PISCATAWAY, N.J., June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- IEEE, the world's largest
technical professional association, and its members are applying
engineering and technology principles to address issues of global
environmental impact, including monitoring natural disasters and
tracking man-induced hazards such as forest fires, oil spills and
other types of chemical contamination.
By utilizing remote sensing technology to monitor behavior on
the ground, as well as in the atmosphere and water, IEEE members
are addressing a number of environmental and safety concerns
through the application of earth observation research. These
include:
- observing the ocean floor to sense and detect earthquakes;
- calculating measurements of plate tectonics to help the
agriculture industry better assess soil quality;
- examining the Arctic Circle's ecosystem of ice formations and
weather patterns to provide the shipping industry with critical
safety information; and
- enhancing radar devices used to find victims of natural
disasters, such as avalanches and earthquakes.
"We rely heavily on remote sensing to collect data on ocean and
atmospheric systems that would otherwise be inaccessible," said Dr.
Howard Michel, Senior Member, IEEE.
"The technology has revolutionized the way in which we view
the Earth, and monitor, predict and respond to otherwise
catastrophic events."
The IEEE Committee on Earth Observations (ICEO) and the IEEE
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) are both deeply
involved in the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS),
a complex system of sensors, communication devices, storage
systems, computational and other devices used to observe the Earth
and gather data. The development of standards by ICEO and GRSS
ensures that remote sensing techniques are being used universally
to acquire the global data that is necessary for understanding the
environment.
IEEE members from around the world who are driving key earth
observation initiatives:
- Dr. Ross Norman Chapman, IEEE
Fellow and professor of ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences at
the University of British Columbia,
Canada, is a leading expert in seismo-acoustic propagation. His
research, which focuses on the geophysical properties of the ocean
floor, has contributed to the development of technologies that can
be used to sense and detect the size, duration and strength of
natural disasters and hazards.
- Dr. Valery Zavorotny, IEEE
Fellow and researcher with the Earth Systems Research Laboratory,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), US,
collaborated in the soil-moisture experiment between NASA, the US
Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and
academia, measuring plate tectonics and geological processes to
assess snowpack, soil moisture and vegetation moisture.
- Dr. David Daniels, IEEE Fellow
and head of sensor systems, ERA Technology, UK, is recognized for
his work in ground-penetrating radar. Dr. Daniels has brought
various mine-detecting products to the military and commercial
enterprises. His systems are used for homeland security, crime
prevention and the detection of missing individuals.
- Georg Heygster, IEEE member, is
an environmental physicist in Germany observing the earth with satellites.
His research on sea ice and weather help to improve weather
prediction, climate research and ship safety.
- Professor Ya-Qiu Jin, IEEE Fellow and member of IEEE GRSS, has
been leading the Key Laboratory of Wave Scattering and Remote
Sensing Information at Fudan University, China, to carry out extensive research
programs on the fundamentals and applications of microwave remote
sensing on the global environment, including atmosphere, ocean and
terrain surface hydrology.
- Dr. Yun Shao, IEEE member in
China who works with the IEEE
GRSS, is studying the possibility of earthquake signal detection
through the use of space and ground observation technology in the
microwave spectrum.
- Dr. Diane Evans, IEEE Fellow and
director for the Earth, Science and Technology Directorate, NASA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, US, conducted research in the remote
sensing industry that paved the way for advancing technologies in
oceanography, the study of atmospheric composition and geophysics.
She helped develop remote sensing techniques for earth surface
geology using combined data sets from visible, infrared and radar
satellites.
For more information on IEEE, or to speak with a sustainable
world expert, please contact ieee-PR@ruderfinn.com.
About IEEE
IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, is
dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.
Through its highly cited publications, conferences,
technology standards, and professional and educational activities,
IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from
aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical
engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn
more at http://www.ieee.org.
SOURCE IEEE