Introduction The CEOS Land Surface Imaging Virtual Constellation (LSI-VC) recently prepared revised Terms of Reference in accordance with the decision made at the 28th CEOS Plenary (2014) to refocus the group. The revised LSI-VC Terms of Reference provide high-level guidance on the LSI-VC’s new direction (Table 1). 3-Year Horizon 5-Year Horizon Space Segment Aggregate and analyze multiple sets of validated, requirements to identify gaps and opportunities for optimization and improve interoperability and complementarity Optimize and harmonize CEOS Agency global data collections, as much as possible. Harmonize acquisition plans across major international land surface imaging programs to support validated requirements Ground Segment and Information Systems Explore architectures for future distribution that would potentially enable the analysis of very large land surface imaging datasets, trialed across at least three nations/regions Stimulate an environment conducive to the creation of analysis-ready data to enhance usage and exploitation of the CEOS data portfolio for land surface imaging Establish the framework for an architectural network with the capability to analyze very large land surface imaging datasets specific specific
For example, cloud cover can make tropical forest monitoring with optical satellite data quite challenging. A reasonable "requirement" from the forest monitoring community through GFOI could be to monitor the forests in the humid tropics every six months (presence, changes, health, etc.). CEOS Agency resources, such as satellites with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments would likely be sought to meet such a requirement. The job of the LSI-VC would be to: Collect these requirements across various WGs and initiatives, Identify the CEOS Agency assets that help fulfill such requirements, Assess if/where gaps in coverage occur, and Determine how CEOS Agencies might work collectively to help mitigate those gaps. Non-Domain-Specific Products — Validated data products from specific sensors that have undergone higher-order processing. Examples include: surface reflectance land surface temperature gamma-nought These products may also be documented, standardized and cross calibrated—working with the CEOS WG on Calibration and Validation (WGCV), the CEOS-CGMS WGClimate, the CEOS WG on Information Systems and Services (WGISS), and the CEOS Systems Engineering Office (SEO)—to make them as useful as possible to CEOS and, potentially, the broader global community (they can be provided once and used many times). Services — The identification and documentation of the characteristics of data. Such characteristics will include: Geographic reference, Gridding/resolution, Spectral corrections, and more. The LSI-VC Focus The LSI-VC will on developing and implementing coordinated solutions across the following four themes: Optimizing global, increasingly high-volume data flows Promoting analysis-ready data and minimizing the need for end users to understand satellite/pass/sensor-specific processing Exploring ways to implement and sustain new approaches to managing and analyzing large data structures (e.g. Data Cubes) trial
Addressing the actions identified for the LSI-VC by the CEOS Carbon Strategy Implementation Study Team (CSIST) to discover broader approaches to analyzing land surface imaging requirements Phase 1 Activities (~ 2015-2016) The LSI-VC will conduct its activities using a phased approach; the outcomes from each phase will lay the groundwork for the subsequent phase. Objective/Deliverable Description / Context Linkages Identify gaps in/opportunities for acquisition-planning in support of the CEOS Carbon Strategy In support of the CEOS Carbon Strategy, analyze validated land carbon observation requirements and identify the gaps in and opportunities for optimization across CEOS Agency missions. SEO WGClimate Define intercomparable Analysis-Ready Data (ARD) products within the context of land surface imaging Data (ARD) are ready for use without the need for instrument-specific, pass-specific, or spacecraft-specific corrections. These data greatly lower the barriers to using land surface imaging data and make downstream chains more robust. Because ARD are non-domain-specific, they can be provided once and used many which is important, given the high volume of data that exist within the land surface imaging domain. This work will include the identification of Fundamental Data Records that would form a foundation for ARD, such as: Surface reflectance Surface temperature SAR gamma-nought products SEO WGCV
Pilot large data set distribution covering three regions Implementation of this activity will be based on Phase 1 findings. SEO WGISS Establishing enhanced collaboration on wetlands and inland waterway monitoring Take initial to identify and coordinate CEOS Agency efforts to develop/harmonize wetlands and inland waterway satellite observations and the non-domain specific products required for the development of wetland and inland waterway data products. This activity supports the CEOS Carbon Strategy and will help establish ongoing inter-agency communication. WGCV SEO Phase 3 Activities (~ 2017-2018) Objective/Deliverable Description / Context Linkages