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The CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services(WGISS) held its third meeting in October. At the 10th CEOS Plenary, held shortly afterwards, the WGISS Chair highlighted WGISS activities during its first year. The Plenary members had the opportunity to see the results of two WGISS activities led by CSIRO: the CEOS Network Demonstration and the CEOS educational CD-ROM.
Strategy Task Team
Hiroshi Kikuchi (STA/NASDA), WGISS Vice Chair and leader of the WGISS
Strategy Task Team, outlined an approach for the Task Team's work, beginning
with the description of a generic global system architecture for data location
and access, comprised of the information systems and services of CEOS agencies.
This task is intended to ensure a good tie between a "top down" strategic
focus and a "bottom up" task level focus to guide future WGISS planning.
The first meeting of the Strategy Task Team will be held in May 1997, immediately
prior to WGISS-4.
User Panel
Gerard Szejwach (IGBP), WGISS Vice Chair and Chair of the User Panel,proposed
plans for the Panel's activities, which include monitoring WGISS tasks
to help ensure that they address the requirements of a diverse user community,
and facilitating user involvement in WGISS tasks. As a first step, he is
working with the User Panel Liaison from each WGISS Subgroup on a survey
to assess Subgroup tasks, focusing on current user involvement in each
task and user requirements being met by each task.
Access Subgroup
Terry Fisher(CCRS), Access Subgroup Chair, reported that Release B
of the Catalog Interoperability Protocol will be available in January 1997,
which will permit the on-line ordering of data from disparate catalog systems.
The World Wide Web Task Team will host a workshop on February 4-6 1997,
regarding the use of Web technology to provide access to Earth observation/geo-referenced
data, including access to data in multiple formats (in conjunction with
the Data Subgroup Vice Chair). The "Yellow Pages" Task Team produced the
first edition of the "Worldwide Directory of On-Line Services for Earth
Observation Data Users."
Data Subgroup
Gunter Schreier (DARA/DLR), Data Subgroup Chair, reported that the
Global Land One-km Base Elevation project is working towards publication
of its data set in 1997. A preliminary version containing topographic data
from only the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency (now the National Imaging and
Mapping Agency) was published on CD-ROM in 1996. Along with ongoing activities
involving ocean color and 1km AVHRR data, the Subgroup is considering the
simulation of the development of other global auxiliary data sets, such
as an aerosol reference data base. The Global Mapping Task Team is working
to reduce spatial distortion problems caused by projecting the Earth's
sphere onto a two-dimensional map, partly by introducing innovative mapping
schemes.
Network Subgroup
Richard desJardins (NASA), Network Subgroup Chair, reported on recent
successes in which performance testing led to dramatically improved network
performance on key communication lines between CEOS agencies. WGISS endorsed
the concept of a "Virtual CEOSnet" comprised of existing and near-term
planned bilateral and Internet links, as a practical approach to meeting
the needs of CEOS approved projects.
Natural Hazards and Emergency Response
The objective of the Natural Hazards and Emergency Response Task Team,
led by Miriam Baltuck (NASA), is to establish mechanisms to get relevant
satellite-derived information about disasters to emergency organizations
in time to be used in their response and relief activities. The first meeting
of this Task Team was on January 16-17, 1997, following the NASA co_sponsored
"Conference on GIS and Applications of Remote Sensing to Disaster Management."
Network Demonstration at the 10th Plenary
At the 1996 Plenary, CSIRO's network demonstration [see article about
the 10th CEOS Plenary, page
1 ]provided Plenary members with a graphic example of the potential
benefits to users of the work pursued by WGISS; increasing access to data
and metadata, assisting the interuse of disparate data, and fostering the
networks needed to carry the data.
Educational CD-ROM
The "Resources in Earth Observation" CD-ROM, another WGISS activity
led by CSIRO, was released at the 10th Plenary. It is designed to help
teachers and students-particularly users in developing countries-learn
about remote sensing of the Earth from space. The CD-ROM contains sample
data, case studies, lesson plans, background text, glossaries, and points
of contact for additional data and information. When used with a Web browser,
the CD-ROM provides working link to relevant Internet resources maintained
by CEOS agencies and others world-wide. Copies of the CD-ROM are available
for $20 (Australian) from the Information Officer, CSIRO Office of Space
Science and Applications, GPO Box 3023, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia, fax
+61-6-216-7222.
Future Meetings
The next WGISS meeting (#4) will be held May 14-16, 1997, hosted by
CCRS in Ottawa, Canada. WGISS-5 will be held the week of October 19,1997,
hosted by ISRO in Bangalore, India. For more information, please contact
Helen Wood, WGISS Chair, at hwood@nesdis.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.