Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society IEEE GRSS India

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society IEEE GRSS India Initiative Adcom Report Paul Rosen 8 July 2016

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society IEEE India Office • GIEEE registered as a Pvt. Ltd. company in Bangalore, India • Subsidiary of IEEE Inc. and IEEE • Registered in Sep 2010; operational in June 2011 Housed at World Trade Center, Bangalore

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Ideas for GRSS discussed • Workshops – $4 -5 K for 2 -3 days typical including food and lodging for 50 -80 people • Promotional literature • Promotion of GRSS at other conferences, including other conference sponsorships – Requires GRSS sponsorship funds, for example $4 K in a recent opportunity, but no upfront costs at IEEE and plenty of local workforce for staffing • Creation of sister society MOU’s – e. g. Indian Remote Sensing Society

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Ideas for GRSS discussed • Student scholarships • Industry connect program – Leads to industry standards – Leads to activities with industry that are synergistic to IEEE humanitarian needs. • An example was a competition to develop apps that helped people with hearing and speech disabilities • Another example was a 2 year program related to developing standards for prescreening tools on smartphones. Monthly meetings of 10 members including industry • Corporation Partnership programs through MOUs

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Possible Actions for GRSS in India • Establish a concept for a 4 -city tour to promote GRSS with universities and industry • Explore a sister society MOU with IRSS • Explore printing GRSM in India • Explore a connection to the IEEE signal processing societies in India, where are very strong • Create a list of local Distinguished lecturers that could target secondtier universities • Create a grand challenge of some sort to inspire new members • Explore the creation of a mini-grant program • Explore a chapter coordination activity with a leadership rotation to ensure fluid leadership • Resolve issues in establishment of Mumbai chapter

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Gujarat Chapter Meeting • Conducted an interview of yours truly for Gujarat newsletter • Listened to continuing issues with the GRSS value proposition from leadership (Shiv Mohan, Maneesha Gupta) • Received recommendation for improved value proposition: – Long-term recognition by the IEEE through an established, certified microwave program in Gujarat: Microwave Remote Sensing Learning Center based in Ahmedabad • Leveraged space • 1 -week program • Offered once per year – Annual grant of $1000 for local activities – Region 10 rotational workshop to be held in Ahmedabad in December 2016

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Upcoming Opportunity for GRSS Visibility in India • Bangalore Section is hosting following events of IEEE Asia Pacific Region on August 24 -27, 2016 at Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bangalore
 – 1. IEEE Asia Pacific (Region 10) 50 Yrs Anniversary ( http: //50. ieeer 10. org/) – 2. IEEE Region 10 Students/Young Professional/Women in Engineering/Life Member Congress (http: //sywlcongress. ieeer 10. org/) – 3. IEEE WIE Global Summit (http: //wiesummit. ieeer 10. org/) • As a sponsor, we get – Speaking Slot (Invited Talk) in SYWL Congress – Logo displayin Backdrop/printed material/standees/websites – Booth to display GRSS activities. • GRSS President approved USD 4000 finance support from GRSS • Need GRSS Speaker for event

Afri. GEOSS Soil Moisture and Agricultural Outreach Support Project A. Camps, A. Milne, M. Crawford, M. Piles, A. Turiel, M. Vall-llosera, I. Jarvis, T. J. Jackson, A. Mlisa, A. Van Nieherk, F. Ohene-Annor, A. T. Kabo-Bah, J. Engelbrecht, J. Malherbe, C. Kaempffer, S. Sinclair Contact person: maria. piles@tsc. upc. edu

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society ESA SMOS (2009+) New Era of L-band Microwave Sensors NASA Aquarius (2011 -2015) NASA SMAP (2015+) Next: SAOCOM (2018), WCOM (2020), … L-band “water frequency channel”

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society SMOS-BEC Background: Validation Activities Iberian Peninsula Sahel US Midwest Iberian Peninsula Sahel Gibson desert • SM follows precipitation dynamics US Midwest Irrigated fields • SMOS also identifies phenomena not directly related to precipitation: irrigation

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Validation Activities Web interface of the Int. Soil Moisture Network REMEDHUS Method applied to 2 years of SMOS/MODIS (April 2010 -April 2012) 43 km SMOS SM [m 3/m 3] from June 14, 2010 (6 pm) St Joseph watershed Method applied to 1 year of SMOS/MODIS (Jan to Dec 2011) § 43 km SMOS SM [m 3/m 3], from May 24, 2010 (6 am) 1 km downscaled SM [m 3/m 3] OZnet Method applied to first SMOS observations (Jan-Feb 2010) 43 km SMOS SM [m 3/m 3], from January 19, 2010 (6 am) Comparison with in-situ data from 3 catchments: 1 km downscaled SM [m 3/m 3] 11 / 17

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society § Extension to airborne platforms ICGC Cessna Caravan UPC ARIEL 2 ICGC CASI & TASI

