Integrated Earth Observation System Research Articles

Surface latent heat flux anomalies quasi-synchronous with ionospheric disturbances before the 2007 Pu’er earthquake in China

One of various mechanisms of pre-earthquake lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling as possible explanation of the seismo-ionospheric effects is connected with the release of latent heat. Abnormal variations of ionospheric electromagnetic parameters possibly related to the 2007 Ms 6.4 Pu’er earthquake in China were reported. This paper attempts to examine whether there were abnormal changes of surface latent heat flux (SLHF) linked with this pre-earthquake ionospheric disturbances. The spatio-temporal statistical analyzes of multi-years SLHF data from USA NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis Project reveal that local SLHF enhancements appeared 11, 10 and 7days before the Pu’er earthquake, respectively. As contrasted to the formerly reported local ionospheric Ne enhancement 9days before the shock observed by DEMETER satellite, it is discovered that the SLHF and Ne anomalies are quasi-synchronous and have good spatial correspondence with the epicentre and the local active faults. This is valuable for understanding the seismogenic coupling processes and for recognizing earthquake anomaly with multiple parameters from integrated Earth observation system.

Terra Cognita: Using Earth Observing Systems to Understand Our World

Who would believe that a butterfly, by flapping its wings in Peru, could set off a chain of events leading to a monsoon thousands of miles away? This familiar notion from chaos theory may seem absurd even as it raises a worthy point: Everything around us is intimately connected. And by studying how broad forces in nature interact, we can construct predictions that offer great benefits to society. Now a global effort is under way to revolutionize our understanding of the Earth as an interconnected whole. The effort aims to integrate Earth observing capabilities based on satellites and in situ or ground-based sensors into a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). By uniting these systems, scientists hope to take the pulse of the planet, and in so doing, generate a range of environmental, economic, and health benefits. For instance, should the effort yield even a 1°F improvement in weather forecasting, power utilities can plan their daily output needs more accurately, resulting in an annual $1 billion electricity savings for consumers in the United States alone, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Likewise, improved monitoring of air pollution, or better satellite mapping of habitats that harbor malaria, cholera, or West Nile virus, could save many lives by establishing warning systems for at-risk populations that might reduce exposure. A total of 54 countries, the European Union, and 33 international organizations have joined the GEOSS thus far, providing a welcome boost to the environmental reputation of its sponsor: the United States. The project is also the first project of its kind to get such high-level support, says Steve Goodman, chief of the Earth and Planetary Science Branch at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center. “I’ve never seen a program move at a pace like this with such a sustained effort,” says Gary Foley, who is director of the EPA National Exposure Research Laboratory. “It seems to be the right thing at the right time with the right leadership. It was what everyone seemed to be looking for.”

Draft U.S. Earth Observation System Plan issued

The Bush administration released on 8 September a draft Strategic Plan for the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System. The plan is an element of an international, 10‐year implementation plan for a Global Earth Observation System to improve the ability to monitor, understand, and predict changes to the Earth.The U.S. plan, coordinated through the cabinet‐level National Science and Technology Council, focuses on key societal concerns that already do, or could, benefit from Earth observation efforts.The areas include improving weather forecasting, reducing loss of life and property from disasters, and understanding climate variability and change.

Earth Observation and Clean Technologies

On Sunday, April 25, 2004, the Earth Observation Summit II (EOS II) was held in Tokyo, Japan. The representatives of 43 countries from G8, Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, etc. and the European Commission got together and discussed the global environment. To begin with, the Earth Observation Summit had set up as an international round of talks to promote the development of a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained Earth observation system or systems among governments and the international community to understand and address global environmental and economic challenges, and to begin a process to develop a conceptual framework and implementation plan for building this integrated Earth observation system. The first EOS was held in the United States in 2003, with the participants from 33 nations plus the European Commission. As its result, an ad hoc Group on Earth Observations (GEO) was established to prepare a 10-year implementation plan to co-ordinate space and ground based global monitoring systems, so-called ‘‘Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)’’. The aim of GEOSS is to maximize the effectiveness of Earth Observation by minimizing data gaps, building capacity and exchanging information as fully and quickly as possible. Developed and developing nations alike will have access to all data gathered by the network, following the model of the World Meteorological Organization’s four-decade-old World Weather Watch, which coordinates the globe’s weather satellites along with insitu climate station. This time, at the EOS II, they adopted two documents, ‘‘Framework for a 10-Year Implementation Plan’’ and ‘‘Communique of the Earth Observation Summit II’’. In the Framework for a 10-Year Implementation Plan, they resolved: – to identify the key observation areas and objective (nine benefits such as reducing loss of life and property from natural and human induced disasters, understanding, assessing, predicting, mitigating, and adapting to climate variability and change and improving water resource management through better understanding of the water cycle), – to overcome shortcomings of current observation systems (strengthen involvement of the developing countries, improve Earth observation technology, strengthen observation systems), and – to give guidance for establishing new Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) (strengthen existing observation systems, establishing successor international mechanism).

Integrated Earth Observation System could help reduce impacts of natural hazards

The development of a framework for an integrated Earth observation system is on a fast track, according to Conrad Lautenbacher, administrator for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, because of the impetus provided by a high‐level summit this summer, and also because of existing Earth monitoring efforts that have laid much of the groundwork.

Summit pushes efforts toward integrated Earth observation system

The development of an integrated, comprehensive, and sustained Earth observation system received an important boost when representatives of more than 30 nations and 22 multilateral agencies gathered for a summit on the issue on 31 July in Washington, D.C.