1. Introduction This document has been developed by the Browse Task Team under the direction of the Access Subgroup of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) [http://www.ceos.org] Working Group on Information Systems and Services. The purpose of this document is to provide information about browse data and recommendations for development of browse data systems. It is hoped that the information and recommendations provided will give the global change research community and other users of remote sensing information simpler and wider access to the wealth of data that is now available. This in turn will help to stimulate more data providers to make their information holdings available and encourage further development of global interoperable data systems. CEOS Working Groups and Subgroups are consensus organizations and the recommendations made within this document are non-binding. 1.1 Intended Audience This document is intended to assist data providers, including designers, developers and operators of Earth observation data systems to understand how a browse service might be made available to a wider audience. Scope of Document 1.2 Background Information and Data sets collected by Earth observation satellites are often quite large and it is impractical for data user's to examine complete data sets. In addition, providing Earth observation data is growing as a commercial field and an increasing number of data providers require payment for data sets. Earth observation data holdings are typically managed in a catalogue which can be queried by users to determine its contents and locate data sets. A catalogue system allows a user to identify individual data sets which fulfill specific requirements identified by the user. Data providers often offer a browse service which allows the user to review the selected items at a reduced resolution. This enables user's to establish whether the item is appropriate for the intended purpose. Figure 1-1 shows an example of a browse image for Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument data archived by NOAA.
1. Introduction This document has been developed by the Browse Task Team under the direction of the Access Subgroup of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) [http://www.ceos.org] Working Group on Information Systems and Services. The purpose of this document is to provide information about browse data and recommendations for development of browse data systems. It is hoped that the information and recommendations provided will give the global change research community and other users of remote sensing information simpler and wider access to the wealth of data that is now available. This in turn will help to stimulate more data providers to make their information holdings available and encourage further development of global interoperable data systems. CEOS Working Groups and Subgroups are consensus organizations and the recommendations made within this document are non-binding. 1.1 Intended Audience This document is intended to assist data providers, including designers, developers and operators of Earth observation data systems to understand how a browse service might be made available to a wider audience. 1.2 Background Information and Scope of Document Data sets collected by Earth observation satellites are often quite large and it is impractical for data user's to examine complete data sets. In addition, providing Earth observation data is growing as a commercial field and an increasing number of data providers require payment for data sets. Earth observation data holdings are typically managed in a catalogue which can be queried by users to determine its contents and locate data sets. A catalogue system allows a user to identify individual data sets which fulfill specific requirements identified by the user. Data providers often offer a browse service which allows the user to review the selected items at a reduced resolution. This enables user's to establish whether the item is appropriate for the intended purpose. Figure 1-1 shows an example of a browse image for Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument data archived by NOAA.