Use of the Earth Observing One (EO-1) Satellite for the Namibia SensorWeb Flood Early Warning Pilot

The Earth Observing One (EO-1) satellite was launched in November 2000 as a one year technology demonstration mission for a variety of space technologies. After the first year, it was used as a pathfinder for the creation of SensorWebs. A SensorWeb is the integration of a variety of space, airborne and ground sensors into a loosely coupled collaborative sensor system that automatically provides useful data products. Typically, a SensorWeb is comprised of heterogeneous sensors tied together with an open messaging architecture and web services. SensorWebs provide easier access to sensor data, automated data product production and rapid data product delivery. Disasters are the perfect arena to test SensorWeb functionality since emergency workers and managers need easy and rapid access to satellite, airborne and in-situ sensor data as decision support tools. The Namibia Early Flood Warning SensorWeb pilot project was established to experiment with various aspects of sensor interoperability and SensorWeb functionality. The SensorWeb system features EO-1 data along with other data sets from such satellites as Radarsat, Terra and Aqua. Finally, the SensorWeb team began to examine how to measure economic impact of SensorWeb technology infusion. This paper describes the architecture and software components that were developed along with performance improvements that were experienced. Also, problems and challenges that were encountered are described along with a vision for future enhancements to mitigate some of the problems.