The GEOSS Interoperability Process Pilot Project (IP3)

There is an ever-increasing need to integrate knowledge from the diverse disciplines engaged in studying the constituent parts of the complex Earth system. With the emergence of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), which is bringing together thousands of previously isolated Earth observing systems, the necessity of establishing methods that will help in the integration of varied discipline information systems becomes even more urgent. The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) was established to oversee the creation of GEOSS which seeks to advance the convergence of Earth observing systems based on interoperability arrangements agreed to by consensus. We describe the specific approaches that GEO has proposed for achieving interoperability among its component systems and give an overview of the GEOSS Interoperability Process Pilot Project (IP3). The IP3 is helping to develop an advanced information infrastructure that supports the formation and operation of Earth System Science communities based on cross-disciplinary information exchange. This means moving from discipline-specific monolithic data-centric systems toward modular service-oriented information systems. GEOSS seeks to provide scientists, researchers, and decision makers with a persistent set of independent but interoperable information services that can be applied to address many pressing societal issues. The IP3 is furthering this cause by piloting a framework for multidisciplinary knowledge integration.