Advancing the Vision of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems: a European Perspective
Abstract
The purpose of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), a network of Earth observation and information systems, contributed on a voluntary basis by Members and Participating Organisations of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), is to achieve comprehensive, coordinated and sustained observations of the Earth system, in order to improve monitoring of the state of the Earth, increase understanding of Earth processes, and enhance prediction of the behaviour of the Earth system. Such a global research effort requires an integrated multi-disciplinary effort that is underpinned by a cyber-infrastructure which is able to discover and access vast quantities of data across heterogeneous information systems and many disciplines. As GEO develops and the implementation of the GEOSS gathers pace, it is becoming common practice for groups to be organised at national, regional and international level to address critical issues. In many cases these groups evolve to become "communities", organising themselves to carry out tasks of interest to that community. In most cases, communities develop their own "community portal" to provide a focal point on the web for their activities. The data and information held by the members of a specific community can normally be discovered via their particular "community portal". There is now a clear recognition that the many thematic community initiatives, each with their own information system and portal, need to be fully connected into the overall GEOSS architecture. With the introduction of a brokering capability this becomes possible. The value of the brokering approach has been demonstrated within the European Union funded EuroGEOSS research project. The EuroGEOSS brokering capability has now been incorporated into the GEOSS information system, (known as the GEOSS Common Infrastructure, or GCI) and renamed the GEOSS Discovery and Access Broker. In a matter of a few months the GEOSS DAB has enabled the GEOSS to extend the data resources available from a few hundred to over 28 million. The brokering approach also considerably lowers User and Data Producers entry barriers, offering the opportunity to support real bottom-up infrastructure, building on existing capacities (supplementing, but not supplanting them). Differently from other conceptual approaches, such as federated systems, within the brokering approach heterogeneity is addressed by focusing on mediation rather than standardisation. Moving toward a Broker-based infrastructure offers a greater level of flexibility than other architectural solutions. This adds not only an avenue for innovation as technology evolves, but also provides the potential for interoperability with cultural, social and economic information that will ultimately play a role in decision making, for example within citizens observatories. This presentation will focus on the opportunities that brokering offers to facilitate truly multi-disciplinary big data science and address the scientific challenges of our time.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFMIN23E..02E
- Keywords:
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- 1916 INFORMATICS / Data and information discovery;
- 1936 INFORMATICS / Interoperability