2023

No. 59CEOS Newsletter

The CEOS Newsletter is published by JAXA on behalf of CEOS. It provides regular updates on
the activities of CEOS, its agencies, Working Groups, Virtual Constellations, and Ad Hoc Teams.
https: //ear th.jaxa.jp /ceos-newsletter/

36th CEOS Plenary
New CEOS Chair

1 •2CEOS CHAIR

3CEOS CHAIR

On the occasion of UNFCCC COP-27
GISTDA-SilvaCarbon Workshop
The CEOS Work Plan

CLIMATEAGRICULTURE

UNFCCCCEOS CHAIRWGCLIMATE

FOREST

LAND USE

6 •7
8

CEO

38th CEOS Strategic Implementation Team Meeting
WGClimate-18 Report

CLIMATECEOS at IGARSS 2023

SEO

SIT CHAIR

9 •1011 • 12WGCLIMATE

The CEOS Missions, Instruments,
Measurements Database Update – 2023

13 • 1415 •16SATELLITECEOS SIT Technical Workshop 2023

SIT CHAIR

Ecosystem Extent Task Team Report

BIODIVERSITY

The 37th CEOS Plenary

4 •517 • 18TASK TEAMCEOS CHAIR

CEOS newsletter is updated every month at https://earth.jaxa.jp/ceos-newsletter/
Subscribe to updates: You can receive a notification when we publish new posts.
Please send an e-mail to ceos-nl [at] restec.jp

19
20 •21CEOS CHAIR

36th CEOS Plenary
CNES had the pleasure to host the 36th Plenary in Biarritz,
between the 30th of November and December 1st. This meeting was chaired by Dr. Selma Cherchali. More than 70 participants were present in Biarritz in person, and about 30 more
attended remotely. It was the first physical Plenary since2019, the last two meetings being virtual meetings only, due
to the sanitary conditions. All attendants enjoyed the opportunity to meet face to face, positively influencing the quality andefficiency of plenary discussions!
Most decisions submitted to the CEOS Principals had been
prepared during the SIT Technical Worshop held at ESA/ESRIN
in September. In particular, two new task teams had theirTerms of Reference endorsed by the CEOS Principals: (i) the“New Space” task team and (ii) the “Ecosystem extent” task
team. Discussions confirmed the extensive interest from most
CEOS members on the “New Space” topic and the proposed
task team, which will explore the opportunities for international cooperation and initiatives on development of “New Space”.
In addition, the discussion group on Biodiversity proposed thecreation of an “Ecosystem extent” task team, whose purpose

is to map Ecosystems’ extent using space-based observations:a research gap of key importance for biodiversity studies.
During the Plenary the white paper “Monitoring Surface
PM2.5 : an international constellation approach to enhancing the role of satellite observations”, proposed by the
Atmospheric Composition Virtual Constellation, was also
endorsed. The extension of both the Ocean Coordinationgroup (6 months) and the COAST Ad Hoc team (1 year) werealso decided.
The CEOS Chair presented a summary of the main results
obtained within our priorities, under the banner of “Paths tosustainability: from strategy to practical measures”. The goal
was to focus on the transition from demonstrators to operational services, as illustrated by the “Recovery Observatories” (support of satellite imagery to post-crisis re-construction) or the SCO (Space for Climate Observatory). Chair priorities also included Cal/Val initiatives in the area of thermal
infrared observations, or biomass estimates with the
GEO-TREES project.

Participants to the 36th CEOS Plenary in Biarritz

1

CNES, 2022 CEOS Chair TeamIn the area of CEOS governance and leadership roles, Wenying Su (NASA) and Cody Anderson (USGS) were respectively
confirmed as Vice Chairs of the CEOS-CGMS WG Climate andof the WG Cal/Val. The long-term plan proposed by the Chair
to ensure CEOS Executive Officer (CEO) continuity wasapproved. According to this plan, Eumetsat and ESA will leada European consortium to cover the 2024/2027 period, andan action was taken by European agencies to confirm their
participation to this consortium. Finally, the CEOS principals
welcomed GISTDA (Thailand) as 2023 CEOS Chair, while
endorsing CSA (Canada) as 2024 Chair.

The Plenary also provided an opportunity to holdsome specific events, notably a presentation of the
SWOT mission as well as a dedicated joint session
with the Oceania Geospatial Symposium (OGS) held in
Noumea (New Caledonia) during the same week,
supported and co-organized by CNES. The CEOS Chair
invited the SWOT Principal Investigator to present the
SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)
mission, a few days before the planned launch date.
This mission involves NASA, CNES, CSA, UKSA andmany other agencies. It is expected to provide uniquedata and information on land freshwater and oceans.
The CEOS/OGS joint session aimed to initiate a
dialogue between CEOS and regional stakeholders in
the user community. On-going CEOS activities in theindo-pacific region were highlighted, while users
expressed their main requirements.
Besides the working sessions, the Plenary provided
many opportunities for bilateral meetings and informal discussions during coffee/lunch breaks and theGala diner. Several participants also took part in an
excursion the day following the Plenary, visiting touristic cities and villages around the Basque region.
This also makes the core value of in person meetings!
CNES was honored and happy to chair CEOS in 2022
and wished to thank all CEOS entities that havecontributed to CEOS activities and to the success of
this Plenary. Special thanks to ESA, the SIT Chair, for
the quality of our cooperation. We wish to GISTDA avery fruitful 2023 chairmanship.

