The Scale and Value of Earth Observation Infrastructure

Free and openly accessibly Earth observation data and information products are not free; they are the result of investments in a complex socio-technical infrastructure. This infrastructure includes multiple sensors, systems, networks, and sampling programs that measure Earth systems processes; information and communications networks to transmit these data; computational resources to process, model, analyze, reanalyze, store, and disseminate Earth observation data and information products; and a trained workforce to maintain and operate it. This talk will illustrate the scale complexity of this infrastructure using the example of sea ice modeling and the multiple space-based, airborne, terrestrial, and marine systems and computational resources needed to provide and maintain these crucial services.