It is an open forum and contributors are welcome to send material (preferably in electronic form) to the IAG COB (newsletter@iag-aig.org). These contributions should complement information sent by IAG officials or by IAG symposia organizers (reports and announcements). The IAG Newsletter is published monthly. It is available in different formats from the IAG new internet site: http://www.iag-aig.org

Each IAG Newsletter includes several of the following topics:

I. news from the Bureau Members

II. general information

III. reports of IAG symposia

IV. reports by commissions, special commissions or study groups

V. symposia announcements

VI. book reviews

VII. fast bibliography

Books for review are the responsibility of:

C.C Tscherning

University of Copenhagen

Dept. of Geophysics

Copenhagen, Denmark

Fax: +45 35365357

E-mail: cct@gfy.ku.dk

General Announcements

ILRS News

Laser Ranging (LR) to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been continuously active since shortly after launch with the first results 30 June 2009. There are currently nine ILRS stations around the world that have contributed to over 230 hours of successful laser ranging data. LRO-LR is a one-way, uplink only technique, where the ground stations measure their time of laser fire and the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument on LRO receives the laser pulses and measures the time of arrival. The LR data along with the S-band tracking data and LOLA altimetric cross-overs are being used by the LOLA Science Team (David Smith and Maria Zuber, PIs) to do very accurate LRO orbit determination.

Jan McGarry

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Reopened Call for Proposals for hosting the Central Bureau of the International Gravity Field Service

The International Gravity Field Service (IGFS) is a unifying ‘umbrella’ IAG service which

coordinates collection, validation, archiving and dissemination of gravity field related data,
coordinates exchange of software for gravity field activities,
coordinates courses, information materials and general public outreach relating to the Earth’s gravity field,
implements practical standards for general gravity field-related reference system issues, such as a global vertical datum.

The IGFS was established by the International Association of Geodesy Executive Committee at the IUGG General Assembly in Sapporo, Japan, August 2003, and is an IAG ‘Level-2’ service under IAG Commission 2 – Gravity Field. One of the main arguments for establishing the IGFS was to provide a leading role of the gravity field services, as one of the three fundamental pillars in the IAG’s first project - GGOS, the Global Geodetic Observing System, which now is a major component of the IAG.

The overall goal of the IGFS is to coordinate the servicing of the geodetic and geophysical community with gravity field related data, software and information. The combined data of the IGFS entities data will include satellite-derived global models, terrestrial, airborne and marine gravity observations, time-dependent gravity data, GPS levelling data, digital models of terrain and bathymetry, as well as ocean gravity field and geoid from satellite altimetry. Thus both the static and the temporal variations of the Earth’s gravity field will be covered by the IGFS.

Another important role of the IGFS is to take new initiatives and coordinate international data collection projects, such as, e.g., Arctic and Antarctic Gravity and Geoid Projects, and the support of development of high and ultra-high resolution global geopotential models, such as NGA’s EGM08 and its evaluation.

The IGFS is not handling gravity field data distribution directly. The IGFS will function as a unifying service and contact for the following gravity field related services (IGFS Centres):

· BGI – International Gravimetric Bureau – collection, archiving, distribution of gravity data. Hosted by CNES, Toulouse.

· IGeS – International Geoid Service – collection and distribution of geoid models and related software, geoid schools – hosted by Politecnico di Milano.

· ICET – International Centre for Earth Tides – collection and archiving of global Earth tide data, including data from the Global Geodynamics Project – hosted by the University of French Polynesia.

· ICGEM – International Centre for Global Earth Models – distribution of satellite and surface spherical harmonic models – hosted by GFZ Potsdam.

· IDEMS – International DEM Service – provision of Global Digital Terrain Models – hosted by DeMontfort University, UK.

· GGP – Global Geodynamics Project – the coordination of global network of superconducting gravimeters (to be confirmed)

· IGFS Technical Centre – National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, USA (G&G dept.) – advises on global models, geoid and gravity, supplementing other services.

The structure of the IGFS centres is shown in Figure 1, and can be seen on www.igfs.net.

Currently only one working group under the IGFS is active (EGM08 validation WG has terminated the work):- Working Group on Absolute Gravimetry - Standardization and Networks – chaired by H. Wilmes, BKG, Germany.

The IGFS held a Retreat in 2008, and has identified areas such as implementation of a new global vertical datum, coordination of repeated global absolute gravity measurements, and the unification of temporal satellite gravity field solutions, as potential future tasks for the IGFS.

THE ROLE OF THE CENTRAL BUREAU

Charter

The Central Bureau of the IGFS serves as the executive arm of the IGFS Directing Board (former Advisory Board). The CB should organize and coordinate task forces to

· Define standards for gravity field data observation procedures, anomaly computations, and associated data corrections (meteorology, hydrology, postglacial rebound, etc.)

