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Cumulative Issue #147 June 2008 ISSN 0274-6338

http://www.grss-ieee.org/menu.taf?menu=Publications&detail=newsletter Editor: David Kunkee

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2 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Newsletter • March 2008

Table of Contents

IEEE GRS-S AdCom, Officers and Committee Chairs ...........................2

Editor’s Comments .................................3

President’s Message ..............................3

AdCom Members ..................................5

Chapters and Contact Information ..........6

GRS-S MEMBER HIGHLIGHTSGRS-S Member Profile: Siri Jodha SinghKhalsa...................................................7

In Memoriam: Professor Jin Au Kong.......7

GRS-S Members Elevated to Senior .........9

From the Chapter Activities Chair............9

FEATUREMultisensor Study of Soil and WetlandDegradation in Semi-Arid MediterreanEcosystems ..........................................10

REPORTSFARS Technical Committee Report..........18

CALL FOR PAPERS ...........................19

UPCOMING CONFERENCES...........24

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Postal Information and Copyright NoticeIEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Newsletter (ISSN 0274-6338) is published quarterly by theGeoscience and Remote Sensing Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.,Headquarters: 3 Park Avenue, 17th floor, New York, NY 10016-5997. $1.00 per member per year(included in Society fee) for each member of the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Soc.. Printed inU.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Sendaddress changes to IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Newsletter, IEEE, 445 Hoes Lane,Piscataway, NJ 08854.© 2008 IEEE. Permission to copy without fee all or part of any material without a copyright notice isgranted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, and thetitle of the publication and its date appear on each copy. To copy material with a copyright noticerequires special permission. Please direct all inquiries or requests to the IEEE Copyrights Manager.IEEE Customer Service Phone: +1 732 981 1393, Fax:+1 732 981 9667.

IEEE GRS-S AdCom, Officers and CommitteeChairs – 2008 GRS-29 (Division IX)

Newsletter Input and Deadlines The following is the schedule for the GRS-S Newsletter. If you would like to con-tribute an article, please submit your input according to this schedule. Input ispreferred in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or ASCII for IBM format (please senddisk and hard copy) as IEEE now uses electronic publishing. Other word process-ing formats, including those for Macintosh, are also acceptable, however, pleasebe sure to identify the format on the disk and include the hard copy.

GRS-S Newsletter ScheduleMonth June Sept Dec MarchInput April 15 July 15 Oct 15 Jan 15

PresidentAnthony K. Milne Executive Vice PresidentAlberto MoreiraVice President for TechnicalActivitiesSteve ReisingVice President for Meetingsand SymposiaMelba M. CrawfordVice President for Operationsand FinanceKaren M. St. Germain Vice President forProfessional ActivitiesJon BenediktssonVice President forInformation ResourcesJay PearlmanSecretaryThomas J. JacksonDirector of FinanceJames A. GatlinDirector of EducationGranville E. Paules IIIDirector Corporate RelationsWilliam GailAwardsWerner WiesbeckMartti Hallikainen Chapter ActivitiesDiane EvansConference CoordinationMelba Crawford, Paul SmitsConstitution and BylawsAlberto Moreira

Fellow EvaluationWooil M. MoonFellow SearchDavid M. LeVineMembershipSteven C. ReisingNominationsC. Luther, D. GoodenoughPublic Relations/PublicityDavid WeissmanStandards and MetricJon A. BenediktssonStrategic PlanningAlberto MoreiraTechnical ActivitiesPaul SmitsTransactions EditorJon A. BenediktssonGRS Letters Editor William EmeryJ-STARS EditorEllsworth LeDrewNewsletter EditorDavid KunkeeIGARSS 2007Ignasi CorbellaIGARSS 2008John KerekesEric MillerIGARSS 2009Harold AnnegarnIGARSS 2010Paul SmitsKaren M. St. GermainIGARSS 2011Motoyuki Sato

IGARSS 2013Peter WoodgatePACEPaul RacetteSocial Implications ofTechnologyKeith Raney2008 AdCom MembersMelba CrawfordDiane EvansKaren St. GermainDavid G. GoodenoughSteven ReisingPaul Smits2009 AdCom MembersAdriano Camps Roger KingDavid M. LeVine Wooil M. MoonAlberto MoreiraAnthony K. Milne 2010 AdCom MembersJon Benediktsson William J. EmeryThomas J. Jackson Jay PearlmanKamal Sarbandi Motoyuki SatoHonorary Life MembersAndrew BlanchardKeith R. CarverMartti Hallikainen Kiyo TomiyasuFawwaz T. UlabyWerner Wiesbeck

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IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Newsletter • June 2008 3

President’s Message

Dear Colleagues,

A very successful Technical Program Committee (TPC)meeting for selecting papers and organizing the program forthe Boston, July 2008 IGARSS Conference, was held in

Atlanta, on February 28th. Over 2300 abstracts have beensubmitted for the Conference which is shaping up to be oneof our best yet.

The Administrative Committee of GRSS (AdCom) alsomet in Atlanta to conduct the on-going business of theSociety. At this meeting AdCom approved two President’sInitiatives. These involved the establishment of AdvisorySub-Committees tasked with reporting back to the AdComwithin 18 months. The first-Sub Committee will concentrateon identifying new developments in the “Science, Technologyand Applications” areas of remote sensing that are likely tohave an impact on the nature and scope of GRSS activitiesinto the immediate future. The Sub-Committee will reportback on opportunities for GRSS to sponsor, nurture and accel-erate innovative research in remote sensing science technolo-gy and applications.

The second Sub-Committee established is the “Global

Anthony K. MilneUniversity of New South WalesSchool of Biological, Earth, and Env.SciencesSydney, NSW 2052 AUSTRALIAPhone: 61-2-9385-8097; 61-2-9451-4628Fax: 61-2-9451-4628E-mail: [email protected]

Cover Information: Images from the playa lakes area in Los Monegros, a semi-arid karstic environment innorthern Spain: False color composite (bands 3, 2, 1) of the ASTER image (top) and the corresponding Spectral AngleMapper classification output (bottom). The images cover an area of 8.5 km x 6 km (see page 10).

Editor’s Comments

Many of you may remember that Earth day was April 22 –Tuesday this year. Wikipedia suggests that the April 22 EarthDay marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern envi-ronmental movement from 1970 when on that day ‘20 millionAmericans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums todemonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment’. The arti-cle goes on to relate the increasing scope of environmentalawareness over the decades. Clearly, the awareness of globalenvironment is growing and with it, the value of remotelysensed geophysical data for gaining accurate perspectives andeffective policy related decisions.

This edition of the Newsletter features an article on mea-suring Soil and Wetland degradation using satellite and ancil-lary data. The paper describes how remotely sensed hyper-

spectral and multi-spectral measurements can be combinedwith field measurements to assess the impact of humaninduced changes to fragile ecosystems. The Newsletter alsocontains a brief report from the Frequency Allocations inRemote Sensing Technical Committee. The topic is focusedon work the committee is doing to bring attention to potentialthreats in the 57- to 59.3-GHz region from high density wire-less systems.

In the Member Highlights Section you will find a profileof Dr. Siri Jodha Singh Khalsa. Siri Jodha has been veryactive in the area of establishing standards for GEOSS and heencourages more of us to make contributions in this area.

On page 7 you will find an obituary for Prof. Jin AuKong. It is difficult to work within electromagnetics orremote sensing and not take note of Prof. Kong’s extensivecontributions. My first meeting of him, at μrad in 1992 inBoulder, included a discussion on microwave polarimetry ashe carefully annotated my poster with an alternate descrip-tion of the third Stokes parameter. It is with sadness that wereport his passing.

Feature articles and member highlights tend to define thisNewsletter. The December issue featured an article on multi-spectral thematic mapping and analysis. This issue’s featureaddresses measurements of soil and wetland degradation

David B. Kunkee, Editor The Aerospace CorporationNPOESS Space SystemsPO Box 92957 MS M4-922Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957Phone: 310-336-1125Fax: 310-563-1132E-mail: [email protected]

(continued on page 4)

(continued on page 17)

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4 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Newsletter • June 2008

David B. Kunkee, Editor The Aerospace CorporationNPOESS Space SystemsPO Box 92957 MS M4-922Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957Phone: 310-336-1125Fax: 310-563-1132E-mail: [email protected]

William J. Blackwell, Sc.D., Associate Editorfor Organizational and Industrial ProfilesMIT Lincoln Laboratory244 Wood St., Room S3-237Lexington, MA 02420-9108Phone: 781-981-5324Fax: 781-981-7271E-mail: [email protected]

Sandra Cruz-Pol, Associate EditorUniversity ProfilesElectrical and Computer Engineering Dept.University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, PR.00681-9042TEL: (787) 832-4040 x2444 x3090 FAX: (787) 831-7564E-mail: [email protected]

Yoshio Yamaguchi, Associate Editor for Asian AffairsDept. of Information EngineeringFaculty of Engineering, Niigata University2-8050, Ikarashi, Niigata 950-2181 JAPANTEL: (81) 25-262-6752FAX: (81) 25-262-6752E-mail: [email protected]

Sonia C. Gallegos, Associate Editor for Latin American AffairsNaval Research LaboratoryOcean Sciences Branch, Oceanography DivisionStennis Space Center, MS 39529, USATEL: 228-688-4867FAX: 228-688-4149E-mail: [email protected]

Tsehaie Woldai, Associate Editor for African AffairsDepartment of Earth Systems Analysis International Institute for Geo-InformationScience and Earth Observation (ITC) Hengelosestraat 99 PO Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, TheNetherlands TEL: +31-(0)53 4874 279 FAX: +31-(0)53 4874 336E-mail: [email protected]

Newsletter Editorial Board Members:(President’s Message continued from page 3)

Membership Task Force” whose job it is to recommend policiesand procedures that will help GRSS extend its scientific, tech-nical and professional services more effectively into third worldand developing countries, with the objectives of enablingGRSS to more ably support and nurture its global membershipas well as contribute to societal benefits in these regions.

