Organiser: IAG
Co-sponsor: IAMAS
Lead Convenors: Marcelo Santos (Canada), Jens Wickert (Germany), Olivier Bock (France)
Co-Convenors:

Scope: Eminently space geodetic techniques such as Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Doppler Orbitography by Radio positioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) – like the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian GLONASS and others under development (e.g., Galileo), have become a powerful tool for meteorology. In its basics, atmospheric remote sensing takes advantage of the bending radio waves suffer while propagating through the atmosphere. Derived atmospheric parameters are, e.g., water vapour and temperature distributions on regional or global scales. Dedicated regional and global ground networks and satellite-based GPS missions, such as COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 and Metop, have contributed already to global operational meteorological data bases, helping to improve weather forecasts and enabling climate change related investigations. On the other hand, geodetic positioning can significantly benefit from meteorology by using data available via Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models to improve the correction of troposphere-induced errors that affect the space geodetic techniques.

The symposium will explore the characterized synergistic link offered by space geodesy-based atmospheric remote sensing towards atmospheric correction for Geodesy and remote sensing applications for Meteorology/Climatology and atmospheric research. It focuses on the application of ground and satellite based GNSS neutral-atmosphere sounding and other space geodetic techniques for meteorology and on the development of novel GNSS based remote sensing techniques, as, e.g., reflectometry/scatterometry. Additional aspects are: advancements in modelling the troposphere using GNSS and NWP (e.g., water vapour fields using GPS tomography), assimilation of atmospheric GPS data products into meteorological models, modelling of propagation error sources, geodetic observation instrumentation, current and future GNSS atmospheric remote sensing satellite missions, and applications in  precise geodetic positioning. We encourage the submission of papers dealing with methodology, applications, as well as with inter-comparisons and validation.

Keywords: atmosphere, troposphere, remote sensing, water vapour, temperature, GNSS, VLBI, COSMIC

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Co-sponsor: IACS
Lead Convenor: Reinhard Dietrich (Germany)
Co-Convenor: Matt King (United Kingdom)

Scope: Geodetic techniques provide a variety of excellent possibilities to contribute to fundamental scientific questions related to the cryosphere. Main topics of research are the mass balance of ice sheets, the contribution of the continental ice to sea level rise as well as the dynamics of glaciers, ice shelves and sub-glacial lakes.

During this symposium, the latest results based on satellite missions like GRACE, ICESat, ENVISAT, ALOS and others shall be presented. In addition, other interesting geodetic applications of airborne methods and ground-based observation techniques related to glaciological research are welcome. Studies reporting geodetic constraints on ice sheet history, such as via measurement of glacial isostatic adjustment, are also encouraged.

Keywords: cryosphere, mass balance, ice sheets, ice shelves, sub-glacial lakes, glacial isostatic adjustment, GRACE, ICESat, ENVISAT, ALOS

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Invited Speakers: Roger Haagmans (ESA); Abbas Khan (TU Denmark); Brian Gunter (TU Delft); Tom James (NRCan); Terry Wilson (Ohio State University); Tonie van Dam (University of Luxembourg)

Organiser: IAG
Co-sponsor: IAGA Inter-Divisional Commission on History, IASPEI
Lead Convenor: József Ádám (Hungary)
Co-Convenors: Kristine Harper (United States of America), Ron Doel (United States of America), Greg Good (United States of America), Alice Walker (United Kingdom)

Scope: With the launch of the International Geophysical Year-related Sputnik in 1957, the possibility of remotely-sensed geophysical data took a step closer to reality. Within a few years, sensors on satellites provided images of clouds, atmospheric temperature data, precise point positions, gravity and magnetic field parameters, Earth orientation in space, and data from regions from which little to no geophysical data had been available. These new data, in turn, prompted new research questions and the possibility of answering them. This session will explore this question: how has satellite-based remote sensing changed the research agenda and methodology of geophysics in the past 50 years?

Keywords: satellites, remote sensing, models, geophysics, Earth systems
science, history

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Co-sponsor: IASPEI, IAVCEI
Lead Convenor: John Dawson (Australia)
Co-convenors: Sierd Cloetingh (The Netherlands), Kevin Furlong (United States of America), Markku Poutanen (Finland)

Scope: Understanding the structure and deformation of plate interiors and their margins has important implications for society, and more and more there will be a reliance on a knowledge base of its past, present and future state. For example, society's increasing demand for energy and groundwater security will require geoscientists to address issues associated with geothermal energy supply, geosequestration of waste products, the impact of groundwater use, and natural hazards. This will require integrated and new approaches to the observation, modeling and interpretation of processes within the crust and lithosphere. This symposium will address the science associated with the structure and deformation of continental lithosphere including recent developments and findings in Earth imaging, numerical modeling, inversion, data mining approaches, earthquake seismology, volcanology and geodetic measurement of crustal deformation.

