Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 20:10:22 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Bob Hartman Subject: Goddard Colloquium reminder MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Hi - A couple of weeks ago I posted the following on MDOsprey: -------------------------------------------------------------- The Spring 2000 Scientific Colloquium series at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt) includes the following, which may be of interest to some of you: "Space-Based Tracking of Bird Migrations" Dr. William Seegar, US Army Aberdeen Friday, April 7, 3:30 PM Goddard Bldg 3 Auditorium Dr. Seegar is an ornithologist who has studied bird migration by attaching tracking devices, and has been able to track many species that are difficult to track otherwise. People from outside Goddard are welcome to attend, but must contact Carol Krueger at 301-286-6878 AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. Because there is a wide variety of specialties among the normal colloquium attendees, the speakers are requested to aim the talks at the intelligent, informed layman, so they normally aren't too technical. If you need more information, you can contact Carol Krueger, or me, via e-mail or phone. Bob Hartman 301-384-4762 (home) 301-286-7178, rch@egret.gsfc.nasa.gov ----------------------------------------------------------- I received the following abstract recently: NINETEEN YEARS OF SATELLITE TRACKING DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION TO WILDLIFE RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION William Slick Seegar, Ph.D. Nineteen years ago, the U.S. Army initiated a program at the Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), to investigate the development of small Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTTs) to be tracked via the French-U.S. Argos-Tiros satellite system. Since the inception of the program, Bird- Borne, miniaturization has led to the fielding of transmitters that weigh less than one ounce and are capable of interfacing with an array of sensors. Results of field tests during the 1980s and 1990s, examples of applications, and continued development of the technology through emerging systems will be discussed. In 1981, the Bird-borne program was initiated at APL to develop a capability to locate (i.e., track) and monitor small, highly mobile organisms on a local, regional, and global scale. The primary objective has been to develop systems to facilitate the remote tracking and monitoring of free ranging organisms that pose especially difficult field problems for study. Avian species, due to their relatively small size and high mobility, have been the focus for the program. Sensors integrated into the satellite PTTs can also be used to collect information from the environment surrounding the animal (temperature, humidity, altitude). Space-based tracking systems are now enabling scientists to accurately study behavior, home range, and habitat use of wildlife for basic research and the development of resource management plans for conservation. As new, sophisticated space-based telecommunications systems become available, more capable systems for tracking and monitoring free ranging organisms will evolve. These systems will be fully integrated with computer-based information systems and modeling functions, which will dramatically improve scientists=92 ability to study and forecast trends in species distribution and abundance as they are affected by human endeavor on a global scale. ---------------------------------------------------- It occurs to me that, if you plan to attend, and have never visited Goddard, it might be worthwhile to come early and take a tour of the place. If you would like to do that, contact me a week ahead via one of the channels listed above, and I will make arrangements for it. Bob Hartman Note: There is often a Fish Crow sitting on an antenna right over the Bldg 3 auditorium. ========================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ========================================================================= ===========================================================================