Leveraging commercial & non-profit satellites for Earth system observation continuity

This virtual mini-symposium will consist of a short introduction, three invited presentations, and will close with an extended moderated discussion, as follows:

• Introduction and approach (Daniel Limonadi, Duane Waliser, Betsy Weatherhead)
• The historical evolution, current landscape, and future plans of Earth Observations by NGOs (Pat Patterson, Asal Naseri)
• Strengths and challenges of NGO data relative to continuity of climate variable observations: (Betsy Weatherhead, Jeff Privette)
• Climate monitoring and research topics that might be addressable with NGO data sets (Jeff Privette, Chris Ruf, Betsy Weatherhead)
• Moderated discussion focused on how civil space agencies could/should respond to and take advantage of NGO capabilities (Rashmi Shah, Daniel Limonadi)

We use the term Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to cover both commercial and non-profit entities.

This mini-symposium serves to provide valuable background material for the upcoming KISS Study on "Developing a Continuity Framework for Satellite Observations of Climate". The overall goal of this study program is to help accelerate discussions and plans for a greater and more impactful U.S. contribution to the global climate observing system.