· Provide recommendations for data processing methods and reductions

· Establish data exchange and archival formats

· Define and implement fundamental geopotential reference systems

· Evaluate and recommend relevant auxiliary geophysical models

· Facilitate the provision of digital elevation models and density values for gravity field determination and modeling

The CB should coordinate activities related to

· The design and realization of global absolute and superconducting gravimetry networks, with special emphasis on co-located sites for GGOS and regional densifications

· The facilitation and coordination of regional gravity field determination and data exchange projects in order to improve medium to short wavelengths (e.g., Arctic and Antarctica)• The definition and realization a global vertical datum

· The integration of terrestrial, airborne and satellite measurements in practice

· The improvement of the use of satellite-derived DEMs for gravity field modeling

· The evaluation and calibration of satellite-derived temporal gravity field variations as well as the improvement of processing of satellite data

· Making gravity data, geopotential models (static and time-variable), geoid estimates and other gravity field related products available for general use

· Public outreach on the Earths gravity field by

- Organizing meetings and schools on gravity, geoid and related geophysics

- Making software and tutorials for gravity and geoid analysis available.

- Establishing and maintaining a web site with links to IGFS Centres

High Level Tasks

· Provide link between the IGFS entities, IAG, and external projects, networks or organizations (oceanic, atmospheric, hydrologic, …).

· Provide link to the GGOS bureau and communicate their requirements and recommendations to the IGFS. Implement standards and recommendations related to gravity field observations, secure consistency with geometric standards, and promote their use within the geoscientific community.

Organization

· Tasks of permanent nature concerning all IGFS shall reside within the Central Bureau. Tasks of temporary nature may be delegated to ad-hoc committees and . The Central Bureau will be headed by a Director, and will have a secretariat to provide administrative, communication and web support.

· The Central Bureau will include such expertise as is necessary to conduct Bureau business and provide guidance and oversight to the supporting entities.

· Dedicated working groups and analysis may be set up for specific issues dealing with particular aspects of gravity field related issues.

· The Director will report to the IGFS Directing Board and the IAG Executive Committee. The Director forms together with the IGFS Chairman and the head of the Technical Centre the IGFS management group.

· The Director of the Central Bureau will be a member of the GGOS Steering Committee on behalf of the IGFS.

Interfaces with Internal and External Entities

The Central Bureau acts essentially as representative of the IGFS and is liaison to other geodetic and geophysical services, especially to the GGOS entities. There must be a routine exchange of information and regular meetings with representatives of the IGFS. A close contact has to be kept to the GGOS Bureaus for ‘Standards and Conventions’, ‘Networks and Communications’ and ‘Satellite Missions’ as well as the ‘Coordination Office’.

IGFS Central Bureau – Call for Proposals

On behalf of the International Association of Geodesy, the IGFS and its member services hereby request proposals for the operation of the IGFS Central Bureau. An organizational structure to operate the Central Bureau and an operational plan must be provided in the proposal. The proposal should clearly address the capabilities being offered by the institution, its financial ability and commitment to carry them out, and appropriate points of contact.

The funds required for the IGFS Central Bureau have to be provided by the proposing institution. Proposers may also solicit support from external entities in terms of financial contributions and expertise. From the proposal it should be clear that the proposing institution has the expertise, capabilities and financial background to perform the proposed tasks.

The initial term of this appointment will be 4 years. The term will be automatically renewed subject to satisfactory performance, unless either party gives notice 6 months prior to the end of the term.

Earlier applicants from the previous calls for hosting of the IGFS CB are encouraged to resubmit a proposal with more details on the implementation plan.

Proposal Structure, Deadline and Submission

The proposal should contain the following parts: title, proposing institution and its address, designated head of the bureau, abstract, goals, expertise, work, schedule and allocated resources.

The proposal should outline an implantation plan for the daily functioning of the Central Bureau, including names and experience of staff (if already known).

The proposal should include planned points of contacts, and the anticipated way of securing efficient communication with the individual gravity field services (IGB, IGeS, ICGEM, …), the elected president of the IGFS and the GGOS executive. If the director of the Central Bureau is not physically located at the same place as the CB secretariat, details should be provided on how the CB will secure the smooth operation of its regular business.

Some ideas or vision on how to improve the performance of the IGFS in terms of better supporting global geodesy and GGOS from the gravity field community would be welcome.

A time schedule should be given for setting up the web site and communications.

Proposals should be concise, no more than 7-8 pages in length. Proposals should be submitted electronically and by mail not later than June 1, 2010. A pdf (or mailed-in) letter by the responsible head of the proposing institution, with the authority for the commitment of human and financial resources, should be enclosed.

The detailed Call for Proposal can also be downloaded from the IAG website http://www.iag-aig.org.

Applications to be send to the IAG General Secretary:

International Association of Geodesy (IAG)

c/o Deutsches Geodaetisches Forschungsinstitut (DGFI)

Alfons-Goppel-Straße 11

D - 80 539 Muenchen, Germany

Tel +49 - 89 - 23 031 -1113

Fax +49 - 89 - 23 031 -1283

E-mail iag@dgfi.badw.de

with a copy to the IGFS Chair Rene Forsberg at DTU-Space (rf@space.dtu.dk).

