GEONETCast Americas An Operational Service Delivering Environmental

Information using Communications Satellites

Richard Fulton, Linda Moodie, and Paul SeymourSatellite and Information Service (NESDIS)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

Richard.Fulton@noaa.gov

CRSS/ASPRS 2007 Specialty ConferenceOttawa, Canada31 October 2007

mailto:Richard.Fulton@noaa.gov

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GEONETCast*What is it? GEONETCast is a global, near-real-time, data broadcastsystem of regional systems -- in support of the GEO societal benefit areas -- by which environmental observations, products, and services aretransmitted directly to users through satellites

It is one component of the overall GEOSS architecture.

Why? To enable improved decision-making through enhanced global environmental data dissemination

When? Target is to demonstrate an initial global capability by Earth Observation Summit-IV, November 2007

By Whom?

* Loosely…GEO Network Broadcast

CMA WMO NOAA EUMETSAT

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GEONETCast Americasis the regional component of GEONETCast, provided

by the U.S./NOAA, covering most of North, Central, and South Americas and surrounding ocean areas

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Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)

Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)

Product Product disseminationdissemination is one of key is one of key componentscomponents

9 GEO Societal Benefit Areas

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NOAA’s 2007 Objectives• Finalize NOAA’s functional and system requirements

– Completed in April 2007

• Release commercial request for proposals, review proposals, and award commercial services contract– Completed September 12, 2007

• Implement an initial operational capability serving most of North, Central, and South America as soon as possible– Expecting delivery of an initial system to NOAA for configuration and testingby Nov. 13th

– Expecting launch of new operational service by late January 2008

• Demonstrate it internationally at the 4th Earth Observation Summit in South Africa in late November

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Major Global ParticipantsConnecting Data Providers to Data Users via Satellite

GEOSS DataProviders

DisseminationService

ManagersSatelliteService

Providers

End Users

From Nine GEO Societal Benefit Areas

NOAA

EUMETSAT

CMA

OthersCommercial Telecomm Vendors

GEONETCast

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GEONETCast Americas Services

• Intelsat General Corp. (IGEN) won the one-year contract with 4 one-year options to extend service period

• IGEN will subcontract with KenCast, Inc. to provide their IP-over-DVB multicasting server/client software called Fazzt

• Start out initially with 2 Mbits/sec data bandwidth with options to expand up to 10 Mbits/sec

• Intelsat-9 (IS-9) geostationary communications satellite will be used to cover most of the Americas using a multiplexed C-band DVB-S transponder

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Intelsat-9 C-band Satellite Coverage

Red contours denote

coverage using a 2.4 m receive antenna

58 deg W

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GEONETCast Americas Services (cont.)

• Options to expand satellite geographic coverage over eastern Pacific Ocean/Hawaii/Alaska via a second satellite

• >99.9% service availability

• Satellite uplink teleport will be located in Ellenwood, Georgia in the southeastern U.S.

• NOAA will configure and manage the service remotely from the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland

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GEONETCast Americas System Architecture

Teleport

Data ManagementSystem Server &Datacast Software

Web-enabled NOAA Access

Other GEONETCastSystems

Data Providers

User Receive Terminal

User Receive Terminal

NOAA

EPA

DOE

NASA

Others

INT’L

GEONETCast Americas System

IP EncapsulatorMPEG-2 Encoder

DVB-S/DVB-S2 Modulator

Internet

Data Providers End UsersGEONETCast

Ellenwood, Georgia, USA

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GEONETCast Americas Receive Station- Personal computer with KenCast client software- Satellite antenna ~2.4m- DVB-S receiver card or box

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GEONETCast Americas Receive Station• Users are responsible for purchase and operation of their

station, including hardware and software

• Components will be standard commercial off-the-shelf components to keep user costs low

• Estimated user costs ~$2000-2500– Personal computer - ~$500– Client datacasting software - $150 one-time license– 2.4m antenna including LNB - $1000-2000 *– DVB-S receiver - ~$100– No recurring subscription costs to receive the broadcast data

* Excluding installation

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Potential GEONETCast End Users -Anyone Who Needs Access to Environmental Information