Dr. Selma Cherchali(2022 CEOS Chair) and GISTDA Team(2023 CEOS Chair)

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CEOS CHAIR

New CEOS Chair
GISTDA CEOS Chair 2023 : “Space Technology for Better
Environments, Economies, and Humanity”
The 2022 Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS)
Plenary was held from November 29 to December 1, 2022 in
Biarritz, France. During the event, the Geo-Informatics andSpace Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) was honored
to officially become the CEOS Chair for 2023. GISTDA aims toutilize satellite data for observing and measuring the earth inorder to support the transition to a net zero society and generate
opportunities for the new space economy.

the year 2023. We are deeply honored by this opportunity and arecommitted to utilizing our position to the fullest extent in order tobenefit and advance the interests of all CEOS Agencies. Furthermore, we believe that these themes and priorities will provide acomprehensive and cohesive platform for all CEOS Agencies tocontribute and benefit from, and we look forward to collaboratingwith each and every one of you as we move forward.

As for this great opportunity, GISTDA aims to utilize spacetechnology to improve the environment, economy, and well-being of humanity through the use of satellite data for earth observation and measurement. This work aligns with the CEOS’s
mission of promoting international cooperation in the peacefuluse of earth observation satellite systems and data.
Under the theme of “Space Technology for Better Environments,
Economies, and Humanity.” GISTDA aims to increase its impact
through the following initiatives:
1. Supporting CEOS Preparations and Inputs to the Global Stock
Take of the UNFCCC Paris Agreementa. GISTDA, in collaboration with USGS, plans to hold the SilvaCarbon workshop in Thailand under the CEOS brand.
b. Continued expansion of the offering of CEOS Agency datasets
available to support the GST and countries’ assessments of
their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
c. Support the implementation of both the GHG Roadmap andthe AFOLU Roadmap.
2. Supporting the SIT Chair’s Exploration of New Geometries forSpace Agencies and CEOS with New Space Communities
a. Work with CEOS New Space Task team led by SIT Chair todevelop New Space Economy document as a means forknowledge sharing with CEOS Agencies.
b. Facilitate a discussion about New Space Economy during
CEOS 2023 timeframe
We, the CEOS Chair Team at GISTDA, would like to extend oursincere appreciation to the esteemed members of the CEOS
community for entrusting us with the privilege of serving as Chair forthe 2022 CEOS Plenary in Biarritz
Once again, we would like to express our gratitude to the CEOS
community for this opportunity and we look forward to working withall of you to achieve our shared goals and objectives.
“GISTDA is excited to announce the launch of THEOS-2, its second
Thailand Earth observation satellite, scheduled in 2023. THEOS-2 isexpected to provide a range of benefits to society through its ability
to monitor the Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere with highresolution. We hope that THEOS-2 will be a valuable resource for
Thailand to make a better future for all.”

Pakorn Apaphant, Ph.D.

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CLIMATE

UNFCCCWGCLIMATE

On the occasion of UNFCCC COP-27
The COP-27 in Sharm-El-Sheikh (Egypt)
The UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) was held in November 2022 at Sharm-El-Sheikh in Egypt. Around 40,000 people
met to discuss their achievements, ambitions and goals in thecontext of the Paris Agreement. Five takeaway messages has
been identified from the two-weeks-event:• Establishing a dedicated fund for loss and damage• Maintaining an intention to keep 1.5°C within reach• Holding businesses and institutions to account• Mobilizing more financial support for developing countries• Making the pivot toward the implementation

convene and prepare the negotiations of the Parties
providing further implementation and technical advice
including decisions and recommendations.

More in-depth information about the COP-27 takeaways can befound under Five Key Takeaways from COP27 | UNFCCC

During the opening session of the SBSTA meetings, theFrench delegation on behalf of the CEOS chair (CNES)
provided the yearly status of achievements of CEOS
and CGMS which had been prepared by the Joint
CEOS/CGMS Working Group on Climate (WGClimate)with input by the CEOS and CGMS members. SBSTA wellacknowledged the work of CEOS and CGMS. Note that
the CEOS Global Stocktake Strategy provides a guideline for collaboration within CEOS with regard to theParis Agreement and the Global stocktake.

The two weeks of the UNFCCC COP are organized assuch that during the first week of the UNFCCC COP the
sub-ordinated bodies of the COP – the Sub-ordinatedBody for Implementation (SBI) and the Sub-ordinatedBody for Science and Technical Advice (SBSTA) –An important outcome of SBTSA was the decision to
forward the new GCOS Implementation Plan on COPlevel where it has been adopted. The GCOS Implementation Plan contains the definition and requirements ofthe Essential Climate variables. Each version includes
the needed actions for the upcoming years.

Since various years the Earth Information Day (EID) is partof the SBSTA consultations. Parties are informed about
the opportunities of Earth Observations and its tremendous advantages to make use of Earth Observation inachieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. At COP-27 theEID was opened with a report about the state of theclimate given by WMO. The topics mitigation, adaptation,and loss and damage were addressed during three panelsessions drawing also the attention to Ocean observations and Early Warning Systems (EWS). The chair of
WGClimate joined the panel for mitigation to respond to
Parties with regard Satellite-based observations and theircapabilities. It is worth to note that that delegates fromother CEOS agencies did also join the different panels sothat in general CEOS had been well represented.

4detailed information about the Earth Information Day can befound at Earth Information Day 2022 | UNFCCC (including
posters). It relates also to the Earth Information Days held atformer COPs.

Before, in parallel and after the panel sessions, a well-visited poster exhibition providing more detailed information
allowed more detailed information for the Parties. WGClimate submitted two posters providing in one poster amore general overview what for CEOS and CGMS stand in
the context of the Paris Agreement. Another poster wasdedicated to mitigation including also the activities of thesystematic observation community. It is worth to note thatthe poster session was also used by several CEOS
agencies to present different facets such as top-down
Greenhouse Gas observations and bottom-up approacheswith respect to above ground biomass and others. More

Finally, it shall be noted that the COP is also an event with alarge area of different exhibition booths – National and byorganizations. During the whole event, there were several
dedicated sessions in these booths with regard space observations allowing in-depth discussions and awareness. CEOS
agencies were also very active to organize and contribute toseveral events making clear that Earth observation is atremendous asset not only for research but also for monitoring and early warning.

