NATO Advanced Research Workshop “Regional aspects of climate-terrestrial-hydrologic
interactions in Eastern Europe“
(NEESPI Regional Non-boreal Europe Meeting)
August 23-28, 2008, Hotel “Valentina”, Odessa, Ukraine
Meeting was jointly hosted by Odessa State Polytechnic University and Odessa State Environmental University, Odessa, Ukraine.
Background.
Strong atmosphere-hydrology-biosphere feedbacks (including human activity) affect
the rate and sign of changes in the Earth’s system and having impacts on socioeconomic
relationships. These processes are related to an increased number and intensity of extreme
weather events with consequent property damages and changes in land use.
The Workshop aimed to bringing together scientists involved in Earth System programmes,
members of the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI) and managers
from research and educational organizations who have vested interests in climate-change
and environmental studies in Eastern Europe. We have still a limited knowledge of how
the regional systems and their components, such as the forest, forest-steppe, steppe,
river basins and the Black Sea coastal zone, function on their own and interact with
the global Earth’s system. Therefore, the goal of the Workshop was to assess the present
state of research on land cover, atmosphere and water resources of the region and to
discuss directions for future studies. The meeting participants (47 scientists from 10 countries) were requested to
summarize the information about significant changes in the landscape associated
with warming climate and socio-economic impacts as well as to specify sources of
these changes and feedbacks to the atmospheric circulation and water cycle.
Arrival Day. Friday, 22 August 2008
Arrivals; evening activities (organizing committee meeting, hotel “Valentina”)
Day 1. Saturday, 23 August 2008
Session 1. 09:00 – 10:45.
International Environmental Projects.
Chair: Sergiy Ivanov (Odessa Environmental University)
Welcome from Local Organizers. Sergiy Ivanov
NEESPI status and its Projects in Eastern Europe. Pavel Groisman
NASA projects on land cover and land use change in non-boreal Europe. Garik Gutman
Global Land Project (GLP): Major scientific questions for coupled modeling.
Richard Aspinall
Air pollution problems in Eastern Europe. Eugeny Genikhovich
Coffee break
Session 2. 11:45 – 13:45. Regional and National Environmental Projects.
Chair: Csaba Mátyás (University of West Hungary)
Climate change prediction using remote sensing data on Ukraine.
Vadim Lyalko
Land-Use and Forestry sector of Ukraine in climate change context.
Igor Buksha
Ukrainian segment of GEOSS: Status and prospects. Natalia Kussul
Remote Sensing Education and Research Program: Case study for land cover
monitoring of non-boreal Russia. Elena Cherepanova
Lunch
Session 3. 17:00 – 19:00. Black and Azov Seas studies: Focus on the Coastal zone.
Chair: Olexandr Svitlychnyy (Mechnikov Odessa National University)
Venue: Khadji-bey ship
On development of the State Programme on protection and rehabilitation of the Azov and
Black Seas environment in Ukraine. Alexander Kuzin
Black Sea state forecasting system. Gennady Korotaev
The environmental problems of the Azov Sea and Lower Don Watershed:
Modeling and geo-informational systems approach. Feodor Surkov
Changes of the sea water characteristics in the region of Zmiyinyy Island.
Alexander Matygin
19:00 – 21:00 The coastal zone from off-shore; icebreaker on the ship’s deck
Day 2. Sunday, 24 August 2008.
Session 4. 09:00 – 11:00. Land Cover – Land Use Change Studies in Eastern Europe.
Part 1. Chair: Garik Gutman (NASA HQ)
Monitoring Forest Change in the Black Sea Region: Implications for Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics.
Curtis Woodcock
Non-boreal forests of Eastern Europe in a changing world - the role in
functioning the Earth System. Anatoly Shvidenko
Land use and land cover changes in non-boreal Eastern Europe. Mutlu Ozdogan
Environmental and social impact of climatic changes at the xeric limits of
the closed forest zone in Eastern Europe. Csaba Mátyás
Coffee break
Session 5. 11:30 – 13:00. Land Cover – Land Use Change Studies in Eastern Europe.
Part 2. Chair: Curtis Woodcock (Boston University)
Cropland abandonment during the post-socialist transition in Southern Romania.
Daniel Mueller
Land Distribution and assessment in the Ukrainian Steppe. Larisa Anisimova
Lunch
14:00 - 16:00 General Poster Session
List of posters
Socioecological Dynamics in Armenia: Linking forest cover, biodiversity and rural livelihoods. Daniel Mueller
Flooding response to surface mining and reclamation: A comparative study. Todd Lookingbill
Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership (NEESPI): An update. Pavel Groisman
Trends in Land Surface Phenologies in the Don and Dnieper River Basins 2000-2007: The MODIS perspective. Valeriy Kovalskyy
Experiments on computing of the vertical circulation in seas, lakes, and reservoirs using baroclinic mode. Konstantin Kunshenko
Mathematic Approaches Development to Ecology-Biological Land Differentiation. Mykola Kharytonov and co-authors
The generation of forest ecosystems types digital map for Romania: Problems and solutions. Vladimir Gancz
Land cover change in Georgia. Johan Olofsson and Paata Torchinava
Satellite Data Assimilation for Vegetation Health Monitoring in Ukraine. Andrii Shelestov
Spatial database development for greenhouse gas emission: Estimation on the Russian Federation using remote sensing and GIS. Irina Karachevtseva
15:00 – 15:30 Refreshments
16:00 – 19:00. Excursion to Odessa’s downtown
Day 3. Monday, 25 August 2008.
