A new effort is getting underway to monitor and understand one of the least explored regions on Earth: the Atlantic Ocean, from pole-to-pole and from the surface waters to the bottom of the deepest trenches. Ocean researchers have learned much since the American biologist Rachel Carson observed in 1937: “Who has known the ocean? Neither you nor I.” But, says … Read More
Monitoring the Mediterranean and the Black Sea: IASON Concludes Work Fostering Scientific-Private Partnerships for Coastal Monitoring
The IASON project concludes its two-year efforts to build upon knowledge from prior partnerships and improve sustainability research in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.
Citizens Observatories: Improving Socio-Economic Relations in the Context of Odor Nuisances
Odors are inevitably generated by human activities, such as industry, agro-business, and sewage plants). For neighbors, this creates discomfort that may be permanent, sometimes unacceptable. How can we turn potential conflict and dilemma of “job or comfort” into a “win-win” relationship?
Supporting a Forest Observation System for Siberia: Earth Observation for Monitoring, Assessing and Providing Forest Resource Information
he monitoring and assessment of the remote Russian forest resources of Siberia is challenging and can only be done by integrating remote sensing techniques. Human and environmental forest disturbances continuously affect changing forest cover and biomass levels. The ZAṔS initiative is prototyping and supporting a forest observation system for Siberia using Earth observation data from European and Russian satellite data providers.
Observing Forest Biomass Globally
As the number of quality spatial resolution images available on Google Earth increases, so to does the possibility that every Internet user can help distinguish land cover features with a high degree of reliability. Such an approach, as seen in the Biomass Geo.Wiki tool, is inexpensive and allows Internet users from anywhere in the world to become involved in this global validation exercise.
Freshwater resources management: Starting SMART characterization of New Zealand’s aquifers
Despite the importance of New Zealand’s groundwater resources, we still lack essential information related to their basic properties which are required to avoid overexploitation of resources and water scarcity situations where humans and the economy will be stressed due to insufficient water supply.