ERCIM Environmental Modelling Group Workshop on Air Pollution Modelling
by Achim Sydow
The ERCIM Working Group on Environmental Modelling organised its first workshop on Air Pollution Modelling in Berlin, Germany, from 7-8 April 1997. The workshop was hosted by the GMD Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology Berlin (GMD FIRST). In total 28 participants from 10 European countries attended the workshop and listened to 18 lectures, presenting recent research results in the field of air pollution modelling and simulation.
The objectives of the workshop were the initialization and strengthening of co-operations between ERCIM institutions and the promotion of establishing joint research activities and projects between ERCIM partners in the field of environmental sciences, especially air pollution. Each of the members of the Program Committee invited papers from one special research area: Roberto San Jose (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain) Air Pollution Models and Applications, Jan Verwer (CWI Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Numerical Algorithms and Parallel Computing, Isabelle Herlin (INRIA Rocquencourt, France) Data Acquisition (Remote Sensing) and Management, and Achim Sydow (GMD FIRST Berlin, Germany) Simulation Systems and Environments.
Main topics addressed at the workshop were basic concepts for modelling air pollution problems, including forecast; the modelling and simulation of air pollution in different model scales using different model types; the progress and perspectives of using High-Performance (Parallel) Computing; the usage of remote sensing for air pollution simulation (many of the input datasets can be derived from satellite images); and the application of air pollution simulation systems for scenario analyses and decision support. Lively discussions followed the interesting lectures, all of which consistently exhibited a high scientific standard.The program was wound up by a tour of GMD FIRST presenting the main research departments of the institute, and by a common dinner in a typical Berlin restaurant.
It is intended to publish all invited papers in a special issue of the journal Systems Analysis Modelling Simulation, Gordon and Breach Science Publishers under the editorship of the Workshop Program Committee.
The next workshop of the ERCIM Working Group Environmental Modelling will address Remote Sensing for Air Pollution Analysis. It is included within the International Conference Umweltinformatik'97 Informatique pour l'environnement'97, that will take place on 10-12 September 1997 in Strasbourg, France (see announcement on this page).
Please contact:
Isabelle Herlin - INRIA
Tel: +33 1 39 6353 71
E-mail: Isabelle.Herlin@inria.frAchim Sydow - GMD
Tel: +49 30 6392 1813
E-mail: sydow@first.gmd.de