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Press Releases
US plans storm warning system for East Africa
GENEVA (AP), 25 June 2008 — Cell phone users in East Africa will be able to receive warnings when a storm is brewing thanks to a low-cost alert system U.S. scientists are hoping to set up in the next few years, officials said Tuesday.
The NextStorm system — a computer program that analyzes recent satellite images to predict where thunderstorms are likely to occur in the next hour — should be in place by the end of the decade, said Jacqueline Schafer of USAID told journalists in Geneva.
The U.S. development agency has already set up a similar system set to begin operating this summer in Central America together with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and local partners... Read full article on-line or download full text.
Central America gets new storm alert system
COSTA RICA (Daily News), 25 June 2008 — A new system of early forecasts for storms and bad weather, with alerts every 30 minutes, will be in operation this summer in Central America and southern Mexico, the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations announced.
The system, dubbed NextStorm, will provide short-term forecasts of powerful electrical storms or heavy rainfall likely to cause flooding. The news came while Costa Rica is still fixing up the damage in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Alma.
NextStorm represents “a major advance in putting earth observation data and other tools to work in protecting people and livelihoods in southern Mexico and throughout Central America,” GEO Secretariat director José Achache said... Read full article on-line or download full text.
Scientists fighting disease with climate forecasts
WASHINGTON (AP), 19 June 2008 — A cyclone wrecks coastal Myanmar, spawning outbreaks of malaria, cholera and dengue fever. Flooding inundates Iowa, raising an array of public health concerns. With climate change come new threats to life, and scientists hope to be able to better predict them as they forecast the weather.
"Everything is connected in our earth system," Conrad C. Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said at a panel on "Changing Climate: Changing Health Patterns."
The key is bringing all types of data together — health, weather, human behavior, disasters and others — "it's science without borders," Lautenbacher said.
He said 73 countries and more than 50 international organizations are currently participating in the Global Earth Observation System of Systems and more are expected to join...
Read full article on-line or download full text.
Atlas of Africa’s Changing Environment demonstrates power of Earth observations
GENEVA, 10 June 2008 - The Africa edition of the United Nations Environment Programme's “Atlas of our Changing Environment” highlights how modern Earth observation systems can support action to address humanity’s growing impact on the natural environment.
By comparing satellite images and ground photos of specific locations taken 30 years ago and then again today, the Atlas makes it possible to truly comprehend the decade-scale changes occurring in the African environment.
UNEP has presented the Atlas, which was released on 10 June, as a contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. For more information and a link to the Atlas, you can download the full text .
Species Monitoring Seen Helping Slow Extinctions
OSLO, 10 April 2008 - A three-day meeting of 100 scientists and officials in Potsdam, Germany, will end on Thursday with a deal on building blocks for a "Biodiversity Observation Network" for animals and plants facing threats such as pollution or climate change... Download full text
For more information on the GEO Biodiversity Observation Network, see the GEO BON home page.
Ambitious new monitoring network will advance international efforts to rescue the world’s vanishing biological diversity
POTSDAM, Germany, 3 April 2008 – Some 90 leading scientific and intergovernmental organizations are joining forces here from 8-10 April (Tuesday to Thursday) to start building a global Biodiversity Observation Network that will monitor and assess the status of the world’s species and ecosystems in order to prevent their further loss... Download full text
Idea of Flying Earth Climate Observation Sensors on Iridium NEXT Gains Universal Approval, Focus Moves to Funding
Bethesda, Md., January 30 - Iridium(R) Satellite and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Secretariat are pleased to announce the successful conclusion of a meeting at the Royal Society in London on January 22, 2008. The meeting, "Exploiting the New Earth Observation Paradigm," organized by Trident Sensors Ltd., was a follow-up to the GEO IV Plenary and Ministerial Summit in Cape Town last November... Download full text
GEO and ITU join forces on Earth observation satellites, emergencies and capacity building
Geneva, 10 December 2007 - The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening cooperation on remote sensing of the Earth, particularly in the field of disaster preparedness and response... Download full text
Brazil and China join forces to distribute satellite imagery to Africa at zero cost
Cape Town, 28 November 2007 – The China Brazil Earth Resources Satellite Programme (CBERS) is launching a new Earth observation service that will provide state-of-the-art images of the planet to end-users throughout Africa – free of charge... Download full text
China inaugurates new satellite system to provide environmental data to users throughout the Asia/Pacific
Beijing, 10 October 2007 – The Government of China has formally initiated a new satellite communications system that will enable developing countries without powerful Internet connections to access and use environmental data and analyses, which are critical for decision-making in today’s complex and fast-moving world... Download full text
Cape Town Ministerial Declaration calls for strengthening and integrating Earth Observation and Prediction Systems, 30 November 2007
Cape Town to host Ministerial Summit on Earth observations, 22 November 2007
Adapting to climate change will require a higher order of “environmental intelligence”, 21 November 2007
NOAA AWARDS GEONETCast Americas CONTRACT, 24 September 2007
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