GENESI-DEC

Digital Earth is a visionary concept for the virtual representation of the Earth that is spatially referenced, interconnected with the world’s digital knowledge archives, and encompassing all its systems and forms, including Earth Sciences and human societies. The project will establish open data and services access, allowing European and worldwide Digital Earth Communities to seamlessly access, produce and share data, information, products and knowledge. This will create a multi-dimensional, multi-temporal, and multi-layer information facility of huge value in addressing global challenges such as biodiversity, climate change, pollution and economic development.

GENESI-DEC (GENESI – Digital Earth Community) will:

  • enlarge the GENESI-DR infrastructures in terms of both resources availability and geographical extent.
  • provide guaranteed, reliable, easy, effective access to a variety of data, facilities, and applications to an ever increasing number of users.
  • enable multidisciplinary collaboration among communities and the creation of user-configured virtual research facilities.
  • integrate new scientific and technological paradigms in operational infrastructures in response to the latest Digital Earth requirements.
  • harmonise operations at selected key infrastructures limiting fragmentation of solutions.
  • assure that the access to data and resources while being homogeneous is secure and controlled (according to provider policies).
  • stimulate, educate and support the creation of virtual research communities.

GENESI-DEC involves key partners of ESFRI projects and collaborates with key actors of Digital Earth and Earth Science initiatives, including the International Society of Digital Earth and GEOSS. Thus efficient use of already existing and planned developments is guaranteed.

Monthly Global Vegetation Maps
The ENVISAT MERIS (Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer Instrument) Global Vegetation Index (MGVI) was designed to assess and monitor the state and health of terrestrial vegetation using MERIS measurements acquired in space (at the so-called ‘top of atmosphere’). Using the blue, red and near-infrared spectral bands of MERIS, as well as information on the angular geometry of illumination and observation, this algorithm was optimized to deliver the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) in terrestrial plant canopies.
The European Space Agency Grid Processing on-Demand http://gpod.eo.esa.int/ generates maps of MGVI for extended regions and representative for specific periods of time with a Time Composite Algorithm which selects, for each location, the value of MGVI actually measured during the period that is the closest to the temporal average over the compositing period for that location.