Please contact the conveners of these committees, KamalSarabandi [email protected] and Bill [email protected] respectively if you would like to contributeideas or information that would help in their deliberations.

In mid April on behalf of GRSS I attended the SecondGEOSS Asia-Pacific Symposium, held in Tokyo, Japan. Thetopic of the Symposium was “The Role of Earth Observationsin Tackling Climate Change”. The aim of the meeting was todiscuss the role of remote sensing in tackling climate changeand its induced effects.

A major recommendation from this Symposium to theGEO Secretariat was that a new task be added to the GEO-10-Year Implementation Plan involving the use of synthetic aper-ture radar. It was recognized that forest carbon mapping andtracking by satellite especially radar has the potential to pro-vide essential information for predicting climate change andtaking measures for climate change mitigation, and that esti-mates of carbon emissions from deforestation, degradationand other land-cover changes can be improved by integratingsuch measurements with in-situ observations and carbonmodels. In particular, GEO needs to initiate GEOSS activitieson coordinating systematic observation strategies for existingand future SAR instruments.

GRSS is already heavily involved in the work of GEO andGEOSS through its participation in the IEEE Committee onEarth Observation (ICEO) and the co-sponsorship with ICEOof our new journal J-STARS, the first edition of which will bepublished later in the year. Please contact Jay [email protected] for more details on ICEO andEllsworth LeDrew [email protected] for informationabout J-STARS.

It is will deep regret that we learnt of the death of Dr. JinAu Kong from MIT, who passed away unexpectedly onMarch 12, 2008. Professor Kong was friend, supporter andoutstanding contributor to GRSS and IGARSS. He will besadly missed from our activities. A special Memorial Sessionat Boston IGARRS is being planned in his honor. I have writ-ten to his wife and family expressing condolences on behalfof GRSS and its members.

Sincerely,Tony Milne

President

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Dr. Anthony K. MilnePresident, IEEE-GRSSUniversity of New South WalesSchool of Biological, Earth and Env. SciencesSydney, NSW 2052 AUSTRALIAE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2007-2009)

Dr. Alberto MoreiraExec. VP, IEEE-GRSSGerman Aerospace Center (DLR)Microwaves and Radar InstituteP.O. Box 111682230 Wessling/OberpfaffenhofenGERMANYEmail: [email protected](AdCom 2007-2009)

Dr. Thomas J. JacksonSecretary, IEEE-GRSSUSDA-ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Lab104 Bldg 007 BARC-WestBeltsville, MD 20705 USAE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2008-2010)

Dr. Melba M. CrawfordVP for Meetings and Symposia, IEEE-GRSSLARS/Lilly HallPurdue University915 W. State StreetW. Lafayette, IN 47907-2054 USA E-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2006-2008)

Dr. Jon A. BenediktssonVP for Professional Activities, IEEE-GRSSTransactions Editor, IEEE-GRSSDepartment of Electrical and ComputerEngineering University of Iceland Rector’s OfficeMain Building, Sudurgata107 Reykjavik ICELAND E-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2008-2010)

Dr. Jay PearlmanVP for Information Resources, IEEE-GRSSThe Boeing CompanyPO Box 3707 MS 8R-24Seattle, WA 98124 USAE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2005-2007)

Dr. Karen M. St. GermainVP for Operations and Finance, IEEE-GRSSNPOESS Integrated Program Office8455 Colesville Road, Suite 1450Silver Spring, MD 20910 USAE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2006-2008)

Dr. Steven C. ReisingVP for Technical ActivitiesElectrical and Computer EngineeringDepartment1373 Campus DeliveryColorado State UniversityFort Collins, CO 80523-1373 USAEmail: [email protected];[email protected](AdCom 2006-2008)

Dr. Adriano CampsDept. of Signal Theory and CommunicationPolytechnic University of Catalonia, Campus Nord, D4-01608034 Barcelona SPAINE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2007-2009)

Dr. William J. EmeryLetters Editor, IEEE-GRSSCCAR Box 431University of ColoradoBoulder, CO 80309-0431 USAE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2008 – 2010)

Dr. Diane L. EvansNASA JPL4800 Oak Grove DriveM/S 180-404Pasadena, CA 91109 USAemail: [email protected](AdCom 2006-2008)

Dr. Albin J. GasiewskiPast President and ICEO Co-Chair, IEEE GRSSDept. of Electrical and Computer EngineeringUniversity of Colorado at Boulder0425 UCB/ ECOT 257Boulder, CO 80309-0425 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. James A. GatlinDirector of Finance, IEEE-GRSSGoddard Space Flight Center (Retired)Greenbelt, MD 20771 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. David G. GoodenoughNominations Committee Co Chair, IEEE-GRSSPacific Forestry CentreNatural Resources Canada506 West Burnside RoadVictoria, BC V8Z 1M5 CANADAE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2006-2008)

Dr. Nahid Khazenie8509 Capo Ct.Vienna, VA 22182 USAE-mail: [email protected](AdCom 2005-2007)

Dr. Roger KingMississippi State UniversityBox 9544Mississippi State, MS 39762-9544 USAE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2007-2009)

Dr. Ellsworth LeDrewJ-STARS Editor, IEEE-GRSSUniversity of WaterlooDept. of Geography200 University Ave. WestWaterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 CANADAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. David M. Le VineNASA Goddard Space Flight Center Code 614.6Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 USAE-mail: [email protected](AdCom 2007-2009)

Dr. Wooil M. MoonFellow Evaluations, IEEE-GRSSUniversity of ManitobaGeophysics Dept.Winnipeg, MD R3T 2NT, CANADAE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2007-2009)

Dr. Kamal SarabandiIEEE Remote Sensing Series Book EditorDept. of Electrical Eng. & Computer ScienceAnn Arbor, MI 48109-2122 USAE-Mail: [email protected](AdCom 2008-2010)

Dr. Paul SmitsJoint Research Centre Institute for Env. and SustainabilityTP262I-21020 Ispara ITALYE-Mail: [email protected]; [email protected](AdCom 2006-2008)

Dr. Motoyuki SatoCenter for Northeast Asian StudiesTohoku University980-8576 Sendai JAPAN E-mail: [email protected](AdCom 2008-2010)

Dr. Leung TsangPast President, IEEE GRSSUniversity of WashingtonBox 352500Seattle, WA 98195 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Martti T. HallikainenAwards Committee Co-Chair, IEEE-GRSSHelsinki University of TechnologyLaboratory of Space TechnologyP. O. Box 3000FIN-02015 TKK FINLANDE-Mail: [email protected](Ex-Officio Member )

Mr. Charles A. LutherRepresentative for African Affairs andNomination Committee Chair, IEEE-GRSS1113 Villamay Blvd.Alexandria, VA 22307 USAE-Mail: [email protected](Ex-Officio Member)

Dr. Werner WiesbeckHonorary Life Member andAwards Committee Chair, IEEE-GRSSUniversity of KarlsruheInstitute for High Frequency and ElectronicsKaiserstrasse 1276131 Karlsruhe GERMANYE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Kiyo TomiyasuHonorary Life Member, IEEE-GRSSRetired890 East Harrison Ave., #30Pomona, CA 91767 USAE-Mail: [email protected]; or [email protected]

Dr. Keith R. CarverHonorary Life Member, IEEE-GRSSUniversity of MassachusettsDept. of Electrical & Computer EngineeringAmherst, MA 01003 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Fawwaz T. UlabyHonorary Life Member, IEEE-GRSSThe University of Michigan4080 Fleming BuildingAnn Arbor, MI 48109-1340 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Kuan Shan ChenJ-STARS Deputy Editor, IEEE-GRSSNational Central UniversityCenter for Space Remote SensingChungli, TAIWANE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Paul RacetteGRSS PACE Rep.NASA/GSFC Code 555Greenbelt, MD 20771 USAE-Mail: Paul. E. [email protected]

Dr. Ignasi CorbellaIGARSS07 General ChairmanUPC - TSC Despatx: 208 Campus Nord -Edif. D3 C. Jordi Girona, 1-3 08034 Barcelona SPAINE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. John KerekesIGARSS08 General Co-chairRochester Institute of Technology54 Lomb Memorial Dr.Rochester, NY 14623 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Eric MillerIGARSS08 General Co-chairElectrical and Computer EngineeringTufts University161 College Ave.Medford, MA 02155 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Harold AnnegarnIGARSS09 General ChairmanDepartment of Geog., Environmental Management & Energy StudiesUniversity of JohannesburgP O Box 524 Auckland Park 2006 Johannesburg REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Wolfgang-Martin BoernerGRSS Representative for Asian AffairsUIC-ECE/CSN, m/c154900W Taylor St., SEL.W 4210Chicago, IL 60607-7018 USAEmail: [email protected],[email protected]

