Coastal Zone Community of Practice (CZCP)
Core Group Telecon
Telecon
Monday, February 22, 2010
15:30 - 17:00 UTC
Draft Minutes (Version 0.1 of 2010- 3- 6 21:20)
Participants:
Paul DiGiacomo,
NOAA
(Co-Chair)
Hans-Peter Plag,
NBMG, UNR
(Co-Chair)
Michael Bruno,
Stevens
(Workshop Series Chair)
Robert Christian
(Core Member)
Liana McManus
(Core Member)
Agenda:
1
Assessment of the process and consequences of the Workshop Series:
-
Are we achieving what we wanted?
-
If not, what have we achieved so far?
-
Could we have organized the past workshops better?
-
Are there some concrete post workshop activities that need to be done?
2
Puerto Rico Workshop: Status and next steps
3
Cairo Workshop: Status and next steps
4
What is the structure and membership of the CZCP?
5
CZCP membership: How to handled EoIs and Membership applications?
-
How does one join? Is the 'You and the CZCP'-page sufficient? Inputs received so far are available
here
.
-
How do we get the most from the CZCP membership?
-
What positive feedback can occur to maintain the program and help it grow?
-
CZCP mailing list: What activities are needed? Proposal: (simple) E-mail newsletter is being sent
out every three months by the co-chairs, informing on the CZCP members/interested about the status,
current activities, and updated plans. The newsletter would accept input from all members.
6
Should we engage in AIP-3, and, if yes, how should we engage?
More information on AIP-3 is available
at
GEO-AIP-3
. Note that under the SBA Water,
there is a scenario on algae bloom, which could be of interest for us.
7
What document should the CZCP produce?
-
The IGOS Coastal Zone Theme
Report
and
the
White Paper
for OceanObs 09 are examples
of useful documents.
-
Are there others that we should be developing? Updated Theme Report? A State of the CZ-Report?
8
How do we attract financial and other support for our efforts?
-
We need to entrain policy makers and/or relevant issues into the workshops. Can the GEO
Secretariat help with this?
-
Are we "a success story of communities of practice"?
-
Should we establish a "roadmap" for the CZCP? Should this be done in a CZCP Workshop? When?
Notes:
1
Assessment of the process and consequences of the Workshop Series:
The participants accepted the draft agenda as proposed, and it was agreed that
Hans-Peter Plag
should chair the
telecon. He asked participants to comment on the Workshop Series.
Michael Bruno
stated that the First Workshop
in Athens was successful, but the follow-up Workshop did not work out as planned. However, the Workshop
in Cairo was not off the table.
Robert Christian
pointed out that the product page was a result of the Workshop but unfortunately not populated.
Michael Bruno
responded that initial work had been invested to set up the framework, but contributions did
not come in, most likely due to a lack of funding.
Paul DiGiacomo
agreed that the lack of funding for specific
projects was a contributing factor leading to few or no active contributions.
Robert Christian
suggested that by engaging the GEO office in one country we might be able to get contributions
from this country.
Michael Bruno
reminded that in Greece the GEO office was involved in the workshop, but
after that the most active person moved on and thus the further participation stopped.
Paul DiGiacomo
pointed out that the current group is more a
hobby group
, but some overhead would be
needed, and an effort need to be made to enable this.
Hans-Peter Plag
agreed with the term
hobby group
and stated that this appears to be at the core of the problem. He continued by
saying that a Workshop Series is not enough to keep the the CZCP going, and he mentioned the need for
a roadmap adding other activities.
Liana McManus
agreed to this and wanted the roadmap to detail a series of
projects.
Concerning the Workshop Series,
Paul DiGiacomo
emphasized that the series brought a great visibility for the
CZCP and in this sense, the Series is successful. However, he considered it unclear how to
build on this success in terms of requirements for space and in situ observations and how to inform
those who are in a position to implement the observing systems (space agencies, etc). He requested a
much stronger focus on post Workshop activities.
