Earth Observation application development based on the Grid oriented ESIP satellite image processing platform

Satellite images supply important information on earth surface, weather, clime, geographic areas, vegetation, and natural phenomena. Processing of satellite data requires high computation resources and flexible tools in order to search, discover, and reveal the main information, to experiment new algorithms, and to include them into new Earth Observation applications. This paper describes the features and the architectures of the ESIP and gProcess platforms, supporting the Grid based satellite imagery processing. The development methodology of Earth Observation applications is highlighted as well in order to hide the Grid complexity to the user.     

Wildfire monitoring using satellite images,ontologies and linked geospatial data

Advances in remote sensing technologies have allowed us to send an ever-increasing number of satellites in orbit around Earth. As a result, Earth Observation data archives have been constantly increasing in size in the last few years, and have become a valuable source of data for many scientific and application domains. When Earth Observation data is coupled with other data sources many pioneering applications can be developed. In this paper we show how Earth Observation data, ontologies, and linked geospatial data can be combined for the development of a wildfire monitoring service that goes beyond applications currently deployed in various Earth Observation data centers. The service has been developed in the context of European project TELEIOS that faces the challenges of extracting knowledge from Earth Observation data head-on, capturing this knowledge by semantic annotation encoded using Earth Observation ontologies, and combining these annotations with linked geospatial data to allow the development of interesting applications.     

贪婪搜索算法在卫星调度中的应用

针对采用天气预报的滞后云层进行卫星调度影响观测图像质量和观测收益的问题,提出一种获取实时云层的数学模型,并基于此构建考虑实时变换云层的敏捷观测卫星（AEOS）调度模型。由于贪婪搜索算法（GSA）具有局部优化的特性,能够充分考虑卫星观测的云层和有限存储资源等约束,研究了GSA在该卫星调度问题中的应用。首先,GSA优先考虑观测任务的云层遮挡,并根据云层遮挡大小,计算待观测任务的图像质量,将之排序选择待观测的任务;其次,结合任务的大小、截止时间和卫星的存储资源约束,选择能够给观测收益带来最大化的任务;最后,进行观测和任务传送。仿真实验表明,在任务数为100的情况下,采用GSA进行卫星调度的任务收益比常用于卫星调度的动态规划算法（DPA）所获得任务收益提高了14.82%,比局部搜索算法（LSA）所获得任务收益提高了10.32%,并且同等条件下,采用GSA得到的观测图像的质量比其他两种方法得到的图像质量更高。实验结果表明,GSA在实际卫星调度中,能够有效地提高图像观测质量和任务观测收益。     

Data assimilation: From photon counts to Earth System forecasts

Data assimilation - the set of techniques whereby information from observing systems and models is combined optimally - is rapidly becoming prominent in endeavours to exploit Earth Observation for Earth sciences, including climate prediction. This paper explains the broad principles of data assimilation, outlining different approaches (optimal interpolation, three-dimensional and four-dimensional variational methods, the Kalman Filter), together with the approximations that are often necessary to make them practicable. After pointing out a variety of benefits of data assimilation, the paper then outlines some practical applications of the exploitation of Earth Observation by data assimilation in the areas of operational oceanography, chemical weather forecasting and carbon cycle modelling. Finally, some challenges for the future are noted.     

Developments in the 'validation' of satellite sensor products for the study of the land surface

Increased availability of global satellite sensor data is resulting in an increase in satellite sensor products for global change research and environmental monitoring. The ensuing research and policy directives that will utilize these satellite products puts a high priority on providing statements of their accuracy. The process of quantifying the accuracy of these geophysical products is herein termed 'validation'. This Letter provides examples of international land product 'validation' research and describes a new international forum for coordination within the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Calibration and Validation Working Group (CVWG).     

网格应用程序执行时间预测系统

为了合理利用网格资源和改进应用程序的执行性能,需要对应用程序的执行时间进行实时预测,为任务调度系统和网格用户提供调度依据.本文工作建立了执行时间预测系统,周期性的产生预测信息并转换为统一格式注册到网格信息服务中.本文使用资源映射方法预测应用程序执行时间,并且设计一组实验测试系统性能.实验结果表明,本系统能够低开销,灵敏地预测执行时间,并且预测误差较小.     