Keywords: Lithosphere, tectonic plates, deformation measurements, deformation modelling

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Co-sponsors: IACS, IAGA, IAHS, IAMAS, IAPSO, IASPEI, IAVCEI, IOC, GOOS, GCOS, GEO/GEOSS
Lead Convenor: Markus Rothacher (Switzerland)
Co-convenors: Ruth Neilan (United States of America), Mioara Mandea (France), Keith Alverson (France), Massimo Cocco (Italy)

Scope: Earth observations are the fundamental basis for most IUGG scientific research, activities, and applications. Integrating these observations is of increasing importance to better understand our planet Earth and the challenges we face now and in the coming decades. These observations are of vital importance for virtually all associations working under the auspices of IUGG and inter-association, even inter-Union activities are being further developed or initiated.  Entities like the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS), and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), along with the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), demonstrate the need for highly collaborative international observations that target key questions, and the systems necessary to integrate them for multi-disciplinary applications and decision-making. The importance of developing global observing strategies is recognized by GEO, the Group on Earth Observations, with its main aim to develop the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems), which is supported on the government level by about more than 80 countries. This symposium shall give an overview of the major international developments towards integrating Earth observations, Inter-Union activities of the International Council for Science (ICSU), and developments within the IUGG associations.

Keywords: earth observations, monitoring systems

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Please be advised this session has merged with JS06. To view the schedule of IASPEI Symposia, click here.

Organiser: IAG
Co-Sponsors: IASPEI
Lead Convenors: David D. Jackson (United States of America), Jeff Freymueller (United States of America)
Co-Convenors: Valentin Mihkailov (Russia)

Scope: Geodetic techniques including GPS, InSAR, LIDAR, and others have been used to estimate coseismic displacements from earthquakes and to model the deformation and stress accumulation leading to future earthquakes. In this session we will consider all aspects of geodesy as applied in earthquake studies. Important questions to be addressed include these: How unique are the estimates of co-seismic slip distribution? How deep does co-seismic slip penetrate? Why do geodetic and geologic methods often give differing estimates of fault slip rates? Can a combination of seismic, geodetic, and geologic deformation measurements constrain the rheology of rocks in seismic zones? Can tectonic moment rates derived from geodetic strain be used to infer long term seismic strain rates? Do temporal variations in strain rates effectively portend future earthquakes?

Keywords: Coseismic displacements, deformation measurements, stress accumulation

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Lead Convenor: Zuheir Altamimi (France)
Co-Convenors: Athanasios Dermanis (Greece), João Agria Torres (Portugal)                  

Scope: Reference frames are of primary importance for many Earth science researches and applications, satellite navigation as well as for practical applications in geo-infor mation. A precisely defined reference frame is needed for the quantification of, e.g. Earth rotation and its gravity field, sea level variation, tectonic motion and deformation, post-glacial rebound, geocenter motion, large scale defor ma tion due to Earthquakes, local subsidence and other ruptures and crustal dislocations. The main scope of the Symposium is to deal with theoretical aspects of refer ence systems and the practical applications for their reali zations as well as applied researches. The topics concentrate on the requirements for the definition and realization of the terrestrial reference systems (TRS) and frames (TRF), fundamental issues closely related to TRS, such as multi-technique global geodetic obser vatories (local ties, site effects, interdisciplinary use…) and methods for the combined processing of heterogeneous observation data. Regional reference frames and their connection to the global International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) are also included.

Keywords: reference systems, reference frames, precise positioning, Earth surface motions, International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), regional reference frames

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG

Lead Convenor: Yoichi Fukuda (Japan)

Co-Convenors: Aleksander Brzezinski (Poland), Detlef Wolf (Germany)

Scope: Mass distribution determines the gravity fields and the figure of the Earth accordingly. Mass redistribution of the Earth causes the temporal variations of the gravity fields and it produces elastic deformations of the Earth as well. Recent terrestrial and space-borne gravity field observations are providing extremely high precision gravity filed data. These data are precise enough to reveal not only the static but also the temporal variations of the gravity fields. However modelling of the mass displacements is indispensable to discriminate the causes of the phenomena and to understand various problems in the Earth sciences, i.e., meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, glaciology as well as the solid Earth sciences. On the other hand, several space geodetic techniques such as GPS, SLR, VLBI require the corrections for the elastic deformations due to the mass redistribution. Again the modelling is a key to ensure the accurate positioning. This symposium shall focus on precise gravimetry, positioning and other observational approaches as well as theoretical and analytical approaches for monitoring and modelling mass distribution and displacements in and on the Earth.

