Evolution of Ocean Observing Systems: Building an Infrastructure for Science

Institute Of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Inc., Piscataway NJ

Investigators

Abstract

The PI requests funding to partially support a one-day GEOSS workshop entitled "Evolution of Ocean Observing Systems building an infrastructure for science" that will be held Seattle, WA, USA, on 19 September 2010. The theme of the workshop follows the need to understand the capabilities of the major ocean observing systems to be used within the GEOSS era, and specifically new and existing cabled observing systems and their ability to address the data and information needs for science. This workshop is organized by the IEEE Committee on Earth Observations (ICEO) as part of an ongoing international series of GEOSS workshops that focus on data, science, and user themes pertinent to GEOSS. The IEEE GEOSS workshops focus on development of observing systems for Earth science and the system-of-systems engineering communities that form a core intellectual resource for integrating complex systems. The emphasis on ocean observation systems in this specific workshop serves to direct attendees' attention toward key ocean observational challenges and opportunities within the context of both US and global monitoring. The unique format and scope of the GEOSS workshop series serves to ensure that a broad range of data users, scientists, and engineers contribute to the discussions on Earth system models and the use of environmental data. This will be the 40th in the IEEE series of GEOSS workshops, and so follows an established tradition of success in focusing attention within the relevant science, engineering, and user communities around GEOSS issues. Broader Impacts This GEOSS workshop advances the understanding of the Earth and its processes by presenting contemporary issues associated with Earth observation to a broad and international audience, then publicizing the results of in-depth discussions on these issues on the internet for free global access. The benefits of this workshop are thus available globally, both in direct publications and in the impact that this workshop will have on the identification and implementation of GEO tasks. The activity also serves to connect the engineering community more closely with the Earth science modeling and Earth data user communities, thus enhancing an important three-way partnership necessary to see the maximum benefits from Earth observations.