John D. Evans, Ph.D.
Global Science & Technology, Inc. /
NASA Earth Science Technology Office
Presented at CEOS-WGISS-32,
Budapest, Hungary, 2011-09-27

Using Satellite Data in Disaster
Management and Risk Assessment
WGISS
People – Sensors – Data – Processes – Decision Support
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 2

Using Satellite Data in Disaster
Management and Risk Assessment
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Involves coordination and linking among
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Activities of many Independent Parties
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Different Contexts / Communities of Practice
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Esp. Vocabulary & Semantics
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Also Linguistic, Cultural, Economic, Political differences
Decisions and Operations using Satellite Data
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=> Greater Effectiveness; Greater Efficiency
Requires a shared, precise understanding of
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Disaster Management and Risk Assessment processes
(decisions, operations, etc.)
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How those processes use (or could use) complex data streams from satellites
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 3

Using Satellite Data in Disaster
Management and Risk Assessment

Involves coordination and linking among

Activities of many Independent Parties


Esp. Vocabulary & Semantics



Decisions and Operations using Satellite Data

Effectiveness; Efficiency
Requires a shared, precise understanding of

Disaster Management and Risk Assessment processes
(decisions, operations, etc.)

How those processes use (or could use) complex data streams from satellites
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 4

What's an Enterprise Architecture?
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“A conceptual blueprint that defines the structure and operation of an organization ... to determine how [it] can most effectively achieve its current and future objectives.” (Wikipedia)
“A framework for understanding significant relationships among the entities of some environment, and for the development of consistent standards... based on a small number of unifying concepts … may be used as a basis for education and explaining standards to a non-specialist. (ORCHESTRA Ref. Model)
“A management practice for aligning resources to improve business performance and help agencies better execute their core missions” (US Federal Enterprise Architecture)
“A framework for ensuring IT investments enable the mission and are integrated, efficient and secure” (NASA)
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 5

Enterprise Architecture
vs. Reference Model
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An Enterprise Architecture describes the structure of an enterprise, including the business entities, their
properties and behavior, and the relationships between these entities.
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A Reference Model is a conceptual, technology-independent description of entities and
relationships within a given environment. It includes a clear description of the problem to be solved, and the concerns of the stakeholders who need the problem solved.
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These are interchangeable for our purposes – at least for now
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 6

What's an Enterprise Architecture?
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An enterprise architecture (/ reference model) is:
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Guidance, not a fully detailed plan or blueprint
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A tool, not a policy
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A living document – not a fixed specification
Provides a logical rather than a physical view
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Articulates a shared understanding of
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Needed functions and
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End-to-end data flows
But doesn’t attempt to create inventories of deployed resources
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 7

What is the Enterprise?
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One starting point: GEOSS DI-06-09 charter
(Use of Satellites for Risk Management):
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Reducing loss of life and property from natural and humaninduced disasters
More specifically: “Define and facilitate implementation of satellite constellations for risk management from a multihazard perspective. Undertake the consolidation of the validated requirements and examine options for system development and implementation.”
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 8

Requirements for our Enterprise
Architecture / Reference Model
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Allow for regional differences – policies, economics, language, etc.
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Not an abstract, one-size-fits-all architecture
Allow for a variety of types of disasters
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Support both disaster response and risk assessment
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Build on / be consistent with existing architectures and semantics
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GEOSS Architecture Implementation Pilot - AIP3
GEOSS 10-Year Action Plan
UN-SPIDER
International Charter; others?
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 9

Building an Enterprise Architecture:
Architecture Frameworks
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An Architecture Framework defines levels,
layers, or views used in constructing an enterprise architecture or reference model
 e.g., Business / Applications / Data / Technology
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 10

Architecture Frameworks
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ISO/IEC Reference Model for Open Distributed
Processing (RM-ODP)
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Seems like a good fit here:
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Distributed data handling
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Open systems approach
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Used by related enterprise architectures:
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GEOSS Architecture Implementation Pilot (AIP-3)
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ORCHESTRA (European Union - Service Oriented
Architecture for EU Risk Management)
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INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in
Europe)
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 11

Reference Model for Open
Distributed Processing (RM-ODP)
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 12

Enterprise Viewpoint
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Enterprise questions to be addressed for GA4D:
Scope
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What are the purpose and scope for the use of satellite data in Disaster Management and Risk Assessment?
What activities are involved?
In what organizational structures do (or must) these activities take place?
Who are the participants in these activities?
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Who are the stakeholders for this architecture – who has (or should have) a say in how these activities draw on information from satellites (and elsewhere)?
What other enterprises are linked to this one?
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Include Roles
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Use cases
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 15

Information Viewpoint
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Information questions to be addressed for GA4D:
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What observations or parameters are needed when responding to different kinds of disasters (or assessing their risk)?
In what forms does this information best support the enterprise?
What metadata are needed to ensure that data can be
found and appropriately used?
What inter-dependencies exist among these data products?
What data transformations, interpretations, extractions,
syntheses, etc. are needed between sensors and users?
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September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 17

Information Viewpoint
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Observations types vs. Societal Benefit Areas
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 18

Information Viewpoint
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Observations types vs. Disaster Types
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 19

Computation Viewpoint
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Information questions to be addressed for GA4D:
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What service types are needed to make the necessary information available to users?
(e.g., data access, visualization, catalog search)
How will these service types effect the data transformations, interpretations, extractions, syntheses, etc. that are needed between sensors and users?
What requirements apply to these services and interfaces
(e.g., near-real-time performance, cross-community interoperability)
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September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 21

Engineering Viewpoint
and Technology Viewpoint
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Engineering questions to be addressed for GA4D:
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What interface types are needed to invoke the services described in the computation viewpoint?
(e.g., stateless / stateful; pull / push)
What interface standards are needed to support interoperation between different communities?
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Technology questions to be addressed for GA4D:
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What satellite data streams are available? Needed?
What catalogs are available? Needed?
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September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 23

Questions / Discussion
September 26, 2011 WGISS-32 – Budapest, Hungary Slide 24