Keywords: Earth gravity field, Earth rotation, Earth surface deformation, mass displacement, mass redistribution

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Lead Convenor: Richard Gross (United States of America)
Co-Convenors: Harald Schuh (Austria), Oleg Titov (Australia)                 

Scope: The Earth’s rotation is highly irregular. It varies on all observable time scales, from subdaily to decadal and longer. The gravitational attraction of the Sun, Moon, and planets causes the Earth to precess and nutate in space and, by periodically deforming the solid and fluid parts of the Earth, causes periodic changes in the Earth’s rate of rotation and wobble. Torques acting on the solid Earth associated with the transport of mass within the Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, oceans, and core also change the Earth’s rotation as does mass displacement occurring within the solid Earth caused by earthquakes and other tectonic and non-tectonic motions like glacial isostatic adjustment. Measurements of the Earth’s rotation can therefore be used to gain greater understanding of a wide variety of geophysical and geodynamical processes. Astrometric measurements of the Earth’s changing length-of-day have been available since the middle 1600s and of the Earth’s wobble since the late 1800s. The development of the space-geodetic measurement techniques of lunar and satellite laser ranging (LLR and SLR), very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), and Doppler orbitography and radio positioning integrated by satellite (DORIS) starting in the late 1960s revolutionized the accuracy, temporal resolution, and latency of Earth rotation measurements, a revolution that continues today with the availability of new GNSS constellations and signals and the development of new generation LLR, SLR, and VLBI stations. This symposium will be a forum for discussing the monitoring and modelling of the Earth’s rotation and the use of Earth rotation measurements to further our understanding of the Earth’s complex, interacting systems.

Keywords: earth rotation, precession, nutation, VLBI, LLR, SLR, GNSS, DORIS

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Lead Convenor: Dorota Brzezinska (United States of America)
Co-Convenor: Hansjörg Kutterer (Germany)                 

Scope: Rapid advances in engineering, sensor technology and computer science contributed to a paradigm shift in both the instrumentation and methods of analysis used in geodetic engineering and its vast application field.  New measurement techniques and methods expand the applications of geodetic engineering beyond the traditional structural and geotechnical projects to mechanical engineering, metrology, and indoor tracking and navigation, and automotive, airborne and aerospace industries. The focus of this symposium in on applications of GNSS, inertial navigation systems and integrated multi-sensor systems to engineering geodesy, with the emphasis on modern techniques and algorithms, such as fuzzy logic or genetic algorithms, and various remote sensing techniques applied to deformation and structural monitoring; multisensory navigation, positioning, orientation and tracking of land-based, airborne and space platforms; intelligent transportation; indoor and pedestrian navigation; navigation in GNSS-denied environments, and collaborative navigation. Advances in multi-sensor technology and sensor integration methods and techniques; applications of artificial intelligence to geodetic engineering, navigation and positioning, image-based and digital map-based localization and modeling.

Keywords: geodetic engineering, metrology, indoor tracking, navigation, inertial navigation, GNSS, multi-sensor systems, intelligent transportation

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Lead Convenor: Sandra Verhagen (The Netherlands)
Co-Convenor: Xiaoli Ding (Hong Kong)             

Scope: Imaging techniques, especially interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) techniques, have been in recent years playing increasingly important roles in geodetic research and applications. This session covers the latest results in research and developments in these techniques, including but not limited to, new InSAR data processing strategies and algorithms, InSAR measurement quality issues, atmospheric effects on InSAR measurements, developments of space SAR missions and ground SAR systems, developments of advanced airborne and ground LiDAR systems, applications of InSAR and LiDAR in studying tectonic motions, earthquakes, city and mining area subsidence, infrastructure deformations, landslide mapping and monitoring, volcanic monitoring, and 3D city modelling.

Keywords: Geodetic imaging, interferometric synthetic aperture radar, InSAR, LiDAR

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Lead Convenor: Johannes Ihde (Germany)
Co-Convenors: Jianliang Huang (Canada), Matt Amos (New Zealand), Laura Sánchez (Germany), Will Featherstone (Australia)

Scope: The determination of heights is based on geometric and gravimetric measurements. Presently, space geodetic techniques provide an accuracy in geometric positioning of about 10-9 of the Earth’s radius in global and continental scales. In contrast, gravity field parameters, including the physical height components, can at present be determined only 2 to 3 orders of magnitude less accurately. Current height reference frames differ in their vertical datum (i.e., the mean sea-level at the fundamental tide gauges) and in the theoretical foundations of the height systems. There is no realization of a unified global (geopotential) height reference system like the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). As a consequence, the current physical height systems do not support global change research. Considerable progress in the definition and realization of a global vertical reference system will be attained from data of the new satellite altimetry and gravity field missions. Based on classical and modern observations, a consistent modelling of both geometric and gravimetric parameters will be available to provide a Unified World Height System (WHS). It shall be realized in the context of a global combined network, which integrates geodetic space techniques, highly precise gravity, levelling, and tide gauge records. Themes for the Symposium are the theory of height system definition and concepts and methods of its realization including the unification of the existing height systems.

