1. A Global Capacity Building Vision for Societal Applications of Earth Observing Systems and Data: Key Questions and Recommendations
- Author
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Victor Hugo Ramos, Amy Thomas, Sue Estes, Stephanie Granger, Nancy D. Searby, Robinson Mugo, Ali S. Akanda, Vanessa M. Escobar, Dauna S. Coulter, J. W. Skiles, T. Stough, Guy Schumann, Ashutosh Limaye, David J. Ganz, Rebecca L. Lewison, Eric Anderson, William L. Crosson, Africa Flores, Faisal Hossain, Margaret Srinivasan, Aleix Serrat-Capdevila, Dalia Kirschbaum, David Saah, Dan Irwin, Carolyn Fonseca, M. S. R. Murthy, Elliot Levine, Christine Lee, Naveed Iqbal, and Lawrence Friedl
- Subjects
Atmospheric Science ,Information transfer ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Computer science ,business.industry ,Bandwidth (signal processing) ,0211 other engineering and technologies ,Extreme events ,Capacity building ,02 engineering and technology ,01 natural sciences ,Port (computer networking) ,Intermittent power ,Software ,Risk analysis (engineering) ,The Internet ,business ,021101 geological & geomatics engineering ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Remote sensing - Abstract
Capacity building using Earth observing (EO) systems and data (i.e., from orbital and nonorbital platforms) to enable societal applications includes the network of human, nonhuman, technical, nontechnical, hardware, and software dimensions that are necessary to successfully cross the valley [of death; see NRC (2001)] between science and research (port of departure) and societal application (port of arrival). In many parts of the world (especially where ground-based measurements are scarce or insufficient), applications of EO data still struggle for longevity or continuity for a variety of reasons, foremost among them being the lack of resilient capacity. An organization is said to have resilient capacity when it can retain and continue to build capacity in the face of unexpected shocks or stresses. Stresses can include intermittent power and limited Internet bandwidth, constant need for education on ever-increasing complexity of EO systems and data, communication challenges between the ports of departure and arrival (especially across time zones), and financial limitations and instability. Shocks may also include extreme events such as disasters and losing key staff with technical and institutional knowledge.
- Published
- 2016
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