Our-Oceans: A Coastal-Marine Environment Science & Technology Blog

Thursday, July 28, 2005

COASTAL GOVERNANCE, PLANNING, DESIGN AND GI TRAINING COURSE

Nice (FR), 21st – 26th November 2005
Convenor: Université de Nice - Sophia Antipolis

The course will deal with the sustainable management of coastal resources, through the different phases of a ICM programme. On the governance level it includes the definition of the policies for the coastal area, the choices and the needs that lead to start an ICM programme, together with its general objectives.In the planning phase, strategies, the specific objectives and the extension of the intervention are outlined, in an operational perspective. At this stage of the process the integration among scientists, actors, planners and decision makers must be carefully set out to ensure the comprehensiveness of the following actions. Moreover, budget, timing, available skills, conflicting situation are key issues to discuss.The premises and the strategies set in the previous phases are implemented in the design phase through specific actions. The operational scale is often local and integration is required especially between the ICM promoters and operators and local communities. The context analysis together with the GI features able to build the base framework for the developing of an ICM programme will be discussed as well as the GIS capability to face evolving situations, expressed either at the proposal and forecasting level (showing the expected outputs and consequences of the different management options) or at the assessment level (evaluating the effectiveness of the interventions, and the impact of the management on the coastal area).Moreover, since ICM involves the participation of local communities, GI is presented also as an useful way to keep those communities in touch with operators and planners, either by collecting and including local inputs, or by supplying user friendly representations of the different options and the expected results of the management.
This course is considered an important element to offer to the present, European and non European, research environment a better and more efficacious vision of actual problems present in coastal planning and management from a tutorial and practical point of view. It foresees introductory and tutorial seminars, technical presentations and group discussions and is structured in order to favour active participation of the attendants, who will be stimulated to discuss through simulations and exercises and comparison of the possible solutions.
The poster session is planned to allow the various research groups to outline their activity and to reinforce the mutual knowledge also in a perspective of collaboration.

Course & grant webpage: http://www.gisig.it/eco-imagine/

From: Eco-Imagine

I hope this is of your interest. Regards,

Jorge Brenner

Ocean Data Management Course: IODE/ODINCARSA Training Program 2005

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Course:Ocean Data Management
Venue: IODE Project Office
Date: 07-19 November 2005
Participants: 10
Level:BASIC
City/Country: Oostende, Belgium
I. Participants requirements
a) University degree in Oceanography or Marine Sciences with considerable experience in computers.
b) High skills on internet and computer basis (evaluation will be performed)
c) Excellent English language skill
d) To work on a National Ocean Data Center, Oceanographic Institution or a Marine institution.
e) Ensure the permanence or availability for further training and participation in regional projects for not less than 3 years after this initial training.(Letter of Institution with this certification required).
f) Commitment of candidate endorsed by a Letter of Institution stating that further training inter session tasks including a national training for internal staff will be performed.
g) Assurance by the sponsoring National Institution that the participant will be empowered to work with full-time access to a modern personal computer and to the Internet, during the course of the planned training & projects.
h) Belong to a Member Country of ODINCARSA (http://www.odincarsa.net/)
i) Experience on any of these activities:
·Processing and analyzing remote sensing data with computer
·Analyzing ocean station and in-situ instrument data with computer
·Taking and analyzing water samples, especially at sea
·Installing, tending and taking data from oceanographic recording instruments
·Analyzing/mapping earth science data with GIS (but not socio-economic data)
·Analyzing other earth science data with computer
j) To review all the background of IODE, ODINCARSA and Ocean Teacher, before make the application. New Ocean Teacher(http://ioc.unesco.org/oceanteacher/OceanTeacher2/index.htm)
OceanTeacherCourses
(http://ioc.unesco.org/oceanteacher/OceanTeacher2/CoursesHome.htm)
OceanTeacher Data Management Curricula
(http://ioc.unesco.org/oceanteacher/OceanTeacher2/OTtraining.htm)
Prospective students must have already completed Individual Preparation Level courses (or equivalent experience) on their own, before they can be considered eligible for Basic Level training.
II. Applications
Application process will be held in three phases:
1) Pre application (just send a digital copy of a) and your CV) and a letter with your interest expression to r.martinez@odincarsa.net . Deadline: July 31st 2005.
2) Pre qualified candidates will be requested to send all the documents necessary to validate the compliance of items a), b),c), d), g) and h), and an Institutional letter as is indicated on f). Deadline: August 15th 2005.
3) Accepted candidates will be officially informed by a letter, before August 25th 2005, and further instructed for the pre course training by internet that they must accomplish.