Keywords: height systems, physical heights, reference systems, vertical datum, geopotential, mean sea level, geoid, gravity, tide gauges

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organiser: IAG
Lead Convenor: Ruth Neilan (United States of America)
Co-Convenor: Yang Gao (Canada), Gary Johnston (Geoscience Australia)            

Scope: High-precision GPS has been applied to support numer ous applications in the past decade. At least three other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are in dif ferent phases of development and are expected to be fully operational within the next years. Novel techno logies are needed to address the opportunities and challenges to enhance the accuracy, availability and integrity of high precision GNSS applications. The symposium concentrates on research to identify important problems in high-precision GNSS and develop methods and tech nologies to support high-precision GNSS applications. The topics include opti mal use of signals from multiple GNSS systems, im proved error modelling and mitigation methodologies, quality control and integrity monitoring, differential GNSS RTK and precise point positioning, novel use of precise orbit/clock products and GNSS network infra structures, cost-effective high-preci sion GNSS applica tions.

Keywords: GNSS applications, navigation, multiple GNSS systems, error modelling, differential GNSS RTK, precise point positioning

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors

Options: Contributed papers are optionally oral or poster presentations

Organisers: IAG
Co-sponsors: IAGA, IASPEI, IAVCEI, International Lithosphere Program (ILP), and International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)
Principal Convenors: John Dawson (Australia)
Co-convenors: Sierd Cloetingh (The Netherlands), Ian Ferguson (Canada), Kevin Furlong (United States of America)

Scope: Understanding the structure and deformation of plate interiors and their margins has important implications for society, and more and more there will be a reliance on a knowledge base of its past, present and future state. For example, society's increasing demand for energy and groundwater security will require geoscientists to address issues associated with geothermal energy supply, geo-sequestration of waste products, the impact of groundwater use, and natural hazards. This will require integrated and new approaches to the observation, modelling and interpretation of processes within the crust and lithosphere. This symposium shall consist of invited talks that will address the science associated with the structure and deformation of the Australian Plate including recent developments and findings in Earth imaging, numerical modeling, inversion, data mining approaches, earthquake seismology, volcanology and geodetic measurement of crustal deformation.

Keywords: Continental lithosphere, Australian plate, deformation

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors

Options: All contributed abstracts will be presented as posters. Only invited papers will be scheduled for oral presentations. Tentative list of invited speakers

Organiser: IUGG Union Commission for Data and Information
Co-sponsors: ICSU, IAG, IAGA, IAPSO
Principal Convenors: Peter Fox (United States of America), Charles Barton (Australia)
Co-Convenors: Alik Ismail-Zadeh (Germany), Weijia Kuang, Ruth Neilan, Mark Parsons (all United States of America), Roger Proctor (Australia), Bernd Richter (Germany), Adelina Geyer Traver (Spain), Richard Swinbank (United Kingdom).

Scope: Science has fully entered a new mode of operation. Data science (including e-science) defined as a combination of science, informatics, computer science, cyber infrastructure and information technology is changing the way all of these disciplines do both their individual and collaborative work. IUGG scientists are facing global problems of a magnitude, complexity and interdisciplinary nature that progress is limited by available knowledge and skills that are required to solve these problems. At the heart of this new way of doing science, especially experimental and observational science but also increasingly computational science, is the generation of data. As a result, new opportunities exist for the assimilation of data into a variety of geophysical models that span several geoscience disciplines. The goal of this session is to assess the current state of data science and informatics effort in support of IUGG science and indicate successful progress made to date and the challenges that presently exist. The session will also highlight the progress and perspectives in data assimilation studies in various fields of geophysics.

Keywords: informatics, computer science, cyber infrastructure, information technology, data generation.

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors

Options: All contributed abstracts will be presented as posters. Only invited papers will be scheduled for oral presentations.

Organisers: IAGA and IUGG Commission on Mathematical Geophysics
Co-sponsors: IAG, IAPSO
Principal Convenor: Matthias Holschneider (Germany)
Co-convenors: Shin-Chan Han (United States of America), Nico Sneeuw (Germany), Gordon Swaters (Canada)

Scope: Advances in mathematics have always been in close relation with progress in the natural sciences and vice versa new mathematical tools have pushed forward the frontiers of knowledge. This symposium mission is to exploit breakthroughs in the mathematical approaches to various fields of geophysics. In particular new developments in functional and numerical analysis and in statistics shall be presented with their implication for geophysical data analysis and system modelling. We invite contributions from new approaches using innovative field parameterisations of potential fields like space and time localizing functions to the analysis and processing of irregular data geometries like satellite observations of magnetic or gravity fields. Kalman filtering techniques and data assimilation have opened new perspectives in time dependent geopotential field modelling. New developments in numerical techniques make it possible to simulate the dynamical behaviour of geophysical systems on geologic timescales (mantle processes) and very short timescale (core processes) many different space and time scales. The recently exploding field of Bayesian analysis and machine learning allows innovative ways of exploring data with high uncertainty as in the field of seismic risk estimation. An important topic to be addressed in this symposium is also the connection of models and data. In particular new approaches to model validation and model selection are welcome.

