Continuity of Earth Observation Data for Australia: Research ... - csiro

Nine broadly classified “Priority Data Types” have been identified, based upon their criticality in support of
research outcomes, and their widespread usage across multiple projects. These are (in decreasing order
of usage):
• Low Resolution Optical;
• Medium Resolution Optical;
• High Resolution Optical;
• SAR (C-, L- and X-band);
• Passive Microwave Radiometry;
• Radar Altimetry;
• Hyperspectral Imagery;
• Lidar; and
• Ocean Colour.
While also used extensively in routine operational programs across Australian Government agencies, the
Low and Medium Resolution Optical data are also by far the most widely used data types in the R&D
sector, with Low Resolution Optical data being used by around half of the surveyed projects. SAR data
represent the next most widely used data type, and their use is expected to grow as data streams become
more accessible and continuous.
Researchers assessed that their needs for these Priority Data Types will not change significantly over the
next five years, although a broadening of the available satellite EO instrument suite and increased use of
new EO data sources with higher spatial and spectral resolutions are widely anticipated. Therefore, significant
increases in the variety of data streams and in particular in data volumes are envisioned in future.
Survey results highlighted the tendency of the R&D community to historically use ‘whatever free data are
available’, provided it offers suitable data quality, continuity, coverage and access arrangements. The purchase
of large volumes of commercial EO data is financially unsustainable for the vast majority of projects
surveyed.
Several relatively new sensor systems, which may not be widely used currently, merit more attention in
terms of continuity and critical data gaps across a range of new science and application fields important
to Australia. These have strong potential to provide valuable new information for key essential variables
important, for example, to hydrological, Antarctic and marine studies, and for monitoring terrestrial dynamics,
and atmospheric gas and aerosol climatologies. These sensor systems include GPS occultation, AMSR-E,
OCO-ACE, GRACE, GOSAT, CALIPSO, and ESA Biomass. Key Australian organisations and researchers will
need to monitor these systems on an ongoing basis, and the CEODA-R&D survey should be updated on a
regular basis.
Awareness of future international EO satellite program plans, data contingency planning, radio-frequency
protection issues, and the need to strengthen international partnerships with additional supplier agencies,
varied significantly among individual researchers but was generally low, with few researchers following global
developments closely. This suggests that the R&D community may need to be better informed of future
opportunities before national priorities can be established.
Data Continuity Risks
Of the top four Priority Data Types listed above, there is one current data gap for L-band SAR, and a
significant risk of a data gap for Medium Resolution Optical data (see Table ES-1). Numerous operational
national programs and legislated monitoring activities could be delayed or otherwise affected by loss of
L-band SAR data, Landsat and MODIS data in particular, due to the significant cost and effort associated
with changing data processing protocols and negotiating data access, as programs transition to alternative
data sources.
6 Continuity of Earth Observation Data for Australia: R&D • January 2012