Albrecht von Bargen,
Chair Joint COES /CGMS Working Group on Climate 2020-2022

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AGRICULTURE

CEOS CHAIR

FOREST

LAND USE

GISTDA-SilvaCarbon Workshop

the GISTDA-SilvaCarbon Workshop, Chanthaburi Province and Khao
Yai National Park, Thailand, February 22 – March 2, 2023.
Satellite-based forest monitoring is integral to tracking and analyzing
carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases. The deployment ofsatellite missions specifically designed to measure land-cover andland-use change and above-ground biomass density is very attractive to forested countries. Using technology that integrates satellite
information with data collected on the ground, carbon emissions
may be understood more precisely and thoroughly, which is essential for combating climate change
The Committee of Earth Observations Satellites (CEOS) agencies
have embarked on a broad range of activities to support forested
countries using satellite data, particularly in support of the Global
Stocktake (GST) – a fundamental component of the Paris Agreement.
The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency(GISTDA) is engaged in advancing satellite technology and its
use in various industries, including environmental monitoring. To

share its discoveries and ideas with the public, GISTDA has been
undertaking seminars on carbon accounting observation fromspace for policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders
interested in addressing climate change.
GISTDA, as the CEOS chair, partnered with the USGS SilvaCarbon
program to conduct a SE Asia regional workshop on “Uptaking
Global Datasets”. The workshop was held in Chanthaburi
Province and Khao Yai National Park – Thailand, from 22 February to 02 March 2023. During this time participants were able to:• Learn about the latest AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry, and Other
Land Use) datasets and technologies used for monitoring andassessing forest and land-use changes globally.
• Discuss and exchange knowledge, experiences, and bestpractices on using AFOLU datasets for land management,
conservation, and climate change mitigation.

6

Participants of field work.

• Participate in hands-on training sessions to develop practicalskills and methods for data processing, analysis, and visualization using open-source tools and software.
• Collaborate with experts and stakeholders from different
regions and sectors to address common challenges and opportunities related to AFOLU data management and application.

The overall results were an improved awareness and understanding of the potential of AFOLU datasets for monitoring andmanaging forests and land use at the global scale. The CEOS
AFOLU group will continue to work with forested tropical countries to enhance capacity and skills on cutting-edge methods tomeasure carbon emissions from space in their work, research,and policymaking.

Sylvia N Wilson(USGS), Sitthisak Moukomla(GISTDA)

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CEO

The CEOS Work Plan
The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) has anestablished reputation as the primary forum for international
coordination of space-based Earth observation (EO). Now in its
third decade, CEOS’s remit has greatly expanded since theorganisation was first established in 1984. As the challenges
affecting the planet become more pronounced, more frequent,and more acute, international cooperation is even moredecisive. Today, stakeholder awareness of the value of satellite
EO for societal benefit is high, and alongside this is an appropriately growing demand for remote sensing as a recognised tool
to support users all along the value chain in their response to
many important global and local challenges. CEOS is highly
effective in delivering on stakeholder needs thanks to its strong
leadership and robust internal communication. This allows
CEOS to be coordinated in its response to partners and users,
and to effectively deliver on its promises.
An important set of tools that support CEOS in its work are a setof governing documents, which provide structure and guidanceas the satellite EO community seeks to answer stakeholder
needs in a measured and appropriate way. Given that CEOS isa “best efforts” organisation, it needs to remain mindful of thelimits of its collective resource capabilities, and good governance is key to this. To support the community at a practicallevel in clearly defining activities and identifying member
contributions, a three-year Work Plan lies at the heart of CEOS
governance. The CEOS Work Plan is updated every year, witheach annual update covering a forward-looking three-year
period. In a fully traceable manner, the Work Plan articulates
CEOS commitments by clearly and visibly identifying, formallyendorsing, and carefully tracking the implementation of its
objectives. The Work Plan is developed from contributions thatare collated from across the entire organisation and includes
the finer detail of the work done by the various CEOS entities
through a set of “deliverables”. These deliverables are
mapped out in full in a dedicated CEOS deliverables online
tracking tool to ensure transparently.
The current CEOS Work Plan covers the period 2023-2025 andrepresents a full recent annual update by the CEOS community. The
CEOS 2023-2025 Work Plan was endorsed by CEOS Principals in
March 2023, immediately prior to the 38th CEOS Strategic Implemen-tation Team (SIT-38) meeting.
The CEOS 2023-2025 Work
Plan contains 132 active
deliverables, with 53 newly
created for 2023 and theremainder being carried overfrom the previous year. The
Work Plan is always aforward-looking document,
though usual practice is thatthe main body of the work
every year is focused on thenear-term.
Approximately
70% of current activities aredue for completion by theend of 2023; the remaining have a longer than one-year timescale. Whilst most activities are by their very nature short-term
endeavours, continued longer-term visioning is integral to
CEOS’s work planning. Horizon-scanning to identify, in goodtime, any challenges that may affect future work and resource
commitments going forwards is always part of the annual Work
Plan update considerations.
The CEOS Work Plan represents a huge body of work and effort
that is only possible with grateful thanks to the commitment of
CEOS Members and Associates. The dedication of the CEOS
membership clearly demonstrates, quite dynamically, the organisation’s vision:
CEOS ensures international coordination of civil space-based
Earth observation programs and promotes exchange of data to
optimize societal benefit and inform decision making for securing a prosperous and sustainable future for humankind.

