The ECMWF/ESA workshop on Using Low Frequency Passive Microwave Measurements in Research and Operational Applications will take place at ECMWF in Reading, UK, from 04 to 06 December 2017.

The workshop will look at applications that can benefit from the synergistic exploitation of low frequency passive microwave measurements but also on the combined usage of active and passive observations. Four topical areas will be addressed: Sea ice and predictability in Polar Regions, sea surface salinity and ocean circulation, soil moisture and flood forecasting, weather forecasting and climate monitoring.

Attendance: This workshop is by invitation only due to the limited number of participants. If you wish to participate please send a request to the organising committee.

Big Data from Space refers to the massive spatio-temporal Earth and Space observation data collected by space-borne and ground based sensors, and to synergetic use of data coming from other sources and communities. This domain is currently facing sharp development with numerous new initiatives and breakthroughs ranging from intelligent sensors to data science. These developments are empowering new approaches and applications in various and diverse domains influencing life on Earth, from sensing cities, monitoring human settlements and urban areas to climate change and security.

The objective of this conference is to stimulate interactions and bring together researchers, engineers, users, infrastructure and service providers, interested in exploiting Big Data from Space.

The BiDS'17 Conference is co-organised by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, and the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen). BiDS'17 will be hosted by the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) in Toulouse.

Abstract submission deadline: 31 July 2017

Registration deadline: 15 November 2017

The objective of the ESA sponsored "International Workshop on fiducial reference measurements for satellite-derived surface temperature" is to bring together the world's expertise in Earth surface (Land, Water, Ice) temperature measurements under the auspices of Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) to review the current state of the art in measurement accuracy for satellite validation.

The workshop which will take place from 16 to 18 October 2017 at National Physical Laboratory (NPL), UK, will consider the needs of current and future satellite missions and their applications together with the outputs and results from the recent CEOS comparison of fiducial reference measurements/instruments and will look to conclude with the development of an internationally coordinated strategy to ensure that the global reference measurement infrastructure is adequate to meet the future needs and aspirations of all users.

The workshop is free to attend, but registration is essential. To register, please follow this link

If you would like to submit a short abstract (~300 words) for consideration by the International Scientific Committee please contact: events@npl.co.uk.

Registration and abstract submission deadline: 15 June 2017

High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS) are stratospheric platforms that stay over a fixed point on Earth from weeks to months. Compared to ground-based systems, towers or aircraft, HAPS operate quasi-stationarily at an altitude of approximately 20 km. This allows them to complement or extend the capabilities of satellites in the domains of Earth Observation, Telecommunication and Navigation with the potential to further integrate with ground-based infrastructure. The European industry and research community is committed to develop HAPS systems while the advancing miniaturisation of sensor and communication technologies provides compact payloads compatible with the weight and power limitations of these platforms. Integrating HAPS into satellites systems offers new opportunities to provide improved products and services.

Capitalising on these developments, the European Space Agency is reaching out to the Earth Observation, Telecommunication and Navigation communities to present and discuss synergies between satellites and HAPS as well as to collect feedback and recommendations regarding a potential ESA HAPS programme.

Registration deadline: 19 August 2017

The European Space Agency (ESA) is organising the third consultation meeting of EO Open Science in ESRIN (Frascati, Italy) from 25 to 28 September 2017 to explore new challenges and opportunities for EO research created by the rapid advances in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). The programme includes jam and networking sessions as well as an interactive poster area.

This includes open tools and software, data-intensive science, virtual research environment, citizen science and crowdsourcing, advanced visualization, e-learning and education of the new generation of EO and Data scientists. The conference will present activities in EO Open Science and Innovation and develop a Roadmap for future ESA exploitation activities under the EO Science for society programme.

Registration opens: July 2017

The European Space Agency (ESA) is organising an advanced Ocean Remote Sensing Training Course devoted to train the next generation of Earth Observation (EO) scientists to exploit data from ESA and operational EO Missions (e.g. Copernicus Sentinels) for science and application development.

The training course is being organised by ESA in cooperation with the University of Porto and will be held in Porto, Portugal from 11 to 15 September 2017.

This course includes a series of lectures and laboratory classes, group-work and discussion, and the aim of the course is to develop new skills in the application of complementary satellite ocean remote sensing data sets and their application in synergy for science and applications serving society.

Extended application deadline: 30 June 2017

The Satellite Soil Moisture and Application Workshop aims to discuss and reconcile recent methodological advances in the development, validation and application of global satellite soil moisture data. The workshop series is unique by bringing together satellite users and developers to focus on both the derivation and exploration of soil moisture data from passive or active microwave satellite missions (SMAP, SMOS, ASCAT, AMRS-2, Sentinel-1, and other legacy missions). The workshop follows up former editions held at ESA/ESRIN in Frascati (Italy, 2013), in Amsterdam (Netherlands, 2014) and in New York (USA, 2016). The report from the 3rd workshop was published in the GEWEX News November 2016.

The CCI Soil Moisture User Workshop is similar in scope but particularly invites users of the CCI Soil Moisture products. Users from any relevant application area are invited to present their experiences with the data and provide ideas for future product improvements. The CCI Soil Moisture User Workshop is an event organised within the framework of ESA's Climate Change Initiative (CCI) Soil Moisture project.

Both workshops will be held at the Vienna University of Technology, on 19-20 September 2017 and on 18 September 2017, respectively. 

As part of the Scientific Exploitation of Operational Missions (SEOM) programme element, the European Space Agency (ESA) has organised an Advanced Land Training Course devoted to train the next generation of Earth Observation (EO) scientists to exploit data from ESA and operational EO missions (e.g. the Sentinels) for science and applications development.

Post graduate-level, PhD students, post doctoral research scientists and users from Europe and Canada interested in land remote sensing and its applications are welcome to apply to the 6-day course which shall be held at Szent István University (SZIU), in Gödöllő, Hungary from 04 to 09 September 2017.

Within the framework of the WMO Coordinated Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) a number of international science working groups exist to provide expert recommendations and coordination for atmospheric observations. The Earth surface community has recognised the opportunity of a sister group addressing surface Earth Observations (EO) needs and their applications. The 1st International Surface Working Group will take place will take place in Monterey California (USA) on 20 and 21 July 2017.

The workshop will be designed to be inclusive of all surfaces, land, ocean and sea-ice. This workshop seeks to bring together scientists working on areas which are particularly poorly monitored by current satellite missions. Recommendations will be put forward to the CGMS on those surface properties where continuity in the monitoring is lacking a cooperative international advocate. Particular examples include satellite based estimation of soil moisture, snow, land surface temperature and surface water body extents. This group will bring forward a continuity plan using existing systems and the ones planned which would fill this application gap in the future would be a primary effort to fall upon this group.

Abstract submission and registration deadline: 14 April 2017

Modern agriculture relies ever more on the availability of accurate, diverse and continuous information from a variety of data and services. Earth Observation has a clear potential to help address these agricultural needs.

This workshop, hosted in The Hague, Netherlands, intends to explore the variety of data sources available and provide a common forum for institutional, scientific and commercial users.

Registration is open