The United States invests billions of dollars each year in Earth Observation Systems (EOSs) that help protect lives and property, preserve natural resources, and expand our understanding of the Earth. United States Earth observation efforts are distributed among more than 100 programs under the purview of Federal agencies and non-federal entities that both produce and use these data. Technology available to support these programs is constantly and rapidly evolving, and with rapid growth comes numerous and diverse Earth observing systems in land, water, atmosphere, and space. As an EOS user, how can you be sure your requirements will be considered as the Nation develops new observation systems and technologies? The USGS Requirements Capabilities and Analysis for Earth Observations (RCA-EO) activities have been established to meet this challenge. This USGS effort will document user community requirements to inform the development of improved future EOSs. It will also match user requirements to systems, to help decision makers and scientists identify the best solutions to meet society’s needs.
Understanding user community’s needs and capturing their enduring user requirements is a critical step toward developing the way forward. Using innovative processes and tools for data-driven decision-making, the USGS will gain key insights into the formulation of what future systems and technologies will best serve the Earth observation users’ needs. For further information, contact Gregory Stensaas, USGS EROS, stensaas@usgs.gov.