Questions to the present call can be directed to Rene Forsberg, to Steve Kenyon (Steve.C.Kenyon@nga.mil), member of the IAG Executive Committee and head of the IGFS Technical Centre, or to Michael Sideris (sideris@ucalgary.ca), President of IAG.

The proposals will be evaluated and ranked by an evaluation committee appointed by the IGFS. The decision for awarding the IGFS Central Bureau will be taken by the IAG Executive Committee based on the recommendation of the IGFS committee. The successful proposer will be notified by July 2010 with the goal to start the IGFS Central Bureau activities no later than the end of 2010.

Schedule

June 1, 2010: Due date for proposals.

July 15, 2010: Decision by Review Committee and IAG executive.

September 22-24: Fairbanks IGFS Meeting, detailed implementation plan details.

November 1, 2010 (or as agreed): Start of Central Bureau activities

IGFS, March 17, 2010

Permanent Researcher Position in Gravimetry at the French IGN Geodesy Laboratory

Chargé(e) de Recherche de 2čme classe

Discipline Scientifique : Géodésie

Spécialité : Gravimétrie

Établissement : Institut Géographique National (IGN)

Unité : Laboratoire de recherche en géodésie (LAREG)

Implantation géographique : Champs/Marne, 77420 Marne-la-Vallée, puis 75013 Paris

Contacts : Olivier Jamet, Olivier.Jamet@ign.fr Tél. : 01 64 15 32 50

Isabelle Panet, Isabelle.Panet@ign.fr Tél. : 01 64 15 32 58

Cadre d'accueil

Laboratoire de recherche en Géodésie (LAREG) de l’Institut Géographique National (actuellement localisé Cité Descartes ŕ Marne-la-Vallée, appelé ŕ rejoindre l’Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) dans le cadre du Pôle Terre-Plančtes sur le campus de Paris Rive Gauche ŕ Paris 13čme).

Contexte

Ce poste est ŕ considérer, durant ses premičres années, dans le cadre de l’amélioration de la détermination du champ de pesanteur, dans un contexte de fort développement des techniques de mesures en gravimétrie. Outre la gravimétrie mobile et aéroportée, l'essor de la gravimétrie spatiale apporte une amélioration sans précédent de notre connaissance du champ statique et de ses variations temporelles, avec les missions GRACE (2002) et GOCE (2009). A plus long terme, des missions dédiées au suivi continu des variations temporelles du champ sont en projet. Ce développement des systčmes de mesure pose de nouveaux défis en matičre de modélisation du champ de pesanteur statique ŕ haute résolution et de ses variations temporelles. Les mesures de variations temporelles du champ de pesanteur, et leur analyse conjointe avec les mesures de déplacements au sol, offrent également de nouvelles perspectives pour améliorer notre connaissance des phénomčnes de surcharge et leur impact sur la stabilité du repčre de référence terrestre, dont la réalisation et la maintenance sont effectuées au Laboratoire de Recherche en Géodésie (LAREG).

Dans ce contexte, le LAREG conduit des recherches sur la modélisation haute résolution du champ de pesanteur statique ŕ partir de jeux de données hétérogčnes, en introduisant des représentations multi- échelles du champ (ondelettes sur la sphčre), sur l’exploitation des techniques de gravimétrie mobile, et sur l'analyse conjointe, en termes de surcharges, des variations temporelles du champ de pesanteur avec les mesures des autres capteurs géodésiques (positionnement, etc.). Ces travaux font apparaître la nécessité de développer des recherches sur la représentation quadri-dimensionnelle du champ dans l'espace et dans le temps, aux plus hautes résolutions possibles, et sur l’estimation des paramčtres d’une telle représentation, sur la modélisation et l'intégration des mesures de gravimétrie, et plus particuličrement de gravimétrie spatiale, dans ces représentations, et sur l’inversion conjointe, en termes de surcharges, de données de gravimétrie spatiale et de déplacements du sol, notamment ŕ l’aide de ces représentations fonctionnelles.

Nature de la mission

Le chercheur travaillera au sein de l’équipe «Gravimétrie» du LAREG. Ses recherches viendront compléter l’activité de deux chercheurs en gravimétrie rassemblant des compétences sur les représentations multi- échelles du champ de pesanteur, sur l’acquisition et la modélisation de données sol et aéroportées et sur les variations temporelles du champ et les effets de surcharges. Elles seront conduites en lien avec les activités du laboratoire sur les repčres de référence terrestres, et les activités de gravimétrie spatiale de l’IPGP.

Les recherches méthodologiques aborderont les domaines suivants : développement et utilisation de représentations locales haute résolution de champs géolocalisés, notamment des bases de fonctions locales (splines, ondelettes, représentations multigrilles, représentations ŕ résolution adaptative) ; traitement et modélisation de mesures de gravimétrie et particuličrement en gravimétrie spatiale (gradiométrie, SST-II) ; théorie de l’estimation et assimilation de jeux de données hétérogčnes. Le chercheur apportera également des contributions ŕ la modélisation de l’impact des déformations de la Terre sur le champ de pesanteur et les déplacements crustaux.

