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GCRISpace and Earth ObservationIn development
Working groups

Working groups

Teams in Space and Earth Observation adopted to deliver a defined piece of work, each with a workplan, a supervisor and a clear end. A working group has no public authority beyond its workplan.

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Publisher
The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation
Field
Space and Earth observation, Climate and hazards
  1. 01QuestionNational, regional or institutional priority
  2. 02EvidenceSTEM foundation of the platform
  3. 03BuildNexus Foundry
  4. 04OrganizeNexus Ecosystem
  5. 05TestNexus Universe (independent site)
  6. 06PublishNexus Reports
  7. 07DecideCompetent authorities and institutions, through Nexus Rails
  8. 08RenewCorrections and the next annual agenda
01In brief

The short answer.

A working group of Space and Earth Observation is a team adopted to deliver one defined piece of work in the space and Earth observation field, with terms of reference, a workplan, a supervisor and an end date. Candidate subjects come from the platform's topics, such as space system resilience. A working group holds no authority beyond its workplan, and its outputs are reviewed before publication.

02Canvas

From enquiry to contribution.

Canvas · from enquiry to contributionDesign, not a record
Working groups: a working group from charter to sunsetA charter sets the question and the code of conduct; members join with declared interests; a workplan produces deliverables that are reviewed and credited; the group reports and sunsets or renews. Design of the process, not a record of a run.

Fig.The path from an enquiry to a credited contribution. Design, not a record; no step creates membership.

03Geography

People and exposure in the Arctic.

For working groups, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on true-colour imagery, population density and night lights with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on the Arctic; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 3

People and exposure, for this page

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

For working groups, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on true-colour imagery, population density and night lights with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on the Arctic; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A · NASA HLS S30Sources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). CC BY 4.0
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GPM IMERG precipitation, NASA Precipitation Processing System; distributed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Observed (EO): Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026), Microsoft Planetary Computer
  • Observed (EO): NASA HLS S30 (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Optional layers (35 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
  • Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
  • Precipitation rate, daily mean: GPM IMERG, NASA GES DISC · 12 Oct 2026

04How it works

Working groups in Space and Earth Observation.

  • Each entry shows its scope, host or owner, and terms.
  • Participation follows published rules, applied equally.
  • Taking part gives no authority or influence over findings.
05Candidate workplans

Questions a working group could be adopted to answer.

QuestionPossible deliverableDisciplines
What validation should EO products meet before use in national statistics?A validation protocolRemote sensing, statistics
06Next step

Register your interest.

Write to contact@therisk.global. The acknowledgement gives a reference and names the next step.

07Key terms

Terms used on this page.

Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.

TermDefinition
Working groupA team adopted to deliver a defined piece of work under terms of reference, with a workplan, a supervisor and an end date; it has no public authority beyond its workplan.
Terms of referenceThe document that defines an assignment's objectives, scope, deliverables, counterpart, acceptance criteria and reserved decisions.
Work breakdown structureA hierarchical breakdown of a project's scope into manageable work packages.
Revisit timeThe interval between successive observations of the same place by a satellite or constellation, which limits how quickly a change can be seen.
08Sources

Where this page's references lead.

The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.

09Questions

Questions and answers.

When are entries added?
When their hosting, terms and moderation are confirmed.
Related

Around Space and Earth Observation.

Space and Earth Observation

Bring your expertise to this field.

The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.

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