Third ERCIM Environmental Modelling Group Workshop
by Thomas Lux
The third workshop of the ERCIM Environmental Modelling Group on Air Pollution Modelling and Measuring Processes was held in Madrid, Spain, on 20-21 April 1998. The workshop was hosted by the Environmental Software and Modelling Group of the Computer Science School of the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM). The workshop chairman was Roberto San José (UPM).
The lectures and discussions at the workshop focussed especially on the importance of the linkage between the modelling processes and the measuring tools. Measurements play two significant roles in air pollution modelling. At first, the usage of measured meteorological, emission and background concentration data as input for air quality simulations obviously influences the quality of the simulation results, especially for air quality forecasts. At second, measurement data are one of the basic preconditions for the validation of air quality models. As highlights of the program, invited lectures of representatives of the local environ-mental authorities of the State of Madrid and the State of Brandenburg (Germany) were given . The participation of these invited speakers was supported by the ERCIM Office.
A special item of the workshop program was a round table discussion about the further activities of the ERCIM Working Group Environmental Modelling, led by the working group chairman Achim Sydow. Nikolaos Kampanis from FORTH, Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM) agreed to organize the next workshop at his institute in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. The proposed date of the 4th workshop is the time between mid October and mid November this year. Proposed topics, as discussed in Madrid, are the validation of environmental models, model comparison, data mining, ecological/ economical impact analysis and problems of sustainable development.
Moreover, the submission of future project proposals was rised, and the preparation of the ERCIM-NEWS issue number 34 with the special theme Environmental Modelling was discussed. The program was wound up by a tour of the Computer Science School at UPM, and by a common dinner in a typical Madrid restaurant. Detailed information about the workshop program and the participants can be found at http://artico.lma.fi.upm.es/ercim.html
Please contact:
Thomas Lux - GMD
Tel: +49 30 6392 1820
E-mail: lux@first.gmd.de
