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Remote Sensing Action Group

Development of a satellite-based, Antarctic-wide, remote sensing approach to monitor bird and animal population

"... Because of the increasing need for high resolution imagery from Antarctica and the advances in technology that allow the use of such imagery to assist in the study of many physical and biological processes, the SSG-LS recommends the formation of a new cross action group to coordinate the development and adaptation of remote sensing methodology to promote new avenues of research ..."
(SSG Life Sciences, Report to the Delegates, XXXII SCAR Delegates' Meeting , Portland, USA, 13-25 July 2012)

The SCAR Action Group on Remote Sensing has been established with the full name "Development of a satellite-based, Antarctic-wide, remote sensing approach to monitor bird and animal populations", initially for three years, with the aim to address the topic of "Animal monitoring via remote sensing". A number of publications on that topic, several published in 2012, indicate that the importance of satellite-based remote sensing for monitoring purposes is currently growing. In these various publications, different methodological approaches have been proved and discussed.

One of the aims of the Action Group is to merge these different approaches in order to find suitable ways of detecting, counting and monitoring animal populations. With this approach, those monitoring programmes which already exist (for example, CEMP, Antarctic Site Inventory, SOOS, ICED, SOS) should be complemented.

As a first step, the following revised Terms of Reference are proposed:

  1. Goals: Defining what are the goals/objectives of the proposed monitoring programme. What are the questions we want the programme to answer? What are the key parameters we need to define in order to answer these questions? What are the temporal and spatial ranges and scales we have to consider to get the necessary information?
  2. Present state of species: Formulating the present state of available knowledge for individual species, specifically on the distribution, population and on-going monitoring programmes.
  3. Gaps: What are the important gaps? What do we need to understand better? What are the most important research demands we should work on? How can we work on them?
  4. Methodology/technology: Which methodologies and technologies are available to fill the gaps? What is the role of different remote sensing techniques in this setting? Which new approaches look promising regarding result quality and research effort? Compiling the methodical state of the scientific knowledge in terms of a satellite-based, remote sensing approach. Keeping an eye on technological advances.
  5. Monitoring strategy: Designing a monitoring strategy that optimizes the relationship between outcome and long-term monitoring effort. Maximizing the resources of the participants.
  6. Input data access: Organizing data access. Who has access to which data? Which of these could be shared? Consulting data providers.
  7. Output data access: Designing an easy and open access for the scientific community to the monitoring results. What are the outcome parameters to be produced and how can they be stored, exchanged and published? Solving questions on standards, formats, media and metadata for the database/geo-database.

A meeting will be held at the SCAR Biology Symposium in Barcelona in July 2013.

If you are interested in becoming an active member of the group, or if you would like to propose someone to become an active member of the group, please contact the group Chair:

Hans-Ulrich Peter (email: bpe@uni-jena.de)

Head of the Polar & Bird Ecology Group
Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University
Dornburger Str. 159, D- 07743 JENA, Germany