Connaissances scientifiques requises

- Le/la candidat(e) devra posséder de bonnes compétences en mathématiques appliquées et en théorie de l’estimation (problčmes inverses, …) ;

- Il/elle devra maîtriser la programmation et les environnements informatiques usuels en géodésie ;

- Une expérience dans le traitement de données et l'estimation de champs géolocalisés et/ou une expérience dans l'analyse multi-échelle serait souhaitée ;

- Une expérience dans un domaine de la géophysique connexe ŕ la gravimétrie, soit au niveau des points méthodologiques de la section précédente, soit au niveau thématique (interprétation et modélisation géophysique des variations spatiales et/ou temporelles du champ de pesanteur, ...), serait un plus apprécié.

Meeting Announcements

EUREF Symposium 2010

June 2-5, 2010, Gävle, Sweden

The next EUREF Symposium will be held in Gävle, Sweden, June 2-5, 2010. The 2010 symposium is organised by Lantmäteriet - the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority - and co-sponsored by KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Onsala Space Observatory at Chalmers University of Technology.

The scientific programme will cover the following preliminary topics:

Activities of the TWG
New Developments in GNSS Networks
Modelling the Earth with GNSS
Mitigation of GNSS Error Sources
Height, Gravity, Geoid, and Combination of Techniques
Improvements and Densifications of the ETRS89
National Reports

The website of the 2010 symposium www.lantmateriet.se/euref2010 from time to time will be completed. A Best Student Poster Award is offered and the winner will be awarded by 100 Euro. Last day for registration is May 20, 2010.

Helmut Hornik

IAG School on Reference Frames

June 7-12, 2010, Aegean University, Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece

Organized by the IAG Study Group IC-SG1: Theory, implementation and quality assessment of geodetic reference frames (Commission 1: Reference Systems, ICCT, IERS)

School Topics:

Basic Concepts of Reference Systems in Geodesy, Astronomy and Geophysics
Reference Frame Combination and Time Series Analysis
Models and Strategies for Global VLBI, SLR, GPS & DORIS Networks
Height Systems

Lecturers:

· Z. Altamimi, IGN-LAREG, Chairman IAG Commission 1

· A. Dermanis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki , Chairman IAG Study Group IC-SG1

· T. Herring, M.I.T.

· E. Pavlis, NASA Goddard & University of Maryland, Chairman ILRS Analysis Working Group

· M. Sideris, University of Calgary, IAG President

· P. Willis, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris

Inquiries: Prof. Athanasios Dermanis, dermanis@topo.auth.gr

School web page: http://www.topo.auth.gr/IAG2010_RefSchool/

On behalf of the organization committee

Athanasios Dermanis

TG-SMM2010: IAG Symposium on Terrestrial Gravimetry: Static and Mobile Measurements

June 22-25, 2010, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Symposium topics include:

· instrumentation and methods for absolute and relative measurement of gravity fields, static and mobile measurements and their application to shipborne, airborne platforms (planes, helicopters, airships) and other mobile platforms;

· absolute ballistic gravimeters (including those based on the use of cold atoms), relative gravimeters of all types including superconducting gravimeters;

· gravity gradiometers;

· new results of measurement of gravity networks and the coverage of new regions;

· metrology issues in gravimetry, the results of the comparisons of absolute gravimeters, application of gravity measurements in metrology;

· standardization and databases of absolute measurements of the gravity field;

· gravitational experiments.

The following topics are especially welcome for presentation at the Symposium:

· new technologies and applications of gravity measurements such as planetary absolute and relative gravimetry;

· links between satellite and terrestrial or planetary gravity measurements;

· possible applications of terrestrial gravimetry in combination with GPS/GLONASS technologies;

· gravimetry applications in navigation.

Detailed information, online registration is at: http://www.elektropribor.spb.ru/cnf/tg-smm2010/enfrset.html.

L. F. Vitushkin

WEGENER 2010 in Istanbul

September 14-17, 2010, Istanbul, Turkey

Dear Colleagues,

You are cordially invited to participate in the 15^th General Assembly of WEGENER 2010, to be hosted by Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey on 14-17 September 2010. The call for abstracts is attached and further details are also available at www.koeri.boun.edu.tr/jeodezi/wegener2010/.

All contributions will be subject to peer-review and will also be published in the formal proceedings of the WEGENER 2010. A special issue of the Journal of Geodynamics for WEGENER 2010 will be published and a limited number of papers will be invited for submission to a full refereeing process. Abstracts should be submitted to wegener2010@boun.edu.tr by 18^th June 2010.