Dr. Liping DiData Archiving and Distribution Committee ChairDept. Earth System and Geoinformational ScienceGeorge Mason UniversityFairfax, Virginia 22030-4444 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Sonia C. GallegosGRSS Rep. On Latin American AffarsNaval Research LabCode 7333 Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 USAE-Mail : [email protected]

Dr. Paolo Gamba Data Fusion Technical Committee ChairUniversity of PaviaDept. Of ElectronicsVia Ferrata 127100 Pavia ITALYE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Joel T. JohnsonFrequency Allocations in Remote SensingTechnical Committee ChairThe ElectroScience LaboratoryThe Ohio State University1320 Kinnear Rd.Columbus, OH 43212 USAEmail: [email protected]

Dr. Siri Jodha Singh KhalsaIEEE Standards Committee and ISO TC-211 RepresentativeUCB 449Boulder CO 80309-0449 USAEmail: [email protected]

Dr. David B. KunkeeNewsletter Editor, IEEE-GRSSGRSS Communications and Info Policy Rep.The Aerospace Corp.NPOESS Space SystemsP.O. Box 92957, MS M4-922Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957 USAEmail: [email protected]

Martinus (Max) MeermanInstrumentation and Future TechnologiesTechnical Committee ChairMDA13800 Commerce ParkwayRichmond, BC, V6V 2J3 CANADAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. William B. GailDirector of Corporate Relations, IEEE GRSSMicrosoft Corporation1690 38th St.Boulder, CO 80301 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Mr. Granville E. Paules IIIDirector of Education, IEEE GRSSKelly, Anderson, and Associates Inc.424 North Washington St.Alexandris, VA 22314 USAE-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Laurent PhalippouIFT Technical Committee Co-ChairBU-SORAlcatel Alenia Space France26 Av. ChampollionBP 1187, 31037 Toulouse Cedex 1 FRANCEE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. R. Keith RaneyGRSS Rep. Social Implications of TechnologyJohns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics LabSpace Dept.Johns Hopkins Rd.Laurel, MD 20723-6099 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. H. (Rama) RamapriyanDAD Technical Committee Co-ChairNASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 20771 USAE-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Jim StilesGRSS Rep. IEEE Sensors CouncilUniversity of KansasDept. of EECS 2001 Eaton Hall 1520 W. 15th St.Lawrence, KS 66045-7621 USAE-mail: [email protected]

Dr. David WeissmanPublicity Chairman, IEEE GRSSHofstra University, Dept. of Engineering104 Weed HallHempstead, NY 11549 USAEmail: [email protected]

Dr. Jocelyn ChanussotData Fusion Technical Committee Co-ChairGIPSA Lab, INP GrenobleBP-46, 38402 S. Rankin d’Heres FRANCEEmail: [email protected]

Dr. Lixin WuUARS Technical Committee Co-ChairChina Univ. of Mining and TechnologyBeijing CampusNorteastern UniversityBeijing CHINA

2008 ADCOM MEMBERS’ NAMES AND ADDRESSES

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GRS-S Chapters and Contact InformationChapter Location Joint with

(Societies)Chapter Chair E-mail Address

Region 1: Northeastern USA

Boston Section, MA GRS William Blackwell [email protected]

Springfield Section, MA AP, MTT, ED, GRS, LEO Paul Siqueira [email protected]

Region 2: Eastern USA

Washington DC / Northern VA GRS James Tilton

Region 3: Southeastern USA

Atlanta Section, GA AES, GRS Greg Showman [email protected]

Eastern North Carolina Section, NC GRS Linda Hayden [email protected]

Region 4: Central USA

Southeastern Michigan Section GRS Mahta Moghaddam [email protected]

Region 5: Southwestern USA

Denver Section, CO AP, MTT, GRS Michael Janezic [email protected]

Houston Section, TX AP, MTT, GRS, LEO Christi Madsen [email protected]

Region 7: Canada

Toronto Section, Ontario SP, VT, AES, UFF, OE, GRS Sri Krishnan [email protected]

Vancouver Section, BC AES, GRS Rob Leitch [email protected]

Region 8: Europe and Middle East

Italy Section 1 GRS Nazzareno Pierdicca [email protected]

Italy Section 2 GRS Maurizio Migliaccio [email protected]

Germany Section GRS Alberto Moreira [email protected]

Russia Section GRS Anatolij Shutko [email protected]

Spanish Section GRS J. M. Lopez-Sanchez [email protected]

Ukraine Section AP, NPS, AES, ED, MTT, GRSEMB

Alexander I. Nosich [email protected]

Region 10: Asia and Pacific

Beijing Section, China GRS Chao Wang [email protected]

Seoul Section, Korea GRS Yisok Oh [email protected]

Taipei Section, Taiwan GRS Kun-Shan Chen [email protected]

Japan Council GRS Yoshikazu Iikura [email protected]

United Kingdom and Republic ofIreland Section

Student Branch, Spain Section

Islamabad Section GRS/AES M. Umar Khattak [email protected]

GRS, OE

GRS

Yong Xue

Pablo Benedicto

[email protected]

[email protected]

Quebec Section, Quebec AES, OE, GRS Xavier Maldague [email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Region 9: Latin America

Student Branch, Colombia Section GRS Leyini Parra Espitia [email protected]

Ottawa Section OE, GRS Hilmi Dajani [email protected]

France Section GRS Josselyn Chanussot [email protected]

Western New York GRS John Kerekes [email protected]

6 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Newsletter • December 2007

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The business of standardswithin the developing GEOSScommunity requires the commit-ment, expertise, and networkingcapabilities of a host of individu-als. Foremost among these is SiriJodha Singh Khalsa of theNational Snow and Ice DataCenter (NSIDC), in Boulder,Colorado. Since receiving hisB.A. in Physics from theUniversity of California, Irvine,and his Ph.D. in Atmospheric

Sciences from the University of Washington, Seattle, Khalsahas been a major contributor to a variety of data programs.His activity in leading the IEEE effort in standards and inter-operability for GEOSS is a natural extension of his work inthese programs, albeit on a global scale.

Since 1993 Khalsa has worked in support of the NASA’sDistributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) at the NSIDC.Prior to that he worked at the University of Colorado andUniversity of Hawaii leading research programs in air-seainteraction, boundary layer turbulence and detection of cli-mate change in satellite data records. During this time he par-ticipated in the design, planning and execution of nine inter-national fields programs involving satellite-, aircraft-, ship-,buoy- and land-based sensors.

His current job engages him in research on methods ofremotely sensing glacier change as part of the Global LandIce Measurements from Space (GLIMS) project. He is also a

collaborator on a project to estimate changes in snow coverand glacier mass balance in Central Asia over the past 50years with the aim of forecasting impacts of climate changeon local surface hydrology. In his current position as ScienceData Coordinator at the NSIDC DAAC he performs scienceevaluation and algorithm support for the MODerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), theAdvanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) and theGeoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS). These instru-ments are all part of NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS)– for which Khalsa played a major role in the development ofthe EOSDIS science data model. He also leads the passivemicrowave-based Near-real time Ice and Snow Extent (NISE)Product team at NSIDC.

But his passion in contributing to GEOSS standards devel-opment and related programs is what set him apart from mostdata scientists. Khalsa is a charter member of NASA’sStandards Process Group and the IEEE/GRS-S liaison toISO/TC211. He is chair of the IEEE Committee on EarthObservations (ICEO) Standards Working Group, and leads sev-eral IEEE-initiated activities supporting standards and interop-erability for the Global Earth Observing System of Systems(GEOSS). He is a founding member of the International PolarYear (IPY) Knowledge Organization Group, which is workingon semantic interoperability for the IPY. In 2006 Khalsaformed the Colorado Associates for Science and Technology, acompany dedicated to providing high quality scientific andtechnological consulting in the fields of remote sensing, datamanagement, and geospatial and semantic interoperability.

A. J. Gasiewski, reprinted and adapted from Earthzine.org

GRS-S MEMBERS HIGHLIGHTS

GRS-S Member Profile: Siri Jodha Singh Khalsa

Siri Jodha Singh Khalsa

IN MEMORIAMProfessor Jin Au Kong

Jin Au Kong, Professor in the Department ofElectrical Engineering and ComputerScience at the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT), passed away unexpect-edly on March 12, 2008, of complicationsfrom pneumonia. He was 65.

Born in Kiangsu, China, in 1942,Professor Kong is a seventy-fourth-genera-tion descendant of Chinese philosopherK’ung-Futzu, or Confucius. After receivinghis bachelor’s degree from TaiwanUniversity in 1962 and his master’s degreefrom Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University in 1965, hepursued doctoral studies under Professor David K. Cheng at

Syracuse University. In 1968, he received thePh.D. degree with his doctoral thesis on elec-tromagnetic wave propagation and radiationin moving media. His dissertation showedthat the constitutive relations are bianisotrop-ic in moving media. Such bianisotropic rela-tions have become important in current stud-ies of metamaterials. Professor Kong joinedthe Electrodynamics Group of MIT’sResearch Laboratory of Electronics (RLE) inJuly 1969 to conduct research in quantumand classical electrodynamics, and was con-

currently appointed Assistant Professor of ElectricalEngineering and Vinton Hayes Postdoctoral Fellow in the

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Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science(EECS). He served as chairman of the Department of EECS’sconcentration area on Energy and Electromagnetic Systemsand was the director of RLE’s Center for ElectromagneticTheory and Applications.

