More than 900 scientists from around the world have gathered in Montreux, Switzerland, for a five-day symposium to discuss, present and review their findings on the state of our worlds land, oceans, ice and atmosphere using data from ESA Earth observation satellites, in particular Envisat the largest environmental satellite ever built.

The largest ESA scientific symposium of the year was formally opened today by ESA Director of Earth Observation (EO) programmes Dr Volker Liebig who stressed the importance of the programme saying over 1200 scientific projects are managed with ESAs Envisat and EO data and 27 000 radar scenes were distributed to users last year.

He addressed climate change, the greatest environmental challenge facing the world today, and highlighted the role satellites have played in better understanding the parameters involved in it. Noting its relevance for decision makers, politicians and economists, he applauded the scientists present at the symposium for their contribution to the issue. According to Liebig, ESA plans to launch 17 missions in the coming years to guarantee continuity of relevant data for scientific use and applications.

According to Liebig, ESA plans to launch 17 missions in the coming years to guarantee continuity of relevant data for scientific use and applications.

Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography Jean-Philippe Amstein and Director Daniel Frst of the Swiss Space Office welcomed the participants to Switzerland and underscored the role of ESA.

Switzerland does not have a space programme, Frst said, so ESA is our space agency and our gateway to Earth observation from space.

Following the symposiums opening, five researchers gave an overview of the most significant results of the Envisat and ERS missions.

Dr Johnny Johannessen of Norways Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre (NERSC) began with advances in oceanography. Through the a
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Contact: Mariangela D'Acunto
mariangela.dacunto@esa.int
39-069-418-0856
European Space Agency
23-Apr-2007