Best regards,

Haluk Ozener

On behalf of the Organizing Committee

2^nd General Assembly of the IGFS – International Gravity Field Service

September 20-22, 2010, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

The 2^nd General Assembly of the IGFS - International Gravity Field Service will be held 20-22 September, in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. Alaska has spectacular natural beauty, and exceptional geodetic and geophysical signals due to its active tectonics, volcanism, and rapid changes in the cryosphere. With the ability to measure gravity field changes by satellites (GRACE), as well as by superconducting and repeated absolute gravity, applications of gravity field information have spread from geodesy and geophysics into much broader application errors such as climate studies, glaciology and hydrology, and the meeting will pay special attention to these themes in addition to the geodetic science. More information is on our website, and please email the conference email if you have questions or want to be contacted as soon as the online registration page is available. The deadline for submitting abstracts is May 1 2010.

Website: http://www.gps.alaska.edu/IGFS2/

Email: igfs2@gi.alaska.edu

Jeff Freymueller

for the LOC

First International School on “The KTH Approach to Modeling the Geoid”

September 20-24, 2010, Istanbul, Turkey

After the successful experiences in the determinations and evaluations of precise local geoid models in different countries, we plan to arrange the First International Geoid School based on the KTH approach. (KTH is a Swedish abbreviation for Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.). The school takes place on September 20-24, 2010, at, and hosted by, the Department of Geomatic Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. The geoid school is lead by

Prof. Lars E. Sjöberg Prof. Serif Hekimuglu

Royal Institute of Technology Yieldiz Technical University

Division of Geodesy Institute of Geomatic Engineering

Stockholm, Sweden Istanbul, Turkey

Head of Geoid School Head of L. O. C.

Detailed information and registration form can be downloaded from the following webpage: http://www.infra.kth.se/geo/events/geoidschool.html.

Mohammad Bagherbandi

Division of Geodesy

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

International Doris Service Workshop 2010

October 21-22, 2010, Lisbon, Portugal

The next International DORIS Service (IDS) workshop will take place at the Lisbon International Fair in Portugal, from 21-22 October 2010.

The purpose of this workshop is to bring together representatives from all DORIS groups to share information about the network, data, products, and to perform inter-comparisons. Developments and scientific results in all aspects of the DORIS system will be highlighted. The meeting will be a forum for discussion and coordination of future activities.

The IDS workshop will be organised in conjunction with:

The Ocean Surface Topography Science Team (OST-ST) meeting, 18-20 October 2010
a special meeting:Towards higher resolution remote sensing of ocean dynamics and terrestrial surface waters, 21-22 October 2010

Structure of the meeting:

The IDS workshop will include thematic sessions and a splinter working session over a period of 2 days. The sessions will consist of oral presentations and posters. Among the topics to be discussed will be DORIS results with the new satellites (Jason-2 & Cryosat-2) and progress towards an operational IDS combination.

The workshop is organised by CNES and EUMETSAT.

Organising Committee:

EUMETSAT: Gabriele Kerrmann, Francois Parisot, Madeleine Pooley

CNES: Laurence Amen, Nicole Bellefond, Sophie Coutin-Faye, Pascale Ferrage (IDS)

The Scientific Committee will draw up a programme and an agenda at a later stage, according to the submitted

abstracts.

Scientific Committee:

Frank G. Lemoine (chair), John Dow, Laurent Soudarin, Petr Stepanek, Pascal Willis.

Details regarding this IDS workshop as well as more general information on the two other associated meetings will be posted at the end of January 2010, on the conference web site http://www.ostst-hydro-2010.com, and on the IDS web site http://ids-doris.org/html/events/IDS2010/.

Pascale Ferrage

Contentious Issues In UNCLOS – Surely Not?

The Sixth ABLOS Conference: 25-27 October 2010

The Advisory Board on the Law of the Sea (ABLOS) is a subsidiary body of the International Association for Geodesy (IAG) and of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). One of its mandates is to organize regular conferences that explore and clarify the interface between marine law and science.

The Sixth ABLOS Conference is scheduled for October 25-27, 2010, at the International Hydrographic Bureau in Monaco. This meeting will again gather specialists from a variety of disciplines to discuss challenges that arise in the application of marine science and technology while taking into account the juridical requirements of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This year’s Conference Proceedings will be added to the accumulation of 125 or so Web-accessible presentations that have been delivered at the five previous Conferences, and which address numerous aspects of state practice and jurisprudence in the Law of the Sea. Past ABLOS Conferences have dealt with:

Technical Aspects of Maritime Boundary Delineation and Delimitation (1999)
Accuracies and Uncertainties in Maritime Boundaries and Outer Limits (2001)
Addressing Difficult Issues in UNCLOS (2003)
Marine Scientific Research and the Law of the Sea: the Balance between Coastal State and International Rights (2005)
Difficulties in Implementing the Provisions of UNCLOS (2008)

Proceedings of all past Conferences are available on the ABLOS website at www.gmat.unsw.edu.au/ablos/index.html.

As in the past, Conference organizers seek presentations that discuss how the provisions of UNCLOS can affect undertakings in marine science and technology. Special consideration will be given to papers that describe real or anticipated problems, and which propose solutions to those problems. Speakers will be encouraged to outline selected legislation, and where appropriate to describe case histories, actual situations, or real-world experiences that could offer guidance to practitioners in other states. Following are some proposed session topics during the 2010 Conference. Suggestions for other topics will be welcomed.

