IES scientist gives keynote speech at the Pecora 18 Symposium, USA
The Pecora 18 Symposium: Forty Years of Earth Observations – Understanding a Changing World
November 14-17, 2011, Virginia, USA.
The Pecora 18 Symposium1, sponsored by the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and co-organised by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) will be held from 14-17 November 2011 in Herndon, Virginia. The programme is organised into five General Sessions with corresponding technical sessions, plus exhibits, interviews and educational workshops.
IES scientist Alan Belward has been invited to give a keynote speech in a session entitled ‘Mapping and Monitoring the Globe’. This session will explore progress, current successes, and policy and technical challenges required to improve science and applications for mapping and monitoring the planet.
Alan Belward has also been invited to form part of a “stellar team of experts in mapping and monitoring the Earth’s natural resources” that will be interviewed on the 16 November, as part of the Pecora 18 Symposium in Virginia, USA. The interview, entitled ‘How will we Sustain a more Populated Planet?’ will focus on tracking trends in forests, water and agriculture – key resources needed by 7 billion people. Using the nearly 40-year global Landsat record in combination with other Earth observation systems and the latest scientific techniques in Earth imaging, this team of experts will describe the present conditions and outline the future of many of Earth’s natural resources with increasing accuracy. The other members of the team of experts include Matthew Hansen, University of Maryland, College Park, James Irons, NASA Goddard, Curtis Woodcock, Boston University, and Thomas Loveland, U.S. Geological Survey (moderator).
The video of the press briefing, which will be held at 18:00 Milan time on November 16, will be streamed live at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc
Background information
Nearly forty years ago, the launch of Earth Resources Technology Satellite-1 (now known as Landsat 1) fulfilled William Pecora's vision for civilian space-based observations of the Earth. Pecora 18 celebrates his vision with the theme "Forty Years of Earth Observations: Understanding a Changing World." The symposium focuses on how 40 years of Landsat and other Earth observation missions have influenced our understanding of the changing Earth, and contributed to improving information needed for managing our natural resources. Special emphasis will be given to the current state of the Landsat program such as the free data revolution and the upcoming launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission. Lessons from the past and present serve as the foundation for looking toward the next generation of operational land remote sensing.
1The Pecora Symposium series was established by the USGS and NASA in the 1970s as a forum to foster the exchange of scientific information and results derived from applications of remotely sensed data to a broad range of land-based resources; and provide a forum for discussing ideas, policies, and strategies concerning land remote sensing.
For further information, see http://asprs.org/pecora18/
See also: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/news/populated-planet.html