Robert Christian
proposed a post-survey of the participants of the First Workshop and ask, whether and how the
Workshop made a difference for them, and how they suggest to move forward. This survey could also lead
to a re-engagement of the participants.
Michael Bruno
strongly supported this idea. He added that the
notion of sharing data would be a no cost way of working together.
With respect to the data sharing,
Hans-Peter Plag
pointed out that the lack of contributions to the Mediterranean
Page may be due to the fact that is was not clear enough what the use of this is page would be. GEOSS
was facing similar problems with limited contributions of data and services, because it takes
considerable time for such a page or service to demonstrate its added value. He mentioned that
for example the geodetic
Services of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) have considerable support because they make
useful products available and have users.
Michael Bruno
agreed that there is a need for a clear goal and added
value, because scientists would like to know that it makes sense to spend time on contributions, and they
need to get credit for that work.
Concerning the survey,
Paul DiGiacomo
wanted a focus on what the greatest gaps are, and what could be done to
close these gaps.
Hans-Peter Plag
proposed to have also the participants of the Second Workshop in Cotonou
surveyed, although with a different set of questions.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-1:
Robert Christian
will develop a questionaire for a post-survey of the participants in the First
CZCP Regional Workshop and distribute this to the Core Group for comments.
Responsible:
Robert Christian,
Deadline:
2010-04-30.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-2:
Robert Christian
and
Jimmy Adegoke
will develop a questionaire for a survey of the participants in the Second CZCP Regional Workshop and distr
Responsible:
Robert Christian,
Jimmy Adegoke,
Deadline:
2010-04-30.
Going back to the purpose of the Product web page,
Liana McManus
asked what services the geodetic services
mentioned before would provide.
Hans-Peter Plag
described the example of the International GNSS Service (IGS),
which provides many products on hourly and daily basis, including accurate satellite orbits for the
GNSS satellite. These products are made available by more than ten globally distributed analysis
centers, and a lot of research is enabled and stimulated by these activities. For the CZCP,
Paul DiGiacomo
saw the possibility to initiate pilot projects and develop prototype, for example, related to
water quality.
Hans-Peter Plag
mentioned that he was pulling together an international group with the goal to develop
a local sea level forecasting service on decadal time scales, which could be an activity
linked to the CZCP.
Liana McManus
asked
whether this activity would develop tools that people could use to get local forecasts. She
emphasized the urgent need for more tools, but cautioned that the use of these tools would need to
come with expert advice.
Hans-Peter Plag
explained that the group would have to develop a framework for
forecasts, which could combine observation- and model-based predictions for ocean, ice sheets,
glaciers, and terrestrial hydrosphere as well as local vertical land motion to compose forecasts. He
emphasized the need to start forecasts asap in order to get an assessment of the forecasting
capabilities. He also mentioned the need for a global map of the local sea level rise hazards. However,
these activities would have to start with a few selected locations, including some of the coastal
megacities.
2
Puerto Rico Workshop: Status and next steps
Paul DiGiacomo
reported that he had received an e-mail from the local organizers of the Third
Workshop, who asked about the next steps. He stated that we needed to clarify the focus of the
workshop in order to proceed.
Hans-Peter Plag
summarized the discussions at the CZCP meeting on
November 20, 2009. There a question was whether the Workshop should be all-Americas or be more
focused on the Caribbean. He voiced his personal opinion that a workshop focused on regional issues
in the Caribbean would have a good chance to be successful. He mentioned that the GEOSS in the
Americas Meeting in November showed that there are many internationally sponsored activities going
on that related to the CZ, and the Workshop could be focused around a few themes and be a forum
for the on-going activities to meet and coordinate. Although
Paul DiGiacomo
saw a need for more broader
coordination and linkages, he stated that he would be o.k. with a focus on the Caribbean.
Michael Bruno
commented that the sharper the focus of the workshop would be the better the chances for success.
Hans-Peter Plag
added that the workshop should be first of all a forum for all on-going activities, not
a duplication of efforts.
Paul DiGiacomo
pointed out that other regions have far less developed communication,
and mentioned as an example the pacific region.