Marie-Claire Greening,
CEOS Executive Officer

8

SIT CHAIR

38th CEOS Strategic Implementation
Team Meeting
ESA was delighted to host the 38th CEOS Strategic Implementation Team (SIT-38) meeting on 29-30 March 2023 at
ESRIN in Frascati, Italy. SIT-38 was the first face-to-facebased meeting of the SIT since SIT-34, hosted by NOAA in
Miami, USA in April 2019. The two-day meeting was attended by more than 70 in person, with a further 50 joining
remotely, successfully building on the virtual meeting practice established during the CSIRO / Geoscience Australia
SIT Chair term (2020-2021). Simonetta Cheli, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, opened the meeting
which focused on optimising the support Earth observation
can provide to societal challenges and global agendas,and how CEOS and its agencies can foster partnerships
with key implementers in the community (e.g. the Group on
Earth Observations, UN Agencies) and industry (including‘New Space’).

A full session was held on CEOS engagement with the Global
Stocktake (GST) process, a key component of the Paris Agreement. The first GST will take place in 2023, and CEOS has been
laying the groundwork to promote the role of Earth observations
via the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Task Team, and the Agriculture,
Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) Roadmap Team. At
SIT-38, the work of the Ocean Colour Radiometry Virtual
Constellation (OCR-VC) on the development of an Aquatic
Carbon Roadmap Proposal was presented, and follow-up
actions were agreed to assess the resources required to develop such a Roadmap.
In addition, the CEOS connection to several related key activities was revisited, including WMO’s GHG Initiative (including
results from the recent WMO International Greenhouse Gas
Monitoring Symposium), GEO-TREES Forest Biomass Reference

Participants at CEOS SIT-38 Meeting (ESA/ESRIN March 2023)

9

System (which seeks to implement the recommendations of
the CEOS Aboveground Biomass Land Product Validation
protocol), and the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO). A 2023 edition of the CEOS EO Handbook will
focus on capturing current and future support from satellite
Earth observation to the Global Stocktake.
CEOS Principals discussed CEOS support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including support for 2023 deliverables in the CEOS Work Plan and sustaining CEOS support for2024 and beyond. Outcomes from the recent UN Biodiversity
Conference (COP 15) were discussed, and CEOS affirmed its
support to developing the role of Earth observations in
supporting this activity via the Ecosystem Extent Task Team(EETT) which was established at CEOS Plenary 2022, withco-leads from CNES, NASA, CSIRO, and USGS.
CEOS ocean-related activities were the focus of a dedicated session, including the accomplishments over the past
five years of the COVERAGE initiative. The Ocean Coordination Group continues to consider how CEOS groups and the
CEOS-COAST initiative can most effectively work together
to support the UN Decade of Ocean Science and the Paris
Agreement. The Ocean Coordination Group is expected tobring a plan to the 2023 CEOS Plenary.

Validation’s (WGCV) EO Product Quality Assurance framework, the CEOS Interoperability Framework, and engagement with Standards Organisations (including the OGC
ARD SWG). The New Space Task Team will consider how
these activities fit in the overall CEOS approach.
Several other important topics were discussed at the meeting:• The Working Group on Capacity Building and Data Democracy (WGCapD) presented an update on progress towards the
EOTEC DevNet Sustainability Plan.
• The Precipitation Virtual Constellation (P-VC) highlighted
potential gaps that could impact precipitation observationand product continuity, with further follow-up needed.
• A new Rapid Response for Food Security initiative fromGEOGLAM was presented, and CEOS was invited to consider
engaging and contributing to its establishment process.
• Updates from GEO Secretariat in relation to the Post-2025
Strategy, a discussion around how CEOS will engage withGEO Post-2025, and GEO activities related to CEOS.
• The portfolio of CEOS Systems Engineering Office support
was presented, along with potential updates to the CEOS
Communications Strategy.

SIT-38 was an important step in rebuilding the energy andmomentum in the CEOS community following several years of
The meeting also covered activities related to industry and virtual meetings. While virtual meetings have enabled a
New Space, with more CEOS agencies sharing their past greater number and variety of participants, ultimately CEOS
experience and industry-related activities. The CEOS New is community driven, and so the opportunity to bring together
Space Task Team presented their progress towards a deci- contributors and collaborators is crucial to fostering progresssion on next steps at the 2023 CEOS Plenary. It was noted in the field of Earth observation. ESA looks forward tothat there are several ongoing CEOS activities which are welcoming the community back to ESRIN for the 2023 SIT
complementary, including the Working Group on Calibration and Technical Workshop, to be held October 17-19.
ESA SIT Chair Team10

CLIMATEWGCLIMATE

WGClimate-18 ReportMore than 30 scientists met for the 18th meeting of the Joint
CEOS-CGMS Working Group on Climate (WGClimate-18) on
28 February– to 2 March 2023 in Tokyo . JAXA hosted the
hybrid meeting, and treated participants to keynote science
presentations during the 3-day event.

ful response. Specifically, WGClimate and GCOS collaboratively formed small teams to address the respective
Actions. The official WGClimate response therefore will bea set of team reports, one per Action, developed between
2023-2024.

The primary objectives of WGClimate-18 included 1) prioritize items for the 2023 Work Plan and draft schedules anddeliverables, 2) identify individuals to lead activities or liaise
with other gorups, and 3) bring members up-to-date on activities affecting the Working Group. WGClimate-18 was the firstmeeting led by new Chair Jeff Privette (NOAA) and Vice-Chair
Wenying Su (NASA).

Also during WGClimate-18, the Group discussed a restructuring of its unique Essential Climate Variable (ECV)Inventory. The Inventory contains metadata about Climate
Data Records (CDRs), i.e., long-term homogenized timeseries data sets from satellites. Although the Group relieson this tool to link space agency capabilities with GCOS
needs, its updates and upkeep have been challenging.
Through the restructuring, the Group will simplify thearchitecture and associated processes. Therefore, in
2023, the Group will add a final 45 CDR records to theexisting Inventory while simultaneously developing asimplified structure for a 2024 release.

