PORSEC Newsletter 6
July 26, 2006
Dear PORSEC Association Members!
It is now just 3 months before the Pan Ocean remote Sensing Conference of 2006.
We hope that many of you have made plans to participate in the PORSEC 2006. Below we will tell you some aspects of the program as of this date. It is looking quite interesting. It is not too late for you to quickly send in an abstract. There were some difficulties with submissions through the Korean web-site, but they seem to be resolved now. If you still have difficulties with the online submission, we suggest simply submitting via email to abstracts at porsec.nwra.com, including, title, your affiliation and the abstract (short).
Accessing the conference web-site in general for interactive submissions of registration and hotel reservations should also work well now, but if you have trouble feel free to send registration by email to registration at porsec.nwra.com and hotel wishes to hotel_reservations at porsec.nwra.com. Anyone of us on the PORSEC Executive Board can help you.
Please read some of the details about the location, the venue and such via the link on the PORSEC web site, http://porsec.nwra.com/ . Click on the link to conferences and find 2006 Korea. You will see that the conference is held jointly with the International Remote Sensing Symposium.
The ISRS 2006 PORSEC dates are November 2-4, 2006. There will also be some workshops and PORSEC Scientific Organizing Committee meetings on Nov. 1, so plan your travel accordingly.This is a change from the first announcement and my information in Newsletter 4. The registration cost is low thanks to the shared conference preparations. We will work to keep the PORSEC family atmosphere and collegiality even though we will be in a larger forum.
The themes to be covered at PORSEC 2006 have now evolved substantially and we have several special focus sessions with the following titles and conveners with their email addresses. Please contact them directly if you wish to contribute to these sessions. However, all topics of remote sensing in oceanography are encouraged for the general sessions.
SPECIAL SESSIONS
Scientific Application of Active and Passive Microwave Sensors
Convener: W. Timothy Liu (W.Timothy.Liu at jpl.nasa.gov
QuikSCAT has provided global coverage of ocean surface wind/stress vectors and other terrestrial and cryospheric measurements since 1999. Data with improved spatial resolutions are being produced. Wind speeds measured by synthetic aperture radar and microwave radiometer have also been combined with other wind direction information to produce wind vector fields. Microwave radiometers (TMI and AMSR) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and on Aqua have provided sea surface temperature under both clear and cloudy conditions, besides wind speed, water vapor and rain. Strong sensor and science synergism exist between the two kind of spacebased sensors. They complement each other in monitoring the momentum, energy, and water transport in the ocean and atmosphere, and exchanges between them. Results on the application of each sensor and in combination with other space-based sensors are welcome in this session
Ocean Color,
Convener: James Gower, (gowerJ at pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
Satellite observations of water color (optical spectral reflectance) have now become a standard tool for studying oceans, coastal seas, estuaries and lakes. New applications for detecting and monitoring patterns of productivity and blooms of harmful and other algae are still being developed. The session will concentrate on observations of the west Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean, but relevant studies of any area are welcome.
Studies in the South China Sea
Conveners: Antony K. Liu (ONRG) and Kenji Hotta (Nihon University), (LiuA@onrasia.navy.mil)
The South China Sea is one of the most active marginal seas in the Southeast Asia. All studies in SCS are welcome to submit in this special session on activities in shpping, fisheries, naval and high-tech ocean exploration, remote sensing, modeling, and data assimilation. Recent field experiments in SCS have included ASIAEX (Asian Sea International Acoustics Experiment), NLIW (NonLinear Internal Waves) Initiative, Luzon Strait Experiment, and Spratlys Mapping Projects. Studies on remote sensing using SAR, LANDSAT, MODIS, SeaWiFS, SPOT, Altimetry, and QuikSCAT have provided many applications for ocean processes and environmental monitoring (e.g., waves, current, eddies, fronts, typhoons, ships, navigation, bathymetry, and red tides). Results of all studies in the South China Sea are welcome in this special session, and hopefully can promote more future international collaboration.
Space Agency Contributions to Science and Development in Asia
Convener: K.Katsaros (katsaros@porsec.nwra.com)
This session will be similar to what we had on the last day in Concepcion during PORSEC 2004 (for those of you who were there.)
