Innovation Theatre

"Using Animation to Communicate Earth Science and Sustainability"
Isaac Kerlow

Moving images are a powerful medium for analyzing, exploring and visually communicating complex concepts, and they are also the premiere medium for contemporary storytelling. Animation can have multiple roles in science communication today but it is particularly effective for explaining complex concepts and also for creating emotional connections with mainstream audiences. On a practical level animation can be free from the production constraints and the expense of live action filming. This presentation shows and explains a variety of animated sequences produced by the Art+Media Research Group at the Earth Observatory of Singapore. These animations have been used to communicate Earth science and sustainability in a variety of interdisciplinary projects. The projects reviewed range from scientific documentaries, to narrative shorts and interactive games.

"Earth, Planets and Space: Open access journal for Earth and Planetary Sciences"
Yasuo Ogawa
Tokyo Institute of Technology
(Editor in Chief, Earth, Planets and Space)

I am the editor in chief of the journal Earth, Planets and Space (EPS) since 2013. EPS is published on behalf of the following five societies; The Society of Geomagnetism and Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, The Seismological Society of Japan, The Volcanological Society of Japan, The Geodetic Society of Japan, The Japanese Society for Planetary Sciences. These five societies are all society members of the Japan Geoscience Union.
EPS covers scientific articles in Earth and Planetary Sciences, particularly geomagnetism, aeronomy, space science, seismology, volcanology, geodesy, and planetary science. EPS also welcomes articles in new and interdisciplinary subjects, including instrumentations. Only new and original contents will be accepted for publication.
EPS was established in 1998 as a continuation of the two journals, the Journal of Geomagnetism and Geoelectricity (1949 to 1997) and the Journal of Physics of the Earth (1952 to 1997). In 2014 we started open access publication under the SpringerOpen platform. Open Access publication successfully shortened the publication time, increased visibility of the journal and widened its international readership.
EPS has the following four article types; Full Paper, Express Letter, Frontier Letter and Technical Reports. Full paper has no limit in size. Express Letter is a short article for a quick publication of new findings. Frontier Letter is a short article invited by the editor in chief. Technical report is for publication on a software tool or an experimental or computational method, test or procedure or hardware design.
We have expanded the editorial board members in 2017 to speed up the reviewing process. Editorial board members are international and we provide qualified reviews.
Special issues are important parts of EPS. We welcome special issue proposals on focused topics that are within the scope of the journal.
Recent topics of the special issues are on the achievements of geoscientific projects or international conferences, or on geoscientific events, such as large earthquake events or volcano eruptions. Please contact me if you have a plan for a special issue.

"Innovative Earthquake Science and Technologies Developed in Taiwan"
J. Bruce H. Shyu
National Taiwan University

In the past decade, the Taiwan Earthquake Research Center (TEC) has promoted a series of studies on real-time seismology, earthquake early warning (EEW) and seismic hazard and risk analysis with support from the Minister of Science and Technology (MOST). In addition to the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau (CWB), who is doing a great job in monitoring regional seismicity, the earthquake science communities have been constantly developing new technologies to contribute to seismic hazard mitigation.
An automated near real-time moment tensor monitoring system (RMT) has been constructed to monitor the seismic activity by taking advantage of a grid-based moment tensor inversion technique and long-period broadband seismic recordings. All source parameters, including the event origin time, hypocentral location, moment magnitude and focal mechanism can be determined simultaneously with 117 seconds after the occurrence of an earthquake.
The P-Alert, a MEMS accelerometer that is specially designed for on-site earthquake early warning, has been widely deployed island-wide in Taiwan. It can detect first P-wave arrival and provide an alert with predicted intensity when the amplitude of vertical P-wave is over 0.35 cm. This EEW system is not only providing the on-site EEW but also reinforce the earthquake disaster prevention education.
By integrating the earthquake science, earthquake engineering, and social science communities of Taiwan, the Taiwan Earthquake Model (TEM) program is to improve our understanding of Taiwan earthquake mechanisms and therefore provide new insight into seismic hazard and risk assessments for Taiwan. We have published the first science-based hazard model of Taiwan on the basis of the Probability of Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) approach.
The TEC not only acts as a platform for the advanced researches in earthquake science and technology, but also presenting real-time earthquake information and creative and diversity tools and materials for seismic education outreach.

"Next Generation Developments In Isotope Mass Spectrometry For The Ocean and Geoscience Communities"
Stephen SHUTTLEWORTH
Isotopx

The scientists at Isotopx have a long history in designing advanced mass spectrometers for the ocean and geoscience communities. With a history that dates back to the early VG companies there is a direct lineage that extends from the mid 1970’s until today. In this talk we will introduce new technologies in detector design which when combined with a fresh look at high resolution mass spectrometry will expand analytical capabilities across not only traditional isotope measurements but also elemental analysis and for a wide range of matrices in ocean and geosciences. Isotopx is the leading supplier of both Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometers and Noble Gas Mass Spectrometers, however the introduction of these new technology will further drive the measurements to higher levels of precision and at considerably lower levels of concentration.