Giving his presentation by WGClimate Chair, Jeff A. Privette
A primary role of WGClimate (i.e., the Group) is to assessand coordinate space agency capabilities to improve thesystematic availability of Climate Data Records of the
Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) as determined by the
Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). As GCOS recently provided an update to its needs (i.e., “Actions”) via its
2022 Implementation Plan (GCOS IP), WGClimate-18
participants focused on developing a new IP response
approach. This year, the Group will work hand-in-handwith the GCOS Secretariats and Panels to ensure better
understanding of the needs and determine the most help-

WGClimate-18 also included updates on the CDR Use
Case and CDR Taxonomy initiatives. The Group has
published 15 Use Cases online, and agreed at the meeting
to focus now on wider communication of this collection.
The Group will continue to accept new Use Case submissions, however. The Group discussed next steps on a CDR
definitions framework, leveraging feedback from a poster
at the 2023 American Meteorological Society Annual
Meeting. The Group is planning a manuscript available forreview later in the year. As per prior years, the Group willdevelop the 2023 Space Agencies Statement to theSubsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice(SBSTA), part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be delivered at the 28th
Conference of the Parties in November 2023.
Finally, WGClimate-18 featured an update from the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Task Team (TT) by new TT lead Yasjka
Meijer. The TT met in February where it reviewed the GHG
Roadmap, focusing particularly on defining metrics andmilestones for its activities. In 2023, the TT is reviewing

11Onsite participants in the WGClimate-18 enjoying an ice-breaker dinner. Approximately
30 people participated overall, about half of which were virtual participants.

the space observatories needed to better measure bothnatural and anthropogenic methane and CO2 in the atmosphere. This challenge is complicated by the highlyvariable biogenic background signal for more abundantCO2, and a comparatively low source signal from methane. Different observatories are tailored to different GHG
sources (e.g., cities, smokestack plumes, agriculturalemissions). The TT also considered field observationneeds to support Monitoring & Verification Support (MVS)
capabilities. Finally, the TT will continue to work with theAgriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses team to aligntheir respective methods.

One challenge the Group endures is having wider agency
participation. Currently, there are not enough engaged
agencies for the Group to address the many requests
within CEOS and from external organizations (e.g., GEO).
The Group encourages all CEOS agencies to identify representatives so that it can better partner and contribute to
the activities. The Group will next meet in Frascati justbefore the October Technical Workshop of the CEOS Strategic Implementation Team.

Jeff A. Privette(NOAA),
Joint Working Group Climate Chair

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SEO

CEOS at IGARSS 2023
The 2023 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) was held in Pasadena, California, USA, from July 17-21, 2023. IGARSS is the flagshipconference of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS), and is aimed at providing a platform for sharing knowledge and experience on recent
developments and advancements in geoscience andremote sensing technologies, particularly in thecontext of earth observation, disaster monitoring andrisk assessment. CEOS was well represented at thisimportant community event, with an Exhibition Booth
supported by the Systems Engineering Office (SEO), as
well as CEOS members chairing three sessions.
The SEO regularly hosts CEOS Booths at major remotesensing conferences, including IGARSS and GEO Week.
This ensures CEOS work is visible to the broader EO
community, and provides an opportunity to hear fromthe community on their needs.
For IGARSS, CEOS was represented at the booth by Dave
Borges (SEO, NASA), Brian Killough (SEO), Josh Baptist(SEO, AMA), Andrew Cherry (SEO, AMA) and Libby Rose
(SEO Comms). Ahead of the exhibition, the teamdesigned and printed flyers with relevant CEOS information, as well as two sticker variations. The stickers wereappreciated by all at the conference, making a huge
difference as to the amount of people who would
approach the booth. The team also produced a newroll-up banner for the occasion, highlighting some of
CEOS’ work in an ‘Ask Us About’ format.

The booth featured a display screen, where a rolling playlist of CEOS content was displayed. WGDisasters contributed some slides on their activities, which was shown
alongside the 2022 Year In Review, 2022 launches, CEOS
& SDGs, and Introduction to the CalVal Portal videos, aswell as some other slides detailing recently launchedmissions.
For almost every interested person who approached thebooth, the team was able to connect their own specificarea of interest to some work item within CEOS. This goesto show how broad reaching and comprehensive the workof CEOS is, as the sessions across IGARSS covered abroad range of technical topics on geoscience and remotesensing. Despite this, broad awareness of CEOS as anorganisation remains low. Participants would often comeup to the booth with a puzzled look, asking what CEOS is.
The back page of the flyer was particularly handy for this,to show off all the Members & Associates, to which theywould often be surprised how big CEOS was! Pointing out
their own space agency logo on the flyer also helped makea more personal connection to CEOS
Some common questions:• Do you sell data? Do you provide data for free?
• How can I become a member or participate in the discussions?
• Are there other researchers or entities that are associated withCEOS that I can collaborate with?
• How can I get more involved with the Open Data Cube, or build
my own?
• How does the CEOS-ARD certification work? What benefit does
having this certification have?
Hosting exhibition booths at various events remains a focus
for the SEO, with the next event being GEO Week and Ministerial Summit, in Cape Town, South Africa. If anyone has any
CEOS-related materials or content to contribute, pleasecontact Dave Borges (david.borges@nasa.gov) or Libby Rose(libby@symbioscomms.com).