Keywords: geopotential fields, processing irregular data geometry, magnetic field, gravity field, seismic risk, Kalman filtering, data assimilation, analytical and numerical techniques, Bayesian analysis, model validation

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors.

Options: All contributed abstracts will be presented as posters. Only invited papers will be scheduled for oral presentations.

Invited Speakers: Doron Nof, Paul Tackley

Organiser: IAPSO
Co-sponsors: IACS, IAG
Principal Convenors: John Church (Australia), Simon Holgate (United Kingdom)
Co-convenors: Georg Kaser (Austria), C. K. Shum (United States of America), Philip Woodworth (United Kingdom)

Scope: Global and regional sea-level change has become a high profile scientific issue with great societal importance. Warming oceans, melting glaciers and potentially much larger contributions from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets are all likely to lead to a substantial rise in sea level during the 21st century and beyond. Sea level changes across a broad range of time- and space-scales. Understanding both the temporal and spatial variability of sea-level change urgently needs input from a wide range of disciplines, including studies of the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere (glaciers, ice caps, frozen grounds, and ice sheets), terrestrial water storage and discharge, and the elastic and visco-elastic response of the solid earth to changes in surface loading and Pleistocene deglaciation.

This Symposium aims to bring together the diverse disciplines involved in sea-level research in a way that will provide opportunities for cross-fertilisation of ideas and dissemination of the most up to date results in this rapidly changing field. This Symposium will consider all contributions to improving understanding of the past and future projections of sea-level change. This includes satellite observations such as altimetry, GPS, gravity and synthetic aperture radar, in situ instrumental and palaeo observations, theoretical understanding and numerical modelling. The Symposium will focus on: (i)· Remotely sensed, in situ and palaeo observations of global and regional sealevel change; (ii) ·Evidence and understanding of cryospheric change, particularly fast, dynamic ice processes; (iii) Observations and modelling of changes in ocean mass and ocean thermal expansion; (iv) Changes in terrestrial water storage and discharge, including human-made dams/reservoirs; (v) Understanding global averaged sea-level change and the regional distribution of sea-level change; and (vi)·Dynamical modelling of sea level variability at global and regional scales, including the prediction of extreme sea levels. This symposium will continue as the IAPSO-lead Joint Symposium JP3.

Keywords: sea-level change, warming ocean, melting glacier, Greenland, Antarctic, ice sheet, atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, observations, modelling, prediction of extreme sea level.

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors.

Options: Only invited papers will be scheduled for oral presentations within the union symposia. All other accepted abstracts will either be presented as posters or, if the author prefer, moved as oral to the IAPSO-lead Joint Symposium JP3.

Invited Speakers: Ben Horton (USA), Matt King (UK), Tad Pfeffer (USA), Philippe Huybrechts (BE), Katia Laval (FR), Don Chambers (USA), Caroline Katsman (NL)

Organiser: IAHS
Co-sponsors: IACS, IAG, IAMAS, IAPSO
Principal Convenor: Pierre Hubert (France)
Co-convenors: Andrea Flossman (France), Manfred Lange (Cyprus), John Pomeroy (Canada), Paul Tregoning (Australia), Susan Wijffels (Australia)

Scope: Based on the observation of the continuous movement of water, the idea of a hydrological cycle appeared in the most remote antiquity, but the corresponding scientific concept was coined only three centuries below by Pierre Perrault and Edmund Halley, based on their measurements and water balance computations. Today the hydrological cycle is well known and taught as soon as in primary schools. But do we really understand this extraordinarily complex system, which operates over huge time and space scales, involves the flow of liquid, solid and vapour phases of water and whose processes shape the face of the Earth by impacting biology, geochemistry, geophysics, climatology and redistributing matter and energy? We still have a lot to learn about the hydrological cycle. To take only a few examples: what is the uncertainty regarding the Earth’s water inventory, water phase and fluxes?  Do we really know what a cloud is and how it behaves?  Can we predict streamflow from physical first principles? Do we really know the paths of water on the continents, between precipitation and the continental reservoirs of surface, ground, snow and glacier water and the oceans? This symposium will be devoted to these gaps which jeopardize many scientific and practical activities such as water resources prediction and assessment and to the ways to overcome them. All contributions from geoscientists developed in an interdisciplinary spirit will be welcome.