Legal and technical complications specific to polar regions and island regimes
Will international law keep pace with sea level rise and climate change?
Geodesy and its significance in charting and cartography: legal implications
Satellite imagery and its applications in the definition of baselines
Anomalous continental margin features and their impact on maritime boundaries
Regulating navigation and the exploitation of deep seabed resources
UNCLOS obligations: a burden for some developing states?

Abstracts should be submitted to Chris Carleton (chris.carleton@ukho.gov.uk) by April 30, 2010. Formatting instructions are posted on http://www.gmat.unsw.edu.au/ablos/ABLOS10Folder/AbstractFormat.pdf.

Completed manuscripts of accepted papers should be submitted no later than August 31, 2010 to ensure inclusion in the Proceedings which will be distributed at the close of the Conference. Formatting and submission instructions are posted on http://www.gmat.unsw.edu.au/ablos/ABLOS10Folder/PaperFormat.pdf

A registration form can be downloaded from http://www.gmat.unsw.edu.au/ablos/ABLOS10Folder/‌ABLOS2010ConfRego.pdf

A certain number of rooms have been pre-booked at hotels in and close to Monaco. A hotel booking form can be downloaded from http://www.gmat.unsw.edu.au/ablos/ABLOS08Folder/ABLOS2010HotelForm.doc

Conference Organizing Committee

Conference Chairman Chris Rizos, University of New South Wales

COC Chairman Ron Macnab, Geological Survey of Canada (Retired)

Programme coordinators Chris Carleton and John Brown, UK Hydrographic Office

Advisor, Geodesy Lars Sjoberg, Swedish Royal Institute of Technology

Advisor, Hydrography Luiz Carlos Torres, Hydrographic Service of the Brazilian Navy

Secretariat services Steve Shipman, International Hydrographic Bureau

Communications Sunil Bisnath, York University, and Ron Macnab, Geological Survey of Canada (Retired)

Chris Rizos

IAG Sponsored Meetings

IAG School on Reference Frames

June 7-12, 2010, Aegean University, Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece

The IAG School on Reference frames is irganized by the IAG Study Group IC-SG1: Theory, implementation and quality assessment of geodetic reference frames (Commission 1, ICCT, IERS). For list of topics and other information please visit the webpage of the IAG School at http://www.topo.auth.gr/IAG2010_RefSchool/.

TG-SMM2010

June 22-25, 2010, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Terrestrial Gravimetry. Static and Dynamic Measurements - TGSMM-2010 conference will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia between 22-25 June, 2010.

URL: http://www.elektropribor.spb.ru/cnf/tg-smm2010/eindex.php

IAG Commission 1 Symposium 2010: Reference Frames for Applications in Geosciences (REFAG2010)

October 4-8, 2010, IGN, France

URL: http://iag.ign.fr/index.php?id=140

Observing and Understanding Earth Rotation

October 25-28, 2010, Shanghai, China

URL: http://www.iag-ggos.org/workshops/shao2010/

IAG Related Meetings

Oceans from Space

April 26-30, 2010, Venice, Italy

URL: http://oceansfromspace.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

Workshop on Ray – Tracing for Space Geodetic Techniques

April 29-30, 2010, Vienna, Austria

In recent years, ray-tracing through numerical weather models has become more and more important for the analysis of space geodetic techniques. This workshop is devoted to technical and physical details of ray-tracing, to the development of models from the ray-traced delays, and to their application in the analysis of space geodetic observations. Participants are asked to send an email with name and affiliation (and ev. title of presentation) to johannes.boehm@tuwien.ac.at before 15 March 2010.

EGU General Assembly 2010

May 2-7, 2010, Wien, Austria

URL: http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2010/

Geophysics, Geodesy and Tectonics of the North Africa Plate Boundary for Better Earthquake and Tsunami Hazard Assessment

May 15-21, 2010, Algiers, Algeria

URL: http://cdsagenda5.ictp.trieste.it/full_display.php?ida=a09134

INTERGEO EAST 2010

May 19-21, 2010, Istanbul, Turkey

The Conference presents the latest international and national knowledge, experience and achievements. Main topics 2010 are urban regeneration, data acquisition technologies, cadastre, spatial technologies, Spatial Information Systems, international outreach, successful studies in the sector, map production and updating, terrestrial and aerial laser scanning applications. Please visit http://www.intergeo-east.com/ for details.

