Can a new kind of website transform how environmental data are collected and shared? The creators of UNEP Live think it just might.
SERVIR-Africa: Sharing Data for Member Benefit
The SERVIR-Africa partnership with RCMRD promotes an increase in data sharing among RCMRD’s member nations. A flood modeling system that will help member states anticipate and prepare for flooding is in its pilot stages.
Improving Numerical Weather Prediction Models and Data-Access Latencies
The data center community must work to allow researchers more time to spend on analyzing results and less time coding and worrying about file formats and data transfers. We identify some of the existing limitations of traditional archives, discuss examples of model data diagnostics, and explore the many benefits of providing archive-based computational resources on peta-scale databases.
OGC netCDF: Powerful Tool for Science
A widely used “fluid earth systems” data model and data access standard called netCDF now provides an important bridge between GIS and the complex 4-D processing systems used in oceanography and atmospheric sciences. By bringing netCDF into the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards organization, the netCDF community has given climate scientists, for example, a streamlined method for bringing virtually all types of spatial/temporal data and processing into climate science models and workflows.
SERVIR partnership increases capabilities of Himalaya regional organization ICIMOD
SERVIR continues to put resources into the hands of local experts through its newest partnership with regional Himalaya development organization ICIMOD. With supplemental resources from SERVIR, ICIMOD has increased capacity in its member states and developed a forest fire monitoring system based on satellite data.
What is GEO? A Quick Look at the Group on Earth Observations
The 10th GEO Plenary in January marked an opportunity for the organization to celebrate its accomplishments and set goals for the future. At Earthzine, this gathering also provided an opportunity to highlight the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in new articles and reflect back on the origins of the group.
A Growing Initiative: The Progress and Future of the Global Forest Observation Initiative
You don’t have to talk with Dr. Doug Muchoney for very long to discover his enthusiasm. Based at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Virginia, Muchoney is the U.S. representative for the Global Forest Observation Initiative (GFOI). In an interview with Earthzine, he shared a look into his experience with the GFOI so far.
Swarm: ESA’s Magnetic Field Mission
Launched in November 2013, three Swarm satellites will provide new insights into many natural processes related to Earth’s magnetic field: from those occurring deep inside the planet to the near-Earth electromagnetic environment and the influences of the solar wind. Each of the Swarm satellites provides high-precision and high-resolution measurements of the strength, direction and variation of the magnetic field, complemented by precise navigation, accelerometer, plasma and electric field measurements.
Blue Planet Initiative Works Toward Atlantic Ocean Observing System
Oceans and Society: Blue Planet, a task of the latest Group on Earth Observations work plan, will present its vision for a new Integrated Atlantic Ocean Observing System at an upcoming GEO-X session.
The Future of Earth Observation – GEO-X
At the Group on Earth Observations’ 10th Plenary and Ministerial Summit in Switzerland, Jan. 12-17, delegates from 90 countries and 77 international organizations charted a course for a second decade of “unleashing the power of open data to improve the quality of life for people everywhere.” Earthzine science writer Osha Gray Davidson was there, providing live coverage of this historic event.