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U.S. Strategic Plan for the Earth Observing System Released
GEOSS will link existing satellites, buoys, weather stations, and other observing instruments, in addition to supporting the development of new observational capabilities.
April 18th 2005, the U.S. released its Final Strategic Plan for the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System detailing its contributions to the international Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), a collaborative, international effort to share and integrate Earth observation data.
EPA, NASA, NOAA, and other federal agencies have joined forces with other nations to integrate satellite and ground-based monitoring and modeling systems to evaluate and predict environmental conditions. GEOSS will link existing satellites, buoys, weather stations, and other observing instruments that are already demonstrating value around the globe; and it will support the development of new observational capabilities. The goal of GEOSS is to allow scientists and policy makers in many different countries to design, implement, and operate integrated observing systems in a compatible, value-enhanced way.
As part of this global endeavor, EPA's Office of Research and Development has established a Remote Sensing Information Gateway in Research Triangle Park, NC, to develop the information needed to address complex environmental problems that often cross over geographic and political boundaries. With state-of-the-art information technology at EPA's National Computer Center (NCC), EPA will have the capability to process complex data into useful information and knowledge on environmental conditions for use by local and state governments to make decisions to protect the environment and public health.
Other GEOSS activities involving EPA include the better characterization of urban air pollution through demonstrations of optical remote sensing technologies, incorporation of real-time monitoring data into models that forecast environmental threats such as unhealthy recreational waters, and tracking major ecosystem stressors in sensitive ecological systems.
For more information about GEOSS, visit http://www.epa.gov/geoss/.