IGOS Geohazards Workshop Hormoz Modaressi

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IGOS Geohazards WorkshopHormoz Modaressi
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What are GeoHazards?
Geohazards are those natural hazards that
originate from the Solid Earth such as
Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Ground Instabilities
(i.e. landslides, subsidence, collapse, rock
falls, shrinkage/swelling of soils, etc) but
also Tsunamis
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Presentation Outline

• Introduction to the IGOS partnership
• IGOS Geohazards Past work and current status
• A brief history of IGOS Geohazards
• Context
• Objectives
• Strategy
• Method
• IGOS Geohazards Workshop
• Workshop Structure
• Working Groups
• Expected Outputs
• Future actions ...

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Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS)

• Partnership of international organisations
  concerned with global environmental change issues
  created in 1998

http//www.igospartners.org
An agreement among key players for the
definition, development and implementation of
integrated global observing strategies
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international organisations concerned by IGOS
Initiative

• CEOS
• FAO
• GCOS
• GOOS
• GTOS
• ICSU
• IGPB
• IGFA
• IOC
• UNEP
• UNESCO
• WCRP
• WMO

• Committee of Earth Observation Satellites
• Food and Agriculture Organization
• Global Climate Observing System
• Global Ocean Observing System
• Global Terrestrial Observing System
• International Council for Science
• International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme
• Int'l Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change
  Res.
• Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
• United Nations Environment Programme
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and
  Cultural Organization
• World Climate Research Programme
• World Meteorological Organization

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The IGOS Theme concept

• Theme approach allows for a coherent definition
  and development of an overall global strategy for
  observing selected fields of common interest
  among a group of the IGOS partners.

• The Ocean Theme
• The Global Carbon Theme
• The Global Water Cycle Theme
• The Geohazards Theme
• The Atmospheric Chemistry Theme
• The Coastal Theme

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IGOS Geohazards Past work and current status

• UNESCO, CEOS and ICSU initiated and scoped the
  IGOS Geohazards Theme in 2001.
• An Ad-hoc Working Group was formed, held an
  international workshop in Frascati (Rome), and
  delivered a proposal to the IGOS partnership in
  May 2002.
• The resulting IGOS Geohazards Theme Team
  delivered a Theme Report to the IGOS Partners in
  May 2003.
• Following an international peer review, the
  Geohazards Theme Report was published in April
  2004.
• http//igosg.brgm.fr

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IGOS Geohazards Context

• Theme report proposed a strategy structured by
  five elements of critical importance to the
  Geohazards
• Underpinning Science
• Observations
• Modelling and Integration
• Infrastructure and Access
• Capacity Building
• One recommendation was the setting up of a
  Geohazards Bureau to monitor and coordinate
  implementation
• The IGOS Geohazards Bureau created by the BRGM
  (French Geological Survey) and the European Space
  Agency (ESA) in last quarter 2004 initially for a
  three year period.

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IGOS Geohazards Context

• GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of
  Systems
• Newly established GEOSS Secretariat in Geneva
• Work Plan being developed with input from IGOS
  Geohazards
• Geohazards included in the Disasters Societal
  Benefit Area, which is of paramount importance
  for GEOSS.
• An opportunity to obtain political backing for
  important projects in the domain of Geohazards
• National, Regional and International initiatives
• Proposals from learned international associations

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IGOS Geohazards Context

• Recent tragedies
• Bam Earthquake about 40 000 killed (Dec 2003)
• Indian Ocean Tsunami more than 200 000 killed
  (Dec 2004)
• Frequent disasters
• Landslides, rock avalanches, debris flows,
• Moderate earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
• Subsidence
• Swelling- Shrinkage of Clays
• together with concentration
• of populations in risk prone areas

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IGOS Geohazards Objectives

• 1- Bring together the actors from the Geohazards
  community across different disciplines
  (Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Ground Movement) and
  methods (in-situ measurements - remote sensing,
  modeling,...) with the aim of
• stimulating co-operation
• generating synergy

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IGOS Geohazards Objectives

• 2- Gather information on the state of the art in
• observations
• modelling, data analysis
• infrastructure and data dissemination
• capacity building
• This information will come from the community
  and be made available to the community (via the
  web).

