected that such a database could be used as a consultation tool for improving planning of both Member Agencies and Affiliate programmes; and, at the same time, it could be used to provide update information to the EO international user community.
The WWW URL for the CEOS Dossiers on line database is : http://dossier.esrin.esa.it
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