The 5th International Symposium on Digital Earth is taking place 5-9 June 2007 in San Francisco. University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Matt Nolan has the details:
It is our great pleasure to invite you to participate in the 2nd Annual Virtual Globe Scientific User’s Conference, held as a session within the 5th International Symposium on Digital Earth that will take place in San Francisco 5-9 June 2007.
Digital Earth is a visionary concept, popularized by former US Vice President Al Gore, for the virtual and 3-D representation of the Earth that is spatially referenced and interconnected with digital knowledge archives from around the planet with vast amounts of scientific, natural, and cultural information to describe and understand the Earth, its systems, and human activities. This international vision encompasses the virtual and 3-D representation of the Earth with vast amounts of scientific, natural, and cultural information that is spatially referenced and interconnected with digital knowledge archives from around the planet to describe and understand the Earth, its systems, and human activities.
This ISDE promises to be the highest-profile, non-commercial event highlighting the use of virtual globes in earth sciences and public policy since the virtual globe revolution began. Virtual globes, such as Google Earth, World Wind, and GeoFusion, are leading a paradigm shift in the way that earth sciences are conducted and the way the public perceives the earth, combining science, data management, and outreach into a single, visually-compelling, easy-to-use tool. With dignitaries such as Al Gore present, it seems like an excellent opportunity to raise public awareness and participation in these new technologies.
The virtual globe session will have two parts. First is a series of top-down presentations by invited industry speakers leading the virtual globe development within Google, NASA, ESRI, Microsoft, GeoFusion, and others, following the style of our first users conference and a recent session at the American Geophysical Union. This section will end in a panel discussion. Second is series of presentation by users of these tools, with talks distributed within the 20 or so sessions within ISDE in two broad themes: technology (eg., mobile mapping, interoperability, remote sensing, search engines, 3D rendering) and applications (eg., disaster management, environmental protection, community development, security, conflict resolution, global warming). We will make every effort to not schedule virtual globe talks concurrently between these sessions. Any users of virtual globes are welcome to present here, and no affiliation with university or government is needed.
The deadline for abstracts in January 15, and there is an opportunity to publish in the new peer-reviewed International Journal for Digital Earth. Registration details are described on the web site (www.isde5.org). If you are unsure which theme to submit to, just indicate this and the conveners will schedule you appropriately.