Upcoming Conference

   "International Conference of GIS and Remote Sensing in Hydrology, Water Resources and Environment", to be held in Three Gorges Dam site, September 16-19, 2003.

Conference website: http://www.hydroinfor.zsu.edu.cn/

Special Session:
ESTUARINE, DELTAIC, AND RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEMS: REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS TO THEIR MONITORING, PROCESS STUDIES, AND SOCIETAL IMPACTS

Organizers/ session chairs, Alfredo Huete (ahuete@ag.arizona.edu), Ed Glenn (eglenn@ag.arizona.edu), Qi Jiaguo (qi@msu.edu)

Estuaries and deltaic ecosystems are highly productive terrestrial - shallow water environments where fresh waters, salt waters, and sediments mix together. As they are at the interface of oceans and land, they pose unique challenges for their monitoring and study with remote sensing methods. They are also some of the most vulnerable systems to human and climate impacts and have been subjected to disrupted water flows and sediment transport with massive dam construction projects; land development through dredging and marsh filling; and river sediment transfer of pollutants, such as pesticides, to the ocean which impact on food supplies and local economies.

The recent wave of new satellite sensor systems from the moderate resolution, Terra-MODIS, to the hyperspectral EO-1 Hyperion, and the hyperspatial IKONOS offer new opportunities to enhance our understanding of these ecosystems along coastal zones and waterways. In this session we invite studies concerning the application of remote sensing to study these dynamic areas from individual ecosytems to holistic, integrated regional studies. Remote sensing studies that integrate social and natural science research priorities to guide future decisions and activities related to the management and health of estuaries and deltaic regions are also of interest.

This special session aims to bring together researchers that are working to increase our understanding of estuarine, riparian,and deltaic ecosystems at their land-water interface. In addition to the issues posed above, this session will focus on topics that include: (i) the use of new and advanced satellite-based methods in monitoring coastal zone estuaries, deltas, and riparian zones; (ii) understanding inter-annual and seasonal variations within these dynamic land and water ecosystems; (iii) the causes and consequences of climate variability and human impacts to these areas; (iv) process studies and linkages between land and water, including sediment, water, and nutrient transport; (v) impact studies on water quality, salinity, wildlife habitat, and societal-economic sustainability.


Important Deadlines


Early registration: March 31, 2003

Submission of presentation abstracts to this special session (submit to session organizers): May 1, 2003**

**Please note that if you also wish to submit a paper for the proceedings, the due date is also May 31, 2003 (submit to organizers and conference website).

Notification of abstract acceptance: May 15, 2003
On-line registration: June 30, 2003
Notification of full paper acceptance: June 30, 2003