Professor Kong earned international acclaim for his workin electromagnetic wave propagation, radiation, scattering,inverse scattering and their applications in microwave remotesensing, geophysical exploration, and electromagnetic trans-mission and coupling in microelectronic integrated circuits.Recent research also included groundbreaking work on meta-materials, which show promise for a variety of novel opticaland microwave applications. He authored and co-authoredmore than 700 research papers and book chapters, and 30books on electromagnetics (including Electromagnetic WaveTheory, Theory of Microwave Remote Sensing, and AppliedElectromagnetism).

Professor Kong’s research is well known in the IEEEGeoscience and Remote Sensing Society because of his con-tributions in microwave remote sensing. He co-authoredmany pioneering papers including “Theory for passivemicrowave remote sensing of near-surface soil moisture”,“Polarimetric passive remote sensing of a periodic soil sur-face: microwave measurements and analysis,” “Third Stokesparameter emission from a periodic water surface,”“Branching model for vegetation,” “Effective permittivity ofdielectric mixtures,” “Rice crop mapping and monitoringusing ERS-1 data based on experiment and modelingresults,” and “Classification of Earth terrain using polarimet-ric synthetic aperture radar images”. Other notable contribu-tions include coherent radiative transfer theories for bothactive and passive microwave remote sensing problems inpropagation and scattering through random continuous anddiscrete media.

Professor Kong was president of the ElectromagneticsAcademy and Dean of the Electromagnetics Academy atZhejiang University. Over the years, he served as a consultantto many government and private organizations, including theNew York Port Authority, the US Army EngineeringTopographical Laboratory, Raytheon, Hughes Aircraft,Lockheed Missiles and Space, MIT's Lincoln Lab, andSchlumberger-Doll Research. He also served as a visiting sci-entist at the Lunar Science Institute in Houston, a visiting pro-fessor at the University of Houston, and a high-level consul-tant to the United Nations Undersecretary General on scienceand technology. Professor Kong was the founder and the pri-mary organizer of the Progress in Electromagnetics ResearchSymposium (PIERS), an international conference for electro-magnetic research. The Symposia have been held in US,

Europe and Asia since 1989. He was Editor-in-Chief for theWiley book series on Remote Sensing, the Journal ofElectromagnetic Waves and Applications (JEWA) and thebook series Progress in Electromagnetics Research (PIER).

He was awarded honorary doctorates by the University ofNantes and the University of Paris X-Nanterre, both in 2006.Among his numerous awards are the S.T. Li Prize, the IEEEGeoscience and Remote Sensing Society's DistinguishedAchievement Award (2000) and the IEEE ElectromagneticsAward (2004). He was also a Fellow of IEEE and the OpticalSociety of America.

Professor Kong was exceptionally devoted to the manygenerations of MIT students who learned and conductedresearch in his laboratories. He has supervised over 50 PhDtheses and 100 MS theses. His graduate students have distin-guished achievements. around the world. Many of the gradu-ates have played important roles in GRSS. In 1985 he wasawarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by the MITGraduate Student Council. In a faculty profile interview in1993, when he was asked what advice he had for MIT stu-dents interested in electromagnetism, he answered, “You mustbe able to think on your feet. No one knows better than youabout the problem you're working on. Most important of all,do not restrict yourself to a narrow topic. Be prepared andopen-minded in making contributions to seemingly unrelatedtopics. Cross-fertilization is an intellectually rewarding exer-cise.” Many of his former students, like us, testify to his pos-itive influence, not only during the student years but also formany years after graduation. Since the founding of theElectromagetics Academy at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou,China in 2003, Professor Kong has also supervised numerousstudents at that Academy.

In addition to being a loyal friend, an exceptional col-league, a first-class scientist and an effective mentor,Professor Kong was also a caring son, a loving father and adevoted husband. He is survived by his wife Dr. Wen Kong,his daughter Dr. Shing Kong and his son Dr. David Kong, allto whom we express our sincere condolences and sympathy.

A Memorial session to honor Professor Kong will be heldon Tuesday afternoon, July 8, 2008, 3:20pm-6:00pm atIGARSS’08 in Boston

On behalf of Professor Kong’s former students,

Leung Tsang ([email protected])Tarek Habashy ([email protected])

Joel Johnson ([email protected])Soon Poh ([email protected])

Robert Shin ([email protected])Simon Yueh ([email protected])

grsNL0608.qxd 5/7/08 12:40 PM


GRS-S MEMBERS ELEVATED TO THE GRADE OF SENIOR MEMBERDURING THE PERIOD JANUARY – MARCH 2008

Senior membership has the following distinct benefits:• The professional recognition of your peers for technical

and professional excellence.• An attractive fine wood and bronze engraved Senior

Member plaque to proudly display.• Up to $25.00 gift certificate toward one new Society

membership.• A letter of commendation to your employer on the achieve-

ment of Senior Member grade (upon the request of thenewly elected Senior Member).

• Announcement of elevation in Section/Society and/or local

newsletters, newspapers and notices.• Eligibility to hold executive IEEE volunteer positions.• Can serve as Reference for Senior Member applicants.• Invited to be on the panel to review Senior Member

applications.• Eligible for election to be an IEEE Fellow

Applications for senior membership can be obtained fromIEEE website: http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/senior-members/index.htmlYou can also visit the GRS-S website: http://www.grss-ieee.org

February: Luca Baldini Italy SectionSteven Battel Phoenix SectionErick Baziw Vancouver SectionFrancesco Mattia Italy SectionBernhard Schoelkopf Germany SectionBilgee Sukhbaatar Region 10-CountriesKevin Sunberg Denver Section

March: Andreas Colliander Benelux SectionJoaquim Fortuny-Guasch Italy SectionJiang Li Houston SectionRamuhalli Pradeep Southeastern Michigan SectionDavid Roberts Atlanta Section

ERRATA:In the article “Multispectral Thematic Mapping of Land Areas, Some Fundamentals” in the December 2007 Newsletter the fol-lowing text appearing on Page 14:

For example, for 10 bit data in 100 spectral bands there are potentially (1024)100 . 10300 discrete locations. That number is solarge that, even for a data set of 106 pixels, the probability of any two pixels lying in the same discrete location is vanishing-ly small.

Should read:For example, for 10 bit data in 100 spectral bands there are potentially (1024)100 ≈ 10300 discrete locations. That number isso large that, even for a data set of 106 pixels, the probability of any two pixels lying in the same discrete location is vanish-ingly small.

At the Atlanta meeting, the AdCom strongly endorsed an ini-tiative to make Chapters more attractive to new members, andallocated US$ 30,000 to be directed towards the effort.

Members interested in this “Chapter Enhancement Initiative”should contact their Chapter Chairs.

Diane

FROM THE CHAPTER ACTIVITIES CHAIR

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FEATURE

IntroductionMediterranean regions are characterized by their semi-aridclimate and scarce water resources that make them especiallyvulnerable to population pressure and climate change. Theyenclose a variety of ecosystems ranging from steppe plains toplaya lakes and wetlands and are increasingly being affectedby human activities. As urban sprawl and agricultural produc-tion intensifies, semi-natural ecosystems are being trans-formed into built-up areas and irrigated land for cultivation.Assessing the impact of such human induced transformationson these ecosystems is an essential task to ensure their sus-tainable use.

In Spain the area occupied by wetlands has declined rapid-ly in the last four decades as a result of the draining of wet-lands for agriculture and urban growth [1]. The semiarid cli-mate and physiographic characteristics of Spanish wetlandsmake these environments particularly susceptible to climaticand hydrologic fluctuations as well as to human-driven landuse changes. Their dependence on groundwater and surfacewater collected from the upper drainage basin areas makethem especially vulnerable to any disturbances occurring totheir natural flow regime such as overexploitation of ground-water resources, diversion or damming of river courses, andconversion of surrounding upland areas into agriculturalfields or urban areas. The importance of preserving these veryfragile ecosystems has been recognized by the RamsarConvention (Ramsar Convention, Iran, 1971), which current-ly lists 49 Spanish wetlands as protected sites, as well as theEuropean Framework Directive on Water [2]. Especiallyendangered wetlands are considered those located in endorhe-ic (closed basin) environments where they depend on localflow systems that are recharged by relatively small watershedareas [1].

The main focus of our research work is the application ofa multi-sensor and multi-scale approach to study soil and wet-land degradation in semi-arid conditions using advancedEarth Observation Systems with the support of field spectro-radiometry and ancillary field and laboratory data. Ourresearch group is interdisciplinary (with expertise in geology,geography, geochemistry and pedology) and international in

scope (with affiliations in USA and Spain), and jointly anintegrated methodology has been developed to survey andmonitor land cover changes in environmentally sensitive anddynamic ecosystems. This integrated approach has been suc-cessfully applied to different case studies within Spain, eachwith their distinct characteristics and environmental problem-atic, and consists of combining remotely sensed data fromhyperspectral (HyMap and Proba 1 CHRIS), multispectral(Landsat TM and ETM+, Terra ASTER, and ALOS AVNIR-2) and field spectrometry (ASD FieldSpec Pro) with field sur-veys and laboratory analysis. Three case studies are presentedhere to illustrate our integrated strategy to assess the impactof human induced changes on fragile ecosystems.

