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.
Networking Friday with Luiz Paulo Assad (LAMCE / COPPE-UFRJ)
On October 16th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, we had Luiz Paulo Assad, from LAMCE / COPPE-UFRJ, Brazil, who presented Environmental Numerical Modelling Developments and Initiatives: at the AIR Centre | Rio de Janeiro. The moderator was Ramiro Neves, IST, Portugal. Luiz Paulo Assad has a degree in Oceanography from the State University of Rio de Janeiro, a master's degree in Physical Oceanography from the University of São Paulo and a doctorate in Civil Engineering from the Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute of Graduate Studies and Engineering Research. He is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Meteorology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and also a permanent professor in the Graduate Program in Meteorology of that department. Researcher and technical coordinator of the Environmental Modeling Nucleus of the Laboratory of Computational Methods in Engineering (LAMCE/COPPE) that represents the Rio de Janeiro AIR Centre Office. He is also a collaborating professor in the Civil Engineering Program at COPPE. He has experience in the field of Physical Oceanography, with an emphasis on oceanic computational modelling, acting mainly on the following themes: global and regional oceanic computational modelling, ocean-atmosphere interaction processes, oil dispersion modelling at the sea and analysis of environmental data..
Networking Friday with Carlo Fezzi (University of Trento)
On October 9th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, we will have Carlo Fezzi, Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Trento (Italy) and Senior Lecturer at the Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute, University of Exeter (United Kingdom). He will discuss the economic valuation for spatial targeting of coastal ecosystems’ conservation in the face of climate change. Preserving coastal ecosystems requires identifying priority areas for action. Economics can contribute to this process by developing methods to understand which locations provide the highest values for the society and which policy interventions are will deliver the highest benefits for the lowest cost. In this context, cultural services such as recreation deserve a prominent position, particularly in those areas with thriving tourism and leisure sectors. They are also crucial from a policy perspective, since their values can be at least partially captured via access fees or green taxes and, therefore, are extremely suitable for financing conservation and restoration programs in practice. This study shows how information on the number of visits to different outdoor recreation sites in a wide area can be used to develop a behavioral economic model providing welfare estimates that are directly applicable to inform a wide array of spatial planning questions related to coastal management. The empirical application is based on more than 150 different recreation sites located on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Carlo will present the changes in economic values from different scenarios including creation of marine protected areas and climate change impacts.
Networking Friday Special Session on Space Capacity Building
On September 25, 1-3 PM UTC, we held a Thematic Special Session on Space Capacity Building with Stefano Ferretti (ESA), Shubha Sathyendranath (Plymouth Marine Laboratory), and Antonio Martelo (DLR). The session focused on Space Capacity Building to empower the international community towards fully accessing all the economic and societal benefits that space assets and data can offer. New innovation models are increasingly spreading across various sectors and disciplines, including space, which is becoming an integral part of many societal activities (e.g. telecoms, weather, climate change and environmental monitoring, civil protection, infrastructures, transportation and navigation, healthcare and education). The session helped participants to construct their own space capacity building roadmaps, which take into account key stakeholders and also new private actors, NGOs and civil society. Starting from a policy and strategy perspective, the session addressed key aspects of capacity building, including innovation and exploration, global health, climate change and resilient societies. It outlined the available options and summarized the ideal programmatic conditions for their successful implementation. Showcasing reflections from a range of senior space professionals around the world, with their unique perspectives and solutions, the session provided a rich mosaic in which various cultural and policy approaches to space are translated into actionable programs and ideas so that space may truly benefit all of humankind.
Networking Friday with Argyro Kavvada (NASA)
On September 18th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, Argyro Kavvada reviewed innovative Earth observation solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals. Her presentation illustrated innovative endeavors that aim to integrate Earth observation data, tools and model outputs to support countries in target setting, tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, and informing sustainable development planning and decision making. She serves a dual role as Manager of the Earth Sciences Division’s Sustainable Development Goals Activities to extend uses of Earth science and applications in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), while also leading Booz Allen Hamilton's project on studies, assessments, and strategic management for the Applied Sciences Program in NASA’s Earth Science Division. She serves as the Executive Secretary for the international Earth Observations for Sustainable Development Goals (EO4SDG) initiative that NASA co-leads, and the NASA representative to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites SDG Working Group. In this role, she has built a network of thought leaders and collaborators in the Earth observation and international development landscape.
Networking Friday with Sergio Rossi (Università del Salento)
On September 11th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, we dived in the marvellous underwater worlds with Sergio Rossi, Associate Professor at the DiSTeBA (Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali) at the Università del Salento and Visiting Professor at the Universidade Federal do Ceará. He talked about Marine Forests and their Role in the Oceans. The moderator was Eduardo Pereira, Assistant Professor at the University of Minho and a member of IB-S (Institute for Bio-sustainability) and ISISE (Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering). What is an engineer? A person that solves problems for the community, giving tools and services that improve our lives. A tree or a coral are ecosystem engineering species, they benefit the community, and give also essential ecosystem services to the humans. In the case of the forests of the sea (Marine Forests - MFs): kelp forests, seagrasses, coral reefs, sponge grounds, gorgonian forests, hydrothermal vent associated fauna, etc.) their role is giving shelter and food to other species, promote the reproduction and life cycles of many organisms, transform the hydrodynamics and recycle nutrients, immobilize carbon and promote the biomass of fisheries, create physical barriers against wave action and be biodiversity hotspots…they enhance complexity and functionality that is essential for a healthy community in the benthos and also in the plankton.
Networking Friday Special Thematic Session on Evolving and Sustaining Ocean Best Practices
Continuing with the Networking Fridays Webinar series, on August 28th, 1-3 PM UTC we will hold our 3rd 2-hour long Thematic Special Session. This session will discuss the Ocean Best Practices System. Best practices are created by the community for the community. The Ocean Best Practices System under the auspices of the IOC will support the end-to-end best practices value chain. The oceans play a key role in global issues such as sustainability. As we move toward basin-scale ocean-observing, efficient and consistent monitoring and predicting of the planet’s ocean is essential. These need common methods for interoperability and reproducibility. The Ocean Best Practice System provide publication, discovery and access to relevant and tested methods, from observation to application, as well as a foundation for increasing capacity. It supports the entire ocean community in sharing methods, developing best practices and capacity development in their use.