Land cover 2.0

Interest in knowing more about the Earth’s land cover and how it has changed over time motivated the mission and sensor design of early terrestrial remote sensing systems. Rapid developments in computer hardware and software in the last four decades have greatly increased the capacity for satellite data acquisition, downlink, dissemination, and end user science and applications. In 1992, Townshend reviewed the state of land cover mapping using Earth observation data at a pivotal point in time and in the context of years of research and practical experience with Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM), Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) High Resolution Visible (HRV) and Advanced Very-High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data, demonstrating the opportunities and information content possible with increased spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions. Townshend characterized the state-of-the-art for land cover at that time, identified trends, and shared insights on research directions. Now, on the 25th anniversary of Townshend’s important work, given numerous advances and emerging trends, we revisit the status of land cover mapping with Earth observation data. We posit that a new era of land cover analysis – Land Cover 2.0 – has emerged, enabled by free and open access data, analysis ready data, high performance computing, and rapidly developing data processing and analysis capabilities. Herein we characterize this new era in land cover information, highlighting institutional, computational, as well as theoretical developments that have occurred over the past 25 years, identifying the key issues and opportunities that have emerged. We conclude that Land Cover 2.0 offers efficiencies in information generation that will result in a proliferation of land cover products, reinforcing the need for transparency regarding the input data and algorithms used as well as adoption, implementation, and communication of rigorous accuracy assessment protocols. Further, land cover and land change assessments are no longer independent activities. Knowledge of land change is available to inform and enrich land cover generation.     

Corrections for altimeter low-level processing at the Earth Observation Data Centre

Many corrections are required to turn the echo time delay measured by a satellite radar altimeter firstly into a range measurement and then into a surface height measurement. This paper describes the instrumental, satellite, atmospheric and surface corrections supplied with the ERS-1 Waveform Product available from the U.K. Earth Observation Data Centre. The mathematical and physical basis for the corrections, and the algorithms used to drive them, are described, together with an assessment of the associated errors.     

Small satellite remote sensing and applications – history,current and future

The small satellite renaissance began in the 1980s and is changing the economics of space. Technological trends have supported the advancement of small satellites in the 1–500 kg range. The number of countries actively participating has grown substantially during the past years. Satellite constellations (groups of satellites working in concert) are emerging as a powerful and effective application. In this paper, we focus on the small satellites than can perform remote sensing or Earth observation tasks. An overview is presented of the small satellite literature on Earth observation. The aim of the survey is threefold: an introduction for those new to the field, an overview for those working in the field and a reference for those searching for literature on a specific application for Earth observation. Small satellite programmes are classified according to the geographic regions. The small satellite industry and small satellite systems are addressed. In terms of applications, small satellite constellations are discussed in more detail. Finally, future developments are put forward. Telegeoprocessing combined with grid computing will provide the infrastructure and technologies for the development of Processing on Demand for Small Satellite Constellation systems.     

Validation of the MODIS reflectance product under UK conditions

Surface reflectance obtained from remote-sensing data is the main input to almost all remote-sensing applications. The availability and special characteristics of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products have led to their use worldwide. Validation of the MODIS reflectance product is then crucial to provid information on uncertainty in the reflectance data, and in other MODIS products and in the applied surface–atmosphere models. Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) and Système Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) data, collected during the Network for Calibration and Validation in Earth Observation (NCAVEO) 2006 Field Campaign, were applied to validate daily MODIS reflectance data over a site in the southern UK. The difference in the view geometry of at-nadir CASI and SPOT data and off-nadir MODIS data was dealt with using a semi-empirical bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model. The validation results showed that for our particular study site, the absolute errors in the MODIS reflectance product were too large to allow the albedo data to be used directly in climate models. The errors were mainly related to the uncertainties in the MODIS atmospheric variables, the BRDF model, and undetected clouds and cloud shadows. More generally, the study highlights the extreme difficulty of achieving pixel-level validation of coarse spatial resolution satellite sensor data in an environment in which the atmosphere is constantly changing, and in which the landscape is characterized by high space–time heterogeneity.     

电网图形数据管理MongoDB数据库的应用

国家电网公司正推进资产全寿命周期管理体系建设,电网GIS图形作为电网的信息化表征,为了实现电网异动信息的全过程管理,通过电网图形多时态多级管理机制,同时引入MongoDB非关系型数据库,提升了数据读写效率,最终满足电网各业务部门海量数据信息化应用的性能需求.     

Seismic Ray-Tracing and Earth Mesh Modeling on Various Parallel Architectures

A major research topic in geophysics deals with the modelization of the Earth interior, and seismic tomography is a means to improve knowledge in this field. In order to improve the accuracy of existing methods, huge quantities of information must be computed. We present in this paper the design of a software program implementing a fast seismic ray-tracing in an Earth mesh. We show that massively parallel computational resources may be used to process huge quantity of data. We present experimentations on several computational equipments with various hardware architectures (a parallel computer, a cluster, and a Grid) and report which parallel programming paradigm best suits each of these equipments.     