Liana McManus
added that the small island developing states
are in need of expertise, but explained that IOCARRIB is the weakest among the coastal IO. Among
the Caribbean island, Puerto Rico has most capabilities and thus would be a good location for the
workshop.
Paul DiGiacomo
stated that if we can focus on identifying the gaps, we would have a different
type of workshop.
Hans-Peter Plag
reminded that we aimed for a gap analysis prior to the First
Workshop but did not get this done then, and he emphasized the need to do this before
the Puerto Ricco Workshop.
Paul DiGiacomo
volunteered to contact Doug Wilson to discuss the workshop along the lines
developed.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-3:
Paul DiGiacomo
will contact Doug Wilson and IOCARIB in order to discuss further details of the 3rd
CZCP regional workshop, and he will exchange some emails to clarify the situation.
Responsible:
Paul DiGiacomo,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-4:
Michael Bruno
will explore his liason with Puerto Rican institutions/Caribbean projects for
clarification of workshop-related questions.
Responsible:
Michael Bruno,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-5:
The Core Group will carry out a gap analysis for the Caribbean to inform the workshop planning.
Hans-Peter Plag
will take a lead and
Responsible:
All,
Deadline:
2010-05-30.
3
Cairo Workshop: Status and next steps
Michael Bruno
pointed out that the key issue for the North Africa Workshop is funding.
Hans-Peter Plag
suggested that the
GEO Principals of the Southern Mediterranean Countries could be engaged, maybe with the help of the GEO Secretariat.
He proposed to talk to the GEO Secretariat to see whether a letter could be written to the GEO Principals,
informing them about the recommendation of the Athens Workshop and asking them for help in organizing the
Workshop.
Robert Christian
mentioned that Carles Ibanez is organizing a Delta workshop in the Ebro Delta, Spain, and he also offered
to host the next Mediterranean Workshop in the Ebro Delta.
Paul DiGiacomo
asked to considered whether it
could be better in some cases to leverage workshops organized by others instead of having own workshops.
Liana McManus
urged to interact more closely with GOOS.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-6:
Hans-Peter Plag
will discuss with
Douglas Cripe
whether a letter could be sent by the GEO Secretariat to the GEO Principals
in the Southern Mediterranean Countries informing them about the Recommendation of the Athens Workshop to
hold a North African Workshop with the goal to bring together decision makers and providers of Earth
observations in order to discuss improved decision support. The letter would also ask for support from the
countries for the organization of the workshop.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-03-31.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-7:
Robert Christian
will contact Carlos Ibanez and discuss with him options for CZCP sessions at the upcoming Delta
Workshop or a future dedicated CZCP workshop in the Mediterranean (with focus on the Southern Mediterranean).
Responsible:
Robert Christian,
Deadline:
2010-03-31.
4
What is the structure and membership of the CZCP?
Hans-Peter Plag
pointed out that the CZCP currently had two co-chairs and a small core group. Moreover,
Michael Bruno
was the
chair of the Workshop Series. However, it was not clear who else was to be consider a member.
In the brief discussion, there was general consensus that a more elaborated structure was not needed.
5
CZCP membership: How to handled EoIs and Membership applications?
Hans-Peter Plag
summarized very briefly the few e-mails that had resulted from the 'You and the CZCP'-page.
Robert Christian
emphasized the importance to get feedback to the people who had send in expressions of interest and/or membership
applications. He was in favor of the proposal to compile a quarterly newsletter. The proposal to
start a newsletter was supported by all participants.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-8:
Hans-Peter Plag
will respond to all those who submitted an expression of interest/membership application.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-9:
Hans-Peter Plag
will invite contributions for the First CZCP Newsletter from the Core Group, all new members,
the UIC, and the GEO Secretariat. Deadline for contributions should be 1 May 2010.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-10:
Paul DiGiacomo
and
Hans-Peter Plag
will edit the Newsletter and publish the first Newsletter on 1 June 2010. The newsletter
will be available as a web version and as a pdf file.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Paul DiGiacomo,
Deadline:
2010-05-31.
