CEOS Analysis Ready

Data For Land

(CARD4L)

Ferran Gascon, ESA

15 September 2017

Committee on Earth Observation Satellites

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• Established under the auspices of the G-7 Economic Summit of

Industrialized Nations (1984)

• Operates through the best efforts & voluntary contributions of 31

Members (space agencies) & 24 Associates (UN Agencies, Phase A

programs, or supporting ground facility programs)

• Delivers on high priority objectives in support of the Group on Earth

Observation (GEO) Tasks as the space component of the Global Earth

Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)

CEOS Background

• Serve as a focal point for coordinating international satellite Earth

Observation (EO) activities

• Optimize EO benefits via cooperation on mission planning & the

development of compatible data products, formats, services,

applications, & policies

• Exchange policy & technical information to encourage

complementarity & compatibility among space-based EO systems &

their data

• Address issues of common interest across the spectrum of EO

satellite missions

• CEOS Land Surface Imaging Virtual Constellation

• Re-established at the 2015 CEOS Plenary.

• Led by ESA (Bianca Hoersch), GA (Adam Lewis), and

USGS (Jenn Lacey).

• Over 20 members representing 12 agencies (CNES,

CSA, CSIRO, DLR, EC, ESA, GA, ISRO, JAXA, NASA,

NOAA, USGS).

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CEOS LSI-VC Background

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The LSI-VC aims to optimize the use of existing and future land

surface imaging assets and data to better meet user needs by:

• Promoting sustained and systematic collection of satellite-derived

land surface imaging observations by sharing information on future

mission development

• Drawing together validated requirements identified by downstream

user communities to:

o Identify opportunities to better optimize, and increase resilience

of, land surface imaging programs

o Identify current and potential data gaps (both in terms of

geographic and temporal coverage, and in land monitoring

requirements)

LSI-VC Objectives

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• Coordinating production and distribution of, and ability to analyze,

fundamental, non-domain specific, measurements derived from

land surface imaging observations (e.g. surface reflectance, land

surface temperature, calibrated radar backscatter [gamma and

sigma nought])

• Facilitating maximum utilization of land surface imaging

observations through the promotion of common standards

making land surface image products more easily discovered

and ready for analysis

LSI-VC Objectives (cont.)

• LSI-VC served as the forum for developing the CEOS

Analysis-Ready Data definition (now known as

CARD4L – CEOS Analysis-Ready Data for Land).

• CARD4L underpins a large amount of the future data

architectures work being progressed within CEOS.

• The CARD4L definition was endorsed by the CEOS

Plenary in 2016.

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CEOS Analysis Ready Data

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CEOS Analysis Ready Data for Land

(CARD4L), are satellite data that have been

processed to a minimum set of

requirements and organized into a form that

allows immediate analysis with a minimum

of additional user effort, and,

interoperability both through time and with

other datasets

The definition – CARD4L

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• Following endorsement of the definition, Technical

Specifications were needed.

CARD4L Product Family Specifications

General Description

- minimum characteristics

Product Family Specifications

- specifically, what is needed

for optical, radar or other

datasets to be CARD4L?

- E.g. what is CARD4L

surface reflectance?

Endorsed by CEOS Plenary

• Continual evolution (living documents)

• Specifications will not change the

general description

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• Product Family Specifications have been developed for:

o Surface Reflectance

o Surface Temperature

o SAR Backscatter Intensity

• The specification documents also have a guidance section:

o Examples of data and processing that produces CARD4L

o References to processes that produce analysis ready data

o Discussion of ‘threshold’ and ‘target’ levels of processing

Development of Product Family

Specifications

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CARD4L Framework

Definition of CARD4L

Product families with

specifications

Providers self-assess

how well their products

meet the specifications

Peer review

CARD4L stamp !

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CEOS ARD – Next Steps

• CEOS endorsement of the Product Family Specifications for

Surface Reflectance, Surface Temperature, SAR Backscatter

(September 2017)

• Draft the Product Alignment Assessment process / forms

• Prototype CARD4L data production with CEOS agencies

• Capture information on the benefits of CARD4L (cost-benefit

assessment)

• Engage with the other various ARD initiatives that are progressing

o Learn from them and seek feedback on CARD4L

o Share and promote the CARD4L Framework

• Investigate application of CEOS ARD concept to other domains

(oceans, atmosphere)