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IGOS Geohazards Objectives

• 3- Evaluate gaps between existing and needed
  tools with respect to
• observations
• modelling, data analysis
• infrastructure and data dissemination
• capacity building
• for all Geohazards
• 4- Establish priorities
• 5- Provide recommendations for filling gaps in an
  optimal way

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IGOS Geohazards Strategy

• 1- GeoHazNet a Geohazards Network
• A forum within which the Geohazard disciplines
  can meet, exchange and propose joint projects
• A cross-disciplinary approach with continental
  and sub-continental ramifications (Africa, Asia,
  Australia, Europe, Middle East, North and South
  America)
• Hazard Focused (as compared to International
  Associations such as)
• International Association of Seismology and
  Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI),
• International Association for Earthquake
  Engineering (IAEE).
• International Association of Volcanology and
  Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI),
• International Consortium on Landslides (ICL),
• International Society of Soils Mechanics and
  Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE),
• International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM),
• International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS),
• International Union of Geological Sciences
  (IUGS),
• International Association for Engineering Geology
  and the Environment (IAEG),
• International Association for Mathematical
  Geology, (IAMG),
• International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
  (IUGG),
• International Geographical Union (IGU),
• Etc

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IGOS Geohazards Strategy

• 2- Provide the infrastructure for stimulating
  co-operation and generating synergy by means of
• working groups
• events such as international workshops, .
• website and other dissemination activities
• 3- Promote results through information
  dissemination among end-users, decision makers
  and other dedicated structures

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IGOS Geohazards Workshop - Structure

• 3 Workshop Sessions
• State of the Community
• Case Studies
• Emerging Science and Technology
• Each session consists of approx 2hrs
  presentations and 2hrs parallel discussions
• Discussion sessions will be organized into five
  working groups
• Science the state of the art and attended
  evolution
• Observations existing and expected observing
  tools
• Infrastructure structures/techniques for
  data/information storage/dissemination
• Integration data processing, interpretation,
  modeling, fusion..
• Capacity Building facilitating knowledge
  transfer

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IGOS Geohazards Workshop - Structure

• Working Groups should begin by defining the
  context in which they will operate.
• Preliminary suggestions have been made for each
  group

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IGOS Geohazards Workshop - WGs

• Preliminary Ideas - Science
• Addresses principally the fundamental research
  and provides input for Observations and
  Integration WGs
• Should consider
• fundamental research to identify the measurement
  of new parameters that may help improve
  understanding of Geohazards phenomena
• fundamental research into modeling or data fusion
  for the generation of information products

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IGOS Geohazards Workshop - WGs

• Preliminary Ideas - Observations
• Addresses principally observing tools, their
  accuracy and other characteristics (frequency, )
• Should consider
• satellite, in-situ and airborne data that is used
  for Geohazard mitigation
• Mainly in-field measurements building on already
  extensive work on satellite based data
• data as being well-established not experimental
  in nature - this is included in Science WG
• but
• the synergy generated between different data
  types is NOT considered here but in Integration WG

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IGOS Geohazards Workshop - WGs

• Preliminary Ideas - Infrastructure
• Addresses principally the support structures and
  techniques
• Should consider
• Structures and techniques that allow
  dissemination of data, tools and information on
  Geohazard mitigation
• Databases and associated technology
• System interoperability, ancillary data and
  meta-data requirements
• Networks of sensors
• Delivery of information to end-users such as
  decision-makers in a timely fashion

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IGOS Geohazards Workshop - WGs

• Preliminary Ideas - Integration
• Deals with data
• Should consider
• data processing methods qualitative
  interpretation, multi-parametric data analysis,
  modeling
• fusion of different data streams
• extracting information from data
• but
• systems aspects such as interoperability are
  considered by the Infrastructure WG

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IGOS Geohazards Workshop - WGs

• Preliminary Ideas - Capacity Building
• Deals essentially with knowledge transfer
• Should consider
• means for the consolidation of an international
  Geohazards community through existing
  associations and programmes
• mechanisms for developing Geohazard mitigation
  globally
• facilitating knowledge transfer in data
  integration
• Identification of appropriate infrastructures and
  dissemination technology to develop capacity
  under different circumstances (geographical and
  disciplinary gaps)

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IGOS Geohazards Workshop - Outputs

• By the end of the Workshop we should have
• Clear terms of reference for each of the working
  groups
• Detailed planning with description of any
  individual contribution
• Proposal for enlargement of working group teams
• Recommendations for GeoHazNet extension to
  outside Europe
• Effective proposals for GEOSS 2006-2007 work plan

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Future Actions

• Continue to provide support to the GEOSS Work
  Plan Team
• Organise future working group meetings within 12
  months
• Integrate inputs from inventory activity the
  website
• Seek funding for a Geohazards Network project