13

The SEO TeamIn addition to the Exhibition Booth, CEOS members alsochaired three technical sessions throughout the program,two with a focus on Cloud-based Platform Environments for
Earth Observation (EO), and the third on CEOS Analysis Ready
Data (CEOS-ARD).
Brian Killough of the SEO and Patrick Griffiths of the European
Space Agency (ESA) co-chaired the two IGARSS sessions
focused on Cloud-based Platform Environments for EO. Thesesessions were well attended (over 60 people) and reviewed amix of EO platforms for enabling science and applications. The
papers addressed several ESA-funded initiatives including theMulti-Mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP), theOpenEO platform, the Deep Earth System Data Lab (ESDL), andthe Euro Data Cube. There were also papers addressing CEOS
SEO testing of the Open Data Cube on cloud computing frameworks and the new Digital Earth Pacific initiative. The 10 papers
presented in these sessions were great examples of a growinginterest in cloud-based computing environments for EO dataand how such systems can improve the user experience andproduce more efficient and powerful application products.
Andreia Sequira (GA, LSI-VC Co-lead) chaired the
CEOS-ARD session, which was attended by about 40
people, and focused on the processes implemented bydata providers to process data to CEOS-ARD standards.
Sinergise presented their on-demand processing model
on Sentinel Hub, while ISRO and DLR each presented
some of the challenges they have faced in reaching thethreshold level for CEOS-ARD. Ake Rosenqvist (JAXA)
provided an update on the SAR ARD product family specifications, and Ingo Simonis (OGC) discussed the challenges
faced with the standardisation of data products. Andreia
also presented the below poster, which provided an
opportunity for one-on-one discussions with participants
about the development of CEOS-ARD.

14

SATELLITE

The CEOS Missions, Instruments,
Measurements Database Update – 2023
The annual update of the CEOS Missions, Instruments,
Measurements (MIM) Database (database.eohandbook.com)
has recently been completed. The Database serves as avaluable community resource providing information on Earthobservation satellites, their instruments and the measurements that they make in support of society’s information
challenges. The Database is meticulously updated based on
annual survey responses from CEOS Member agencies. It is
recognised as the most widely distributed and quoted statementof CEOS Agency plans, and is the only official consolidated statement of all government-sponsored civil satellite Earth observing

programs and their capabilities.
The MIM Database has a number of functions, including:• Information sharing in support of the coordination of future Earthobservation mission, instrument and measurements plans.
• Earth observation measurement gap analyses – including those
performed by the CEOS Systems Engineering Office (SEO).
• A connection between the Earth observation user communityand satellite-operating agencies of CEOS.
• Generation of content for the Earth Observation Handbook.

The CEOS MIM Database

15

The MIM Database serves as the foundation for the
CEOS EO Handbook, an initiative by the European Space
Agency (ESA) in support of CEOS. The Handbook
explains the capabilities of satellite Earth observations, their applications, and provides extensive detailof ongoing and planned civil space Earth observation
satellite missions and their instruments. A special
2023 edition of the CEOS EO Handbook is being readied to support the inaugural Global Stocktake of theParis Climate Agreement and will be released ahead of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) COP-28 event.

In addition to the annual updates, MIM Quarterly
Reports provide a quick overview of important mission
activities from the previous and the coming two quarters. They also include the latest news on Earth Observation and upcoming satellite launches.
All CEOS Agencies play a role in updating the CEOS MIM
database. They have the opportunity to review mission
and instrument details relevant to their Agency, as wellas the instrument-measurement mappings stored
within the database. We extend our sincere gratitude to
all CEOS Member Agencies and Associates who havecontributed their information.
We are pleased to announce that the 2023 update is
now live and is readily available in time for CEOS Plenary 2023. It is available at: database.eohandbook.com.
The Database team is always happy to hear from users
and the community, and can be contacted at ceosmim@gmail.com and via X/Twitter @EOHandbook.

Eleni Paliouras
ESA

16

SIT CHAIR

CEOS SIT Technical Workshop 2023
ESA hosted the 2023 CEOS SIT Technical Workshop (TW) at ESRIN
in Frascati, Italy on 18-19 October 2023. It was the last SIT TW
under the ESA SIT Chair term. The two-day hybrid meeting brought
together over 80 participants. The workshop provided a platform
for working-level discussions to set the stage for key decisions at
the 2023 CEOS Plenary.
Here we take the opportunity to provide updates on some developments from the workshop:
CEOS Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Roadmap and MIM Database Portal
The GHG Task Team under WGClimate presented an update on
the GHG Roadmap, emphasising the importance of stakeholder
engagement. The actions annex of the Roadmap is being actively
updated to reflect changes in the space. Of note, the annex now
includes actions related to the sustainment of critical GHG
cal/val network infrastructure.
The recently published CEOS MIM Database GHG Portal, available
at ceos.org/ghg, was unveiled at the workshop. Developed withthe support of the GHG Task Team, the ESA SIT Chair and JAXA SITVice Chair, the Portal aims to provide a comprehensive andup-to-date list of all current and planned satellite missions with theability to measure greenhouse gases. This includes those plannedand operated by both public and commercial organisations, aswell as NGOs.
CEOS AFOLU Roadmap
The CEOS Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU)
Roadmap was prepared to be presented for endorsement at the2023 CEOS Plenary. The overall objective of the roadmap is toensure that every country has the land satellite data required toreport to the UNFCCC under IPCC guidance.
Ocean Coordination Group (OCG) Initiatives
The Ocean Colour Radiometry Virtual Constellation (OCR-VC)
Co-leads presented a proposal for the development of an Aquatic Carbon Roadmap, pending resources and support from CEOS
Agencies. The proposed roadmap provides a framework andserves as a guiding vision for long term coordination of CEOS
agency observations in support of the need for aquatic carbon
information in the context of the CEOS Carbon Strategy. The
roadmap will focus on improving models, mapping blue
carbon ecosystems, and developing tools and indicators forpolicy support, while also identifying needs, gaps andchallenges and ensuring observation continuity.
Earth Observation Handbook
The 2023 edition of the Earth Observation Handbook, titled“Space Data for the Global Stocktake” aims to develop a
broad understanding of the importance of satellite Earth
Observation (EO) for all stakeholders in the GST process. The
handbook seeks to address the major questions that might
be faced by different user types when approaching the application of EO satellite data for their climate-related challenges
and reporting obligations. The aim is to provide practicalexamples and leads for further investigation so that thepotential of the data available from the world’s EO satellites
is fully realised.
New Space Initiatives
The New Space Task Team has drafted a white paper withproposed recommendations for CEOS Members and Associates to enhance engagement and collaboration with New
Space. Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) emerged as a key
area where CEOS can support the New Space sector, withmany activities under the Working Group on Calibration andValidation (WGCV) being relevant to increasing the accuracy
and quality of EO data. The CEOS-ARD initiative is encouraged to establish mechanisms for deeper engagement with
the New Space sector to improve the complementarity andinteroperability of datasets, consistent with the CEOS
Governing Documents. CEOS Members and Associates areadvised to continue to increase engagement with New Space
actors on key topics such as ARD, Cal/Val and data quality
via CEOS representation at key meetings including VH-RODA,
JACIE, IGARSS, LPS and ARD2x. The white paper and recommendations are set for potential endorsement at the 2023
CEOS Plenary.

