STAR - Global Vegetation Health Products : 2009 NOAA NATO NSAU Workshop

The Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) is sponsored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and organized by the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU) and USA's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The ARW's Directors are Drs Oleg Fedorov (NSAU) and Al Powell (NOAA) The Workshop entitled "Use of Satellite and In situ Data to Improve Sustainability" deals with the issues of environmental security and the improvement of sustainability of the countries from the Former Soviet Union.(FSU). The economy of the FSU countries depends strongly on climate, weather and anthropogenic factors. These countries are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters (droughts, dry wind (suhovei), floods, winter frost, etc); experience climate change impacts and unfavorable anthropogenic activities (air pollution, land degradation, excessive agricultural activities, depletion of water resource in dry zones, soil degradation, including desertification, erosion of costal zone, water pollution, both see and reservoirs, excessive irrigation and flow of contaminants in the aquifer, fisheries); have reduced observational environmental networks and limited satellite activities and data use.
The ARW is inviting scientists from the NATO countries and NATO partner countries to discuss: methods, data, models and services; operational applications of satellite and in situ data to monitor, diagnose and predict natural disasters, food security, human health, sustainable environment and economic activities; address possible consequences of climate change and unfavorable anthropogenic activities; present new approaches in using satellite observations in combination with in situ data. Any important issues should be discussed from the operational point of view and be directed to improve the environment, economics and wellbeing of the population. One of the special issues of the ARW is the practical interaction between developers and users, including policy and decision makers. The developers have to let users know about the new technologies to address the key issues of sustainability and to get feedback helping them to master the methods, expand the applications and enhance the environmental and economic security.
Brain-storming discussions will formulate scientific and operational aspects of the ARW and will be presented in the Summary of the Workshop. These results are planned to be published in the Series NATO Science for Peace and Security: Environmental Security. The working language of the ARW will be English, Ukrainian and Russian. The 4-day ARW meeting is planned to have the following sessions and issues for discussions:

1. Early detection and monitoring natural disasters from satellite and in situ data: Preparedness and Response;
2. Food security in relation to weather and water;
3. Climate forcing as an early indicator of environmental impacts on socioeconomic activities and sustainable development;
4. Marine and land ecosystems interaction and anthropogenic activities;
5. Satellite and in situ data records for trend analysis, monitoring, modelling and prediction;

The leading scientists in the field of development and application of remote sensing and in situ data for enhancement of environmental security, economic sustainability and wellbeing of the population will be invited to provide basic presentations in the morning sessions. Short presentations will be selected and delivered in the afternoon sessions followed by discussions.
The ARW's Organizing Committee will provide full funding to the leading scientists to attend the ARW and very limited funding will be also provided to a few individuals whose presentation support the goals of the workshop, with specific emphasis on benefits to users.
Abstracts (one-page limit) of potential presentations should be sent electronically (as an e-mail attachment in MS DOC format) to NSAU's Marina Gerasimchuk (mari@nkau.gov.ua) or to NOAA's Felix Kogan (Felix.Kogan@noaa.gov) by March 27, 2009. Authors of accepted presentations will be notified via e-mail by April 15, 2009.
The participants (presenters, discussants and observers) of the ARW must register by May 4, 2009 sending e-mail to Marina Gerasimchuk (mari@nkau.gov.ua). Other logistic information about the ARW will be provided before May 15, 2009 through the web sites.