Open Space: The Global Effort for Open Access to Environmental Satellite Data

by Mariel Borowitz

Overview

An examination of environmental satellite data sharing policies, offering a model of data-sharing policy development, case and practical recommendations for increasing global data sharing.

Key to understanding and addressing climate change is continuous and precise monitoring of environmental conditions. Satellites play an important role in collecting climate data, offering comprehensive global coverage that can't be matched by in situ observation. And yet, as Mariel Borowitz shows in this book, much satellite data is not freely available but restricted; this remains true despite the data-sharing advocacy of international organizations and a global open data movement. Borowitz examines policies governing the sharing of environmental satellite data, offering a model of data-sharing policy development and applying it in case studies from the United States, Europe, and Japan—countries responsible for nearly half of the unclassified government Earth observation satellites.

Borowitz develops a model that centers on the government agency as the primary actor while taking into account the roles of such outside actors as other government officials and non-governmental actors, as well as the economic, security, and normative attributes of the data itself. The case studies include the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS); the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT); and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA). Finally, she considers the policy implications of her findings for the future and provides recommendations on how to increase global sharing of satellite data.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262343824
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	12/15/2017
Series:	Information Policy
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	905 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Mariel Borowitz is Assistant Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech.

Table of Contents

Series Editor's Introduction ix

Preface: How to Use This Book xi

Acknowledgments xv

1 Two Mysteries 1

Part I A Model of Data Sharing Policy Development 15

2 Defining Data Sharing 17

3 People 21

4 Ideas and Technology 33

Part II Sharing Satellite Data Case Studies 61

5 World Meteorological Organization 63

6 Group on Earth Observations 79

7 US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 95

8 US Geological Survey 123

9 US National Aeronautics and Space Administration 147

10 US Defense, Intelligence, and Commercial Satellites 165

11 European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites 175

12 European Space Agency 195

13 Japan Meteorological Agency 219

14 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 225

15 Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa 237

Part III Data Sharing Trends 255

16 Sharing Satellite Data 257

17 Future of Data Sharing 277

Appendices

Appendix A Global Satellite Data Sharing 295

Appendix B Satellite Data Sharing Database 321

Notes 323

Index 399

What People are Saying About This

Conrad C. Lautenbacher

A superbly crafted and comprehensive exposition of environmental satellite data policy covering public and private sector value and use. Highly valuable and pertinent to understanding today's rapidly changing environmental satellite market!

Barbara J. Ryan

Open Space is a well-researched and clearly writtenpiece of work at the juncture of public and environmental policy, and can change how governments view, and more importantly treat, data from their environmental satellites which could result in one of the greatest contributions to our understanding of, and actions for, the Earth.

Endorsement

Open Space is a well-researched and clearly writtenpiece of work at the juncture of public and environmental policy, and can change how governments view, and more importantly treat, data from their environmental satellites which could result in one of the greatest contributions to our understanding of, and actions for, the Earth.

—Barbara J. Ryan, Executive Director, Group on Earth Observations (GEO)

From the Publisher

Sharing data acquired by orbiting satellites is a key to making possible effective short- and long-term global management of Planet Earth. Mariel Borowitz's comprehensive and penetrating study of why many nations share Earth-observation data, but some do not, is an extremely valuable contribution to crafting a much needed international approach to such data sharing.

—John M. Logsdon, Professor Emeritus and Founder, Space Policy Institute, The George Washington University

A superbly crafted and comprehensive exposition of environmental satellite data policy covering public and private sector value and use. Highly valuable and pertinent to understanding today's rapidly changing environmental satellite market!

—Conrad C. Lautenbacher, VADM USN (ret); CEO, GeoOptics, Inc.; former NOAA Administrator

Open Space is a well-researched and clearly written piece of work at the juncture of public and environmental policy, and can change how governments view, and more importantly treat, data from their environmental satellites which could result in one of the greatest contributions to our understanding of, and actions for, the Earth.

—Barbara J. Ryan, Executive Director, Group on Earth Observations (GEO)

John M. Logsdon

Sharing data acquired by orbiting satellites is a key to making possible effective short- and long-term global management of Planet Earth. Mariel Borowitz's comprehensive and penetrating study of why many nations share Earth-observation data, but some do not, is an extremely valuable contribution to crafting a much needed international approach to such data sharing.

Editorial Reviews

The broad nature of the book's approach, along with the segmented nature of its narrative, clear writing style, and concise case studies, would lend well to classroom discussion. Open Space is also worth examining if you are new to the politics and economics of scientific data.—Information & Culture—

From the Publisher