Deadline: Wednesday, 9 January 2013 for Nominations Workshop Committee Opportunities to Use Remote Sensing in Understanding Permafrost and Ecosystems U.S. National Research Council

The National Research Council (NRC) announces a call for nominations, seeking members for an ad hoc committee that will organize a new NRC activity, "Opportunities to Use Remote Sensing in Understanding Permafrost and Ecosystems: A Workshop."

A committee of experts will plan the workshop to explore opportunities for using remote sensing to advance our understanding of permafrost status and trends and the impacts of permafrost change, especially on ecosystems and the carbon cycle in the high latitudes. The workshop discussions will be designed to encourage attendees to articulate gaps in current understanding and potential opportunities to harness remote sensing techniques to better understand permafrost, permafrost change, and implications for ecosystems in permafrost areas. The committee will write a report that summarizes the workshop discussions.

The committee of 8-9 members will meet numerous times by conference call to plan the workshop structure, identify appropriate speakers and attendees, and develop background materials for attendees. Committee members will lead the workshop and serve as session facilitators. The committee will remain for an extra day after the public workshop to summarize the discussions and begin preparing the workshop report.

The committee will need expertise in a range of areas: permafrost, high latitude ecosystems, remote sensing technologies (e.g., LIDAR, hyperspectral, optical, radar, InSAR, thermal infrared, airborne resistivity), climate change, hydrology, vegetation, geomorphology, and snow science. To submit a nomination, please email Rob Greenway (rgreenway@nas.edu) with the person's name, affiliation, contact information, area of expertise, and a brief statement on why the person is relevant to the study topic.