In the further discussion,
Liana McManus
suggested to focus the CZCP on a few themes.
Hans-Peter Plag
voiced the opinion that
the CZCP should stay broad and open for all themes related to the CZ. This was supported by
Robert Christian,
who also
emphasized that the CZCP is still in a growth phase and needs to be open for all interested groups and topics.
6
Should we engage in AIP-3, and, if yes, how should we engage?
Hans-Peter Plag
explained that the AIP-3 Call for Participation is out. More information on AIP-3 is available
at
GEO-AIP-3
. AIP-3 will be working around
"scenarios" under. Under the SBA Water, there is a scenario on algae bloom, which could be of interest for
the CZCP.
Liana McManus
pointed out that there are on-going activities related to harmful algae blooms.
Paul DiGiacomo
emphasized the need to talk to others involved in these activities instead of starting something new.
Hans-Peter Plag
explained that he was not thinking of new activities but rather a link between the CZCP and the
relevant AIP-3 scenarios.
7
What document should the CZCP produce?
It was reiterated that the IGOS Coastal Zone Theme
Report
and
the
White Paper
for OceanObs 09 were examples
of useful documents produced by the community, and there was agreement that such documents were important for
the CZCP and its impact on Earth observations and their uses. There was considerable discussion about
what documents should be considered in the future.
Robert Christian
proposed that the CZCP should develop
a roadmap detailing the activities to be carried out by the CZCP.
Hans-Peter Plag
suggested that an assessment of
the state of the coastal zone could be a valuable long-term core for the CZCP activities, which would
require to bring in many other experts. He mentioned the GGOS 2020 book, which had contributions from
more than 40 experts, took almost three years to prepare, and is considered as very valuable for the geodetic
community. Others mentioned the Millennium Assessment Report for Biodiversity as a possible example.
Liana McManus
stated that 232 countries have coastal zones, and each of them would have their own story. Thus, a report with
so many stories could be an option. She also wanted such a report initially to be web-based, with the option
in a later stage to produce a book as a snapshot of the web-based, living document at a point in time.
There was consensus that the CZCP needs to spend more time on developing these ideas into one or more specific
projects.
8
How do we attract financial and other support for our efforts?
Robert Christian
made clear that funding for some of the CZCP activities is very important to keep the group
going.
Hans-Peter Plag
emphasized that a roadmap would be a valuable starting point for the development of proposals and
projects that eventually might help to attract funding. The development of tools would also be very important.
In particular, tools related to sea level rise mentioned earlier could be very attractive. He proposed that
the CZCP organizes a workshop to develop the roadmap defining the scope of the CZCP and the activities to
focus on. Such a workshop would be different in scope and participation from the regional workshops.
Liana McManus
support this idea of a CZCP workshop to develop the roadmap.
Paul DiGiacomo
also agreed that it would be good to
get a consensus how to move forward.
Liana McManus
asked about the composition of the participants, and emphasized that
the CZ is rich in texture and issues to be considered.
Paul DiGiacomo
added that the regional workshops would benefit
from the roadmap as a context.
Robert Christian
considered it valuable to clear up for the CZCP where we are going; and what the CZCP would
decide with respect to activities, assessments, reports to produce, funding to solicit would depend on
the roadmap.
Paul DiGiacomo
stated that a roadmap could be rather different in scope, it could be
international for the CZ in general, or it could be more internal for the CZCP. He added that it is important
for the CZCP to be careful as to "where and how we pick our spots."
Hans-Peter Plag
mentioned the example of the Geohazards Community of Practice (GHCP), which developed a draft
roadmap during a three day workshop held in January 2010 in Paris. He reported that the initial draft
was very different from what the draft looked like after the workshop, and he emphasized the need to
discuss the roadmap in a workshop, independent of whether it is more international for the broader
community or internal for the CZCP.
Paul DiGiacomo
wanted to the CZCP to consider having both roadmaps and maybe start with a more internal one.