17

Ecosystem Extent Task Team and 2024 CEOS Chair Priorities
The Ecosystem Extent Task Team presented a draft white
paper that aims to provide an integrated international perspective on how space-based EO can be used to support ecosystem
mapping and monitoring with a focus on ecosystem extent. The
white paper recommendations cover three thematic areas.
Firstly, it highlights the importance of increasing user engagement with EO and CEOS through workshops and other activities
to improve ecosystem extent mapping. Secondly, it underscores the need for technical advances to improve the utilisation of EO for ecosystem mapping. Lastly, it emphasises on
increasing the capacity of biodiversity users to utilise EO forecosystem mapping and monitoring.
The 2024 CEOS Chair, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), willprioritise the theme of Biodiversity during their term, seeking toreach a consensus on whether and how biodiversity shouldfeature on the CEOS agenda in the longer term.
Ocean Coordination GroupThe Ocean Coordination Group (OCG) presented two important
documents related to Ocean Coordination Activities, marking
the final outcome of the OCG before its closure. The first document, titled “CEOS OCG – Coordination Needs for Upcoming
Ocean-related Missions” provides a comprehensive list of all
upcoming ocean-related missions along with the coordination
requirements among these missions. The second document,
titled “CEOS OCG – IOC and UN Ocean Decade Activities” lists
CEOS Work Plan activities that are either underway or anticipated that support the UN Ocean Decade and the International
Oceanographic Commission mission. It includes the points ofcontact within CEOS and IOC, along with other relevant details.
These documents may potentially play an important role inguiding Ocean Coordination within CEOS and benefiting the EO
community going forward.
CEOS Communications

Systems Engineering Office (SEO) team as part of their communication initiatives for CEOS. The document aims to provide
strategic guidance for CEOS Communications including a clear
definition of target audiences, a series of campaigns to focus
communications efforts on, and an understanding of how toeffectively implement communications for CEOS. The document is set for endorsement at the 2023 CEOS Plenary.
WGDisasters Proposals
WGDisasters proposed the establishment of the Global Volcano Early Warning and Eruption Response System (G-VEWERS)
and a Pre-operational Recovery Observatory (2024-2026), withformal support sought at the 2023 CEOS Plenary. G-VEWERS isenvisioned as a permanent virtual facility for remote volcano
monitoring, operating on biennial renewable quotas similar to
Supersites. These quotas will be made possible throughbest-effort contributions from academic institutions, volcano
observatories, and space agencies. The aim is to provide atimely response to hazardous volcanic eruptions, track restless
volcanoes and conduct background monitoring of quiescentvolcanoes. The Pre-operational Recovery Observatory aims toenable the operational use of Earth observation for Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), recovery planning and thenmonitoring and evaluation of disasters.
Leadership Transition and Recommendations
JAXA will be welcomed as the CEOS SIT Chair for 2024-2025 atthe 2023 CEOS Plenary. NASA is nominated as the CEOS SITVice Chair during this term, followed by the CEOS SIT Chair fromthe 2025 CEOS Plenary.
Overall, the workshop highlighted CEOS’s commitment toadvancing global Earth observation initiatives and fosteringcollaboration among space agencies. ESA expresses gratitude
to all participants and contributors for their support during its
tenure as the CEOS SIT Chair and extends best wishes to theincoming SIT Chair and SIT Vice Chair Team.

The CEOS Communications strategy was presented by the CEOS

Image: Pasta-making class, hosted by ESA
ESA SIT Chair Team18

BIODIVERSITYTASK TEAM

Ecosystem Extent Task Team Report
Biodiversity is simply the variety of life on earth at the genetic,
species, and ecosystems levels. Although it provides a wide suiteof benefits to society, ranging from food, fiber, carbon storage,
culture, recreation, and aesthetics, it is rapidly deteriorating due
to a variety of threats, with land use change and climate change
being the most significant. Although CEOS has had a “Biodiversity Activity” for perhaps a decade it has kept a very low profile.
However, with the publication of a variety of studies documenting the magnitude of the deterioration, its increasing rate, thelack of sufficient monitoring, and the degree of societal dependence, it became clear that CEOS should explore ways to further
engage with biodiversity and the biodiversity community. The
Ecosystem Extent Task Team was proposed as an initial vehicle
to enable that exploration; it was approved at the 2022 CEOS
Plenary for a two year duration and is co-led by Gary Geller(NASA), Shaun Levick (CSIRO), Sandra Luque (CNES/INRAE), andRoger Sayre (USGS).
Ecosystem Extent is the distribution of an ecosystem or ecosystems of interest, perhaps most often captured as a map; forexample, the figure shows a map of ecosystems in South Africa.
Ecosystem Extent is a key parameter in understanding and monitoring the world’s biodiversity—consequently, it is an Essential
Biodiversity Variable, a “Headline Indicator” in the Convention on
Biological Diversity’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity
Framework, and an Ecosystem Account in the UN System ofEnvironmental Economic Accounting. It was selected as the
EETT’s focus area both because of its importance and because
Earth observation is typically its primary input. The EETT’s Termsof Reference identify two major deliverables: a white paper thatprovides an integrated international perspective on how
space-based Earth observations can be used to support ecosystem mapping and monitoring with a focus on ecosystem extent,
and a demonstrator to highlight the use of EO for ecosystem
extent mapping and monitoring. The white paper is now
complete and was endorsed by Principals at the 2023 Plenary; it
is available here.
Several opportunities for the Demonstrator have been identified
and are underway, though at very different stages of maturity; allof them are led and developed by a partner organization. The
most mature is under development by Environment and Climate

