Networking Friday with Craig McLean (NOAA)
We started our Season 2 on January 15th, 2021, 1-2 PM UTC, with Craig Mc Lean, Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The moderator was Larry Mayer, Professor and Director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire.
Networking Friday on the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
On December 18th, 2020, 1-3 PM UTC, we had our last session of the year of 2020 and this was be a very special session on "The Ocean Decade: a framework for transformative change at the regional and national level". After years of thoughtful design and strongly participative preparation, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development will start January 1st, 2021. It will be key to "reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health and gather ocean stakeholders worldwide behind a common framework that will ensure ocean science can fully support countries in creating improved conditions for sustainable development of the Ocean". The program will cover several aspects of the Ocean Decade.
Networking Friday on the Biodiversity of Cabo Verde
On December 11th, 2020, 1:00-2:30 PM UTC, we will have our penultimate session of the year and we will take this opportunity to welcome and congratulate Cabo Verde for its formal association to the AIR Centre's General Assembly and Board of Directors. For this special occasion, we invited two keynote speakers, Aline Rendall (INIDA) and Rui Freitas (UTA), to talk about the biodiversity of Cabo Verde.
Networking Friday with Kwame Agyekum (University of Ghana / GEO Blue Planet)
On December 4th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, Kwame Agyekum, marine remote sensing scientist at the University of Ghana and Co-Chair of the GEO Blue Planet, will address the challenges in the fisheries sector with Earth Observation. The moderator will be José Luís Melo, CEO of XSEALENCE - Sea Technologies. The University of Ghana, through the EU/AU funded Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) & Africa project is supporting coastal states in West Africa to utilize Earth Observation data derived from space-borne sensors to support fisheries management efforts. By engaging with policy-makers, issues relating to changes in ocean processes and its impact on fish distribution, threats posed by illegal fishing and environmental destructions from spills at sea are being mitigated by employing geospatial technologies. This talk will provide some insights on the how satellite imaging is being used in planning monitoring and surveillance campaigns of industrial fishing fleets, generating key fishing effort indices, and providing periodic information of the state of the ocean to artisanal fishermen to reduce accidents at sea.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS/LANCE and GIBS/WorldviewNetworking Friday Thematic Special Session on Coastal Research in Amazonia
On November 27th, 2020, 1-3 PM UTC, we visited the coast of the Brazilian Amazonia to learn more about its dynamics, mangroves and coral reefs with Marcello Rollnic, coordinator of the Marine Environmental Monitoring Laboratory (LAPMAR) at the Federal University of Para, Brazil (UFPA); Pedro Walfir, researcher at the Vale Institute of Technology (ITV) and professor at UFPA; and Nils Asp, researcher at the Institute of Coastal Studies (IECOS) at UFPA.
Networking Friday with Maria Buraimoh (University of Lagos, Nigeria)
On November 20th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, we had Maria Buraimoh, University of Lagos, Nigeria. She presented Circular Economy: A Sustainable And Preventive Strategy For The Alleviation Of Atlantic Ocean Pollution. The moderator was Isa Elegbede, Faculty of Environment and Natural Sciences, Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU), Germany. The major challenges confronting the Ocean is pollution emanating majorly from land due to poor waste management (especially plastics/related polymeric material and other organic wastes). Unfortunately, in the developing part of the world where most water bodies are channelled into the Atlantic Ocean, the spread of light and floating plastic polymers travels to shared International environments. Invariably, wastes generated in one continent spread and find their ways to other connected continents via the pollution of the Atlantic Ocean with great consequences on the climate, and lives in the ocean. In her group, They have started to work on preventive approach to Atlantic Ocean and other environmental pollution, which could be achieved through circular economy and sustainable resource recovery especially in the developing country like Nigeria. This could help to maintain clean and safe Atlantic Ocean and environment. In addition, a way of job creation and eradication of poverty. Dr. Olanike Maria Buraimoh is a Lecturer and Researcher in the Department of Microbiology Faculty of Science, University of Lagos. She holds a Ph.D. certificate of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos Nigeria. Her research interest is focused on Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology with special focus on bioremediation of polluted ecosystems and bioconversion of wastes to value-added products as a sustainable solution to climate change.