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Collaboration with Diputació de Barcelona: forest fire prevention services Applications Largest fires occur under dry soil conditions [Chaparro et al. , JSTARS 2015 a] Soil moisture explains forest die-off episodes ↓ 1 km soil moisture maps used to detect extremely dry areas susceptible to wildfire ↓ Fire risk maps based on remotely sensed SM & LST [Chaparro et al. , JSTARS 2015 b]

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Afri. GEOSS Motivation • IEEE-GRSS African initiative • Support project as a framework for local training on soil moisture remote sensing data sets for African organizations • Target application: sustainable agriculture (+ climate, floods/droughts, wildfires…) • Two pilot sites for fine-scale soil moisture mapping: South Africa & Ghana • Analysis of soil moisture time series (2010 -2017) in the African continent • Confirm African agency participation • Engage African researchers - invitation • Undertake local training

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Afri. GEOSS Initial List of Participants GRSS leadership Name Tony Milne Melba Crawford Adriano Camps Maria Piles Antonio Turiel Mercè Vall-llossera Tom Jackson Ian Jarvis Adrian Van Nieherk Andiswa Mlisa Jeanine Engelbrecht Chris Kaempffer Scott Sinclair Johan Malherbe Frank Ohene Annor Amos T. Kabo-Bah Affiliation University of South Wales Purdue University UPC ICM- CSIC ICM-CSIC UPC NASA JPL Agri-Environmental Canada Stellanbosch University Africa. GEO Meraka Institute ARC-ISCW, South Africa University of KZN, South Africa ARC-ISCW, South Africa Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana & Delft University of Technology University of Energy and Natural Resources, Ghana e-mail T. Milne@unsw. edu. au mcrawford@purdue. edu camps@tsc. upc. edu mpiles@icm. csic. es turiel@icm. csic. es Merce@icm. csic. es Tom. Jackson@ars. usda. gov ian. jarvis@agr. gc. ca avn@sun. ac. za andiswa@umvoto. com JEngelbrecht@csir. co. za Chris. K@arc. agric. za sinclaird@ukzn. ac. za Johan@arc. agric. za foannor. coe@knust. edu. gh amos. kabobah@uenr. edu. gh This list will be updated as new participants are engaged GRSS liaison SMOS & SMAP scientists African researchers

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Afri. GEOSS Pilot Sites§ South Africa, Stellenbosch ü Water use assessment ü Irrigated agriculture § July 2013 average SM (m 3/m 3) Ghana üRainfed agriculture üDrought & flood early warning ü Bushfires

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society East Africa has two rainy seasons: -the "long rains" of March – June, -the "short rains" of Oct. – Nov. • The "long rains" of 2011 failed over much of East Africa • The "short rains" of 2011 were up to five times higher than normal, easing the East Africa drought Sample results: The 2011 East African Drought (over 30. 000 dead) Image credit: NOAA Climate Prediction Center.

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society • During years 2010 -2015 the equatorial Pacific Ocean has been mostly in a cold phase (La Niña) with the development of the 2015 event (Godzilla Niño) Sample results: Impact of El Niño 2015 event Difference in SMOS SM (m 3/m 3) between 2015 and 2013 (Oct-Nov-Dec)

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Summary • Increase engagement in soil moisture research and applications • Set up a training and collaborative framework for African researchers • Promote the use of the first globally available Microwave Lband soil moisture estimates at a coarse grid (25 km) and with fine resolution (1 km) • Two case studies: • At the local scale: potential applicability of SM in two pilot sites • At continental scale: characterization of 2010 -2017 SM trends

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society References • • • Mecklenburg S. , M. Drusch, L. Kaleschke et al. , ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission: From science to operational applications, RSE, Volume 180, July 2016, 2016. Piles M. ; G. Petropoulos; N. Sánchez et al. , Towards improved spatio-temporal resolution soil moisture retrievals from the synergy of SMOS and MSG SEVIRI spaceborne observations, RSE, vol 180, pp 403 -417, 2016. Sánchez N. , A. González-Zamora, M. Piles, J. Martínez-Fernández, A new Soil Moisture Agricultural Drought Index (SMADI) integrating MODIS and SMOS products: a case of study over the Iberian Peninsula, Remote Sensing, Vol. 8 (4), 287, 2016. Chan S. K. , et al. , "Assessment of the SMAP Passive Soil Moisture Product, " in IEEE TGRS, vol. 54, no. 8, pp. 4994 -5007, 2016. Piles, M; N. Sánchez; M. Vall-llossera; A. Camps et al. , A downscaling approach for SMOS land observations: two year evaluation of high resolution soil moisture maps over the Iberian Peninsula. IEEE JSTARS, 7 - 9, pp. 3845 – 3857, 2014. Fang B. , V. Lakshmi, Soil moisture at watershed scale: remote sensing techniques. J. Hydrol. 516, 258– 272, 2014. Das, N. N. , Entekhabi, D. , Njoku, E. , Algorithm for merging SMAP radiometer and radar data for high resolution soil moisture retrieval. IEEE TGRS. 49, 1504– 1512, 2011. Piles, M. , A. Camps, M. Vall-Llossera et al. , Downscaling SMOS-derived soil moisture using MODIS visible/infrared data. IEEE TGRS. 49, 3156– 3166, 2011. Entekhabi D. , E. Njoku, P. O’Neill et al. , The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. Proc. IEEE 98, 704– 716, 2010. Kerr Y. H. , P. Waldteufel, J-P. Wigneron et al. , The SMOS mission: new tool for monitoring key elements of the global water cycle. Proc. IEEE 98, 666– 687, 2010.

