The GEOSS is simultaneously addressing nine areas of critical importance to society, ranging from managing energy resources and promoting sustainable agriculture to improving weather forecasts and responding to climate change and its impacts.

Data obtained at the ACRF sites are freely available to users worldwide through the ACRF Data Archive. In August, the ACRF added another entry point to its data collection by registering the ARM Program and Data Archive as components within the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). This web-based decision-support tool links together existing and planned observing systems around the world and supports the development of new systems where gaps currently exist. As components of GEOSS, the Data Archive and ARM Program website can be found and explored by decision-makers, managers and other users of Earth observations via the GEO Portal registry holdings. This access point is available for users seeking data, imagery, and analytical software packages relevant to all parts of the globe.

The GEOSS Components and Services Registry provides a formal listing and description of all the Earth observation systems, data sets, models and other services and tools that together constitute the GEOSS. These various components are linked together using standards and protocols that allow data and information from different sources to be integrated. The GEOSS emerged from the Second Earth Observation Summit held in Japan in 2004 and is in the early stages of its 10-year implementation plan (2005-2015). It is supported by more than 100 governments and organizations throughout the world, including the “Group of Eight” leading industrialized nations.