Earth As A New Frontier

U.S. a Leading Contributor to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)

For developed and developing nations battling drought and disease, emergency managers making evacuation decisions, farmers making planting choices, companies evaluating energy costs, and coastal communities concerned about sea level rise, there is a real global need to get ahead of the curve — to provide new analytical tools, access to timely data and forecasts about emerging threats that will enable wise choices in an uncertain world.

The United States, working through the U.S. Group on Earth Observations (USGEO), is a founding member and vital contributor to the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO).  This group is developing GEOSS.  Cutting across borders, sectors and disciplines to open a world of possibilities, the emergence of GEOSS enables us to envision a world where more people will be fed, more resources will be protected, more diseases will be mitigated or even prevented, and more lives will be saved from environmental disasters.

Such world-changing goals require sound policy based on science derived from more than “snapshot assessments.”  With this premise, GEOSS recognizes that no matter how effective and efficient all of our single-purpose Earth observation systems may be, their value multiplies when they work in synergy.

The aim is to provide the right information, in the right format, to the right people, at the right time, to make the right decisions.