"Next Generation Evapotranspiration Flux Stations: Full Automation of Data Processing and Remote Management of ET Network"
Aaron Saathoff
LI-COR Biosciences

Water scarcity and efficient water use are becoming increasingly important. At the same time, improvements in instrumentation have greatly improved spatial and temporal data coverage of evapotranspiration (ET) measurements on multiple scales, ranging from a single station to continental scale ET networks. With the increased number of ET stations and data from each station, modern tools are needed to effectively and efficiently handle the entire infrastructure (hardware, software and data management).
Recently, such tools have been developed for automated data collection, full on-site flux processing, data quality control, and remote management. These tools allow researchers to dedicate more resources to answering research questions, rather than toward station management. Having real time quality controlled executive summaries of data can also lead to better accountability across all management layers.
In late 2013, a new automated measurement system with novel hardware and software was developed and tested in Nebraska. The major advancements of this ET flux system include:

1. Enabling logging high-frequency, three-dimensional wind speeds and multiple gas densities (H2O, CO2, and CH4), low-frequency meteorological data, and site metadata simultaneously through a specially designed file format.
2. Conducting fully corrected, real-time on-site flux computations using conventional and user-specified methods, by implementing EddyPro Software on a small low-power microprocessor.
3. Providing precision clock control and coordinate information for data synchronization and inter-site data comparison by incorporating a GPS and Precision Time Protocol.

"Meeting with Nankai University for Your Future Career"
Jeanne Huang
Nankai University

Founded in 1919, Nankai University is one of the most renowned and prominent universities in China. During the development of more than 90 years, Nankai University has been following the motto of “Dedication to public interests, acquisition of all-round capability and aspiration for progress with each passing day”, persisting in its glorious tradition of “patriotism, dedication, innovation and love of the community” and the concept of “govern the country with arts, strengthen the country with science and enrich the country with business”. With the objective of “knowing China and serving for China”, Nankai University dedicates to cultivating talents, promoting academic prosperity, strengthening the nation’s power and inheriting civilization, and has obtained remarkable achievements.

Nankai University invites applications from outstanding candidates for full-time faculty positions (at associate/full professor level) in the broad area of eco-hydrology and environmental engineering preferably including but not limited to remote Sensing and GIS watershed management, climate change, environmental modeling, ecosystem restoration, wastewater treatment technology etc. Excellent English communication skills and a commitment to teaching are necessary. Individuals with relevant working experience are especially encouraged to apply. This information meeting will give more details on qualification, the salary and benefit package etc.

"Picarro Product Portfolio Update: Recent developments in Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy"
David Kim-Hak
Picarro Inc.

We will review recent developments in Picarro’s CRDS-based technology platform for greenhouse gas, trace gas and isotope applications across a variety of scientific disciplines.
Picarro Inc., a Silicon Valley-based company, is the world leading provider of top-quality laser-based gas analyzers and solutions. We serve a wide range of applications including air quality and greenhouse gas monitoring, energy and utility, food safety, industrial gas monitoring, and frontier scientific research.
Centered around the Cavity Ring-down Spectroscopy and over 45 international patents, we produce analyzers with ppb level precision for continuous, real time measurements of trace gas concentration (i.e. CO2, CH4, N2O, CO, NH3, C2H4, H2CO, and many more) and stable isotopes (i.e. δ18O, δ17O, δD in H2O; δ13C in CO2/CH4; δ15N in N2O; etc.).
These analyzers meet the most demanding standards of top-tier research institutes, government agencies and industrial leaders.
Today, Picarro analyzers are used in more than 60 countries and are present in all 7 continents. It is the gold standard of world authorities such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In particular, we will focus on the GasScouter, our most portable high performance analyzer yet allowing you to “measure greenhouse gases on the go”. It is perfect for soil flux measurements. We will further shed light on our new concentration Ethane/Methane & isotopic Methane analyzer, a powerful tool to resolve source attribution.

"Lysimeters – a Modern Tool to Investigate Transport Processes in Ecosystems"
Sascha RETH
UGT GmbH

Lysimeters are an important way of determining the water balance for ecosystems using water balance parameters. In addition to the quantity, it is also possible to investigate the quality of soil and seepage water. Soil monoliths of defined dimensions are taken from their natural environment and given defined boundary conditions. In combination with corresponding measurement technology, it is possible to investigate the function and mode of action of ecosystems in this way. The results can be transferred from small to large scales and are amongst other things a good method to determine the evapotranspiration of a defined area (typically 1-2 m²), of the water and solute transport in a defined volume (typically 1-5 m³) and the degradation and conversion of substances under weathering influences. Due to the possibility of long term outdoor investigations under real location conditions, statements may be made using lysimeter tests on the water balance of certain climate scenarios, for example. Other possibilities are the comparison of several similar lysimeters in areas with different weathering conditions or the comparison of different soil types or different vegetation with the same weather over a longer time. These investigations provide the foundation for many models to estimate the effect of climatic change, the spread of contamination in the soil or the success of re-conditioning measures. Typical areas of use for lysimeters are agricultural land locations, forest locations, landfills and post-mining landscapes as well as areas with existing waste deposits in need of recultivation. The combination of several lysimeters is recommended for statistically verified statements.

Anthropogenic environmental changes threaten biodiversity as well as the interactions between trophic levels and consequently alter their influence on ecosystem functions. New experimental platforms, "Ecotron", were developed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning by manipulating biodiversity at multiple trophic levels.