We are inviting the Space Agencies, who operate in the Asian region, which includes the large space agencies as well as emerging space agencies in Asia to present what they are doing now that is useful for the Scientific Research and Applications in Asia and also what is in the future. Countries that do not have their own space program to date are encouraged to contribute how they use remote sensing from the world’s satellite systems and what their needs are. This may be a full half day session or longer depending on the number on contributors and should include ample time for discussions. To date we have participation from the following people and agencies, Pascal Lecomte (ESA), Eric Lindstrom (NASA), Prof. Shimoda (JAXA), James Gower (on behalf of CSA), Dr. R. Navalgund (Space Application Centre, Ahemedabad, India), NOAA/NESDIS, Korean and Chinese participants (not yet committed fully, but all three likely). If we could have someone in this program from space agencies/departments in Thailand and Indonesia, that would be very interesting. Just send an email to convener.
Tsunamis
Convener: Tom.Allan ( tom at satobsys.co.uk)
Following the tsunami disaster of Dec 26 2004, it has been suggested that it is appropriate to convene a Special Session on the potential contribution of satellites to future early warning systems, which are presently planned around conventional �in situ� measurements. It is hoped that representatives of countries threatened by tsunamis will be able to participate. This is a session in the PORSEC 2006 program.
An Associated Workshop on Tsunami and Other Marine Hazards
A will take place on the day preceding day of the conference, that is on November 1.
Convener for the workshop is also Dr Tom Allan tom at satobsys.co.uk
At this stage the organizers remain flexible about the details of the presentation in the workshop, but papers should fall into 3 main categories:
- i) Review of present status of the IOC programme
- ii) Potential contribution of satellite remote sensing
- a) To the detection of marine hazards including tsunamis
- b) To the longer-term research programmes
iii) An integrated approach � how can countries/agencies work together?
Papers should be confined to remote sensing, not satellite communications per se. They should also focus on what could be achieved with existing, proven technology rather than speculating on what might evolve in 5 � 10 years.
Countries that are particularly vulnerable to tsunamis and/or have suffered extensive damage in the past are listed. Representatives from these countries are particularly encouraged to participate:-
| � Australia
� Chile � India � Indonesia |
� Japan
� Kenya � Mexico � Morocco |
� Portugal
� Sri Lanka � Thailand � USA |
We would like to encourage a wide range of individuals and organizations to participate in this discussion. The basic aim is to identify and evaluate the level of support satellites might provide to the networks of in situ sensors now being planned and installed by the IOC Regional Working Groups. This is an issue that must surely appeal to the community of marine remote sensors who for almost two decades analyzed and interpreted data from the many individual research missions launched to reveal details of ocean processes. It may be time to consider if and how that technology, developed and improved over the years, can now be exploited to forewarn of impending marine disasters in the shorter-term.
Oil Spill Monitoring
Conveners: Dr. Andrey Ivanov, Dr. Andrey Kostyanoy, Korean co-chair to be determined.
Several Russian scientists among them Dr. Andrey Ivanov, Dr. Andrey Kostyanoy, Dr. Konstantin Litovchenko will report on studies of oil spill detection and statistical characteristics by remote sensing in the Asian marginal seas. Oil spill monitoring is very attractive for application of remote techniques. Please visit a web site, http://cearac.poi.dvo.ru, where there are many SAR images of the Japan/East Sea, Yellow Sea and in the East-China Sea showing oil spills. Additional papers on this and related subjects are solicited for this session.
Capacity Building in Asia
Conveners: (Ehrlich Desa and Joannes Berque of IOC)
This session concerns enhancing the use of remote sensing for oceanography and coastal issues in developing nations. Such a session was held in Concepcion 2004. Please communicate with Joannes Berque j.berque at unesco.org about your interest, if you have something to contribute in this area. We have just started the planning for this sessions, so there is extra time. If you cannot come, you may wish to send a message to the organizers about your countries and regions work and needs for capacity building in remote sensing.
We have received commitment for some funding from the IOC�s capacity building program. So a few students from outside Korea will be supported for the courses described below.
PORSEC Training Course : October 25-27
Contact for the course details and applications to attend is Dr. Pascal Lecomte Pascal.Lecomte at esa.it
There will be a training course sponsored by PORSEC and largely funded by ESA for the teachers.
The main topic will be Synthetic Aperture Radar� a tutorial of principles and currently available instruments in space, as well as application for regional research. The course will be taught by Professor Werner Alpers, Dr. Pascal Lecomte, and others. We expect to provide some financial support for participants mostly for subsistence and registration costs, while travel should be procured from other sources. We expect to support about 20 students. By student is meant either university students or young professionals. The course requires the person to be somewhat familiar with microwave remote sensing and satellite oceanography.