Study AreasIn the past eight years, we haven been conducting multi-sensor and multi-scale studies in three semi-arid environ-ments where land degradation problems, mainly in the formof soil salinization and soil erosion, are acute [3]. All threestudy areas represent inland ecosystems (Figure 1) andinclude natural wetlands and steppe plains as well as agri-culturally exploited areas. The study areas are brieflydescribed below.

MULTISENSOR STUDY OF SOIL AND WETLAND DEGRADATION INSEMI-ARID MEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEMS

Magaly Koch1, Thomas Schmid2 and José Gumuzzio3

1Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA. [email protected] – Avda. Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid, Spain. [email protected] University of Madrid, Faculty of Sciences, Madrid, Spain. [email protected]

La Mancha

Central

Chinchón

Los Monegros

La Mancha

Central

Chinchón

Los Monegros

La Mancha

Central

Chinchón

Los Monegros

Figure 1. Location of the three study areas.

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Las Tablas de DaimielThe National Park of Las Tablas de Daimiel is an area ofgreat value with respect to biodiversity and wildlife habitats[4], [5], [6] and consists of a main lake surrounded by sev-eral shallow pools and associated marshland at the conflu-ence of two rivers in the great plain of La Mancha inCentral Spain (Figure 2). The area lies in a depressed basinfilled with Tertiary sediments, mainly of limestone and cal-careous sediments. The Quaternary materials are associatedwith processes resulting from flooding by underground

water (sand, mud and clays) or the growth of extensivehygrophilous vegetation, which gives rise to large amountsof accumulated organic matter (peat). Under natural condi-tions, the wetland is fed from two water sources: (1) flood-waters from the permanent freshwater Guadiana river andthe seasonal brackish Cigüela river, and (2) upwellinggroundwater from the underlying karstic aquifer. In thepast, this wetland was surrounded by dense oak wood andopen water bodies supported rich aquatic vegetation.Nowadays, the Tablas de Daimiel wetlands are drying outdue to the overexploitation of the underlying aquifer forirrigating large agriculture areas that are rapidly expandingaround the wetlands. This has caused the water level of theaquifer to drop and cease to supply water to the wetlandsurface [7]. Efforts to restore the wetland area by artificial-ly supplying the area with river water have largely failed toachieve their goal. The wetland’s extent has decreased dra-matically in the last few decades severely affecting itspalustrine ecosystem.

ChinchónNorth of Las Tablas de Daimiel lies the Chinchón study area(Figure 3), which is an area with undulating topography andagricultural influenced plateau areas, known as páramo, witha maximum height of 780 m above sea level (a.s.l.) and divid-

Figure 3. Study area in Chinchón with HyMap flight line images superposed on DEM and corresponding

terrain slopes along transects A1-A2 and B1-B2.

Figure 2. Study area of the Las Tablas de Daimiel wetland. (ASTER 2 June 2002)

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ed by the Tajo river basin which lies at 520 m (a.s.l.) withsteep escarpments. The lithology is mainly composed ofQuaternary and Tertiary sediments with marls, gypsum andclay. The main soil types found within the area are Regosol,Cambisol, Luvisol and Calcisol and the scarce natural vege-tation cover consists of calcicole and gypsophile species.The land use is mainly vineyards, olive groves and pasture-land. The area within the Tajo river basin is almost entirelytaken up by irrigated cultivation and within the last few yearsthe irrigation has expanded to the neighboring more elevatedareas. The soil types found in this region are especially sensi-tive to degradation processes and their degradation stage canoften be recognized through changes in soil surface composi-tion and color, which are due to anthropogenic intervention orthe natural removal of the top soil by erosion processes [8],[9]. The effects of an irregular precipitation regime, the pro-gressive reduction of an extensive vegetation cover, as well aschanges in land use have all caused major damage to the soils.

Los MonegrosThe Los Monegros area of NE Spain is a further semi-aridregion that is experiencing significant land use change due tothe implementation of an extensive irrigation system (Figure 4)that is converting semi-natural vegetated areas into arable land[10], [11]. The landscape is composed of a gently undulatingplatform that is surrounded by dissected upland hills to thenorthwest and the Ebro river escarpment to the south and south-east. A number of small playa lakes (mud flats) are concentrat-ed in the plateau area. These are small karstic depressionsformed by the dissolution of evaporitic subsurface layers,mainly gypsum and limestone. Current agricultural policyencourages farmers to plow semi-natural areas irrespectively oftheir profitability. The effect of plowing, combined with the

subsequent land use changes, may trigger or accelerate landdegradation processes, such as water and/or wind erosion, soilsalinization, soil crust formation, and vegetation loss [11], [12].

Integrated MethodologyOur study approach consists of acquiring data from varioussources at different spatial and temporal scales. This includeshigh definition spectral data obtained with a field spectrora-diometer (ASD FieldSpec Pro VNIR-SWIR), and comple-mented with hyperspectral airborne and hyper-/multispectralsatellite data. Field campaigns are carried out during specifictimes of the year (i.e. wet and/or dry season depending on theapplication) to collect spectral data for selected surface covertypes (soil, vegetation and rock outcrops). The spectral infor-mation is complemented with detailed field observation, andphysical, chemical and mineralogical characterization of thesoil surface samples as well as classification of general soiland vegetation types. Hyperspectral airborne data are veryvaluable but costly information sources and, thus, areacquired with flight campaigns for which data take grants areobtained. This was the case with the HyEurope program in2003 and 2004 which were jointly organized by the GermanAerospace Centre (DLR) and HYVISTA Corporation.Satellite data from newly developed sensors are also obtainedthrough scientific data user agreements with the correspond-ing space agencies. These agreements include the use ofmulti-angle hyperspectral data from the Proba-1/CHRIS sen-sor (ESA Category-1 LBR Project 3782), multispectral datafrom Terra/ASTER (JAXA ASTER project AP-0072) andrecently data from ALOS/AVNIR-2, PRISM and PALSARsensors (JAXA ALOS-RA-81 project) and in the near futureRadarsat-2 (CSA SOAR-Project 2615).

Digital cartographic data, i.e. topographic maps at a scale of1:25,000 as well as other ancillary data (geology, vegetation,soil, land use and erosion maps, meteorological data) wereobtained from the corresponding national government agenciesand are complemented with bibliographical references.

Soil Degradation StudyThe methodological procedure varies depending on the spe-cific study area characteristics and problem statement.However, in all cases our approach combines field investiga-tion and laboratory analysis with image processing and spa-tial data integration/analysis at various scales and can be bestillustrated with the example from our Chinchón study site.Here we implemented an integrated methodology for deter-mining soil degradation stages in relation to land cover andland use changes. The flowchart in Figure 5 shows the steps(I, II and III) that were used to determine the capacity of theairborne hyperspectral HyMap data for the classification ofsoil degradation stages [13], [14]. The steps are summarizedas follows:


Figure 4. Landsat TM images of 1984 and 1997 showing the playa lake region(blue areas) in Los Monegros undergoing significant land use changes due to theimplementation of irrigated agriculture (red areas).

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I. The field component consists of obtaining field spectraand collecting and analyzing soil and vegetation samplesin order to construct a spectral library with reference spec-tra of representative surface covers.

II. The in-situ spectral library is used as a reference in thenext step where hyperspectral airborne (HyMap) data(flight lines A and B in Figure 3) were processed to deter-mine spectral endmembers. Identification and labelling ofthe endmembers was carried out by comparing them withkey field spectra from the spectral library and verifyingthem in the field.

III. Selected image-derived (HyMap) endmembers corre-sponding to soil surface covers with soil degradationstages were introduced into the Spectral Angle Mapper(SAM) classifier. The threshold was based on field knowl-edge and the spectral library database. Cartographic andancillary data were used to further determine the distribu-tion of the degradation stages. Based on a digital terrainmodel the slope was calculated and integrated with theSAM classification results in a GIS to obtain a final dis-tribution of the degradation stages for selected soil types.

In this case study the assessment of the degradation stagesfor selected soil types were determined based on field and

laboratory data as well as the soil survey erosion classes(USLE erosion type) according to USDA [15]. A slope classof < 16% and ≥ 16% was considered a first approximation inorder to differentiate two soil degradation classes for eachsoil type.

The soil degradation stages were separated according tothe selected soil types and their corresponding characteristics.The spectral characteristics are represented by endmembersof these different soil types obtained from the field spectrora-diometer and the HyMap data. Image-derived (HyMap) end-members and their comparison with the characteristics offield spectra permitted the identification of different soil typesas related to specific mineralogical composition.

The spatial distribution of soil types associated to soildegradation stages in semi-arid environments was obtainedsatisfactorily by implementing the endmembers into the SAMclassification procedure. The soils identified as CalcaricCambisols and Rhodic Luvisol, within the agricultural influ-enced plateau area, were determined with a medium to highdegradation stage. The Calcaric and Gypsiric Regosol withinundulating and escarpment areas were assigned a high to veryhigh degradation stage (Figure 6).

A successful identification and extraction of image-derived endmembers from the hyperspectral HyMap data willform the basis to implement selected endmembers in multi-spectral Landsat and ASTER data in order to increase the spa-tial and temporal coverage for the study area. A further stepwill be the extrapolation of endmembers to areas in similarsemi-arid conditions as illustrated below in another case study(Los Monegros).