Keywords: Hydrological cycle, water cycle, hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere.

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors.

Options: All contributed abstracts will be presented as posters. Only invited papers will be scheduled for oral presentations.

Invited Speakers: Frédérique Seyler (Représentation IRD), Gian Maria Zuppi (Insititute of Environmental Geology and Engineering National Research Council of Italy), Demetris Koutsoyannis (Technical University of Athens)

Organiser: IAGA
Co-sponsors: IACS, IAG, IAMAS, IAPSO, IASPEI
Principal Convenors: Eigil Friis-Christensen (Denmark)
Co-Convenors: Ian Allison (Australia), Hugo Beltrami (Canada), Steven Nerem (United States of America), Gerassimos Papadopoulos (Greece), Denise Smythe-Wright (United Kingdom)

Scope: Climate change is a topic, which is on the top of the agenda, not only within the science community but also in the society at large. IUGG is a scientific organization, which covers many of the aspects of climate change including the causes, anthropogenic and natural, as well as the consequences. The purpose of this symposium is to demonstrate by invited speakers from various disciplines the complexity of the issue and the need for interdisciplinary initiatives in order to understand the science and the way it has an impacts on our society. IUGG is the primary scientific organizations to offer both the scientific expertise of the Associations and the overall perspective.

Keywords: climate dynamics, natural causes of climate change, anthropogenic causes of climate change.

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors.

Options: All contributed abstracts will be presented as posters. Only invited papers will be scheduled for oral presentations.

Organiser: IAGA – as part of IUGG Geoscience in Africa initiative and the eGY-Africa program.
Co-sponsors. IAG, IAHS, IAMAS, IAPSO, IASPEI, IAVCEI, African Geospace Society (AGS), Association of African Universities (AAU), Africa Earth Observing Network (AEON), AfricaArray; ICSU Regional Office for Africa, CODATA, International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP), UN Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (UN-GAID), U.S. InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP); European Enabling Grid for e-Science (EGEE); Geoscience Information in Africa (GIRAF); and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste (ICTP).
Principal Convenor: Charles Barton (Australia)
Co-convenors: Abdelkrim Aoudia (Algeria), Hussein A. Abd-Elmotaal (Egypt), Rabiu Babatunde (Nigeria), Harouna Karambiri (Burkina Faso), Christine Amory-Mazaudier (France), Daniel Nyanganyura (South Africa), Laban Ogallo (Kenya), Bamol Sow (Senegal), Maarten de Wit (South Africa).

Scope: The session will cover a combination of both the leading Earth and space science being undertaken and planned in Africa in the areas covered by all eight Associations, and also infrastructure issues (such as efforts to create a better professional environment for African scientists, open access to publications, internet connectivity, support for African science, education, and training). The symposium will provide (i) a forum for presenting and discussing the latest African geoscientific research, (ii) a cross-disciplinary view of geoscientific activity in Africa (Africa being the focus of the symposium), (iii) a stimulus for stronger interest and participation in African science by African and non-African scientists, and (iv) an opportunity to explore progress in creating a better professional working environment for people engaged in scientific research, education, and training in Africa.

Keywords: geoscience in Africa, integrated African research, unique African geoscience, research and education infrastructure, Internet connectivity, research and education networks, open access to publications, professional geoscientific bodies.

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the convenors.

Options: All contributed abstracts may be presented as posters. The convenors will invite selected papers for oral presentations.

Organiser: IUGG
Co-sponsors: IACS, IAG, IAGA, IAHS, IAMAS, IAPSO, IASPEI, and IAVCEI
Lead Convenors: Harsh Gupta (India) and László Szarka (Hungary)

Scope: Earth and space sciences have played an increasingly important role in the past few decades in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of our planet and its environment. This development addresses the challenging endeavor to enrich human lives with the bounties of Nature as well as to preserve the planet for generations to come. Early career scientists have an extremely important role to play. They are the key players for the future development of Earth Sciences. At this Union Symposium, speakers (up to 40 years) from different geoscientific research disciplines will share their experience, expectations, successes, and concerns. We expect that the symposium's presentations will address the topic of what should be done in IUGG and its Associations for enhancing the role of Earth and space sciences in the service of mankind.

This symposium is under active development.

Organiser: IAGA, IAG
Lead Convenors: Grant Caldwell (New Zealand), Stephen F Cox (Australia), Yoshihisa Iio (Japan), Yasuo Ogawa (Japan), Tonnie Van Dam (Luxembourg)

Scope: We invite presentations on the role of fluids in the crust and mantle, especially in seismogenesis and melt generation, and their influence on rheology, deformation and gravity. In particular, we encourage contributions from the communities of numerical modeling, structural geology, petrological and rock physics as well as from the seismological, magnetotelluric, satellite gravimetry and space geodesy communities.

