EuroGEOSS

	EuroGEOSS: a European approach to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems is launched.
	How the Earth’s environment is changing, and what consequences this will have for human civilisation, are among the fundamental questions of our time. Given the global scale of the problem, and the relations among physical phenomena, the biosphere, and human activities, an international effort is underway to develop a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (abbreviated GEOSS).
	On May 6th the European Commission launched a new research project  to contribute to this global effort. With a funding of €6 million over a 3 year period from the 7th Research & Development Framework Programme, the EuroGEOSS project will develop, link, and make globally available the EU information systems addressing forests, droughts, and biodiversity.
	Through the program, the EuroGEOSS project will contribute to an increased capacity for scientists from different disciplines to work together, share data and models with less effort. This collaboration will develop better understanding and better predictions of environmental phenomena and their social impacts. While the program is focused initially on the European information infrastructure, the developments have global implications for advanced monitoring of the health of our planet. Improved knowledge is crucial to underpin action by government, and industry, but also by individuals, who can make a real difference through changes in their daily activities. For this reason, EuroGEOSS will exploit the latest development of the Web that allow for social networks and communities to contribute information, and share their knowledge on their local environment. For example, geo-wiki.org is a system that allows communities of volunteers to help improve the quality of global land cover maps, which are fundamental for improved environmental models. Similarly, Flickr.com is a popular website for individuals to map and share their photographs, potentially providing important evidence of current land uses. This can also be of direct support during natural hazards such as forest fires. EuroGEOSS will harness these new developments and integrate them with information systems from official sources, thus improving our capability to monitor the state of the environment.
	EuroGEOSS includes 22 partners from 10 countries, and is co-ordinated by BRGM (France), and the European Commission Joint Research Centre.