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Region 9 Latin America Activities Report Paolo Gamba

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Priority goals for 2016 • Goal n. 1: expand the network of trusted partners in Latin America • Goal no. 2: consolidate GRSS/LA activities • Goal no. 3: consolidate the increased membership in Latin America (through the Chapters)

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Goal no. 1: expand the network • Collaboration with the Brazilian community – Attendance to 2017 SBSR secured • Plenary talk • Special Session organized by the GRSS Brazil Chapter • On-going discussion about booth – Supporting the Student Chapter in Campinas • Activities to attract students • Support for student/YP fees – Invited talks to SIBGRAPI workshop • Reaching out the Brazilian computer vision community

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Goal no. 1: expand the network • Collaboration with the Argentinian community – Elections of the new Chapter officials – The session at IEEE ARGENCON was a success • Collaboration with the Chilean community – Working on the Chile Chapter petition – Defining a list of activities for 2017 • Collaboration with the Colombian community – 1 st International Congress of Geoscience and Remote Sensing (DL: Marcelo Scavuzzo)

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Goal no 2: consolidate joint activities • GRSS Week in Cordoba (3 rd year in Argentina) – One week of lectures by GRSS members • Support and participation to SELPER Symposium (2 nd time) – Keynote and promotional material • GRSS Lectures in Santiago (2 nd year in Chile) – Consolidate contacts with CIREN • 2016 YP event in South America (2 nd issue) – Supported by the Brazil Chapter and in cooperation with ISPRS (Summer School)

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Goal no 2: consolidate joint activities • Special Issue for Latin America – – we have received a total of 68 papers 37 papers were rejected (or reject and resubmit) 7 papers accepted 24 still under review • Available in December 2016 – Selected papers will be Open Access – A few color pages

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Goal no. 3: further increase membership • Promotion in Costa Rica in 2017 – In collaboration with ULPGC • Promotion in Mexico – Proposed lectures in November • South-America GRSS Ambassadors – In 2017

Region 8 African Activities Report Mike Inggs, Chuck Luther

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society GRSS Summer School • Coordinated by MR Inggs and Dr. Yazidhi Bamutaze. • Two day event before AARSE Conference i. e. 22 and 23 October 2017, Kampala, Uganda. • Dr. Alejandro Frere will represent GRSS with three talks: – Introduction to GRSS. – SAR image processing. – How to publish: editor’s view. • NASA will present a workshop on Soil Moisture and SMOS: Dr. Erika Podest. • Local speakers to fill in gaps. Programme being finalised.

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society African Caravans • Coordinated by Chuck Luther and Hussein Farah (RCMRD) • Two planned for this year • Details overleaf. • Fully funded by GRSS

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Caravan Details • Reminder that this is a two-week, back to back program which commences 26 September, 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya for the first week, then continues in Butare, Rwanda for the second week, commencing 3 October 2016. • Institutions involved in the Caravan Remote Sensing Training mission are as follows: – The Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development , Nairobi, Kenya – Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya – University of Rwanda, Butare, Rwanda – INES Ruhengeri University, Musanze District, Rwanda.

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Caravan Details • Each Caravan lecture series comprises the following six topics, in the order of presentation: – Optical and Thermal Remote Sensing. . principles and applications. Briefer: DR. Hussein Farah, RCMRD – SAR: Concepts and Applications. Briefer: Dr. Paul Rosen, JPL – Hyperspectral Remote Sensing: Basic concepts and applications. Briefer to be identified. – SMAP: (soil moisture/ active-passive). Podest and Dr. Susan Moran. – Multi/ hyper Temporal Analysis. Thompson, JPL Briefers: Dr Erika Briefer: Dr. David – Geospatial information and Land use/ cover change monitoring. Briefer: Dr Hussein Farah, RCMRD.

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society 2017 Africa Caravan • Two Caravan training missions will be planned for 2017: one in Zambia and one in Botswana. • Lecture topics will remain the same as this year. • Again, back to back training missions will be planned, to occur over a two week time frame. • Cost for the two venues are estimated to be between $22 Thousand $24 Thousand, similar to this year's training program.

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society Future Globalisation Initiatives • Middle East North African (MENA) Region – Farid Melgani. • Exploring COSPAR Membership – Prof Wuji slide 34