The Vespucci 2020 Vision for Digital Earth: Social and Institutional Issues

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The Vespucci 2020 Vision for Digital Earth
Social and Institutional Issues
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What is Paradise?
Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita mi ritrovai
per una selva oscura ché la diritta via era
smarrita. Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura
esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte che nel
pensier rinova la paura! Tant'è amara che poco è
più morte ma per trattar del ben ch'i' vi
trovai, dirò de l'altre cose ch'i' v'ho scorte.
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• Virtual Globe (def) digital collection of data
  and services contextualized within a global
  (spatial?) view of a world
• Virtual Collaborative Globe virtual globe that
  allows collaborative participation

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Todays virtual globes
Virtual Globes
OpenStreetMap
Wikimapia
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Todays Virtual Globe limitations

1. No current state of the earth (time is missing
   and data comes from diverse sources)
2. No exploration inside the building
3. Data is not generally accessible
4. No indication of data provenance
5. No interaction between people (including sharing
   of data)
6. No indication of trust and quality

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GIScience provides crucial links between nature
and society
Nature Physical equations Describe processes
Society Decisions on how to Use Earths
resources
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The 2020 Vision for Digital Earth Social and
Institutional Issues

1. Maximize open access and participative
   infrastructures
2. Produce information to address digital divides
3. Enable multiple connected globes/infrastructures
4. Deliver data, services and models tailored to
   communities of practice.
5. Emphasize societal benefit areas (e.g.,
   ecosystems, health)
6. Be based on environmental-friendly technologies
7. Use Digital Earth as a laboratory for
   multi-disciplinary science

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Open access and participative infrastructures

• Ideal spatial data available as open access and
  shared between communities

Practice Need to overcome institutional barriers
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Open access and participative infrastructures
What did we learn from our fathers?
A penny saved is a penny earned
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Open access and participative infrastructures
LANDSAT data archive (USGS)
The Anti-Uncle Scrooge Principle
A pixel unused is a penny wasted
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Open access and participative infrastructures
The cost of data distribution in the Web is zero
Uncle Scrooge and the Web value comes from use!
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What is a public good?

• Non-rival
• ...goods which all enjoy in common in the sense
  that each individual's consumption of such a good
  leads to no subtractions from any other
  individual's consumption of that good...
  (Samuelson)
• Non-excludable
• it is impossible to exclude any individuals from
  consuming the good

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Almost all spatial data are public goods
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Open access and participative infrastructures
ASTER-DEM 30 x 30 m
STRM 90 x 90 m
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Scientists have models for estimating the
amount of carbon released into the atmosphere
when a given plot of land is razed. This
information can now be extracted fairly
accurately from satellite images. Access to
information will be critical. A few satellites
can cover the entire globe, but there needs to be
a system in place to ensure their images are
readily available to everyone who needs them.
Brazil has set an important precedent by making
its Earth-observation data available, and the
rest of the world should follow suit.
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Open access and participative infrastructures
some predictions for 2020

• Global satellite data in 5 meter will be open
• Geodemographics analysis widely available
• Official spatial data will be mostly open

Citizens and global forces are drivers of change
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Information to address digital divides
Ideal communities know what affects them,
promote positive changes and react to negative
prospects
Practice communities have limited knowledge
about their territory and its potential futures
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Information to address digital divides
The goal of development is the promotion and
expansion of valuable capabilities. Capability is
the freedom to achieve valuable beings and
doings. (Amartya Sen)
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Impacts of global environmental change By 2020 in
Africa, agriculture yields could be cut by up to
50
sources IPCC and WMO
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Information to address digital divides
How to promote and expand valuable capabilities
in Digital Earth?
Practice Open source and open access promote
capacity building
Caveat OS and OA are not substitutes for sound
research
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Information to address digital divides
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Information to address digital divides
116-112
116-113
166-112
TerraAmazon open source software for
deforestation monitoring
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Enable multiple connected globes
The Earth is a system of systems
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Enable multiple connected globes
Institutional portals (e.g., GEOportal)
Contribution-based portals (e.g., Google)
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Weather and climate
11,000 land stations (3000 automated) 900
radiosondes, 3000 aircraft 6000 ships, 1300
buoys 5 polar, 6 geostationary satellites
source WMO
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Emphasize societal benefit areas (e.g.,
ecosystems, health)
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Emphasize societal benefit areas

• World Population at risk 2 to 3 billions
• Human Mortality per yr 3.5 to 4.5 millions
• with ½ under 5 yrs ( 5 millions due to AIDS)
• Animal Mortality per yr 10 to 15 millions

World Population at risk 2 to 3 billions Human
Mortality per yr 3.5 to 4.5 millions with ½
under 5 yrs ( 5 millions due to AIDS) Animal
Mortality per yr 10 to 15 millions
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Data, services and models tailored to communities
of practice
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Data, services and models tailored to communities
of practice
Network of sensors that observe, record and
disseminate geographically referenced information
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ARGOS Data Collection System (16000 plats)
650,000 messages processed daily
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Data collection services
Tracking Positions collected over a fixed period
of time
Monitoring Data from remote stations, fixed or
mobile
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Argo bouy network
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Data, services and models tailored to communities
of practice
Athmosphere, ocean, chemistry climate model
(resolution 200 x 200 km) Atmosphere only
climate model (resolution 50 x 50 km) Regional
climate model Resolution e.g 10 x 10
km Hydrology, Vegetation Soil Topography (e.g, 1
x 1 km) Regional land use change Socio-economic
changes Adaptative responses (e.g., 10 x 10 m)

• Models From Global to Local

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Greening of technology
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Digital Earth as a laboratory for
multi-disciplinary science
Improve existing models Create
new models Increase model interoperability
Model Web
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Digital Earth as a laboratory for
multi-disciplinary science
Google Earth will not be the next ArcGIS (Ed
Parsons)
Will the new generation of GIS be more like
Google Earth?
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Open Globe (def) collection of trusted spatial
data and services, available operationally and
reliably on a open access policy
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Open Globes
Virtual Globes
OpenStreetMap
Wikimapia
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Open Globes
Virtual Globes
Data services (can only be provided reliably
by organizations that are trusted)
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Scientists as policy-makers (peer-reviewed
results) Citizens as sensors (perception,
individual actions)
visibility, communication, acessibility
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Shall we perish in the hell of discord?
Siena Cathedral (pulpito de Luca Pisano)
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate!
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Or shall we be saved by our actions?
Siena Cathedral (pulpito de Luca Pisano)
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O buono Appollo, a l'ultimo lavoro fammi del tuo
valor sì fatto vaso, come dimandi a dar l'amato
alloro