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SIT Chair 2021 Report

Alex Held & Adam Lewis�SIT Co-Chairs

Agenda Item 39

2021 CEOS Plenary

Virtual Meeting

1-4 November 2021

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SIT Chair Term Priorities

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CEOS Plenary, 1-4 November 2021

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Working Teams Support

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  • New Processes for Our Term, building on efforts of past SIT Chairs:

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  • All-Hands calls with WGs, VCs and AHTs - agenda set by Teams

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  • Continuity of individual calls with VC Leads - informal & frank

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  • CEOS SEC telcon slots for VCs to report

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  • Thank you CEOS Chairs ISRO and NASA!

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Working Teams Issues to Note

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  • New thematic observations page to get a quick overview of the key observing strategies in place or development by all CEOS Working Teams: ceos.org/observations

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  • Substantial increase in VC representation in CEOS WP deliverables - via informal calls with Leads
    • 42 VC-xx or VC-led deliverables in Work Plan
      • 9 CARB, 2 AG, 31 VC
    • 28 of them created in 2020-21

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  • Leadership and representation support provided to: AC-VC, P-VC, AFOLU team

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Analysis Ready Data Priority: Term Outcomes

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  • Guided by the CEOS ARD Strategy v1.0
  • Great CARD4L Product Family Specification progress:
    • Surface Reflectance (SR)
    • Surface Temperature (ST)
    • Normalised Radar Backscatter (NRB)
    • Polarimetric Radar (POL)
    • Aquatic Reflectance PFS nearing finalisation
    • Interferometric and Geocoded SLC SAR in development
    • Nighttime Lights Surface Radiance in development
    • LIDAR terrain and canopy height PFS under discussion
  • First CARD4L Datasets: USGS Landsat Collection 2 SR & ST and ESA Sentinel-2 SR (in final assessment)
  • Cooperative processes established (LSI-VC & WGCV) to assess and peer-review CARD4L datasets
  • CEOS ARD Beyond Land: CEOS-COAST uptake of ARD, SST-VC involvement, interest for other domains

➤➤ CEOS ARD Governance Framework (Oct. 2021) & Template Generalised PFS

ceos.org/ard

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Analysis Ready Data Priority: Term Outcomes

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Uptake, Utilisation, Outreach – Some Highlights

  • CEOS ARD Website – covering all things CEOS ARD
  • LSI-VC Webinars – Hundreds of live participants and viewers (#1, #2)
  • CEOS Analysis Ready Data: Involving the Private Sector paper
  • IGARSS papers and ARD sessions
  • Engagement on ARD Standards
  • Participation in OGC’s TESTBED16 ARD activity
  • ARD2x conferences; CARD4L representation at VH-RODA and JACIE
  • Planned (but postponed) commercial sector + CEOS ARD workshop
  • DE Africa data flows (Sentinel-2, Landsat, Sentinel-1): continental coverage of CEOS ARD (CARD4L compliant where possible), Industry is playing key roles in production (Sinergise, Element-84)

Closing term with two additional items to maintain momentum in a coordinated and unified manner:

  • CEOS ARD Strategy 2021
  • CEOS ARD Oversight Group

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CEOS ARD Webinar #2 (SAR) February 1 & 2, 2021

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Analysis Ready Data Priority: Term Outcomes

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< Link to CEOS ARD Plenary Video (to be viewed offline) >

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Carbon & Biomass Priority: Term Outcomes

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  • Deepened engagement with UNFCCC SEC:
    • participation of UNFCCC SEC in TW 2020 and TW 2021
    • focal points established for the Systematic Observations group for the Global Stocktake
    • leadership on synthesis report for Systematic Observations for GST

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  • New engagement with national inventory users
    • Country outreach and feedback through AFOLU Roadmap
    • Building on GFOI experience, thanks to USGS/SilvaCarbon

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  • SIT-led Study Team explored the need for a CEOS-wide strategy for CEOS support to the GST Process for the UNFCCC Paris Climate Agreement
    • SIT Vice-Chair led development of a Strategy Paper for CEOS to guide and track our activity

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  • Productive engagement at TW 2020 and TW 2021 with GCOS on their requirements process and key document updates�

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Carbon & Biomass Priority: Term Outcomes

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  • March 2020 CEOS Biomass Workshop in Canberra (face to face!)
    • progressed the CEOS Biomass Protocol
    • challenged the LPV team to develop the Forest Biomass Reference Network proposal
    • which led to the GEO-TREES initiative

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  • Publication of the CEOS Biomass Protocol by WGCV LPV
    • endorsement at SIT-36

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  • GHG & AFOLU Roadmaps progressed during 2020 & 2021
    • Prototype GHG inventory products published ahead of COP-26
    • Available AFOLU datasets published ahead of COP-26 (harmonised products were attempted but insufficient time)
    • CEOS GST Portal developed as a collaboration between SIT & CEOS Chair Teams and the GHG & AFOLU dataset teams (thanks!)
    • GHG-AFOLU integration discussion started
    • Full AFOLU Roadmap development in planning

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Carbon & Biomass Priority: Term Outcomes

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  • ceos.org/gst
    • English/French/Spanish
    • Single point of entry for multiple GHG & AFOLU datasets for countries
    • Will be maintained as new & harmonised datasets emerge

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Carbon & Biomass Priority: Continuity!

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  • GHG & AFOLU Roadmaps
    • GHG-AFOLU integration discussion started: JRC Workshop
    • Full AFOLU Roadmap development in planning - NASA (Ben Poulter) stepping up to support as co-lead of team with ESA & JAXA
  • New geometries with New Space
    • International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) invited to TW 2021
    • Excellent presentation by UNEP & GHGSat highlighted opportunities for CEOS to engage in new geometries
    • Baton passed to ESA to follow up - identified priority for their term
  • GEO-TREES & Biomass Protocol
    • Identified priority for CNES as CEOS Chair
  • CEOS GST Strategy
    • SIT Chair identified as having oversight
    • Identified priority for ESA
  • David Crisp (GHG) retires at end 2021 - a huge thank you!

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SDGs Priority: Term Outcomes - Summary

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Updates on the SDG AHT work: https://ceos.org/ourwork/ad-hoc-teams/sustainable-development-goals/meetings-events/

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SDGs Priority: Term Outcomes - Summary

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  • Sub-Team model was exercised with three sub-teams (plus COAST) completing or progressing 11 deliverables - reported under Item 23
  • Sustainable governance approach developed through the meetings since SIT-35, culminating in the decisions taken at this Plenary:
    • SDG AHT to be dismantled
    • Approval of the Federated Approach to continue SDG work
  • Federated Approach allows CEOS to continue play an active and visible role in the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, including supporting GEO, while taking account current CEOS resources
    • CEOS SDG Strategy to be led by the SIT Chair
    • CEOS SDG Implementation to be led by the SEO with a small core SDG Coordination group focused on ensuring SDG deliverables are completed by deliverable teams
  • Strategy Implementation to be endorsed for the federated approach to be implemented

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Strategy Implementation overview

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SIT Meetings & Workshops

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  • SIT-35, March 2020: Hobart, Australia => late change to GTM, 3 days

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  • SIT-TW-2020, Sep 2020: Zagreb, Croatia => GTM, 6 days

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  • SIT-36, March 2021: Sydney, Australia => GTM, 3 days

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  • SIT-TW-2021, Sep 2021: Tokyo, Japan => GTM, 3 days plus side meetings prior

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Thank you to the entire community!

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… over to ESA!

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CEOS Plenary, 1-4 November 2021