Michel M. Verstraete – författare

JOHN L. INNES University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada The interactions between biomass burning and climate have been brought into focus by a number of recent events. Firstly, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and, more recently, the Kyoto Protocol, have drawn the attention of policy makers and others to the importance of biomass burning in relation to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Secondly, the use of prescribed fires has become a major management tool in some countries; with for example the area with fuel treatments (which include prescribed burns and mechanical treatments) having increased on US National Forest System lands from 123,000 ha in 1985 to 677,000 ha in 1998. Thirdly, large numbers of forest fires in Indonesia, Brazil, Australia and elsewhere in 1997 and 1998 received unprecedented media attention. Consequently, it is appropriate that one of the Wengen Workshops on Global Change Research be devoted to the relationships between biomass burning and climate. This volume includes many of the papers presented at the workshop, but is also intended to act as a contribution to the state of knowledge on the int- relationships between biomass burning and climate change. Previous volumes on biomass burning (e. g. Goldammer 1990,Levine 1991a, Crutzen and Goldammer 1993, Levine 1996a, 1996b, Van Wilgen et al. 1997) have stressed various aspects of the biomass–climate issue, and provide a history of the development of our understanding of the many complex relationships that are involved.

M. Verstraete (1) and M. Menenti (2, 3) (1) Space Applications Institute, Ispra, Italy, (2) The Winand Staring Centre for Integrated Land, Soil and Water Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands and (3) Université Louis Pasteur, Illkirch, France. The European Network for the development of Advanced Models to interpret Optical Remote Sensing data over terrestrial environments (ENAMORS) is a consortium of academic and research institutions involved in methodological research and in applications of remote sensing techniques for Earth Observation. It was supported initially through a Concerted Action from the Environment and Climate Research and Technology Development Program in the 4th Framework Program of the European Commission. Its activities include the organization of international scientific conferences, the first of which took place in Tuusula, Finland, from September 17 to 19, 1997. This book contains the proceedings of that conference and effectively summarizes the discussions and conclusions reached by the participants. The title of this meeting was ‘Optical Remote Sensing of Terrestrial Surfaces: New Sensors, Advanced Algorithms, and the Opportunity for Novel Applications’. It aimed at assembling representatives from the policy maker, remote sensing research and end-user communities, as well as from national and international space agencies and aerospace industries. Together, they discussed the need for R&D support, as well as the contents and priorities of such a program in this economic sector during the period covered by the 5th Framework Program (1999--2002).

1 2 Michel M. VERSTRAETE and Martin BENISTON 1 Space Applications Institute, EC Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy 2 Department of Geography, University of Fribourg, Switzerland This volume contains the proceedings ofthe workshop entitled “Satellite Remote Sensing and Climate Simulations: Synergies and Limitations” that took place in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, September 20–24, 1999. This international scientific conference aimed at addressing the current and pot- tial role of satellite remote sensing in climate modeling, with a particular focus on land surface processes and atmospheric aerosol characterization. Global and regional circulation models incorporate our knowledge ofthe dynamics ofthe Earth''s atmosphere. They are used to predict the evolution of the weather and climate. Mathematically, this system is represented by a set ofpartial differential equations whose solution requires initial and bo- dary conditions. Limitations in the accuracy and geographical distribution of these constraints, and intrinsic mathematical sensitivity to these conditions do not allow the identification of a unique solution (prediction). Additional observations on the climate system are thus used to constrain the forecasts of the mathematical model to remain close to the observed state ofthe system.

This volume contains a selection of scientific papers which were presented at an international workshop held in Wengen, Switzerland, in September 1998. A number of state-of-the-art papers are presented, which discuss scientific, technological and socio-economic issues related to large forest fires which occur both in the tropics and in the extra-tropical regions. The book comprises some of the most recent research conducted in the context of the large forest fires which occurred in South-East Asia, Australia, Brazil and Africa in late 1997 and early 1998; while essentially due to human interference, these particular fires appear to have been enhanced by the particularly strong El Nino episode which prevailed at that time. This interdisciplinary volume addresses a number of topics, in particular the contribution to climatic change by the greenhouse gases and aerosols emitted by large forest fires, the monitoring of fires both during and after combustion through satellite remote-sensing techniques, and numerical studies of the perturbation to the climate system using general circulation climate models.