Keywords: fluids, rheology, seismogenesis, melts, electrical conductivity, magnetotellurics, seismology, deformation, gravity. 

Call for Abstracts Now Closed for J-H01

Organiser: IAHS (ICRS, ICSW, ICGW, ICWRS, PUB, GRACE), IAG, IAMAS
Lead Convenor: Mohsin Hafeez (Australia)
Co-Convenors: Makoto Taniguchi (Japan), Earl Bardsley (New Zealand), Roland Pail (Germany), Frederique Seyler (France), Nick van de Giesen (The Netherlands)

Scope: This session focuses on the recent advances in GRACE, other remote sensing platforms, and ground based methods for estimating spatial/temporal surface water balance, spatially averaged water budgets, hydrodynamics, hydrological processes, and characterization of ground water system in gauged and un-gauged basins at regional and global terrestrial scales.

New satellites, such as GRACE, SMOS, and METOP, are starting to generate hydrological parameters that have large potential for water managers in data sparse environments. Sensors as radar altimeters, primarily designed for ocean or ice studies, are now used for monitoring continental waters. Optical-thermal satellite based evapotranspiration measurement techniques have been extensively used for water accounting from farm to irrigated catchments over the past decade. Another example is the recently developed modelling technique using GRACE satellite provides estimates of terrestrial water storage and their temporal changes. Finally, the “Predictions in Ungauged Basins” initiative (PUB) could focus on remote sensing models and estimates of spatially-averaged water budget components across scales and beyond catchment boundaries. In parallel, advances in ground-based measurement techniques, such as distributed temperature sensing, geological weighing lysimeters (gwl), and geophysical surveys are finding their way into research and practice for characterizing the hydrological parameters by more efficient means.

This symposium seeks to bring together specialists from different disciplines to produce a review of the state-of-the-art of direct and indirect physical measurement techniques for water resources management over the full range of terrestrial spatial scales from pixel to continent. Papers are invited on the estimation, validation, and error/uncertainty assessment of hydrological parameters such as actual evaporation, soil moisture, recharge, seepage, percolation, and runoff in farms, irrigated/dryland systems, and gauged/un-gauged catchments at multi temporal scales.

This Inter-Association Symposium is a continuation of the Union Symposium U08 having the same title and scope.

Organiser: IAPSO
Co-sponsors: IACS, IAG
Lead Convenors: John Church (Australia), Simon Holgate (United Kingdom)
Co-Convenors: Georg Kaser (Austria), C. K. Shum (United States of America), Philip Woodworth (United Kingdom), Wolfgang Bosch (Germany)

Scope: Global and regional sea-level change has become a high profile scientific issue with great societal importance. Warming oceans, melting glaciers and potentially much larger contributions from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets are all likely to lead to a substantial rise in sea level during the 21st century and beyond. Sea-level changes across a broad range of time- and space-scales. Understanding both the temporal and spatial variability of sea-level change urgently needs input from a wide range of disciplines, including studies of the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere (glaciers, ice caps, frozen grounds, and ice sheets), terrestrial water storage and discharge, and the elastic and visco-elastic response of the solid earth to changes in surface loading and Pleistocene deglaciation.

This Symposium aims to bring together the diverse disciplines involved in sea-level research in a way that will provide opportunities for cross-fertilisation of ideas and dissemination of the most up to date results in this rapidly changing field. All contributions to improving understanding of the past and future projections of sea-level change will be considered including satellite observations such as altimetry, GPS, gravity and synthetic aperture radar, in situ instrumental and palaeo observations, theoretical understanding and numerical modelling. The Symposium will focus on: (i) Remotely sensed, in situ and palaeo observations of global and regional sea-level change; (ii) Evidence and understanding of cryospheric change, particularly fast, dynamic ice processes; (iii) Observations and modelling of changes in ocean mass and ocean thermal expansion; (iv) Changes in terrestrial water storage and discharge, including human made dams/reservoirs; (v) Understanding global averaged sea-level change and the regional distribution of sea-level change; and (vi)·Dynamical modelling of sea level variability at global and regional scales, including the prediction of extreme sea levels.
Abstract submissions are encouraged for talks and posters in any of the above areas.

Keywords: sea-level change, warming ocean, melting glacier, Greenland, Antarctic, ice sheet, atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, observations, modelling, prediction of extreme sea level.

Review: All contributed abstracts will be reviewed by the Convenors.

