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Meeting Meeting GEO Architecture & Data Committee GEO Architecture & Data Committee

Seattle Seattle

19-20 July 2006

Report from the Science & Technology Report from the Science & Technology CommitteeCommittee

Gilles OLLIER European Commission

Research Directorate-General Head of Sector Earth Observation

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• No implementing responsibility for the various tasks, but ensure and monitor, on behalf of GEO Plenary, the tasks assigned to it

• The S&T Committee will set priorities in order to identify those tasks which it sees as vital and to advise on how best to focus resources on these tasks, if necessary

• The Co-Chairs would not lead specific tasks

• Leads should insure that they interact with Leads of other relevant tasks, regardless of the Committee responsible (e.g. ADC Committee)

Role of theRole of the S&T Committee S&T Committee

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• The Committee reviewed the 20 task sheets allocated to the S&TCom

• Agreed on the scope of the tasks and the deliverables, milestones etc.

• Agreed on the lead organizations with points of contact and the contributors

Review of the S&TReview of the S&T Committee tasks Committee tasks

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• The tasks were found to be of very different nature - some even not scientific, others very demanding.

• Tasks are also uneven in terms of organisation and progress

• Many tasks are well advanced and structured (AG, DI, WA, HE, CL, BI, WE)

• Some tasks are less advanced and less organised (EC)

• TASK EN-06-01, E-06-06, DA-06-03, (BI-06-04) Currently pending and deferred to 2007 unless new Leads come forward.

Task content and Task content and implementationimplementation

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• The funding of activities was a general concern raised by many participants

• Leader of and participants to tasks are responsible for the provision of the resources needed (not always understood – expectation to get money from GEO)

• The idea is that GEOSS will have to promote funding according to its TYIP and using its political power

• The GEO secretariat has very limited funds to be assigned to the tasks ( priority areas for quick deliveries might get some seed funding from GEO).

Funding aspectsFunding aspects

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• archiving/access of/to results, data policy and harmonisation considered as a key issue necessitating proper liaison with ADC

• EXAMPLES:

• Biodiversity Task BI-06-03 (Initiate the development of a strategic plan for capturing historical biodiversity data from natural history collections and the research community)

• Broadcast and dissemination of product and data: link to be established with GEONETCast and the ADC

• There will be an increasing need for discussion among Committees and the Executive Committee / GEO should put in place suitable mechanisms to enable such cross fertilization.

Links with the ADCLinks with the ADC

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• S&TCom will not propose new tasks for the Work Plan2007-2009

• Potential topics selected to be presented as showcases in front of the GEO plenary: carbon monitoring, disaster, water, land cover, health

• The Committee should address Science and Technology across all tasks in all Committees to develop the framework for a ‘Science and Technology Committee Science Plan’: need a mid-term to long-term perspective vision.

• Such a framework for a GEO science plan would take into account the state of the art, in order to avoid duplication of efforts and take advantage of all existing initiatives

Future developmentsFuture developments

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• CL-06-01: ECMWF/GEO Reanalysis Workshop held at ECMWF,Reading, UK on 19-22 June 2006

• DI-06-03: GEO SE Asia Geohazards Workshop - Kuala Lumpur29th and 30th June 2006.

• HE-06-01: By ESSP - Beijing in Nov 2006. Global change andhuman health.

• BI-06-02: User and Provider workshop DIVERSITAS (October 2006)

• BI-06-03: Specimen and Observational Data Workshop, GBIF 4thUniversity of Copenhagen (tentative 23-25 October 2006)

• AG-06-03: Workshop GLOBCOVER October 2006 task coordinationand high-resolution product specifications (host and venue: EEA)

• EC-06-02 and BI-06-01: Ecosystem Classification Working Group1st Meeting, Ascuncion, Paraguay, 11-15 September 2006

• EC-06-07: Workshop of the Chlorophyll Pilot Study Group(Antares). Plymouth Marine Laboratory (18-22 Sept) (POGO)

GEO S&T eventsGEO S&T events

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• 23 June 2006: Update of the task sheet were sent to Secretariat

• 30June 2006: 2nd quarterly report

• July-September 2006: Committee review progress electronically

• 30 September 2006: 3rd quarterly report

• Science and Technology Committee 2nd meeting :27 November 2006 in Geneva

• Co-chairs to report at GEO-III Plenary (28-29 November 2006)

• Science and Technology Committee 3rd meeting: early February 2007

TimescaleTimescale

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S&T Committee Co-Chairs:

• Thomas Rosswall – ICSU - thomas.rosswall@icsu.org

• Udo Gärtner - Deutscher Wetterdienst - Germany - ugaert@aol.com

• Adi Paterson - Department of Science and Technology – South Africa - Adi.Paterson@dst.gov.za

• Alexia Massacand – GEO Secretariat – amassacand@geosec.org

• Douglas Muchoney - GEO Scretariat – dmuchoney@geosec.org

ContactContact