[IGSMAIL-5050]: EGU2005 session G3

[Peter Clarke]

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IGS Electronic Mail      22 Nov 08:37:43 PST 2004      Message Number 5050
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Author: Peter Clarke

[apologies for cross-posting]

We would like to draw your attention to the following session to be held 
at the EGU General Assembly, Vienna, 24-29 April 2005:


G3 Continental hydrology observed with GPS inversions, GRACE gravity, 
and microwave remote sensing (co-listed in HS)

Space geodesy offers a unique window into the continental water cycle,
due to its ability to sense the lateral movement of mass within the
entire hydrosphere, including ground and surface water. For geometric
geodetic techniques such as GPS, SLR, and VLBI coordinate estimation,
this sensitivity arises from the measurable deformation of the solid
Earth due to the mass load. In contrast, gravimetric techniques such as
GRACE sense mass movements as a direct result of the perturbation of the
Earth's gravity field. The increasing density of the IGS network of GPS
sites, and the maturing availability of GRACE mission products, mean
that these complementary methods are now able to image continental
hydrology at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. In addition,
there have been important developments in the field of microwave remote
sensing where first long-term global surface soil moisture products
derived from passive and active microwave data have now become
available. Also, NASA and ESA are preparing for the launch of the first
satellite missions dedicated to the measurement of soil moisture at
global scale (SMOS and HYDROS).

We welcome presentations of (i) observations of continental hydrology
using either geometric (esp. GPS) or gravimetric (esp. GRACE) geodesy,
or both; (ii) global observations of soil moisture using microwave
remote sensing satellites; (iii) attempts to relate these regional-scale
observations to those from other measurement techniques or models; and
(iv) discussions of the error budget and theoretical analysis limits to
these techniques, both present and future.


The deadline for receipt of abstracts is 21 January 2005.  More 
information is available at
  http://www.copernicus.org/EGU/ga/egu05/programme_overview.html
  
With regards,
Peter Clarke, Wolfgang Wagner, Tonie van Dam