Wetland Degradation StudyFresh Water WetlandsIn our research work in Las Tablas de Daimiel we apply asomewhat similar approach to the Chinchón study in that weuse multi-sensor and multi-scale data to determine and moni-tor characteristics of this semi-arid wetland area in centralSpain [16]. We are specifically interested in assessing thecapacity of multi-angle hyperspectral data from the Proba-1/CHRIS sensor to determine complex wetland characteris-tics (shallow water bodies, hygrophytic vegetation, soil con-ditions and characteristics) and determining the anthro-pogenic influences (agricultural management). Multispectraldata from Terra/ASTER and Landsat/ETM+ were used tocarry out a monitoring of wetland areas.

Data were obtained during different periods in the yearwhen the anthropogenic influences change the conditions ofthe wetlands for both spaceborne hyperspectral and multi-spectral sensors. The hyperspectral data of the study site wasacquired by the Proba-1/CHRIS sensor at five different nom-inal viewing angles (+55º, +36º, 0º, -36º and -55º) and themulti-angle scenes were co-registered to the nadir scene


Figure 5. Methodology implemented for determining soil degradation in the Chinchón study area.

(a) (b)

Figure 6. Spatial distribution of (a) Calcaric Regosol and (b) Gypsiric Regosol with corresponding

degradation stages.

grsNL0608.qxd 5/7/08 12:40 PM

(Figure 7). The CHRIS images in mode 1 contain 62 channelswithin a spectral range of 406-1003 nm, bandwidth between8-20 nm and a ground sampling distance of 34 m. The acqui-sitions were obtained for 3 July 2006 and 6 October 2006under cloud free conditions.

The distribution of general surface land covers encoun-tered in and around the wetland areas were first identifiedusing an unsupervised classifier ISODATA on the CHRISdata at nadir for the 3 July 2006 (Figure 8). Post-classificationground assessment of the resulting classes was conducted inorder to label these classes and assess the spectral informationcontent of the data. Palustrine and invasive vegetation withinthe wetland area were identified and the results show that theinvasive vegetation actually occupies the area of the shallowwater with aquatic plants when there is no water present (as aconsequence of drying out the wetland). In this case, the inva-sive vegetation forms on the dry lake sediments. A number of

different upland soils could be distinguished using field andcartographic information as well as associated soil databasecontaining laboratory analyses.

In a second step, a mask was created and applied to limitthe following processing steps to the main area of the wet-land. Selected regions of interest were determined in the fieldand used as reference areas. These areas were overlaid on thehyperspectral and multispectral data in order to extract thespectral information. The spectra were obtained and com-pared for the different viewing angles of the CHRIS data andthe multispectral data, and in the case of soil the spectralinformation was matched to a spectral library created withinthe area of La Mancha where the wetland lies.

The selected areas of interest were then used to extract ref-erence spectra to carry out a supervised classification withinthe wetland area with the Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) clas-sifier. The results obtained with the SAM (Figure 9), andapplying a maximum angle of 0.1 radians, show the distribu-tion of principal wetland characteristics which include palus-trine vegetation, sediments, wetland soils and invasive vege-tation. Furthermore they show that the different surface cov-ers can be well represented throughout the wetland area. Thisis especially true for the palustrine and invasive vegetationand the wetland soil. The invasive vegetation normally occu-pies the area of open shallow water when the wetland area isdry. Therefore, palustrine sediments are also identified in theareas of the wetland where flooding only occurs occasionally.The spectral characteristics for these sediments are similar tothose of certain wetland soil areas where a sparse vegetationcover is identified. This is ongoing work, where further dataanalysis as well as future field campaigns are planned in orderto carry out a more detailed classification of these importantwetland characteristics.

Analyses of the spectral characteristics at the individualviewing angles and from different acquisition dates show thatdetailed wetland information on palustrine vegetation, sedi-ments and wetland soils can be obtained. Supervised classi-fication has provided an overall distribution of these wetlandcharacteristics and is a major support for the ongoing work[17].

Saline WetlandsA multisensor and multitemporal approach was also applied inthis study with the aim of characterizing changes occurring tothe soils and water regime of playa lakes in Los Monegros, asemi-arid karstic environment in northern Spain [18], [19].Figure 4 shows the significant impact that changing agricul-tural activities are having on the playa lakes area between 1984and 1997. A geological map of the area confirms the closerelationship between surface terrain features (agriculturalfields, playa lakes, dolines or sink holes, and escarpments) andsubsurface conditions (rock/sediment and soil composition).


Figure 7. Geometric correction of the five multi-angle scenes of CHRISobtained on 3 July 2006 for the Tablas de Daimiel wetland.

Figure 8. Unsupervised classification with post classification of CHRIS nadirscene from the 3 July 2006.

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The results presented in this study were derived from theanalysis of ASTER images (VNIR and SWIR bands, resam-pled to 15m using the nearest neighbor method) and fieldspectroradiometry by following a similar methodologicalapproach as outlined in Figure 5. However, this time a spec-tral library from another saline wetland area in La Mancha(Central Spain) [20] containing a pool of soil endmemberswas utilized to select five endmembers with various levels ofsalt content. The selection was based on the similaritybetween the reference spectra (e.g., spectral library end-members) and the image spectra (e.g., ASTER spectra). TheSAM classification procedure was used to produce a finalclassified image of the playa lakes and surrounding agricul-tural areas. The use of the La Mancha spectral library end-members in this region is justified by the similarities foundbetween the soil compositions in the seasonal hypersalineplaya lake area of La Mancha with those in Los Monegros.Similar features that can be found in both playa lake envi-ronments are the salt crust that develops in the summermonths when the lakes dry up, the playa soils in the fringesof the wetland areas, and the soils with high concentrationsof salt efflorescence that are mainly found in the surroundingupland areas.

The interpretation of the results was aided by the use ofa geological map that was overlaid on the SAM classifica-tion result of the five soil endmembers. The comparisonshows an interesting spatial relationship between saltaffected soils, playa lakes and subsurface geology. An

enlarged image and its classification result in Figure 10confirm the close relationship that exists between soil char-acteristics, landforms, and geology. Here the playa lakesare covered by the salt crust endmember (shown in yellow),which has a very high content of soluble salts and somegypsum. The salt affected soils (in green) appear as saltefflorescence mainly in karstic depressions and around theplaya lakes. This endmember is also found in the uplandsoils overlaying the gypsiferous mudstone unit of the geo-logical map. And finally, concentrations of the gypsiferoussoils (gypsiric regosols shown in red) occur as expected inthe gypsiferous mudstone unit with some isolated patchesin the playa lake area. It is possible that the effects ofchanging agricultural activities in this area have triggeredan increased appearance of salt precipitations on the landsurface. The introduction of irrigation water in this karsticenvironment has mobilized soluble salts from the underly-ing evaporates which are subsequently deposited on thesurface by capillary rise of the subsurface water. In con-trast, salt crusts in the playa lakes are formed by evapora-tion of the lake water leaving a thin layer of precipitatedsalt on the surface during the hot and dry summer months.To determine the causes of surface salt accumulations(whether natural or human induced) a change detectionanalysis will be undertaken in the next phase of this project,where we intend to use multitemporal images of hyper-spectral (HyMap) and multispectral (ASTER) resolution todetect and evaluate land degradation processes.


Figure 9. Supervised classification applying the SAM classifier with a) selected reference spectra to the nominal viewing angles b) nadir, c) +36, d) -36, e)+55 and f) -55.

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Future OutlookWetland ecosystems are worldwide threatened environmentsdue to mainly human activities that are contributing substan-tially to their degradation and disappearance. In spite of theirrecognized beneficial services they contribute to the humanwell-being (Ramsar Convention, Iran, 1971), wetlands are themost rapidly deteriorating ecosystems on earth as recentlyreported by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment on wet-lands [21].

Responding to an increased awareness of the ecologicaland economic value of wetlands around the world, importantefforts are currently underway to map, inventory, and monitorthese precious ecosystems. One such effort was the launched“Globwetland” project (www.globwetland.org) by theEuropean Space Agency (ESA). Space technology is beingused to generate satellite-derived information about the loca-tion and conditions of wetlands in order to assist governmen-tal agencies in their effort to preserve and manage them asestablished by the Ramsar Convention.

In this context, the main contribution of our research lies

in the application of a multi-sensor and multi-scale approachto the study of semiarid wetlands in Spain by using advancedEarth Observation Systems with the support of field spectro-radiometry and ancillary field and laboratory data.Combining traditional and well-established research methodswith cutting-edge technology will: 1) advance our knowledgein detecting, understanding and monitoring environmentalchanges occurring to semiarid wetlands that represent fragileand dynamic ecosystems; and 2) develop new methods forextracting environmentally relevant indicators from multi-sensor data to determine their degradation status and trend ina timely and spatial manner.

AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank and gratefully acknowledgethe support of the following centres: the UK NaturalEnvironment Research Council Equipment Pool for FieldSpectroscopy (NERC EPFS) for the loan of the ASDFieldSpec Pro spectrometer and the German AerospaceCentre (DLR) for providing the DAIS 7915 data, collectedduring the EU Framework HySens Programme 2000-2003(HS-2000ES2), and the corresponding pre-processing of thedata. Furthermore, we would like to thank DLR andHYVISTA Corporation with respect to the HyMap data andthe HyEurope program that was carried out during 2004, aswell as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) forproviding the ASTER image as part of the user proposal AP-0072. The authors would also like to thank ESA for providingthe Proba-1/CHRIS data through the Category-1 LBR Project(3782) and in particular to Peter Fletscher and BiancaHöersch involved in the management and data acquisition.