UN-SPIDER Regional Africa Workshop

May 25-28, 2010, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The UN-SPIDER Regional Workshop Building upon Regional Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management and Emergency Response for Africa will take place from 25 to 28 May 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This workshop, which is being organised together with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and supported by the Government of Austria, will be the major outreach event organised by UN-SPIDER on space-based information for disaster risk reduction and emergency management for the African continent in 2010. URL: www.un-spider.org/workshop-addis-2010

BALWOIS 2010 - Conference on Water Observation and Information System

May 25-29, 2010, Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia

Contact: secretariat@balwois.com

3^rd Joint CMOS-CGU Congress

May 31-June 4, 2010, Ottawa, Canada

This will be the 44^th Annual Congress of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) and the 36^th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Geophysical Union (CGU). Geodesy-related sessions are:

Geodesy and Geodynamics
On Advanced Geocomputations and Web Collaboration
Geoid-based North American Vertical Datum
Methodologies for monitoring geoid change

URL: http://www.scmo.ca/congress2010/indexe.html

EUREF Symposium 2010

June 2-5, 2010, Gävle, Sweden

ELSA Conference 2010 "Gaia: at the frontiers of astrometry"

June 7-11, 2010, Paris, France

URL: http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia/Gaia2010/Welcome.html

Beacon Satellite Symposium 2010

June 7-11, 2010, Barcelona, Spain

URL: http://www.bc.edu/sites/beacon/

SPACOMM 2010

June 13-19, 2010 - Athens, Greece

The Second International Conference on Advances in Satellite and Space Communications (SPACOMM 2010) will be held in Athens, Greece, June 13-19, 2010. All tracks are open to both research and industry contributions. For details please visit the webpage of the conference http://www.iaria.org/conferences2010/SPACOMM10.html.

ISPRS Commission I Symposium - 2010

June 16-18, 2010 - Calgary, Canada

IAG WG SC4.1 "Mobile Multi-Sensor Systems is organizing a session at the ISPRS Com. I Symposium in Calgary Canada June 16-18. Session chairs: Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska and Guenther Retscher. The webpage of the Symposium is http://sensorweb.geomatics.ucalgary.ca/isprs/symposium/.

SGEM 2010

June 20-26, 2010 – Albena Resort, Bulgaria

The International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference & EXPO – SGEM strengthened its position as one of the largest and successful geoscientific forums in Europe, with popularity exceeding the boundaries of the European Union. It offers the opportunity to share knowledge and experience in the fields of the geosciences. The webpage of the conference is http://www.sgem.org/.

Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting

June 22-25, 2010, Taipei, Taiwan

URL: http://www.agu.org/meetings/wp10/

ESA Living Planet Symposium

June 28 – July 2, 2010, Bergen, Norway

URL: http://www.congrex.nl/10a04/

IGS Workshop and Special Workshop on Vertical Rates from GPS

June 28 – July 2, 2010, Newcastle, UK

URL: http://www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/igs2010/index.htm

38^th COSPAR Scientific Assembly

July 18-25, 2010, Bremen, Germany

URL: http://www.cospar-assembly.org/home.php

IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing (IGARSS 2010)

July 25-30, 2010, Honolulu, Hawaii

URL: http://www.igarss2010.org/

2010 The Meeting of the Americas

August 8-13, 2010, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil

URL: http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja10/

15^th General Assembly of WEGENER 2010

September 14-17, 2010, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

URL: www.koeri.boun.edu.tr/jeodezi/wegener2010/.

First International School on “The KTH Approach to Modeling the Geoid”

September 20-24, 2010, Istanbul, Turkey

First International Geoid School on the KTH Approach will take place on September 20-24, 2010, at Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. Detailed information and registration form can be found on the webpage of the conference http://www.infra.kth.se/geo/events/geoidschool.html.

IGFS2 – 2009

September 20-22, 2010, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

The 2^nd General Assembly of the IGFS - International Gravity Field Service follows the 1^st IGFS symposium in Istanbul, August 2006, and the Symposium on Gravity, Geoid and Earth Observation, held in Chania, Greece, 2008, and is organized under the auspices of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). The webpage of the symposium is http://www.gps.alaska.edu/IGFS2/.

7^th International Symposium on LBS & TeleCartography

September 20-22, 2010, Guangzhou, China

The 7^th International Symposium on LBS & TeleCartography will be held at Spatial Information Research Center (SIRC), in the campus of South China Normal University (SCNU) on 20^th - 22^nd Sept, 2010, Guangzhou, China. The symposium will bring together experts from around the world to present the latest research results and developments with focus on Location Based Services in the fields of Cartography, Geoinformation, Computer Sciences, Ubiquitous and Pervasive Computing, Telecommunication, Geodesy, and Geomedia Techniques. Official Web Site: http://www.lbs2010.org/.

ION GNSS 2010, 23rd International Technical Meeting

September 21-24, 2010, Portland, Oregon, USA

URL: http://www.ion.org/meetings/gnss2010cfa.cfm

Intergeo 2010

October 5-7, 2010, Köln, Germany

URL: http://www.intergeo.de/

OSTST Annual Meeting

October 18-22, 2010, Lisbon, Portugal

URL: http://www.aviso.oceanobs.com/

International Doris Service Workshop 2010

October 21-22, 2010, Lisbon, Portugal

The next International DORIS Service (IDS) workshop will take place at the Lisbon International Fair in Portugal, from 21-22 October 2010. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together representatives from all DORIS groups to share information about the network, data, products, and to perform inter-comparisons. Developments and scientific results in all aspects of the DORIS system will be highlighted. The meeting will be a forum for discussion and coordination of future activities. Details regarding this IDS workshop as well as more general information on the two other associated meetings will be posted at the end of January 2010, on the conference web site: http://www.ostst-hydro-2010.com, and on the IDS web site: http://ids-doris.org/html/events/IDS2010/.

