58
N. Hoepffner et al.
data produced the Naval Oceanographic Office at 0.1
◦ grid). Data is made available through both regional and global Data Assembly Centers, all of which offering
the same interoperable metadata models, file format structures and access methods
(Donlon et al. 2009).
In spite of the availability of multiple datasets from satellite, there are several
obstacles that prevent African countries to make full use of this technology. These
obstacles include the lack of appropriate infrastructure and data communication
systems that would limit the diffusion of the data and subsequent use of these data
by the African scientists. Also the level of technical expertise may not be sufficient
or appropriately targeted to manipulate satellite data and promote their applications
in the marine sector. A number of specific programs and projects and/or initiatives
have been established to overcome these difficulties.
The information system GEONETCast is part of the Global Earth Observation
System of Systems (GEOSS) established by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO)
to provide environmental satellite data to users on a worldwide basis. It relies on the
EUMETSAT’s broadcast system for meteorological and environmental data, named
EUMETCast, a multi-service dissemination system using standard Digital Video
Broadcast technology and commercial telecommunication satellites (Jungbluth et al.
2011). Owing to a number of projects and European initiatives such as the Preparation for Use of MSG in Africa (PUMA) and its follow-up the African Monitoring of
the Environment for Sustainable Development
3 (AMESD), more than 100 receiving
stations have been deployed in sub-Saharan Africa countries collecting environmental information, including sea surface temperature from TIR sensors, through the
EUMETCast system (see e.g. Clerici et al. 2009).
The Europe-Africa Marine EO Network
4 (EAMNet) has been established specifically in the marine and coastal domain to link Earth Observation (EO) data providers
with centers of excellence in Europe and Africa to support sustainable development
in Africa. Its data portal regroups several information systems providing the African
user community with a set of EO-derived bio-physical variables, of importance to
conduct water quality monitoring and resource assessment in their marine and coastal
waters.
For example, the Global Marine Information System
5 (GMIS) has simple and
easy-to-use mapping tool applications, created for the publication and dissemination
of marine information via the web. GMIS relies on best quality EO data, including sea surface temperature from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectometer
(MODIS)—available in two versions, the first onboard the Terra orbital platform
(MODIS Terra), the second onboard the Aqua orbital platform (MODIS Aqua)—and
AVHRR series, to generate indicators for regional diagnostic of the coastal state and
analyses of changes in marine ecosystems. A specific window for Africa has been
predefined in the system with five regional sub-windows corresponding to African
Large Marine Ecosystems
6 .
3 See http://www.amesd.org for details.
4 See http://www.eamnet.eu for details.
5 Available at http://gmis.jrc.ec.europa.eu.
6 See http://odin.ioc-africa.org/index.php/african-large-marine-eco-systems for details.
N. Hoepffner et al.
data produced the Naval Oceanographic Office at 0.1
◦ grid). Data is made available through both regional and global Data Assembly Centers, all of which offering
the same interoperable metadata models, file format structures and access methods
(Donlon et al. 2009).
In spite of the availability of multiple datasets from satellite, there are several
obstacles that prevent African countries to make full use of this technology. These
obstacles include the lack of appropriate infrastructure and data communication
systems that would limit the diffusion of the data and subsequent use of these data
by the African scientists. Also the level of technical expertise may not be sufficient
or appropriately targeted to manipulate satellite data and promote their applications
in the marine sector. A number of specific programs and projects and/or initiatives
have been established to overcome these difficulties.
The information system GEONETCast is part of the Global Earth Observation
System of Systems (GEOSS) established by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO)
to provide environmental satellite data to users on a worldwide basis. It relies on the
EUMETSAT’s broadcast system for meteorological and environmental data, named
EUMETCast, a multi-service dissemination system using standard Digital Video
Broadcast technology and commercial telecommunication satellites (Jungbluth et al.
2011). Owing to a number of projects and European initiatives such as the Preparation for Use of MSG in Africa (PUMA) and its follow-up the African Monitoring of
the Environment for Sustainable Development
3 (AMESD), more than 100 receiving
stations have been deployed in sub-Saharan Africa countries collecting environmental information, including sea surface temperature from TIR sensors, through the
EUMETCast system (see e.g. Clerici et al. 2009).
The Europe-Africa Marine EO Network
4 (EAMNet) has been established specifically in the marine and coastal domain to link Earth Observation (EO) data providers
with centers of excellence in Europe and Africa to support sustainable development
in Africa. Its data portal regroups several information systems providing the African
user community with a set of EO-derived bio-physical variables, of importance to
conduct water quality monitoring and resource assessment in their marine and coastal
waters.
For example, the Global Marine Information System
5 (GMIS) has simple and
easy-to-use mapping tool applications, created for the publication and dissemination
of marine information via the web. GMIS relies on best quality EO data, including sea surface temperature from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectometer
(MODIS)—available in two versions, the first onboard the Terra orbital platform
(MODIS Terra), the second onboard the Aqua orbital platform (MODIS Aqua)—and
AVHRR series, to generate indicators for regional diagnostic of the coastal state and
analyses of changes in marine ecosystems. A specific window for Africa has been
predefined in the system with five regional sub-windows corresponding to African
Large Marine Ecosystems
6 .
3 See http://www.amesd.org for details.
4 See http://www.eamnet.eu for details.
5 Available at http://gmis.jrc.ec.europa.eu.
6 See http://odin.ioc-africa.org/index.php/african-large-marine-eco-systems for details.