Monday July 30, 2018

In this edition: 
  • NSF delegation visited CERN
  • News from LTER in Europe
  • Commission launches EIC Horizon Prize for Early Warning for Epidemics
  • Call for Paper
  • Calendar of Events
NSF Delegation Visited CERN to Promote Cooperation with NEON
Dr. Xiubo Yu, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN)

A delegation from the National Science of Foundation (NSF) , composed of Nancy Sung (Head NSF China Office), Matthew Hawkins (Head of NSF Large Facilities Office), Claire Hemingway (NSF OISE Program Manager), and Sun Bo and Shen Yu from NSF China had a meeting with Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) , Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on 12 July, 2018. The purpose of this visit was aimed to explore the collaboration between National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and CERN, and status the CERN research infrastructure, data management and sharing capabilities. This meeting was jointly facilitated by Nancy Sung and Xiubo Yu, CERN Secretary General. Before the meeting, NSF delegation had a field trip to CERN Yanting Site.

Firstly Mr. Hawkins, made a presentation titled “Global Research Infrastructure Cooperation and Coordination”. He provided an updated status on NEON and Ocean Observatories Initiative as examples of distributed research infrastructure as well as NSF’s approach to Large Facilities and how we all work together to address best project guidelines from G7 Group of Senior Officials on Global Research Infrastructure.

Drs. Xiubo Yu, Chen Zhi and Guo Xuebing presented the science design and progress made by CERN, China FLUX and CERN data center, respectively. Dr. Yu introduced CERN and its planned future infrastructure design that includes a: coordinated landscape ecosystem monitoring and experimental system; environmental factors controlling experiment system; data transmission and integrated system; and ecological forecast and early-warning systems. Dr. Yu expressed sincere opportunity to learn from NEON and other research infrastructures including innovative science concepts, technical designs, solutions and operations.
The planned objectives for future CERN research infrastructure includes the development of: (a) new observations and experimental data on ecosystem functions and relevant environmental factors based on a precise, real-time and continuous measurement; (b) a process-based and mechanistic understanding of the underlying changes in ecosystem carbon-nitrogen-water cycles in the context of global environmental change; (c) the capabitlty to predict the changes in terrestrial ecosystem services, and a service center for the prediction and early-warning of ecological safety in China; and (d) forward-looking collaborative research.

The potential users of the CERN research infrastructure will focus on core areas for decision-making support (i.e., agriculture, ecosystem restoration, ecosystem-based adaptation), national science programme (i.e., water resource management, climate change and adaptation), national and international Research and Development use (i.e., network members of ILTER, GEOSS, Future Earth, and IPBES).

Ms. Xuebing also presented CERN data management system. She introduced CERN’s hardware, software and cyber architecture, that included; dataset categories, data sharing with DataONE (CERN will become DataONE member node shortly), web portal for data sharing, mainframe hardware for of long term monitoring, cloud computing platform-infrastructure services, and site-based server architecture.

Finally, both the US and China discussed mutually common issues related to continental-scale environmental research infrastructures, and expressed interst to continue deeper discussion and to promote close collaborations. Prof Guorui, Deputy Director General, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (CAS) reviewed the past cooperation with NEON and hope to continue further, a close, ongoing cooperation between CERN and NEON. Ms. Ping who is responsible for CERN governance in CAS headquarter also stated that CAS has increased the input for CERN research infrastructure. Nancy Sung expressed appreciation of CERN’s progress in data management and sharing in the past years, and she stressed that NSF would provide support to continue the bilateral cooperation between NEON & CERN after the closure of NSF Beijing Office.
eLTER: Long-Term Ecosystem Research in Europe
eLTER has announced that the pan-European  eLTER Research Infrastructure (eLTER RI)  has been included on the ESFRI 2018 roadmap! This is a significant achievement for the European ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological research communities. It paves the way for the further development and formalization of eLTER RI.

ESFRI  is the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures. It was formed in 2002 at the behest of the European Council, and is a strategic instrument to develop the scientific integration of Europe and to strengthen its international outreach. The ESFRI mission is to support a coherent and strategy-led approach to policy-making on research infrastructures in Europe, and to facilitate multilateral initiatives leading to the better use and development of research infrastructures, at EU and international level.

When fully operational, eLTER RI will be a permanently funded and managed distributed infrastructure of field stations covering European environmental zones and providing a range of services to support science and decision-making.

The formal launch of the ESFRI Roadmap 2018 will take place in September back to back with the International Conference on Research Infrastructures ( ICRI 2018 ) in Vienna.

For more information about this significant achievement, please see the  European LTER website .
Commission launches EIC Horizon Prize for Early Warning for Epidemics
The European Commission today launched a €5 million prize to find the best solution for setting up an early warning system for epidemics. It is one of six European Innovation Council (EIC) Horizon Prizes, which are part of the  European Innovation Council pilot  run under Horizon 2020, the EU's Research and Innovation Framework Programme.

The prize will be awarded for the development of a scalable, reliable and cost-effective early warning prototype system using Earth observation data and other kinds of geo-located data to forecast and monitor outbreaks of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, zika, dengue or yellow fever.

