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CSIRO should streamline its $10M a year Earth observation activities, according to a new report.
Dr Jim Simpson, Director of the Digital Image Analysis Laboratory of the US Scripps Institution of Oceanography, chaired a review panel which produced the report.
"CSIRO has done excellent work in this area in the past, and it continues to support Australia's position at the international forefront. But the model of small separate research groups working on the same problems in different geographic locations makes it difficult for the Organisation to keep up with the rest of the world," Dr Simpson said.
"At the moment, dozens of CSIRO researchers are working to different remote sensing agendas, in separate teams in many locations. Better scientific results can be achieved from CSIRO's remote sensing, without increased overall expenditure, simply by aggregating some of the smaller research groups under a streamlined management system. In that way, the basic satellite data management work will get done better, faster and cheaper, and more researchers can get on with applying satellite data products to pressing environmental and economic problems facing Australia."
The report was commissioned by CSIRO's Office of Space Science & Applications (COSSA). Experts in satellite data management from CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology were panel members. The review considered advice from international space agencies, from users of Earth observation information in Australia and from CSIRO.
The report on CSIRO's Earth observation program also recommends:
"The findings of the Review couldn't be more timely" said Dr Brian Embleton, Head of COSSA .
"CSIRO has always been prepared to adapt its organisation to the challenges it faces. We recognise that Earth observation is a growing field of increasing economic and scientific importance. We want to make more use of electronic networks to deliver Earth science data to where our clients need it. We need to make sure that our strategic research and data gathering in this area remains high quality and accurate, so that the wider community - academic, business and international - can benefit."
The CSIRO Executive will respond to the Earth observation recommendations in July.
More information from:
Dr Brian EmbletonCopies of the Review document are available from CSIRO Office of Space Sciences and Applications. Call:
Frances Mercer[Level Up] [Doc Top] [Doc End] [Next Item] [Home Page]