From: MARINET

I hope this is of your interest. Regards,

Jorge Brenner

CIESM Mediterranean Campaign Underway!

a pluri-disciplinary campaign of CIESM is now underway, until 31 July, in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This exploratory campaign - the first in 80 years ! - is taking place on board the Italian research vessel Universitatis which has been graciously loaned to CIESM with the support of the Italian Ministry of the Environment, CoNISMa and CNR. Following scientific consultations, we selected the deep south-Tyrrhenian Sea to analyse the physical and biological changes likely induced by the arrival of warmer/ saltier waters from the eastern Basin. This is completed by multi-beam mapping of the sea-floor. This cruise (CIESM-SUB1) is taking place with the participation of 15 leading researchers from nine Institutes. CIESM Press Officer, Siri Campbell, is on board to cover this event which renews with an ancient tradition initiated by CIESM in the 1920s: you can read her daily dispaches that bear the fresh, deliberately candid, outlook of a non-scientist on the usually closed world of oceanographers via our homepage at www.ciesm.org We hope to be able in coming years to set up an integrated system of similar campaigns around major scientific questions in poorly known areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

From: CIESM

I hope this is of your interest. Regards,

Jorge Brenner

2nd ESTUARINE & MARINE LITTORAL TAXONOMY WORKSHOP

Dr. Trigwell. 12-16 September 2005

Estuaries are harsh ecosystems subject to highly variable environmental conditions, sites of major industries and repositories for a multitude of effluents. Organisms able to colonise estuaries have evolved mechanisms that allow them to survive numerous challenges, such as fluctuations in water salinity, long periods of immersion and emersion and, in some instances, a degree of pollution. Thus, many of the species found in estuaries are unique to that environment. Organisms living in the marine
littoral environment are subjected to similarly difficult conditions.
This workshop aims to teach participants how to identify crustacea, including isopods, decapods, amphipods mysids, tanaids, cumaceans and leptostracans, to species level. Participants will be taught by experts from the Natural History Museum and Southampton Oceanography Centre and by the end of the workshop they will be able to use up-to-date taxonomic keys. A certificate of competence will be awarded upon successful completion of the course.
This workshop will be taught over five days and is aimed at people working in the estuarine and marine littoral environment, either in the water industry, as consultants, as academics or even those pursuing higher degrees. As the course will be run on an informal basis, participants are welcome to bring along any specimens they have found difficult to identify.
Places on this workshop are limited to 16 so early booking is essential.
The cost of the workshop is =A3720, which includes four nights en-suite accommodation in Halls of Residence and all meals, including a workshop dinner. Extra nights B&B can be booked for the 11th and/or 16th September for =A335 per night.
For an application form contact:
Dr Jackie Trigwell.
Ecology Research Group
Canterbury Christ Church University College
The Mount
Stodmarsh Road
Canterbury
Kent, CT3 4AQ, UK
Tel: 01227 782670
Canterbury Christ Church University College is situated within walking distance of two mainline railway stations and a National Coach stop. Local attractions include Canterbury Cathedral and the Marlowe Theatre. The ferry ports of Dover and Folkestone are approximately 20 miles away, as are the coastal resorts of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate. The Stour Estuary is 15 miles distant.

From: MARINET

I hope this is of your interest. Regards,

Jorge Brenner

ConserveOnline Website Update

The ConserveOnline website has been extensively redesigned and upgraded. It is a meeting place for the conservation community, open to anyone who wants to find or share information relevant to conservation science and practice. This completely new version of the site features numerous improvements and new features including:
Search - an improved search engine, with better results and easy links to Google.
Member Area - post information about your work, your publications and share ideas with ConserveOnline colleagues.
ConserveOnline Workspace - create a team website where members can collaborate on projects, post documents, event notices, data, maps, images, and take part in online discussions.
ConserveOnline Library - a public library where you can add to the collection of materials available to conservation practitioners.
ConserveOnline 2 has many improvements and new features, so we encourage you to visit, become a member, and take advantage of this opportunity to collaborate and share your conservation work with colleagues.

Please note that you must join again even if you were a member of the older version of ConserveOnline. This will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of ConserveOnline 2.

You can visit ConserveOnline at:http://www.conserveonline.org

I hope this is of your interest. Regards,

Jorge Brenner

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Google Earth – Explore, Search & Discover

Want to know more about a specific location? Dive right in -- Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips. Google Earth puts a planet's worth of imagery and other geographic information right on your desktop. View exotic locales like Maui and Paris as well as points of interest such as local restaurants, hospitals, schools, and more.

Download for free the application • Get Google Earth (it's free)
Features:
Free for personal use.
Sophisticated streaming technology delivers the data to you as you need it.
Imagery and 3D data depict the entire earth - Terabytes of aerial and satellite imagery depict cities around the world in high-resolution detail.
Local search lets you search for restaurants, hotels, and even driving directions. Results show in your 3D earth view. Easy to layer multiple searches, save results to folders, and share with others.
Layers show parks, schools, hospitals, airports, shopping, and more.
KML – data exchange format let your share useful annotations and view. thousands of data points created by Google Earth users.
I hope this is of your interest. Regards,
Jorge Brenner

Conservation Commons Initiative

The Conservation Commons is characterized by an underlying set of Principles which supports open access to, and in particular the fair use of, data and information related to the conservation of biodiversity. Individuals, associations, organizations, governments, and other bodies are encouraged to formally endorse these Principles. The majority of the global conservation initiatives have already endorsed the principles.

Endorse the Conservation Commons @: http://www.conservationcommons.org

I hope this is of your interest. Regards,

Jorge Brenner