For more information please visit here .
Focus on Environmental Research Infrastructures: New Scientific Capabilities to Address Global Challenges
In this  Focus Collection   , the scientific and technological capabilities of current environmental research infrastructures (RIs) will be evaluated for their ability to address global environmental challenges. This call is looking for cooperative and interdisciplinary contributions that put together ideas from ecology, biogeochemistry, Earth sciences and/or social sciences to describe the role of research infrastructures in providing part of the global solution.

Contributors are encouraged to describe fruitful cooperative constellations involving research infrastructures and global networks, academia and industry. In addition, identifying data, technology and social gaps that are hindering global action should also be included to contribute to potential maturation process in regards to the respective global challenge.


Note:  the deadline that appears in the web is not correct - the issue is still open!
2018 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
August 5-10:  ESA 103rd Annual Meeting.
New Orleans, LA USA
This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the future of the GEO Work Programmes, share knowledge and connect with others from the global GEO community. Anyone working to ensure Earth observations play a central role in decision making across environmental and development domains is welcome to attend. The encourage participation from those already involved in the GEO Work Programme, as well as those interested in getting involved.

For more information and registration please visit this  page.
August 20-26:   OzFlux – AsiaFlux Joint Conference. Darwin, NT, Australia

The conference will address issues of ‘ Ecosystems, climate & land-use change across Asia & Australasia ’ and is open an invitation to all members of the research community.

The conference will focus on ecosystems, climate and land use change via the following themes:
1) Ecosystems dynamics
2) Environmental change and variability
3) Land use change
4) Emerging topics

The conference web site is at  OAFlux18.com .
September 3-7:   UArctic Congress 2018 . 
B egins in Oulu, September 3-6 and concludes in Helsinki on September 7

 UArctic Congress 2018 brings together key UArctic meetings and a science conference into one single gathering. The event is an integral part of Finland’s Arctic Council chairmanship program, highlighting the themes and  priorities of the Finnish chairmanship , including the goals of the  United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , supporting gender equality, and the  Paris Agreement  under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

With the aim to foster contacts and enhance networking, the UArctic Congress brings together institutional leaders, indigenous representatives, academics, scientists and students from around the Circumpolar North and beyond. Together with partners, policy makers, and other actors, the Congress strives to take the Arctic agenda forward by creating and strengthening collaborations that produce new findings and solutions for the future of the Arctic region.

For more information and registration please visit this  page .
September 11-13 : The 3rd Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) Science Conference. Prague, Czech Republic .

The conference is structured around 13 themes/sessions.
Theme 1: Climate change mitigation – closing the gap between science, inventories and policy making
 
Theme 2: Major research questions in Earth Observations
Theme 3: Globally integrative studies
Theme 4: Data management and quality
Theme 5: Decadal variability in biogeochemical cycles
Theme 6: Newest new in research – scientific and technical developments
Theme 7: Land sink – from residual to direct estimates
Theme 8: Reactive gases
Theme 9: Bridging the gap between bottom-up and top-down methods
Theme 10: Urban greenhouse gas budget – from novel monitoring networks to source identification
Theme 11: In-situ and remote sensing observations
Theme 12: From data to useful services with societal meaning
Theme 13: Regional efforts to constrain the global C cycle

For more information please visit this  page
September 12-14:  ICRI 2018 - 4th International Conference on Research Infrastructur es.  Vienna, Austria

  ICRI 2018 aims to:
·provide a forum for strategic discussion on international cooperation for research
infrastructures at global level;
·highlight the essential role of research infrastructures in addressing global challenges
and contributing to Sustainable Development Goals;
·reflect on the needs, development, and operation of global and national research
infrastructures;
·build on the outcomes of ICRI 2016, discussing existing and emerging challenges
faced by RI stakeholders and investigating policy options and possible steps forward.

For more information (registration is by invitation only) please visit this  page .
September 12-14:  Phenology 2018 Conference. Melbourne, Australia

This will be the fourth international phenology conference sponsored by our Commission, and our venues now span four continents and both hemispheres! Phenological research continues to expand in relevance, volume, and applications, especially in relation to global climate change. I hope that you are making plans to participate, and look forward to hearing all about your research progress while we are in Melbourne.

For more information and registration please visit this  page .
September 11-13 : The 3rd Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) Science Conference. Prague, Czech Republic
October 8-12 : TERENO International Conference. Berlin, Germany
October 29 -November 1: IEEE eScience Conference. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
November 5-8 : International Data Week. Bostwana, Africa
November 5-8 : RDA 12th Plenary Meeting part of International Data Week. Bostwana, Africa
November 5-9 : 7th ENVRI Week.
November 9-11: Arctic Biodiversity Congress 2018.  Rovaniemi, Finland
November 21&22: Final COOP+ Workshop. Brussels, Belgium
December 10-14 : AGU 2018. Washington, DC USA
STRATEGIC COOPERATION COUNCIL (SCC) HOMEPAGE
Don't forget to visit the *NEW* SCC Website for more information!
View the full Calendar of Events!
View archived Strategic Cooperation Council newsletters!
Questions or comments please contact:
Melissa A. Genazzio
SAVI Staff Scientist