CoAuthors

Jorge Vazquez (NASA/JPL, USA); Thomas Huang (NASA/JPL, USA); Mike Chin (NASA/JPL, USA); Joe Roberts (NASA/JPL, USA); Joseph Jacob (NASA/JPL, USA); Flynn Platt (NASA/JPL, USA)

There is a broad need, by a growing number of user communities, for synergistic use of increasingly available satellite-derived environmental data, including products from altimetry missions, in support of research and numerous oceanographic applications. However, the potential of such Earth Observations for ocean science and applications for societal benefit has yet to be fully realized. This is largely due to issues encountered by less expert users, who are currently underserved, and which relate to complexities of data access, product selection, and working with large volume, heterogeneous datasets across agency repositories. The CEOS Ocean Variables Enabling Research and Applications for GEO (COVERAGE) initiative aims to address this critical gap. Its seeks to provide improved access to multi-agency, multidisciplinary remote sensing data for the oceans that are better integrated with in-situ and biological observations that pose additional interoperability challenges.

COVERAGE is an international initiative and 3 year pilot project within the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) involving interagency participation. It aligns with programmatic objectives of CEOS and the missions of GEO-MBON (Marine Biodiversity Observation Network), which are to advance and exploit synergies amongst marine observational programs. It focuses on implementing technologies, including cloud-based solutions, to provide an advanced yet accessible data rich, web-based platform for integrated ocean data delivery and access: multi-parameter observations, easily discoverable and usable, organized thematically, available in near real-time, collocated to a common grid and complemented by a set of value-added data services. COVERAGE development is organized around priority application use cases identified by agency partners and user driven. Here we provide an overview of the initiative and the status of the Phase C technical implementation work that builds upon our current prototype. Emphasis is also placed on describing the associated ecosystem thematic demonstration application that focuses on the dynamics of high seas pelagic fish assemblages in relation to the environment in support of emerging high seas area-based management frameworks. Results showing the utility of altimetry data, especially when combined with complementary remote sensing observations from other parameters, in identifying dynamic oceanographic features and biological hotspots of interest are illustrated. International collaborative aspects of the project are discussed with the intent of soliciting community feedback.