Transcript Synthetic Aperture Sonar 3-D Imaging of Targets in Air

Satellites enabling the Global Earth Observation
System of Systems (GEOSS)
Michael Inggs, Department of Electrical
Engineering,
University of Cape Town, Private Bag,
Rondebosch 7701
[email protected]
Radar Remote Sensing Group
University of Cape Town
Background
“
“The GEO was formally established at the Third Earth
Observation Summit in February 2005 to carry out the
GEOSS 10-Year Implementation Plan. Prior to its formal
establishment, the Ad Hoc GEO (established at the First
Earth Observation Summit in July 2003) met as a planning
body to develop the GEOSS 10-Year Implementation
Plan.”.
In fact, the process started at the 2002 Johannesburg
World Summit on Sustainable Development, triggering the
action at the next summit, in 2003. The United States,
South African, Chinese and European members serve as
co-chairs of the GEO Plenary and the GEO Executive
Committee.
The role of Satellite Technology in
Remote Sensing
• Early history.
• The move to space.
• Issues around data volumes.
• Convenient distribution from remote
terrestrial sites.
• Subtle pressure from the media concerning
most transgressions of pollution rules.
Sensors
• Optical
• Radar/Microwave
• Gravity
• Navigation
• Communications
Optical
• Growth in spatial resolution.
• Resolution in Wavelength resolution and
range.
• Downlink capabilities
• Problems with cloud cover
• Weather
• The tyranny of orbits and daily coverage.
Radar and Microwave
• All weather, day/night
• Active and passive.
• Growth in resolution.
• Millimetric slant range change detection
capability.
• Scatterometers and the ocean wind and
waves.
Gravity
• Orbital perturbations.
• Better knowledge of the earth's spheriod.
Navigation
• Transit
• GPS constellation
• GLONASS
• Galileo
• Importance for
– data gathering
– location
Communications
• Disaster coordination and warning systems.
• Remote data collection.
• Downlinks.
• Media and environmental awareness
GEOSS Rationale
• Huge cost of national remote sensing
programmes.
• Realisation we all travel on the same
spaceship.
• Huge volumes of underutilised data.
• Duplication.
• The properties of a system are always
greater than the sum of the parts.
GEOSS Tasks
• Disasters: Reducing loss of life and property from
natural and human-induced disasters.
• Health: Understanding environmental factors affecting
human health and well-being.
• Energy: Improving management of energy resources.
• Climate: Understanding, assessing, predicting,
mitigating, and adapting to climate variability and
change.
• Water: Improving water-resource management
through better understanding of the water cycle.
GEOSS Tasks (2)
Weather: Improving weather information, forecasting
and warning.
●
Ecosystems: Improving the management and
protection of terrestrial, coastal and marine resources.
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Agriculture: Supporting sustainable agriculture and
combating desertification.
●
Biodiversity: Understanding, monitoring and
conserving biodiversity.
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User Engagement.
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Conclusions
• Probably the largest Science and
Engineering project of all time.
• Good example of international cooperation
across the economic spectrum.
• Thorough planning.
• South Africa has an influential role.