Session 6. 09:00 – 11:00. Regional Climate Change Studies.
Part 1.
Chair: Richard Aspinall (Global Land Project)
Climate in the late 20th and 21st centuries over the northern Eurasia: RCM and IPCC AR4 simulations. Igor Shkolnik
Climate and Glacial Change in the Caucasus: Observations and Projections. Maria Shahgedanova
Projections of climate change over non-boreal eastern Europe during first half of XXI century according to results of a transient RCM experiment. Simon Krichak
Regional climate and environmental change: Moldova's case study. Roman Corobov
Coffee break
Session 7. 11:00 – 13:00. Regional Climate Change Studies.
Part 2.
Chair: Clemens Simmer (University of Bonn)
Regional heat waves in current and future climates. Alexander Gershunov
Regional climate modeling of daily precipitation characteristics. Susanne Bachner
Precipitation statistics in Ukraine: The interannual variability and
circulation epochs. Sergiy Ivanov
Long - term forecasting of natural disasters under projected climate
changes in Ukraine.
Yuriy Kostyuchenko
Lunch
Session 8. 14:30 – 17:30. Informational Support for Regional Studies in Eastern
Europe. Chair: Pavel Groisman (NEESPI Project Scientist)
The NASA NEESPI Data Center to support studies of climate and
environmental changes in non-boreal Europe. Suhung Shen
“Transparent World” efforts in support of oil spills’ monitoring on land and sea. Dmitry Aksenov
Baseline climatological data sets for Eastern Europe area. Vyacheslav Razuvaev
Refreshment break
16:30 – 17:30 General Discussion on Data Needs
for Regional Studies in Eastern Europe
Day 4. Thursday, 26 August 2008.
7:30-22:00 Field Trip to the
Danube Delta Ecological Reserve in Ukraine
(http://neespi.org/web-content/Danube_Reserve_info.pdf)
On the road: talks on hydrological and ecological aspects
of the Danube delta: National and International perspectives.
Discussion on possible optimal solutions.
Discussion Lead/Chair: Nikolai Berlinsky (Institute of Biology of South Seas).
Presentations on the road:
Comprehensive assessment of negative factors affecting the Black Sea shallow water
in the Danube area. Nikolai Berlinsky (Ukraine)
Ecological imbalance of Romanian costal lakes: Causes and effects. Laura Alexandrov (Romania)
Danube Delta Ecological Reserve in Romania
(Study of inland fisheries in Danube delta). Laura Alexandrov
Day 5. Wednesday, 27 August 2008.
Session 9. 09:00 – 11:00. Regional Hydrological Studies in Eastern Europe.
Chair: Feodor Surkov (Southern Federal University)
Regional climate modelling in Europe: Focus on precipitation. Clemens Simmer
Hydrological Changes in European Russia. Alex Shiklomanov
Soil moisture and land cover changes
in European Russia: In situ data. Nina Speranskaya
Application of the Snowmelt Runoff Model in the Kuban River Basin by using
MODIS satellite images. Mikhail Georgievsky
Coffee break
Session 10. 11:30 – 13:30. Regional Land Use Studies in Eastern Europe.
Chair: Igor Buksha (Ukrainian Research Institute of Forestry and Forest Melioration)
Soil erosion induced degradation of landscapes in Ukraine: modelling, computation and prediction. Olexandr Svitlychnyy
Climate and Managed Land in Ukraine: Integrating Data and Models of Land Use. Mykola Zalogin
The GLOBE Program in Eastern Europe and Russia. Teresa Kennedy (presented by F. Surkov)
Post-socialist land cover change in Eastern Europe, detecting agricultural
abandonment across several countries. Alexander Prishchepov
Lunch
Session 11. 15:00 – 17:00. General Discussion.
Discussion Lead: Pavel Groisman(NEESPI Project Scientist)
Preliminary discussion notes.
The Workshop Proceedings Preparation, Assessment of available drafts.
17:00 – 19:00. Off-line activity:
Training course for early career scientists from Eastern Europe on the use of
remote sensing products. Johan Olofsson
Day 6. Thursday, 28 August 2008.
09:00 – 12:00 Work in small groups, Preparation of the Workshop documents
12:00 Adjourn
Workshop Statement.
List of Participants.