Networking Friday with Dava Newman (MIT)
On November 13th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, we had Dava Newman, Apollo Program Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She presented Physics-informed GANs for coastal flood visualization with the collaboration of her students Björn Lütjens, Brandon Leshchinskiy, Christian Requena-Mesa, Farrukh Chishtie, Natalia Díaz-Rodriguez, Océane Boulais, Aaron Piña, Alexander Lavin, Yarin Gal, Chedy Raïssi. The moderator will be Marco Tedesco, Lamont Research Professor , Marine Geology & Geophysics , Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), The Earth Institute, Columbia University. As climate change increases the intensity of natural disasters, society needs better tools for adaptation. As stakeholders ranging from local to national governments cope with increased flood risks due to climate change, visual explanations can aid their decision-making process. And while today’s flood modeling capabilities include both high-level, color-coded maps, as well as intimate, street-level images, decision-makers would benefit from imagery that is both holistic and intuitive. Accordingly, the MIT-Portugal / NASA / AIIA Earth Intelligence Engine team has produced satellite images of future coastal floods: physics-informed, photorealistic images that look like real satellite imagery. The proposed visualizations will enable a variety of stakeholders in climate resilience planning and disaster preparedness to communicate flood risks to decision-makers.
Networking Friday with Zita Martins (Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal)
On November 6th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, we met Zita Martins, Associate Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST). She talked about Astrobiology: Origin and detection of life in the solar system. The moderator was Gaia Stucky de Quay, University of Texas at Austin. Science magazine considered the search for life in the Universe as one of the twenty-five major questions still unanswered in science, and with prominence during the next decade. To answer this question, scientists i) investigate how life on Earth came about, and ii) develop space missions to search for extra-terrestrial life. In case i) they analyse meteorites in the laboratory and make in-situ analyses of comets and asteroids. This is because it is known that the Earth received tons of organic molecules, that were delivered by these celestial bodies, from the formation of the solar system up until 3.8 billion years ago. Their analysis gives fundamental clues about the primitive Earth and how life on our planet could have potentially appeared. In case ii) it is necessary to first determine places in the solar system that have the conditions for life to arise and develop. Among them we find the planet Mars, and the icy moons Europa and Enceladus. Zita's presentation discussed the origin of life in the solar system, and the various space missions in search of extra-terrestrial life.
Networking Friday Thematic Special Session on African Marine and Coastal Operational Services
On October 30th, 2020, 1-3 PM UTC, we had a Thematic Special Session on African Marine and Coastal Operational Services: examples from around the continent. This Networking Friday session focused on pan-continental African marine initiatives using EO data, technologies and services in support of African sustainable development. In the marine and coastal domains, the GMES-Africa initiative provides four consortia around the continent that are developing and implementing a variety of services, including the provision of oceanographic products, fisheries and aquaculture support, coastal ecosystem monitoring and maritime security. As a joint initiative between the African and European Unions, there is strong emphasis on realising value from the data, information, expertise and know-how offered by the Copernicus programme. The South African National Oceans and Coastal Information Management System was also presented.
Networking Friday with Filomena Vaz Velho (INIPM, Angola)
On October 23rd, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, we met Filomena Vaz Velho, National Institute for Fisheries and Marine Research (INIPM), Angola. She presented the LuandaWaterfront Project - Luanda Bay Ecological Assessment: A waterfront based approach to reduce environmental risks and increase quality of life. The moderator was Marcelo Rollnic, Professor at the Federal University of Para, Brazil. LuandaWaterfront is a scientific research and technological development project that includes Angolan and Portuguese institutions, namely, the National Institute for Fisheries and Marine Research (INIPM), the Faculty of Sciences of the Agostinho Neto University (FC-UAN), the University of Algarve (UALg) and the Center for Marine Sciences (CCMAR), which is the coordinator. The project is funded the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The objective is to assess the state of the Bay of Luanda (Angola), as well as to increase scientific knowledge of environmental risks, namely Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs), Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP), marine litter and other global climate change threats that impact on the well-being of local communities and the health of the ecosystem. The project also plans to establish co-management mechanisms for the Bay of Luanda, involving stakeholders and local communities, with the aim of recommending environmental mitigation strategies to improve its water quality and promote the sustainable development of the different services of this ecosystem. The principal investigator from Portugal is Alexandra Teodósio and, from Angola, Filomena Vaz Velho.