2010 ABLOS Conference

October 25-27, 2010, International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco

An international conference on "Contentious Issues in UNCLOS - Surely Not?", will be organised by ABLOS, in Monaco, at the International Hydrographic Bureau, on 25-27 October 2010.

URL: http://www.gmat.unsw.edu.au/ablos/index.html#ABLOS10

ACM SIGSPATIAL GIS 2010

November 2-5, 2010, San Jose, CA, USA

The 18^th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems provides a forum for original research contributions covering all conceptual, design, and implementation aspects of GIS ranging from applications, user interfaces, and visualization to storage management and indexing issues. This conference is the premier annual event of the ACM Special Interest Group on Spatial Information (ACM SIGSPATIAL). URL: http://acmgis2010.cs.ucsb.edu/.

AGU Fall Meeting

December 13-17, 2010, San Francisco, USA

URL: http://www.agu.org

17^th International Workshop on Laser Ranging

January 17-22, 2011, Concepción, Chile

URL: http://www.iers.org/

EGU General Assembly 2011

April 3-8, 2011, Vienna, Austria

URL: http://meetings.copernicus.org/

JURSE 2011 - Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event (URBAN 2011 + URS 2011)

April 11-13, 2011, Munich, Germany

Contact: jurse2011@bv.tum.de

Third Conference on Earth Observation for Global Changes (EOGC2011)

April 13-15, 2011, Munich, Germany

URL: http://www.pf.bv.tum.de/eogc2011/

7^th International Symposium on Mobile Mapping Technology

June 13-16, 2011, Krakow, Poland

The Symposium MMT’ 2011 will be held on 13 – 16 June 2011, in the Sheraton hotel Cracow, Poland. We strongly invite and encourage all professionals, researchers and academics, business and industry partners, students to participate in this important event. Science Chair: Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska.

The MMT2011 web site is up and running: http://www.mmtcracow2011.pl/.

IAG Sister Societies’ General Assemblies

XXIV FIG International Congress

April 11-16, 2010, Sydney, Australia

The FIG 2010 Congress, hosted by the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) and Institution of Surveyors, Australia (ISA), is expected to bring together over 2,000 participants from almost 100 countries. The Congress will have a full professional program consisting of more than 80 technical and poster sessions, several workshops, pre-congress seminars, and special forums, including four plenary sessions focusing on the hot issues of the global agenda and of our profession: namely the big challenges of climate change, disaster risk management and good land governance; spatially enabled society; and different aspects of the technological futures. The webpage of the FIG 2010 Congress is www.fig2010.com.

XXV IUGG General Assembly

June 27 – July 8, 2011, Melbourne, Australia

URL: http://www.iugg2011.com/

Obituary

Leif Svensson (1943-2010)

Photo: Ove Wall, HiG

Dr. Leif Svensson, born in 1943, died on February 13, 2010.

Leif Svensson got his Ph.D. in mathematics at Lund University with prof. Lars Hörmander as supervisor. In the mid 1970-ties, inspired by A. Bjerhammar, L. Hörmander devoted some theoretical research in physical geodesy, and this was also the time when Leif’s life-time interest in the field of geodesy emerged, and he partly worked for A Bjerhammar at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). He was particularly interested in boundary value problems in physical geodesy and problems related with the Fennoscandian postglacial rebound, and in 1983 his academic career in this field was crowned by the title Docent of Geodesy at KTH. For two years in 1984-86 he was employed at the Swedish National Land Survey. Later he became professor of mathematics, and Vice-Rector at Lund University, followed by the position as Rector at the University College HiG at Gävle, a position he held from 2001 to 2008. In spring 2009, when retiring from HiG, his deadly disease returned for a final time.

Leif Svensson will be remembered among colleagues for being right-minded and generous as well as for his great empathy. Also, for some of us, his typical Skĺne accented voice, e.g. when calling “Leif Svensson” “ Leif Svensson” in walkie-talkie communications during field works in surveying at the dawn of his geodetic career, echoes in our minds.

Lars Sjöberg

IGFS Central Bureau – Call for Proposals

Proposal Structure, Deadline and Submission

Schedule

IAG School on Reference Frames

WEGENER 2010 in Istanbul

First International School on “The KTH Approach to Modeling the Geoid”

IAG School on Reference Frames

Geophysics, Geodesy and Tectonics of the North Africa Plate Boundary for Better Earthquake and Tsunami Hazard Assessment

UN-SPIDER Regional Africa Workshop

2010 The Meeting of the Americas

First International School on “The KTH Approach to Modeling the Geoid”

7th International Symposium on Mobile Mapping Technology

Obituary

7^th International Symposium on Mobile Mapping Technology