• Federal, state, & local environmental agencies

• Commercial industry, engineering consultants

• Universities, academia

• Public safety decision makers

• Citizens

• Many others

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GEONETCast Global Data ExchangeA globally-integrated system of regional systems

GEONETCast Americas

(Americas)

EUMETCast (Europe-Africa)

FengyunCast (Asia-Pacific)

Asia-Pacific Data Americas

DataEurope-Africa

Data

Inte

rope

rabi

lity Interoperability

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GEONETCast Americas Data Flow To and From the Americas

Network Center (Ellenwood, GA)

Intelsat-9

Other Global Uplinks

Other SatellitesProducts from the Americas

End Users in the

Americas

Other Global End

Users

Products from the

World

Terrestrial

Option #2

Option #1 Terrestrial Interoperability Interfaces

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GEONETCast Data Product Information• Product broadcast channels

– Separate broadcast channels by theme or data provider– Users can choose channels they wish to receive

• Product formats– There is no restriction on the format of products – Can be a variety of formats (ASCII, JPEG, GIF, HDF5, BUFR, NetCDF, GRIB2, others)

• Product discovery– Catalog of available products and their associated metadata will be

distributed via satellite and published on GEONETCast Americas web site

• Access control of GEONETCast Americas data– Free and open but can accommodate restricted data access if necessary

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• Brazil National Institute for Space Research (INPE)– Derived regional products including fire monitoring, lightning, rainfall nowcasting, UV

Index, vegetation

• Central America/NASA SERVIR– MODIS fire images over Guatemala, and short-term rainfall forecasts from WRF and

MM5 models

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency– Hourly animated air quality maps of ozone and particulates over U.S.

• U.S. Department of Energy– Atmospheric water profiles and aerosol cloud condensation nuclei over Atmospheric

Radiation Measurement (ARM) experimental sites• U.S. NOAA

– 17 products currently being disseminated including• Global Vegetation Index• North American Drought Monitor• Chlorophyll concentration over the Caribbean Sea• Global soil moisture• Planned RANET Latin American regional products (USAID & NOAA)

Sample of Initial GEONETCast Americas Products

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GEONETCast Implementation Group Requests Your Assistance…

• To identify potential end users in the Americas and beyond who need access to environmental data

• To identify potential data providers in the Americas and beyond who have data that can satisfy those needs

• Send NOAA* or EUMETSAT or CMA (depending on your location)…– Completed standard GEONETCast information forms defining

information on products you wish to contribute– Completed standard GEONETCast information forms defining

information on products you wish to have access to

How To Respond?

*Paul.Seymour@noaa.gov & Richard.Fulton@noaa.gov

mailto:*Paul.Seymour@noaa.govmailto:Richard.Fulton@noaa.gov

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Summary

• NOAA/U.S. is committed to provide a regional initial operational capability over the Americas with potential for expansion

• We’re preparing for next month’s Earth Observation Summit and our new service kick-off

• We look forward to partnering with data providers and end users to provide a data dissemination service for global environmental information users and decision makers

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NOAA’s GEONETCast Americas Web Page(under construction)

• http://www.earthobservations.org/progress/GEONETCast.html

GEO’s GEONETCast Web Page

• http://geonetcastamericas.noaa.gov

Thank you

http://www.earthobservations.org/progress/GEONETCast.htmlhttp://geonetcastamericas.noaa.gov/

GEONETCast Americas An Operational Service Delivering Environmental Information using Communications SatelliGEONETCast*GEONETCast AmericasMajor Global Participants�Connecting Data Providers to Data Users via SatelliteGEONETCast Americas ServicesIntelsat-9 C-band Satellite CoverageGEONETCast Americas Services (cont.)GEONETCast Americas System ArchitectureGEONETCast Americas Receive StationPotential GEONETCast End Users - �Anyone Who Needs Access to Environmental InformationGEONETCast Global Data Exchange�A globally-integrated system of regional systemsGEONETCast Americas Data Flow � To and From the AmericasGEONETCast Data Product InformationSample of Initial GEONETCast Americas ProductsGEONETCast Implementation Group Requests Your Assistance…SummaryNOAA’s GEONETCast Americas Web Page�(under construction)