From: Dr. S. Abdalla To: Subject: Rivers-List: MEDCOAST Workshop on Remote Sensing. Date: dinsdag 14 december 1999 17:20 (I appologize for any cross-posting.) Hi All, The "MEDCOAST International Workshop on Applications of Remote Sensing to the Management of River Catchment Areas and their Coastal Margins in the Mediterranean and Black Sea" will be held during 10-12 April 2000 at the "Joint Research Centre of the EC", Ispra (VA), Italy. The "First Announcement and Call for Contributions" is attached below and posted at the web page: http://www.metu.edu.tr/home/wwwmdcst/medcoast_rsw.html Kind regards, > ___________________________________________________________ > | | > | Assoc.Prof.Dr. Saleh Abdalla | > |___________________________________________________________| > | | | > | Ocean Eng. Research Center | Tel. +90-312-210 54 37 | > | Civil Engineering Dept | Fax: +90-312-210 14 12 | > | Middle East Technical Univ. | E-mail: abdalla@metu.edu.tr | > | 06531 Ankara, Turkey | | > |_____________________________|_____________________________| ===================================================================== First Announcement and Call for Contributions MEDCOAST International Workshop on Applications of Remote Sensing to the Management of River Catchment Areas and their Coastal Margins in the Mediterranean and Black Sea 10-12 April 2000 Joint Research Centre of the EC Ispra (VA), Italy ===================================================================== Organized by: ------------- * MEDCOAST Secretariat Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. * Nat. Inst. for Coastal and Marine Management RIKZ, Rijkswaterstaat, Den Haag, The Netherlands. * Space Applications Institute Joint Research Centre European Commission, Ispra (VA), Italy. >From Rivers to the Sea: ----------------------- River catchment areas have a paramount influence on the coastal environment. The management of coastal zones cannot be carried out properly without taking into account the rivers that bring water, dissolved substances and suspended matter to the sea. In particular, the shorelines of enclosed basins can be substantially affected by river discharge - or from its lack. The Mediterranean and Black Sea are excellent examples of basins where interactions with continental watersheds, through the coastal interface, contribute to shape environmental features and natural resources. In the Mediterranean basin, pollution levels due to coastal runoff have been stabilized, perhaps reduced, in recent years, but anthropogenic and climatic processes have led to a reduction of river discharges. A diminished freshwater input, and associated sediment load, can change water circulation patterns, erosion and coastal morphology. Land use changes along the Black Sea main tributaries have led to a dramatic alteration of coastal water quality and consequently of the entire marine ecosystem. Both tourism and fisheries have been hardly hit by this occurrence. Remote Sensing and GIS: ----------------------- Today environmental management practices call for the use of integrated observation systems. The collection of traditional data by direct means and surface installations remains an important component of all environmental assessments. However, Remote Sensing (RS) techniques have also shown their value in providing novel information on extensive, dynamical habitats such as terrestrial watersheds and coastal basins- which complement and complete the traditional ones. Advanced methods for data processing and classification, as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have enabled the regular monitoring, mapping and modeling of land use, surface cover changes and water quality evolution. Hence, RS and GIS have become popular and useful tools in developing policies for Integrated Coastal Management (ICM). For this reason, MEDCOAST has taken the initiative to organize an International Workshop on the use of RS technologies, and GIS, devoted to managing river catchment areas and their impact on coastal zones. The emphasis of the Workshop will be primarily on the environmental issues typical of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, but contributions dealing with other regions are welcome as well. Goals and Logistics: -------------------- The Workshop is part of a series of events focused on environmental issues linked to management of water-related resources. In particular, it will follow, and be linked to, the 2nd World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference, to be held in the Netherlands, in March 2000. Central theme of this event will be the importance of water for the world's population in the next century. River basin and delta development will also get considerable attention. The Workshop will concentrate on various approaches to the use of RS, and GIS, in the management of river catchment areas and of the coastal margins impacted by them, with particular reference to basins of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. The potential topics of discussion include e.g.: * available systems and techniques, * processes and scales that can be detected, * contributions of such techniques to ICM. The Workshop will take place from the 10 to the 12 of April 2000, and will be hosted by the Space Applications Institute, at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, located near the village of Ispra, Italy, on the beautiful shores of Lago Maggiore. More detailed information covering the organization of the Workshop, local accommodations and related activities will soon be available on the WWW site: http://www.me.sai.jrc.it/ A Second Announcement concerning the Workshop will be released in February 2000, and will include a registration form (a participation fee of 100.00 Euro is foreseen), as well as local transportation and hotel reservation forms. Call for Contributions: ----------------------- Interested contributors who wish to submit suggestions for a Workshop session, or a specific presentation, should provide a 1 page Abstract, including: 1. session/presentation title 2. brief session/presentation description 3. author(s) full name and affiliation 4. postal, tel, fax and e-mail address Deadline for Contributions: --------------------------- Contributions should be submitted to: MEDCOAST Int Workshop c/o Dr Vittorio Barale SAI (tp 272), JRC EC 21020 Ispra (VA), Italy tel: +39 0332 789274 fax: +39 0332 789034 e-mail: vittorio.barale@jrc.it by 31 December 1999. Agenda: ------- Authors will be notified of the acceptance of their contribution (Workshop session or specific presentation) by 31 January 2000. The second and final announcement, including the Workshop Agenda, will be released in February 2000. Proceedings: ------------ A collection of Workshop contributions will be published, after the usual peer review process, as a Special Feature of the Journal of Coastal Conservation. Final papers submitted for publication should be delivered by the Authors at the Workshop. Organizing Committee: --------------------- * Dr. V. Barale SAI, JRC EC, Ispra (I) * Dr. F. Van Der Meulen / Ir A. Van Urk Rijkswaterstaat/RIKZ, Den Haag (NL) * Prof. E. Ozhan METU, Ankara (TR) =====================================================================