Change Canada as part of the work they are doing in the
Hudson’s Bay Lowlands, a vast wetland area in northern Manitoba; it will focus on Wapusk National Park and is led by EETT
member Jason Duffe. The other two have much shorter timelines
due to their funding starts; one focuses on Costa Rica (funded by
CNES in November and led by EETT co-lead Sandra Luque) andthe other on the Great Western Woodlands in Australia (fundedby CSIRO, led by EETT co-lead Shaun Levick, and starting inMarch 2024). All three projects will continue beyond thetwo-year timeframe of the EETT, though they would then take onsomewhat different roles. As such, they will give any post-EETT
CEOS biodiversity activity a head start and serve as examples of
the types of activities that CEOS might explore in future years.
It must be mentioned that the Canadian Space Agency, which
took over as CEOS Chair at the 2023 Plenary, has selected biodiversity as its theme during their chairship. One priority is exploring a post-2024 strategy for CEOS and biodiversity and the EETT
will be supporting CSA during this exploration.

Image courtesy of Andrew Skowno, SANBI

Gary Geller (NASA/JPL)

19

CEOS CHAIR

The 37th CEOS Plenary
Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency(Public Organization) or GISTDA, Thailand, a chair of theCommittee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) in 2023,
organized the 37th CEOS Plenary on November 14-16, 2023, in
Chiang Rai, Thailand. There were more than 100 participants
including principals, contacts, and representatives from 36
CEOS agencies.
During the year of chairmanship, GISTDA prioritized that CEOS
shall make best use of space technologies for Better Environments, Economies, and Humanity.
To achieve the purpose of the CEOS 2023 thematic priorities,
there were two workshops on Carbon Accounting, which wereto provide the opportunity for representatives from government
agencies, private sectors, and academic institutions to directly
engage with the experts from ESA, JAXA, NASA, NOAA and
GISTDA. With the support of the CEOS community, this event has
achieved its outcomes and scaled up awareness and knowledge
sharing for carbon accounting from space, strengthened collaboration and engagement among CEOS agencies, enhanced data
and methodology availability for countries’ assessments of theirnationally determined contributions, and increased the numberof new potential end-users to explore and use EO datasets.
Additionally, the New Space issue had been pushed forward via
international seminars and conferences as well as Thailand Space
Week 2023, which had bridged space-based global agencies fromaround the world to extend space economy’s potential network.
The key outcomes were inputting the content of the ‘New SpaceWhite Paper’, collaborating opportunities, particularly in theSoutheast Asia, increasing awareness and understanding of the
New Space Economy, having business opportunities from EO dataand services, and engaging government and private sectors.

During the 37th CEOS Plenary in Chiang Rai, the high-level
executive officers from member agencies also provided
Carbon Accounting Workshop held on Nov. 14
opinions and jointly formulated directions, as well asworking policies in the field of space missions to support
organized for delivering the global carbon issue and best practic- operations related to climate change, changes in ocean
es through EO technology applications. This includes the special and sea conditions, platforms for disaster occurrences,side event that was held on November 14th, 2023, to promote and equitable dissemination of knowledge standardizathe use of Earth Observation satellites for carbon accounting and tion and exchange of information.

Participants to the 37th CEOS Plenary in Chiang Rai, Thailand

20

Following a long day of work on the 37th CEOS Plenary,
GISTDA invited the CEOS members to experience the local
way of life and the surrounding natural environment byvisiting around prominent local attractions.

A scene at the CEOS Plenary 2023

GISTDA would like to express gratitude to CEOS members
for harmonized cooperation, which was the result of fruitful cooperation and achieving goals in 2023. At the endof 2023, GISTDA will end its term as the 2023 CEOS Chair,and then this position will be handed over to the CanadianSpace Agency (CSA), Canada, which will continue as CEOS
Chair in 2024 and continue the prioritized themes. We
wish CSA gain fruitful contributions to CEOS 2024, and
GISTDA enthusiastically supports the new priority theme.

Additionally, the New Space issue had been pushed forward
via international seminars and conferences as well as
Thailand Space Week 2023, which had bridged space-based
global agencies from around the world to extend space economy’s potential network. The key outcomes were inputting
the content of the ‘New Space White Paper’, collaborating
opportunities, particularly in the Southeast Asia, increasingawareness and understanding of the New Space Economy,
having business opportunities from EO data and services,and engaging government and private sectors.
During the 37th CEOS Plenary in Chiang Rai, the high-level
executive officers from member agencies also provided
opinions and jointly formulated directions, as well asworking policies in the field of space missions to support
operations related to climate change, changes in oceanand sea conditions, platforms for disaster occurrences,and equitable dissemination of knowledge standardization and exchange of information.

Group Photo in excursion event on Nov.17
GISTDA 2023 CEOS Chair Team21