Gap Analysis Dashboard

Table of contents
  1. Overview
  2. Opening the Dashboard
  3. Controls
    1. Count By
    2. Display Level
    3. Cascading Filters
  4. Charts
    1. Current ECV Coverage (Donut Chart)
    2. Coverage Forecast — 5 Years (Stacked Bar Chart)
    3. Coverage Depth (Horizontal Bar Chart)
    4. ECV Quality (Bar Chart)
  5. Interpreting the Dashboard
  6. Customising Colours
  7. Permissions Summary

Overview

The Gap Analysis Dashboard shows the coverage status of Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) — which ECVs are currently measured by active missions and which still have an observational gap. It is designed to support programme-level decision-making by revealing where the Earth observation system needs reinforcement.

The Gap Analysis Dashboard requires the AccessOtherDataButProgrammatics permission.

Opening the Dashboard

  1. Click Policies & Requirements in the top navigation bar.
  2. In the view toggle bar at the top of the page, click Gap Analysis Dashboard.

The dashboard loads with default settings. Use the controls to refine the view.

Screenshot of the full Gap Analysis Dashboard showing the control bar, donut chart, stacked bar forecast chart, depth bar chart, and quality bar chart

Controls

All controls are located in the bar directly below the view toggle:

Count By

Toggles the unit used to define “coverage”:

Option Meaning
Data Products An ECV is “covered” if there is at least one active Data Product linked to it.
Missions An ECV is “covered” if there is at least one active Mission producing data for it.
Instruments An ECV is “covered” if there is at least one active Payload (instrument) measuring it.

Display Level

Toggles the granularity of the coverage:

Option Meaning
ECV Coverage shown at the top-level ECV (e.g., Sea Surface Temperature).
Product Coverage broken down by ECV Product (a sub-classification of the ECV).

Cascading Filters

Three linked dropdowns allow filtering the ECVs to a specific domain:

  1. Filter By Domain — Select a top-level domain (e.g., Ocean, Atmosphere, Land). Enables the Sub-Domain filter.
  2. Filter By Sub-Domain — Select a sub-domain within the chosen domain. Enables the ECV filter.
  3. Filter By ECV — Select a specific ECV to focus the charts on.

Clearing the Domain filter also resets the Sub-Domain and ECV filters.

Screenshot of the control bar showing the Count By toggle, Display Level toggle, and the three cascading filter dropdowns (Domain, Sub-Domain, ECV)

Charts

Current ECV Coverage (Donut Chart)

Located in the upper-left area, this donut chart shows how many ECVs (or ECV Products, depending on Display Level) are Covered vs. Not Covered at the present date.

  • The two segments use the colour scheme defined in the Colors dialog (accessible via the Colors button on the page toolbar).
  • Hovering over a segment shows a tooltip listing the individual ECV names in that category.

Screenshot of the Current ECV Coverage donut chart, with the tooltip visible listing ECV names

Coverage Forecast — 5 Years (Stacked Bar Chart)

Located in the upper-right area, this stacked bar chart projects coverage year-by-year over the next five years.

  • Each bar represents a year.
  • The bar is split into Covered (bottom stack) and Not Covered (top stack).
  • The projection is based on the start and end dates of missions and their data products.
  • Hovering over a stack shows the count for that year.

This view is especially useful for identifying future coverage gaps as missions approach their end of life and new missions are not yet commissioned.

Screenshot of the Coverage Forecast stacked bar chart showing 5 years of projected coverage alongside the donut chart

Coverage Depth (Horizontal Bar Chart)

Located below the two upper charts, spanning the full width of the page, the Coverage Depth chart shows — for each ECV — the number of active sources (Data Products, Missions, or Instruments, depending on Count By) that cover it.

  • The Y-axis lists ECV Short Names.
  • The X-axis shows the source count.
  • Each bar is colour-coded and hovering shows the full ECV name and a list of the contributing sources.
  • An ECV with a bar of length zero is not covered.

This chart reveals not only binary coverage but also depth of coverage: some ECVs may be measured by ten or more instruments while others rely on a single mission.

Screenshot of the Coverage Depth horizontal bar chart, showing ECV short names on the Y-axis and bar lengths representing the number of active sources for each ECV

ECV Quality (Bar Chart)

Located at the bottom of the page, the ECV Quality chart provides a quality and compliance assessment of how well the active data products meet the ECV measurement requirements, based on the benchmark verification service.

  • Each bar represents an ECV or ECV Product.
  • The bar height reflects the quality score derived from comparing active data product parameters against the published ECV requirements (accuracy, resolution, timeliness, …).
  • This chart connects the Gap Analysis with the benchmarking framework: an ECV may be nominally “covered” but still show a low quality score if its measurement parameters do not fully meet the requirements.

Screenshot of the ECV Quality bar chart at the bottom of the Gap Analysis Dashboard, showing quality scores per ECV

Interpreting the Dashboard

Situation Implication
An ECV appears in Not Covered No active mission currently produces a qualifying data product for this variable. A procurement or programme decision may be needed.
An ECV is Covered but has Coverage Depth = 1 Only one source covers this variable. Loss of that mission would create an immediate gap.
An ECV is Covered but shows a low quality score The current measurements do not fully satisfy the published ECV requirements. Instrument upgrades or new missions should be considered.
The 5-Year Forecast shows a decreasing Covered count Upcoming mission end-of-life dates are not yet replaced by new missions in the database. New acquisitions should be planned.

Customising Colours

The Colors button in the page toolbar (visible when the Gap Analysis Dashboard is active) opens the Colors dialog. From here you can change the colour assigned to the Covered and Not Covered categories in the donut and stacked bar charts.

Permissions Summary

Action Required Permission
View Gap Analysis Dashboard AccessOtherDataButProgrammatics