Feature

reserved for feature articles

The GEO Challenge: An Earthzine Conversation With GEO Secretariat Director José Achache

French geophysicist and GEO Secretariat Director Jose Achache discusses not only the vision, progress and achievements of GEO but also the challenges relating to resources and industry’s role in GEOSS with Earthzine contributor Peter Fairley.

Peter Fairley, posted on April 15th, 2008
Articles, Earth Observation, Featured Person, GEOSS/ICEO News, People, Technology | 1 Comment »

The ESA-FAO GEOportal – Operational Gateway to GEOSS

The GEOportal is one of the three candidates developed in response to a set of requirements from the GEO Secretariat aiming at the implementation of a GEO Web Portal serving the GEO User Community.

Mirko Albani , posted on March 11th, 2008
Articles, GEOSS/ICEO News, In This Issue | 2 Comments »

Coordinating Satellite Observations during the International Polar Year 2007-2008

The 2007-2008 International Polar Year (IPY) provides an international framework for improving our understanding of high-latitude climate change and enhancing our skill in predicting world-wide impacts.

Mark R. Drinkwater, posted on March 9th, 2008
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To the Poles and Beyond: A Look At How Young British Scientists Are Contributing To the International Polar Year

With the 2007-9 International Polar Year (IPY) well underway, we take a look at what contributions are being made from young polar scientists in the UK.

Emma Irvine, posted on March 3rd, 2008
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Hammering Out Our Differences

“We have not met, yet I feel I know you well enough to call you friend.” So begins the letter to a Southern Baptist pastor that E.O. Wilson weaves into a riveting account of the peril posed by the extinction of life in The Creation: An Appeal To Save Planet Earth.

Paul Racette, posted on March 3rd, 2008
In This Issue, Reviews | 1 Comment »

Big Years for the Heliosphere

Three interlocking international science years – International Polar Year, International Heliospherical Year, and the Electronic Geophysical Year – are inspiring intense global collaboration and coordinated investment. Earthzine takes a close look at one of its core programs, Heliosphere Impact on Geospace, thatÃs spinning out a blizzard of new data on Earth’s geomagnetic phenomena.

Peter Fairley, posted on February 25th, 2008
Articles, Earth Observation, In This Issue, Technology | 1 Comment »

Straight Talk on Climate Communication and Earth Observation: A conversation with Dr. Jerry Mahlman

An expert on the behavior of the upper atmosphere, Mahlman led the development of one of the first global climate models, for which he received the American Geophysical Union’s Carl-Gustav Rossby Medal, its highest honor. Mahlman chaired the Earth System Science and Applications Advisory Committee for NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth program in the 1990s and was involved in the founding of the IPCC; He created the so-called betting odds scheme used by IPCC to evaluate uncertainty and was a reviewer of the Working Group I report for IPCC’s 2007 assessment.

Peter Fairley, posted on January 21st, 2008
Climate, Featured Person, People | No Comments »

Engineering for Humanity

Engineering and humanity? Some might say that the two words don’t belong in the same sentence. Many outside the engineering profession do not think of engineering as a “caring” profession dedicated to creating positive effect for society and the global environment. What’s happening between the IEEE and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is showing how the commitment of engineers can be directed toward improving our lives and those of our children and future generations. IEEE members around the globe are using their skills to support GEO’s development of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS. In doing so, they are tying engineering to basic needs of humankind – food, water, shelter, and security.

Leah Jamieson, posted on November 24th, 2007
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A Look Back at Fifty Years of the Space Age

The noted British astronomer Fred Hoyle predicted shortly after the launch of Sputnik in October, 1957 that when we humans could obtain a picture of Earth from deep space, life here would never be the same. This was a time in history when the average Westerner’s concept of the universe was hardly more sophisticated than “God in the heavens, man in the middle and everything else below.” That is to say that only a very few scientists had foresight as to the extent and complexity of the cosmos that would be revealed following the arrival of the space age and its modern technologies.

Edgar D. Mitchell, Sc.D., posted on October 29th, 2007
Articles, Earth Observation, In This Issue | 1 Comment »

An Architect of “The System of Systems”

The hat collection overtaking his corner office two blocks from the White House says much of Conrad Lautenbacher’s interests. The caps are mementos of a decorated 40-year Navy career and also from his current job, where part of it is running oceanographic and fisheries vessels, including underwater robots.
He is chief of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, overseeing a $4 billion annual operation of satellites, ships, and in situ sensors on balloons and buoys that, analyzed in its national centers, improve prediction of daily weather, seasonal hurricanes, and long-term climate cycles, among other things.

John Adam, posted on October 24th, 2007
In This Issue, People | No Comments »

Fourmile Canyon Fire

The Fourmile Canyon Fire continued to burn west of Boulder, Colo., in this image taken on Sept. 7, 2010, casting a long line of smoke to the east that was visible from NASA's Aqua satellite in its orbit around the Earth. MODIS, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image of the fire at 2:40 p.m. local time (20:40 UTC) on Sept. 7. The red outline corresponds with the unusually high surface temperatures associated with an active fire. The thick smoke plume flows eastward. Over the plains northeast of Denver, the smoke plume casts a shadow to the north. By early morning on Sept. 8, thousands of people had abandoned their homes while the battle against the blaze continued. Image Credit: NASA/MODIS
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