Organiser: IASPEI
Co-Sponsors: IAG
Lead Convenors: Jeff Freymueller (United States of America)  
Co-convenors: David D. Jackson (United States of America), Valentin Mihkailov (Russia)

Geodetic techniques including GPS, InSAR, LIDAR, and others have been used to estimate coseismic displacements from earthquakes and to model the deformation and stress accumulation leading to future earthquakes. In this session we will consider all aspects of geodesy as applied in earthquake studies. Important questions to be addressed include these: How unique are the estimates of co-seismic slip distribution? How deep does co-seismic slip penetrate? Why do geodetic and geologic methods often give differing estimates of fault slip rates? Can a combination of seismic, geodetic, and geologic deformation measurements constrain the rheology of rocks in seismic zones? Can tectonic moment rates derived from geodetic strain be used to infer long term seismic strain rates? Do temporal variations in strain rates effectively portend future earthquakes?
This symposium is listed under J-G06

Organiser: IASPEI
Co-Sponsors: IACS, IAG, IAGA
Lead Convenor: Ian Allison (Australia)
Co-convenors: Marino Russi (Italy), Doug Wiens (United States of America), Aude Chambodut (France), Reinhard Dietrich (Germany)

Scope: New instrumental and data analysis techniques, and increased scientific activity during the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) have led to major recent advances in our understanding of the geophysics of both the Antarctic and Arctic regions.  This symposium will focus on the current status of geophysical and geodetic research in both polar regions.  It may include results, for example, from the large airborne geophysical surveys undertaken in Antarctica during IPY, and new and ongoing monitoring efforts.  Although still limited, the seismic instrumental coverage of the Antarctic continent and in Greenland has been lately improved and ocean bottom seismograph deployment projects are under way. Papers on network improvements and data acquisition in these difficult environments are welcome. Recent studies with new data on both seismic sources and lithospheric structure and deformation and related discontinuities are very much encouraged.

The session will also be an opportunity to present the latest studies on temporal and spatial variations of Earth's magnetic field that focus on the polar perspective. Papers, on topics including network improvements, data acquisition and modeling results in these remote areas are welcome. Recent studies on both magnetic phenomena generated externally to the Earth, as well as magnetic phenomena generated in the Earth's interior, are encouraged. The symposium aims to also provide a forum that could lead to a better co-ordination of national and international efforts in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsors: IASPEI, IAG, IAGA
Lead Convenors: Setsuya Nakada (Japan), Chris Newhall (Singapore), Freysteinn Sigmundsson (Iceland), Gill Jolly (New Zealand), Joan Marti (Spain)

Scope: Forecasting future eruptions based on monitoring and observation data is an  important issue for the volcanological community including IAVCEI. Anomalies are usually detectable when monitoring or observation with sufficient instruments is carried out, and the onset of eruptions can often be forecast.  However, false alarms remain a problem, and the style and duration of an eruption are still hard to forecast.  In addition to monitoring data, forecasting may use models of volcanic behavior, and always refers to geological and historical records of eruptions of the volcano in question and its analogues.  We still need a forecasting strategy for super eruptions, which will surely occur, threatening serious damage to human communities in the global scale. We seek papers that will deal with forecasting, monitoring and observation of recent and future eruptions, including geophysical, geochemical and geological methods. Papers of forecasting based on physical and chemical models are also welcomed.

Keynote Speakers: Warner Marzocchi (Italy) & Servando De la Cruz Reyna (Mexico)

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsor:  IAG
Lead Convenors: Nico Fournier (United States of America), Maurizio Battaglia (Italy), Michael Poland (United States of America), Kosuke Heki (Japan)

Scope: This session aims to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of new research results from geodetic studies on volcanoes. Subjects of interest range from geodetic signals associated with magmatic and hydrothermal processes at various scales to volcano-tectonic interactions to methods for modeling geodetic data. Of particular interest are multidisciplinary efforts that combine geodetic results with other geological, geophysical, or geochemical data to infer unique source processes, as well as studies that utilize innovative modeling approaches.

Keynote speakers: Paul Lundgren, Sigrun Hreinsdottir

Organiser: IAVCEI
Co-sponsors: IASPEI, ILP
Lead Convenor: John Dawson (Australia)
Co-Convenors:  Kevin Furlong (United States of America), Sierd Cloetingh (Netherlands)

Scope: Understanding the structure and deformation of plate interiors and their margins has important implications for society, and more and more there will be a reliance on a knowledge base of its past, present and future state. For example, society's increasing demand for energy and groundwater security will require geoscientists to address issues associated with geothermal energy supply, geosequestration of waste products, the impact of groundwater use, and natural hazards. This will require integrated and new approaches to the observation, modeling and interpretation of processes within the crust and lithosphere.  This symposium will address the science associated with the structure and deformation of continental lithosphere and particularly of the Australian Plate including recent developments and findings in Earth imaging, numerical modeling, inversion, data mining approaches, earthquake seismology, vulcanology and geodetic measurement of crustal deformation.
This Symposium is listed by IAG as J-G04.

Keynote Speakers: Mike Sandiford, Tom Herring