For the application of financial support to attend the course contact: Miguel D. FORTES m.fortes at unescobkk.org. Please indicate what your professional interest is in this course and your background (preparation level). Also let us know if you have requested support for your travel and whether your professor or superior is supportive of your participation in the course. A letter from that person would be. Dr. Fortes has a particular form that should be submitted.
Repeated message from Newsletter 5:EMAIL CONTACTS: You should all have received information about the membership email list earlier.
We have tried hard to connect with all known members and have verified your email addresses. Please check with your colleagues in your country, who might be part of PORSEC Association to make sure we are reaching them, and if you know that someone has recently changed email address, please send the new address to Gad Levy (see below) so we can reconnect with that person. Email is the only practical way for us to communicate in such a far-flung organization. We would appreciate if one or two members in each country (China, Japan, Korea, U.S.A., India ….) would volunteer to be the membership representative in their country, so we can ask them to investigate when we get a message returned. These volunteers would be members of the Membership Committee of the PORSEC Association automatically. (See the Statues and By-Laws section of the web-page.)
Each one of you is encouraged to solicit some support from space agencies in your home country for yourself to come to the Conference and also for some students that could then be sponsored by the PORSEC Association (especially from countries where we are trying to build up remote sensing capabilities). Your agency would be listed as a co-sponsor of the PORSEC 2006. Let me know if you know of such possibilities and if the Executive Board of PORSEC can help with the solicitation. We also need to know who is sponsoring our members of PORSEC association to participate in the conference, so we can properly show our appreciation. It is the sum total of all the participants that makes a great conference!
An important meeting will be the Session on November 1 of the Scientific Organizing Committee, SOC of the PORSEC Association to be held at Pukyang University in Busan. The members of this committee know who they are. If they are not coming to PORSEC 2006, we hope they will dedicate one of their colleagues who will be there to participate on their behalf (or as a replacement member of SOC). We will discuss, and we hope to ratify, the Statues and By-Laws (please read and examine via the PORSEC Ass. home page). We will discuss future activities of PORSEC Ass. including the conference site for 2008. (We have one or two organizations proposing to hold that conference.) We are not holding elections, per se, this time, as we would once the Statues and By-Laws are in effect, but we need to start the process of nominations and we need members to become active in various committees. We should also vote on the publication method of papers resulting from PORSEC 2006. You do not need to be a current member of the SOC. We encourage all PORSEC Ass. Members to attend. Voting is done by the SOC members, however.
In the near future, we expect to collect a membership fee of $20 from full members, $5 from students. We are establishing PORSEC Association as a non-profit organization in the State of Washington, U.S.A. and are setting up a bank account for the PORSEC Association. We need to have evidence of legitimate, dedicated members. Then we plan to approach foundations for support in addition to the government agencies currently assisting us to hold our courses and conferences.
With that I wish you all a great time preparing to come to Busan in about 3 months time! It is Your Association and we need all of you involved.
Yours,
Kristina Katsaros—
President of PORSEC Association
Also on behalf of the conference and session conveners and your dedicated PORSEC Executive Board , which consists of:
Vice President: Antony Liu, LiuA at onrasia.navy.mil
Treasurer: W. Timothy Liu, W.Timothy.Liu at jpl.nasa.gov
Executive Secretary: Gad Levy, gad at porsec.nwra.com
Past President: Yasuhiro Sugimori , sugimoriy at nifty.com
Past Vice Presidents : Ming-Xia He, Z. S. Liu, James Gower,
PORSEC Association Committee–Chairs:
Publications: Bill Emery
Awards: Mal Heron
Elections: Jose Stuardo
Program: Local Organizing Committee for PORSEC 2006, Busan, Korea is lead by:
Dr Yeong-Sup Kim and Dr. Young- Cheul Suh (both of Pukyung National University
Dr. Hong-Joo Yoon is the person behind the invitation to Korea for PORSEC 2006.
He chairs the overall program committee.
E-mail Addresses: yoonhj at pknu.ac.kr; kimys at metr.re.kr; assuh at kma.go.kr
(See further the list of members of the LOC in the PORSEC 2006 announcement on the web-page)
Dr. Kiwon Lee, kilee at hansung.ac.kr , representing Korean Society of Remote Sensing, is an important contact for the preparations of ISRS 2006 PORSEC.