References[1] M. Álvarez Cobelas, J. Catalán, and García de Jalón, “Impacts

on inland aquatic ecosystems.” In: A preliminary assessmentof the impacts in Spain due to the effects of climate change,ECCE Project, Final Report, Ministry of Environment, Spain,pp. 109-141.

[2] Directive 2000/60/EC of the European parliament and of thecouncil, Official Journal of the European Communities, pp. L327/1-L 327/72, 2000. (http://www.mma.es/secciones/cam-bio_climatico/areas_tematicas/impactos_cc/pdf/03_ecosis-temas_acuaticos_2.pdf).

[3] T. Schmid, M. Koch, and J. Gumuzzio, “Application of hyper-spectral imagery to map soil salinity,” In: Remote Sensing ofSoil Salinization: Impact and Land Management, Chapter 8,Metternicht, G. and Zinck, A. (eds.), CRC Press, Taylor andFrancis Publisher (in press), 2008.

[4] S. Casado, M. Florin, S. Molla, and C. Montes, “Current sta-tus of Spanish Wetlands, An Ecological and ConservationOverview,” In: Managing Mediterranean wetlands and theirbirds for the year 2000 and beyond, Special publication nº 20,


Figure 10. Enlargement of the playa lakes area as shown by a false color com-

posite (bands 3, 2, 1) of the ASTER image (top) and the corresponding SAM

classification output (bottom). The images cover an area of 8.5 km x 6 km.

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M. Finlayson, Ed. Slimbridge: IWRB-ICBN, pp 56-57. [5] G. Oliver and M. Florín, “The Wetlands of La Mancha,

Central Spain: Opportunities and Problems ConcerningRestoration,” In: Bases Ecológicos para la restauración dehumedales en la Cuenca Mediterránea, (Eds. C. Montes, G.Oliver, F. Molines, and J. Cobos), Consejería deMedioambiente, Junta de Andalucía, pp.197-216, 1995.

[6] S. Cirujano, “Flora y vegetación,” In: Humedales de CiudadReal, (Ed. S. L. Esfagos), Talavera de la Reina, Toledo:Esfagos, pp. 124-131, 2000.

[7] R. M. Llamas, “Conflicts between wetland conservation andgroundwater exploitation: two case histories in Spain,”Environmental Geology and Water Sciences, vol. 11, no. 3, pp.241-251, 1988.

[8] ICONA, Mapas de estados erosivos. Cuenca hidrográfica delTajo. Servicio de Publicaciones M.A.P.A, Spain, 1990.

[9] J. Gumuzzio, Mapas temáticos de la Comunidad de Madrid.Agencia de Medio Ambiente. CAM, Internal report, Spain,1996.

[10] F. J. Samper-Calvete, and M. A. García-Vera, “Inverse mod-eling of groundwater flow in the semiarid evaporitic closedbasin on Los Monegros, Spain,” Hydrogeology Journal, vol.6, pp. 33-49, 1998.

[11] M. Koch, “Geological controls of land degradation as detect-ed by remote sensing: a case study in Los Monegros, north-east Spain,” International Journal of Remote Sensing, vol. 21,pp. 457-473, 2000.

[12] C. Castañeda and J. Herrero, “Assessing the degradation ofsaline wetlands in an arid agricultural region in Spain,”Catena, vol. 72, pp. 205-213, 2008.

[13] T. Schmid, J. Gumuzzio, M. Koch and I. Medel, “Fieldand imaging spectroscopy to determine soil degrada-tion stages in semi-arid terrestial ecosystems,”Proceedings of the 4th EARSeL Workshop on ImagingSpectroscopy, Warsaw, Poland, pp. 175-183, 27-29April 2005.

[14] J. Gumuzzio, T. Schmid, and M. Koch, “Multisensorapproach to assess soil degradation stages in semi-aridsoils (Spain),” International Geoscience and Remote

Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 23-27 July 2007,Barcelona, Spain, 2007.

[15] USDA Soil Survey Manual. Soil Surv. Div. Staff. UnitedStates Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service.Handbook 18, 1993.

[16] T. Schmid, J. Gumuzzio, M. Koch, and P. M. Mather, “Semi-arid wetlands: Assessment of their degradation status andmonitoring by multi-sensor remote sensing,” 4th ESA CHRISProba Workshop, ESA-ESRIN, Frascati, Italy, 19-21September 2006.

[17] T. Schmid, J. A. Domínguez, J. Solana, J. Gumuzzio, and M.Koch, “Applying multi-angle hyperspectral data to detecthuman-induced changes causing wetland degradation insemi-arid areas (National Park Las Tablas de Daimiel,Spain),” International Geoscience and Remote SensingSymposium (IGARSS), Boston, USA, 6 – 11 July 2008.

[18] M. Koch, T. Schmid, J. Gumuzzio, and P. M. Mather, “Use ofimaging spectroscopy to assess the impact of land usechanges in a semi-arid karstic landscape: Los Monegros,Spain,” Proceedings of the 4th EARSeL Workshop on ImagingSpectroscopy, Warsaw, Poland, 27-29 April, 2005, pp.147-155, 2005.

[19] M. Koch, T. Schmid, J. Gumuzzio and P. M. Mather,“Wetland feature extraction and change detection study of aplaya lake environment in NE Spain using hyperspectral andmultispectral images,” Proceedings of the 2nd InternationalSymposium of Recent Advances in Quantitative RemoteSensing, J.A. Sobrino (ed.), Torrent (Valencia), Spain, pp.284-288, 25-29 September, 2006

[20] T. Schmid, M. Koch, J. Gumuzzio, and P. M. Mather, “A spec-tral library for a semi-arid wetland and its application to stud-ies of wetland degradation using hyperspectral and multi-spectral data,” International Journal of Remote Sensing, vol.25, no. 13, pp. 2485-2496, 2004.

[21] Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), 2005.Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Wetlands andWater, Synthesis. World Resources Institute,Washington, DC, USA, 68 pp., 2005 (http://www.millen-niumassessment.org/en/index.aspx).


using satellite hyper- and multi-spectral data. Both contribu-tions are thorough and have general appeal however; exposureof the material beyond GRSS may be somewhat limitedbecause the Newsletter is not included within IEEE Xplore.The inclusion of Society Newsletter publications in Xplorehas been a topic of discussions at the IEEE publications meet-ings but it is unlikely to occur due to the need for a more for-mal peer-review process. For the GRSS Newsletter I would

like to encourage technical contributions with general appealand reports from the technical committees. The path of grow-ing the technical content eventually leads to evolving theNewsletter in to a Society Magazine with regular peer-reviewed articles and columns which would be included inIEEE online Xplore – in the meantime keep the highlights andreports coming!

I hope to see you at IGARSS in Boston!

Editor’s Comments (continued from page 3)

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The Frequency Allocation for Remote Sensing (FARS) tech-nical committee of GRSS has been conducting an analysis ofthe potential for future interference to remote sensing obser-vations in the 57-64 GHz band of frequencies. There is a greatdeal of interest in these frequencies for future commercialdevices [1]-[2] due to the wide bandwidths that are availableand small device sizes that can be achieved. However, thisband is also used for passive microwave sensing observationsof atmospheric temperature profiles and other environmentalinformation, and is critical for this purpose due to the proper-ties of oxygen absorption in Earth's atmosphere.

International frequency allocations give a shared "prima-ry" status to the Earth exploration satellite service in the 57-59.3 GHz range, and these frequencies are currently used byseveral spaceborne radiometers including the AdvancedMicrowave Sounding Unit (AMSU) and the Special SensorMicrowave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS). While attenuation dueto oxygen absorption is very strong at these frequencies, it isnot infinite, and in particular is reduced greatly for groundtransmitters at higher altitudes above sea level. A sufficientdensity of even low power commercial transmitters couldhave the potential to cause uncorrectable errors in microwaveradiometer observations.

An initial technical analysis by the FARS committee (see

documents at [3]) confirmed that a sufficient density of trans-mitters could be problematic. The committee has written aresponse to a request for public comment from the US FCC ona related issue in this band (also available at [3]), and a letterto the editor of IEEE spectrum was also published in an edit-ed version in the April 2008 issue. The full version of the orig-inally submitted letter is reproduced below. The committee iscurrently pursuing discussions with the IEEE 802.15.3c work-ing group [4] that is establishing standards for communicationsystems at these frequencies. The FARS committee will con-tinue to work to publicize the importance of remote sensing inthis frequency band, and to work as possible in the regulatoryarena, primarily through the Space-Frequency CoordinatingGroup [5]. GRSS members interested in supporting theseefforts are encouraged to contact the FARS chairman.[1] Bosco, B. et al, "Emerging commercial applications using

the 60 GHz band," IEEE Wireless and MicrowaveTechnology conference (WAMICON) 2006, proceedings.

[2] Razavi, B., "Gadgets Gab at 60 GHz," IEEE Spectrum,February 2008.

[3] FARS website, http://www.ece.osu.edu/~johnson/fars.[4] http://www.ieee802.org/15/pub/TG3c.html[5] Space Frequency Coordination Group website,

http://www.sfcgonline.org.


