International Workshop on
Terrestrial Water Cycle Observation and Modeling from Space: Innovation and Reliability of Data Products
(WATGLOBS)
26 – 30 April, 2013, Beijing, China
First Announcement and Call for Papers
http://watglobs.csp.escience.cn
Background
The last ten years of Earth Observation have witnessed two simultaneous major developments: an increasing diversity of primary measurements and a concerted effort of the Earth Observation community to develop and use higher level data products. This has been particularly true for observations to capture the complexity of the terrestrial water cycle. Two fundamentally different but complementary groups of state variables need to be captured: the amount of water in the Earth System and the response of the land surface to water availability.
The former can be observed globally using microwave radiometry at multiple frequencies, while the latter requires multispectral radiometry of reflected and emitted light. In both cases current data records extend to about 30 years, thus paving the way for analyses of climatological relevance.
The simultaneous development of computational technology has brought many new actors to the field of development and generation of higher level data and information products. While this has stimulated competition and innovation, the knowledge gap and the inherent uncertainty of primary measurements led to algorithms and data products which show evident disagreements.
Further progress requires the systematic and on-going evaluation of competing data and information products according to precise protocols to pin-point the precise causes of observed disagreements.
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is fostering international cooperation on earth observations with a number of societal benefit foci, including water resources. The Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) Project of the World Climate Research program (WCRP) places a renewed emphasis on the exploitation of improved data sets of precipitation, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and related variables.
The workshop aims at providing a state-of-the-art review of current satellite data products on the terrestrial water cycle generated using the primary measurements by satellite developers and operators of all Nations.
Emphasis will be on identifying current shortcomings and develop protocols for the comparative evaluation of higher level data products towards improved accuracy and reliability.
Theme
Theme 1: Observing the terrestrial water cycle from space: current data and information products
(1) Water in the Earth System
- Atmospheric Water Vapour
- Precipitation
- Soil Water Content
- Evapotranspiration
- Lakes
- Snow
- Glaciers
- Permafrost
- Groundwater
(2) State of the Land Surface
- Albedo
- Land Surface Temperature
- LAI
- Vegetation Chlorophyll and Canopy Water Content
- Radiative Forcing (net radiation)
- Sensible and Latent Heat Flux
- Soil Heat Flux
- Biomass of Terrestrial Vegetation
(3) Modeling and Data Assimilation
- Processes: soil water and land surface energy balance, photosynthesis, plant functional types
- Hydrology of River Basins
- Large Area and Global Terrestrial Hydrology
- Data Assimilation in Hydrological Models
Theme 2: Earth Observation of the Terrestrial Water Cycle: the Next Generation
- Young scientists’ innovations and perspectives: “PhD for PhD” workshop
Important Dates
15 November 2012 |
Call for papers |
15 January 2013 |
Deadline for abstract submission |
15 February 2013 |
Acceptance notification |
01 March 2013 |
Deadline for early registration |
01 April 2013 |
Deadline for paper submission and regular registration |
26 – 30 April 2013 |
WATGLOBS workshop |
Organizer
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Co-organizers
EU-FP7 CEOP-AEGIS Project, European Commission
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Cold and Arid Regions Environment and Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
China GEWEX Office, Beijing, China
Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands

Sponsors
Chinese Academy of Science (CAS)
Group for Earth Observations (GEO)
Global Energy and Water Exchanges Projects (GEWEX)
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
National Remote Sensing Center of China (NSRCC)
Water & Development Information for Arid Lands: A Global Network (G-WADI), UNESCO


Contact information
Secretary General: Dr. Kun Wang
Address: Datun Road 20A, Beijing 100101, China
Email: watglobs@yahoo.com watglobs@gmail.com
Tel: +86-10-64807981
Fax: +86-10-64807982