Dynamic call and connection admission control in automatically switched optical network for grid computing applications

In recent years,Grid computing applications are becoming more and more important to the scientific and business communities and are likely to open to the consumer market and widely develop in the near future,which is a great challenge brought by the potentially large number of Grid users(perhaps millions)and high frequency of their job requests.Automatically switched optical network(ASON),which is a promising high capacity intelligent transport network infrastructure,has been already deployed in the world and regarded as a promising solution to foster the expansion of Grid computing from local area networks to wide area networks.However,by theoretical analysis and simulative evaluation of Grid job blocking in the distributed call and connection setup process of ASON,this paper verifies that ASON and the conventional admission control mechanism confront a problem in supporting future large-scale Grid computing.In order to address this issue,a novel dynamic call and connection admission control(DCCAC)scheme is proposed to improve the network performance and guarantee quality of service(QoS)of Grid applications.This scheme is applicable with complete network information,no network information and partial network information.Numerical results show that the DCCAC scheme can improve the efficiency of the network to a great extent.Moreover,all the analysis and algorithms in this paper are based on ITU-T ASON recommendations,which make the DCCAC scheme more applicable in network engineering for future Grid computing.     

Agent Grid技术研究初探

1.引言 Grid的研究和发展源于高性能计算领域,最初目标在于解决高性能计算对于计算机计算能力所提出的越来越高的需求。Grid是信息技术一个全新的研究领域,其内涵与概念还很不完善,业界关于Grid的观点很多,本文概括为以下三种: ·中间件观点。Grid实际上是一个中间件,现有的资源,诸如网络、超级计算机、服务器、操作系统、数据库、文件系统等都是Grid的底层设施,Grid之上是应用程序,这些应用程序通过Grid调用、共享资源来完成任务。     

QoS guided Min-Min heuristic for grid task scheduling

Task scheduling is an integrated component of computing.With the emergence of Grid and ubiquitous computing,new challenges appear in task scheduling based on properties such as security,quality of service,and lack of central control within distributed administrative domains.A Grid task scheduling framework must be able to deal with these issues.One of the goals of Grid task scheduling is to achivev high system throughput while matching applications with the available computing resources.This matching of resources in a non-deterministically shared heterogeneous environment leads to concerns over Quality of Service (QoS).In this paper a novel QoS guided task scheduling algorithm for Grid computing is introduced.The proposed novel algorithm is based on a general adaptive scheduling heuristics that includes QoS guidance.The algorithm is evaluated within a simulated Grid environment.The experimental results show that the nwe QoS guided Min-Min heuristic can lead to significant performance gain for a variety of applications.The approach is compared with others based on the quality of the prediction formulated by inaccurate information.     

Concept design of future intelligent Earth observing satellites

This paper presents a concept design of an envisioned future intelligent Earth observing satellite (FIEOS) system. The proposed system is a space-based architecture for the dynamic and comprehensive on-board integration of Earth observing sensors, data processors and communication systems. The architecture and implementation strategies suggest a seamless integration of diverse components into a smart, adaptable and robust Earth observation satellite system. It is intended to enable simultaneous, global measurements and timely analyses of the Earth's environment for a variety of users. In particular, common users would directly access data in a manner similar to selecting a TV channel. We also discuss key technology problems, current technology development, amongst other things. It is concluded that (1) the proposed intelligent Earth observing satellite system is technically feasible; and (2) information technology and real-time information systems, for example multi-layer satellite networks connected with an organic system and on-board data processor capabilities, are crucial for implementation of the intelligent system. This revolutionary concept should dramatically impact on how Earth observing systems develop and conduct missions in the future.     

A brokerage system for solar data archives

Scientific research and practical applications of solar physics require data and computational services to be integrated seamlessly and efficiently. The European Grid for Solar Observations (EGSO) leverages Grid‐oriented concepts and technology to provide a high‐performance infrastructure for solar applications. In this paper, an architecture for a data brokerage service is proposed. Brokers interact with providers and consumers in order to build a profile of both parties. In particular, a broker interacts with providers in order to gather information on the data potentially available to consumers, and with the consumers in order to identify the set of providers that are most likely to satisfy specific data needs. The brokerage technique is based on a multi‐tier management of metadata. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A replicated information system to enable dynamic collaborations in the Grid

The main advantage of Grid computing over other distributed computing paradigms is its capability to coordinate the access to data and resources in a virtual multi‐institutional environment. To this end, the information system plays a decisive role in selecting the services that meet the applications' needs. This paper presents an information system for the Grid that provides transparent and scalable group communication services to standard Grid applications, with the objective of supporting dynamic collaborations that could help address problems that involve only some participants of a virtual organization. In particular, it enables more flexible delivery mechanisms, which allows applications to select the appropriate services before sending their data to the information system. This significantly enhances the protection of data from unauthorized access, and avoids the transmission of unnecessary messages over the network. The proposed information system is based on the use of XML technologies and replication. It introduces several new advanced features that are not currently supported as a whole by any Grid middleware, such as: several entry points to the information, persistent capabilities, support for advanced queries based on XQuery, and support for the industrial standard WS‐Policy. The information system has been stress tested under realistic workloads in a Grid infrastructure with 50 sites. Scalability has been evaluated in up to 1000 messages that can be up to 10KB in size each, updated with a frequency of 5min. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.