Hans-Peter Plag
suggested to call the internal document more a CZCP Work Plan and reserve the term roadmap for
the broader document.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-12:
Paul DiGiacomo
and
Hans-Peter Plag
will identify dates and venue for a CZCP Workshop focusing on the development of a
CZCP Work Plan. This workshop should preferably take place in May or June 2010.
Responsible:
Paul DiGiacomo,
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-04-15.
Paul DiGiacomo
identified the need to have more regular telecons. There was consensus that monthly calls were needed,
preferably on a fixed day of the month.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-13:
Hans-Peter Plag
will inquire with all CZCP core members the most appropriate day in the week to hold
regular monthly CZCP telecons. Telecons will be organized on the day fitting most members in the first week of
each month, starting with the first week in April.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Summary of Action Items
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-1:
Robert Christian
will develop a questionaire for a post-survey of the participants in the First
CZCP Regional Workshop and distribute this to the Core Group for comments.
Responsible:
Robert Christian,
Deadline:
2010-04-30.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-2:
Robert Christian
and
Jimmy Adegoke
will develop a questionaire for a survey of the participants in the Second CZCP Regional Workshop and distr
Responsible:
Robert Christian,
Jimmy Adegoke,
Deadline:
2010-04-30.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-3:
Paul DiGiacomo
will contact Doug Wilson and IOCARIB in order to discuss further details of the 3rd
CZCP regional workshop, and he will exchange some emails to clarify the situation.
Responsible:
Paul DiGiacomo,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-4:
Michael Bruno
will explore his liason with Puerto Rican institutions/Caribbean projects for
clarification of workshop-related questions.
Responsible:
Michael Bruno,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-5:
The Core Group will carry out a gap analysis for the Caribbean to inform the workshop planning.
Hans-Peter Plag
will take a lead and
Responsible:
All,
Deadline:
2010-05-30.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-6:
Hans-Peter Plag
will discuss with
Douglas Cripe
whether a letter could be sent by the GEO Secretariat to the GEO Principals
in the Southern Mediterranean Countries informing them about the Recommendation of the Athens Workshop to
hold a North African Workshop with the goal to bring together decision makers and providers of Earth
observations in order to discuss improved decision support. The letter would also ask for support from the
countries for the organization of the workshop.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-03-31.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-7:
Robert Christian
will contact Carlos Ibanez and discuss with him options for CZCP sessions at the upcoming Delta
Workshop or a future dedicated CZCP workshop in the Mediterranean (with focus on the Southern Mediterranean).
Responsible:
Robert Christian,
Deadline:
2010-03-31.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-8:
Hans-Peter Plag
will respond to all those who submitted an expression of interest/membership application.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-9:
Hans-Peter Plag
will invite contributions for the First CZCP Newsletter from the Core Group, all new members,
the UIC, and the GEO Secretariat. Deadline for contributions should be 1 May 2010.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-10:
Paul DiGiacomo
and
Hans-Peter Plag
will edit the Newsletter and publish the first Newsletter on 1 June 2010. The newsletter
will be available as a web version and as a pdf file.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Paul DiGiacomo,
Deadline:
2010-05-31.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-11:
Paul DiGiacomo
will look into the AIP-3 CfP and, if appropriate will establish a link between the relevant
scenario(s) and the CZCP.
Responsible:
Paul DiGiacomo,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-12:
Paul DiGiacomo
and
Hans-Peter Plag
will identify dates and venue for a CZCP Workshop focusing on the development of a
CZCP Work Plan. This workshop should preferably take place in May or June 2010.
Responsible:
Paul DiGiacomo,
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-04-15.
Action Item
CZCP-CG-4-13:
Hans-Peter Plag
will inquire with all CZCP core members the most appropriate day in the week to hold
regular monthly CZCP telecons. Telecons will be organized on the day fitting most members in the first week of
each month, starting with the first week in April.
Responsible:
Hans-Peter Plag,
Deadline:
2010-03-15.
Minutes prepared by
Hans-Peter Plag
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