The ICORSE has been established to foster the use of remote sensing to address priority issues of the environment. ICORSE will convene a biennial conference in alternating years with the ISPRS Commission Symposia. The conference will focus on remote sensing of the environment and will bring together scientists, technologists and environmental users of remotely sensed data. In conformance with ISPRS Guidelines, (a) the conference proceedings will be made available to the ISPRS community as part of the continuing series of the International Archives of The Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences (IAPRSSIS), and (b) the committee will provide an annual report on the state of remote sensing of environment for publication in ISPRS eBulletin.
 

ICORSE Terms of Reference

A. Designation

The International Committee on Remote Sensing of Environment (ICORSE) is a permanent Committee of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS).

 

B. Purpose

The ICORSE advances the use of remote sensing to address global challenges of environment and sustainable development, including scientific, policy, management, and other pursuits. The ICORSE addresses all aspects of the Earth observation value-chain, including research, applications, data management, socio-economic impacts, international cooperation and capacity-building.  

 

C. Responsibilities and Functions

The ICORSE, in coordination with other relevant ISPRS Committees and Organizations, will:

1. Provide a forum to facilitate discussions, connections, and coordination on issues and topics associated with applications of remote sensing of environment for sustainable development, and related scientific studies;
2. Oversee the long-term evolution and sustainability of the biennial International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE), including review and approval of location, support of local host, and generation of proceedings;
3. Collaborate with ISPRS Commissions and entities to coordinate and enhance remote sensing activities by:
• Coordinating event schedules;
• Making ISRSE proceedings available as part of The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences (IAPRSSIS);
• Encouraging submission of worthy papers for publication in the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing;
• Proposing worthy candidates for recognition, awards, and nominations to the ISPRS Editorial Review Board; and
•  Providing advice to ISPRS Council on matters related to remote sensing of environment.   
4. Demonstrate and promote the scientific, societal, and economic benefits of remote sensing of environment by fostering:
• Collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and geographic regions;
• Community building activities; and
• Communication and outreach on remote sensing of environment.
5. Provide a biennial written report on the state of remote sensing of environment and/or ICORSE activities to ISPRS.

 

D. Membership

ICORSE members include organizations that provide Earth observing systems and capabilities, as well as organizations that use the resulting data and information to achieve socio-economic benefits. The current membership includes national and international organizations responsible for space, geospatial, environmental, and Earth science programs in countries and bodies represented in ISPRS.  Many are also active in, and ensure coherence with, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS).

ICORSE welcomes the participation of new actors, also committed to the shared goal of advancing the use of remote sensing of environment for sustainable development. 

New ICORSE members are invited to join ICORSE by a simple consensus of existing members.

Each member organization nominates up to two individual staff to represent them on ICORSE.

 

E. Governance

The President of the International Centre for Remote Sensing of Environment (ICRSE) nominates, in concurrence with the President of ISPRS, a Chair and Vice-Chair of ICORSE to be endorsed by ICORSE. The Chair and Vice-Chair shall represent committee member organizations and will serve for four-year terms, which are staggered by two-years to create overlap. Terms are renewable.

The ICORSE may establish subsidiary committees and task forces as needed, and as formally appointed via the Chair.

The ICORSE will convene physically at least once per year; nominally at the biennial ISRSE Symposium and also at the intervening ISPRS Congress or other events in which many members of ICORSE may participate (e.g., GEO Plenary). The ICORSE will hold additional meetings – virtual or physical – as needed.

Adopted: November 16, 2020

 

ICORSE Membership

The following internationally known remote sensing specialists are members of the ICORSE:

Principals shown in bold.

ICORSE Member	Institution	Email	Country
Kutny, Mary Ann (ICORSE chair)	NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Dept. of Commerce	email	USA
Ryan, Barbara (ICORSE secretary)	ICRSE International Center for Remote Sensing of Environment	email	USA
Cherchali, Selma	CNES Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales	email	France
Frulla, Laura	CONAE Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales Institutional Relations	email	Argentina
Medico, Ana		email
Bourassa, Marie-Josee	CSA Canadian Space Agency	email	Canada
Held, Alex	CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation	email	Australia
Schmidt, Klaus	DLR Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft-und Raumfahrt Earth Observation Department	email	Germany
Schreier, Gunter		email
Koch, Astrid-Christina	EC European Commision	email	Belgium
Cheli, Simonetta	ESA European Space Agency	email	France
Rast, Michael	ESA/ESRIN	email	Italy
Counet, Paul	EUMETSAT European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites	email	Germany
Muchoney, Douglas	FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations	email	Italy
Gevorgyan, Jana	GEO Group on Earth Observations (GEO)	email	USA
Ramage, Steven		email	Switzerland
Heipke, Christian	ISPRS International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing	email	Germany
Trinder, John		email	Australia
Friedl, Lawrence	NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration	email	USA
Doorn, Bradley		email
Volz, Stephen	NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Dept. of Commerce	email	USA
Huadong, Guo	RADI Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)	email	China
Liu, Jie		email
Liang, Dong		email
Mlisa, Andiswa	SANSA South African National Space Agency	email	South Africa
Saloojee, Imraan		email
Quirk, Bruce	USGS U.S. Geological Survey	email	USA