Report on Workshop "Present status and future plans for telescience techniques in polar regions"

Abstract

A workshop on Present status and future plans for telescience techniques in polar regions" was held on 17th November 2004, at the National Institute of Polar Research with 30 participants. The purposes of this workshop were to discuss several technical aspects of telescience observations in polar regions, such as of the utilization of natural energy, developments of low-power consumption instruments, development of a shooting-type acquisition-system from airborne platforms, and telecommunication techniques using satellite and/or radio transmissions. The workshop was divided into the following three sessions. 1) Basic technique for telescience observations by individual science branches. 2) Application to field observations in the Antarctic, in particular operations of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE), together with future international cooperative programs. 3) Discussion about further approaches and future plans. The principal achievements of this workshop were to point out the significance of polar studies to global Earth science, in particular, for insight into the Earth's environmental changes as viewed from high latitude remote stations. Moreover, we had fruitful discussions about the newest information and future plans for telescience technology, remote observation systems, and methodology for data communications. Finally, we reached agreements on the international collaborative program, with respect to contributions to the International Polar Year to be held on 2007-2008 austral summer.