A better 'system of systems' for the environment
The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) was designed by the world's eight most industrialised countries (G-8) to bring together all the planet's monitoring efforts to address environmental concerns. Since GEOSS is a 'system of systems' that deals with the environment, all its components must be interoperable and be able to communicate together seamlessly. The EU-funded project 'European approach to GEOSS' (Eurogeoss) was launched to enhance scientific exchange among the different systems. It has achieved this based on the concept of inter-disciplinary interoperability which highlights the complex relations between environment and society. The project has underlined the benefits of an interoperable system, in conjunction as well with the European Inspire Directive, which represents an infrastructure for spatial information across the continent. Eurogeoss focuses on the three strategic areas of drought, forestry and biodiversity, producing data and analytical models that scientists from different fields could exploit. In parallel, the new system incorporates Web 2.0 technology communities to foster interaction and availability of resources, encouraging dialogue between science and society. This is vital for raising awareness and building consensus on how to tackle global environmental challenges. Eurogeoss has succeeded in establishing its most important objective, namely robust databases regarding biodiversity, drought and forestry. It has also built a framework of surveys and models to assess the long-term impact of the project and the benefits of GEOSS. The project extended advanced operating capabilities to access not only data on different environment-related topics but models and analytical processes to help researchers and stakeholders through a web-based platform. The 'system of systems' will be of great benefit in monitoring the environment worldwide.