REPORTS

FARS TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPORT

Dear IEEE Spectrum,

Your article on wireless devices using the 60 GHz portion ofthe spectrum ('Gadgets Gab at 60 GHz' Feb 2008) was veryinformative regarding the transceiver technologies that areunder development at these frequencies. However the article'simplication that 57-64 GHz is not currently used is mislead-ing. Both the US frequency allocation chart and the regula-tions of the International Telecommunication Union showallocations in this frequency range for several important ser-vices, including satellite communications (59.3-64 GHz) andthe Earth Exploration Satellite Service (57-59.3 GHz). Thelatter service is particularly sensitive to interference given theuse of passive microwave sensing at these frequencies formeasuring atmospheric temperature information.

Such measurements are enabled by the strong absorption ofatmospheric oxygen in this frequency range. While it is oftenassumed that this attenuation is so large that long range recep-

tion is not possible, the attenuation is finite, and a sufficientdensity of low power transmitters (as envisioned in the article)can cause corruption of passive microwave sensing in thisband. I am disturbed that no mention of this issue was made atall in the article, and hope with this letter to raise awareness ofthe potential problems that may occur for vital remote sensingmeasurements if the 802.15.3 committee does not plan theirstandards carefully.

Joel T. Johnson, ProfessorThe Ohio State University

Dept. of Electrical Eng.205 Dreese Laboratories

2015 Neil AveColumbus, OH 43210

Voice: (614) 292-1593 or 1606FAX: (614) 292-7297

E-mail: [email protected]:http://www.ece.osu.edu/~johnson

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CALL FOR PAPERS

TGARS SPECIAL ISSUE ON CALIBRATION & VALIDATION OF ALOSSENSORS (PALSAR, AVNIR-2, AND PRISM), AND THEIR USE FOR

BIO- AND GEOPHYSICAL PARAMETER RETRIEVALSThe Advanced Land Observing Satellite “Daichi” (ALOS) has been on-orbit more thantwo years viewing the Earth surface using three high resolution optical and radar imag-ing sensors. These include the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar(PALSAR), the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type-2 (AVNIR-2), andthe Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM). The objec-tives of ALOS are to provide for the generation of digital elevation models, obtainingregional observations for sustainable development, disaster monitoring, exploration fornatural resources, and technology development for future Earth observing satellites..

The technologies covered by this Special Issue include calibration and validation aswell as geophysical parameter retrieval. Papers for this issue should deal with theory andits verification, accuracy measurement, demonstration of geophysical parameter retrieval,or technology development. Topics of interest include Interferometry, Polarimetry,Polarimetric SAR interferometry, cartography including digital elevation model con-struction, disaster mitigation, forest monitoring and its relationship to the Kyoto andCarbon initiatives, land use and land cover monitoring, sea ice monitoring related to theIPY (International Polar Year), soil moisture retrieval, ionospheric research, and otherapplications in agriculture, geology, or related areas.

Prospective authors should follow the regular guidelines of the IEEE Transactions onGeoscience and Remote Sensing, as listed in the back cover of the Transactions. Authorsshould submit their manuscripts electronically to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tgrs.Instructions for creating new accounts, if necessary, are available on the login screen.Please indicate in your submission that the paper is intended for Special Issue by select-ing “ALOS Special Issue” from the pull-down menu for manuscript type. Questions con-cerning the submission process should be addressed to [email protected]. Inquiriesconcerning the Special Issue should be directed to the Guest Editors:

Dr. Masanobu ShimadaEarth Observation Research Center, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sengen 2-1-1,Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, 305-8505, [email protected] Dr. Ridha TouziCanada Centre for Remote Sensing,Natural Resources Canada588 Booth St., Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0Y7, [email protected]

Dr. Take TadonoJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Earth Observation Research CenterSengen2-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, 305-8505, [email protected]

Dr. James A. SmithHydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,Greenbelt, Greenbelt, MD 20771, [email protected]

Submission Deadline: November 30, 2008

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The ‘IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied EarthObservations and Remote Sensing’ (JSTARS) is a new quar-terly publication jointly sponsored by the Geoscience andRemote Sensing Society (GRSS) and the IEEE Committee onEarth Observations (ICEO). The scope of and background forthis new journal were presented in a previous article in theSeptember, 2007, issue of this newsletter (pp 19-20). This isa formal call for papers and proposals for “Special Topics”issues. The editorial scope of the journal is as follows:

“Papers should address current issues and techniques in appliedremote and in situ sensing, their integration, and applied model-ing and information creation for understanding the Earth.Applications are for the Earth, oceans and atmosphere. Topicscan include observations, derived information such as forecastdata, simulated information, data assimilation and Earth infor-mation techniques to address science and engineering issues ofthe Earth system. The technical content of papers must be bothnew and significant.”

The first volume of JSTARS will appear in 2008. The firstissue will be on “Earth Observations and RenewableEnergy”. The Guest Editors are Thierry Ranchin andMarion Schroedter-homscheidt.

The following issues are also planned:1) “Special Issue on Remote Sensing of Human Settlements:

Status and Challenges”. The Guest Editors are PaoloGamba, Florence Tupin and Qihao Weng.

2) “ Special Issue on Wildland Fires and Biomass Burning”.The Guest Editors are Emilio Chuvieco, Chris Justice, andIoannis Gitas.

We have received several proposals for future special issuesbased upon workshops and emerging themes in AppliedEarth Observations and Remote Sensing that have beenapproved.

Paper submission will be handled through the JSTARSManuscript Central site (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/JSTARS) which will be operational in June 2008 and the work flowfor submission and review will be the same as that for TGRS.

We welcome individual articles and proposals for themeissues or special issues on topics relevant to JSTARS. Furtherinformation and guidance is available by contacting either theEditor-in-Chief or the Deputy Editor-in-Chief. We look for-ward to collaborating with the membership on an importantand exciting new chapter in the evolution of both the GRSSand ICEO.

Editor-in-Chief:Dr. Ellsworth LeDrew, FIEEE, FCASI

Faculty of Environmental Studies,University of Waterloo,

Ontario, [email protected]

Deputy Editor-in-Chief :Dr. Kun-Shan Chen, FIEEE

Center for Space and Remote Sensing ResearchNational Central University

Chung-Li, Taiwan, Republic of [email protected]

CALL FOR PAPERS

‘IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING’

(IEEE J-STARS)

Ellsworth LeDrew,Faculty of Environmental Studies,

University of Waterloo,Ontario, Canada

and Kun-Shan Chen,Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research

National Central UniversityChung-Li, Taiwan, Republic of China.

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Name: Third International Conference on System of SystemsEngineering

Location: Portola Plaza Hotel, Monterey, California, USADates: June 2 – 4, 2008URL: http://www.ieeesose2008.org/index.html

Name: Seventh Annual European Conference on SyntheticAperture Radar (EUSAR)

Location: Graf-Zeppelin-Haus, Friedrichshafen, Germany Dates: June 2 – 5, 2008URL: http://www.eusar.de

Name: Review of Atmospheric Transmission ModelsLocation: National Heritage Museum, Lexington, MADates: June 10-12, 2008Email: [email protected]: http://www.grss-ieee.org/

Name: International Microwave Conference (IMS)Location: Atlanta, GADates: June 15 – 20, 2008URL: http://www.ims2008.org

Name: The 12th International Conference on GroundPenetrating Radar

Location: University of Birmingham, UKDates: June 16 – 19, 2008Contact: Christopher Rogers, Univ. of Birmingham, UKEmail: [email protected]: http://www.GPR2008.org.uk

Name: The 24th International Laser Radar ConferenceLocation: Boulder, CO Dates: June 23 – 27, 2008Contact: Mike HardestyURL: http://www.eol.ucar.edu/ilrc

Name: Progress in Electromagnetic Research SymposiumLocation: Cambridge, MADates: July 2 – 6, 2008Email: [email protected]

Name: International Geoscience and Remote SensingSymposium (IGARSS’08)

Location: Boston, MADates: July 6 - 11, 2008Contact: John Kerekes, Eric Miller URL: http://www.IGARSS2008.org

Name: The 11th International Conference on InformationFusion

Location: Cologne, GermanyDates: June 30 – July 3, 2008URL: http://www.fusion2008.org/

Name: Oceans 2008Location: Quebec City, QCDates: September 14 – 19, 2008Email: [email protected]

Name: The 2nd International Symposium on Microwaves,Radar and Remote Sensing

Location: Kiev, UkraineDates: September 22 – 24, 2008URL: http://congress.nau.edu.ua/mrrs08/Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Name: The Seventh IEEE Conference on Sensors (Sensors2008)

Location: Lecce, ItalyDates: October 26 – 29, 2008URL: http://www.ieee-sensors2008.org/

Name: 2008 International Workshop on: Microwave RemoteSensing for Land Hydrology Research & Applications

Location: Oxnard, CADates: October 20 – 22, 2008URL: http://microwave-workshop.jpl.nasa.govEmail: [email protected]

Name: Seventh African Association of Remote Sensing of theEnvironment Conference

Location: Accra, GhanaDates: October 27 – 31, 2008URL: http://www.aarse2008.org/

UPCOMING CONFERENCESSee also http://www.techexpo.com/events or http://www.papersinvited.com for more conference listings

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854

grsNL0608.qxd 5/7/08 12:41 PM

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