Population growth, climate change, resource demand, and the concentrated development of coastal and urban areas have contributed to unprecedented stress on our planet. The challenges of managing human and natural systems and the need for information about the Earth and how it changes over time continues to grow.

Earth observations are the data collected about the Earth’s land, atmosphere, oceans, hydrosphere, interior, biosphere, and near-space environment using instruments that sense or measure the Earth’s physical, chemical, and/or biological properties. More than 20 U.S. executive departments and agencies invest billions of dollars to collect and process Earth observations that are used by scientists in Earth system models and in products and services used by decision makers. These observations and measurements are essential to scientific progress and to the economic, environmental, and public health. They enable critical societal benefits, including assessing climate change and its impact; ensuring healthy air quality; managing ocean, water, mineral, and other natural resources; monitoring land cover and land use change; measuring agricultural productivity and trends; protecting against and recovering from natural and man-made disasters; and providing information for the Department of Homeland Security.

Coordination of Earth observations is critical. To that end, the White House National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), via its subcommittee — the U.S. Group on Earth Observations (USGEO) Committee on Environment and Natural Resources — is developing a U.S. Earth Observations Coordination Policy.

NSTC, established by Executive Order 12881 on Nov. 23, 1993, advises the president in policy and budget development regarding science and technology (S&T) questions and articulates the president’s S&T policies and programs. The USGEO policy group includes representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), DOD, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Army and DOD are represented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

The policy, scheduled for publication in 2009, is intended to advance effective U.S. Earth observations by ensuring that adequate data, products, and services are available to wisely manage human and natural systems on many scales, from global to local. It complements the U.S. National Space Policy and U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Space Policy by addressing all Earth observations (including space-based remote sensing observations) by all national capabilities for civil purposes.

Since space observations are large discrete investments that take several years to implement and the transition time from research systems to operational systems is long, NASA, NOAA, and USGS (with DOD) have the primary responsibilities for developing and deploying operational space systems for Earth observations. As such, they will establish an interagency transition office that is funded, staffed, and managed by the agencies. This office will bring major NSTC/USGEO issues for advice and support and will review and evaluate federal agencies’ research and operational missions on how they meet their needs and address national societal benefits. NSTC/USGEO will coordinate an integrative assessment of observational needs and capabilities of federal agencies to ensure the collective national priorities are identified. This assessment will be communicated annually to the agencies, the Office of S&T Policy, and the Office of Management and Budget for consideration in agency planning and budget processes.

The policy’s purpose is to maximize societal benefits by ensuring critical observational capabilities are identified (including new capabilities where appropriate) and implemented through an interagency system of planning, coordination, and forward-looking implementation strategies. It also will provide guidance for collaborating with domestic and international partners in a manner assuring full, open, and timely access to mutually beneficial data, products, and services. Because collecting and preserving data are not sufficient to ensure maximum value and use of Earth observations, the policy advances the full, open, and timely sharing and exchange of data, products, and services, and encourages integration of diverse U.S. Earth observations for the benefit of society.