Connecting Space-Based Missions to Existing Communities: NASA Surface
Biology and Geology (SBG), EU-Copernicus and the Global Lake Ecological
Observatory Network (GLEON)
Abstract
Global environmental science challenges in the limnological research and
applications communities can only be advanced when harnessing the
collective expertise and capabilities of the satellite remote sensing
community and well-established in situ communities such as the Global
Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON). At first glance, the groups
seem wildly divergent: GLEON is a grass-roots effort which has been
active since 2005 and connects researchers and practitioners from around
the world to ask and answer questions about lake ecosystems. Earth
observing missions can take a decade to plan, build, and launch. NASA
and ESA have different missions as space agencies: one primarily focused
on exploration and basic research with a year-to-year appropriations
cycle, while the other presents a long-term commitment to address
societal needs through the Copernicus program Sentinel satellite series.
The Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission is a future NASA satellite
that will launch toward the end of this decade as part of the Earth
Systems Observatory. Working together to advance the science of lake
ecosystem response to climate change, each group brings different
complementary strengths and assets to this societal challenge.
Increasing access through open science and cloud computing are creating
opportunities for better collaboration. We describe our strategy for
international engagement between these groups – cultural and
methodological differences aside – to derive new information, learn new
insights, and expand the body of knowledge around these unique natural
resources.