This volume offers a broad overview of the science and technology of remote sensing, its policy implications, and the needs of operational users in the context of climate change and environmental degradation over land. The various chapters derive from presentations originally made at the first ENAMORS conference on Optical Remote Sensing of Terrestrial Surfaces: New Sensors, Advanced Algorithms, and the Opportunity for Novel Applications, held in Tuusula, Finland, in September 1997. This meeting assembled a panel of scientists, engineers, users, and policy makers, and provided a forum to debate scientific priorities, technological opportunities, and information requirements. Policy makers strive to take full advantage of investments in Earth Observation, scientists develop new and better algorithms to deliver more accurate characterizations of the environment, or propose innovative applications, while Space Agencies design observational systems better adapted to meet the requirements of a broad spectrum of scientific missions.

This work covers state-of-the-art research in two domains which are largely complementary, but which have until now not made optimum use of their complementarity: remote sensing techniques and climate models. The material presented in the book covers such diverse areas within satellite remote sensing techniques as aerosol loading of the atmosphere, characterization of the land surface (type and extent of vegetation, reflectivity of snow, land and vegetation), and soil moisture. Such parameters are important determinants of the climate system and its evolution, and are often poorly quantified in climate models; the advantage of remote sensing techniques, which have a global coverage, therefore becomes obvious for the climate modelling community. The book is primarily aimed at advanced academic research, at PhD or post-doctoral levels and beyond.

JOHN L. INNES University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada The interactions between biomass burning and climate have been brought into focus by a number of recent events. Firstly, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and, more recently, the Kyoto Protocol, have drawn the attention of policy makers and others to the importance of biomass burning in relation to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Secondly, the use of prescribed fires has become a major management tool in some countries; with for example the area with fuel treatments (which include prescribed burns and mechanical treatments) having increased on US National Forest System lands from 123,000 ha in 1985 to 677,000 ha in 1998. Thirdly, large numbers of forest fires in Indonesia, Brazil, Australia and elsewhere in 1997 and 1998 received unprecedented media attention. Consequently, it is appropriate that one of the Wengen Workshops on Global Change Research be devoted to the relationships between biomass burning and climate. This volume includes many of the papers presented at the workshop, but is also intended to act as a contribution to the state of knowledge on the int- relationships between biomass burning and climate change. Previous volumes on biomass burning (e. g. Goldammer 1990,Levine 1991a, Crutzen and Goldammer 1993, Levine 1996a, 1996b, Van Wilgen et al. 1997) have stressed various aspects of the biomass–climate issue, and provide a history of the development of our understanding of the many complex relationships that are involved.

M. Verstraete (1) and M. Menenti (2, 3) (1) Space Applications Institute, Ispra, Italy, (2) The Winand Staring Centre for Integrated Land, Soil and Water Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands and (3) Université Louis Pasteur, Illkirch, France. The European Network for the development of Advanced Models to interpret Optical Remote Sensing data over terrestrial environments (ENAMORS) is a consortium of academic and research institutions involved in methodological research and in applications of remote sensing techniques for Earth Observation. It was supported initially through a Concerted Action from the Environment and Climate Research and Technology Development Program in the 4th Framework Program of the European Commission. Its activities include the organization of international scientific conferences, the first of which took place in Tuusula, Finland, from September 17 to 19, 1997. This book contains the proceedings of that conference and effectively summarizes the discussions and conclusions reached by the participants. The title of this meeting was ‘Optical Remote Sensing of Terrestrial Surfaces: New Sensors, Advanced Algorithms, and the Opportunity for Novel Applications’. It aimed at assembling representatives from the policy maker, remote sensing research and end-user communities, as well as from national and international space agencies and aerospace industries. Together, they discussed the need for R&D support, as well as the contents and priorities of such a program in this economic sector during the period covered by the 5th Framework Program (1999--2002).