Subject: [IGSMAIL-1348] 1996 IERS Workshop
From: Martine Feissel, Secretary, IERS Directing Board
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 9:53:03 PDT

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IGS Electronic Mail      Tue Jun 11  9:53:03 PDT 1996      Message Number 1348
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Author: Martine Feissel, Secretary, IERS Directing Board
Subject: 1996 IERS Workshop

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	Gazette IERS Gazette IERS Gazette IERS Gazette IERS Gazette 

	No 02, 11 June 1996
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        Title:   Discussions to prepare the 1996 IERS Workshop  
        Author:  Martine Feissel, Secretary, IERS Directing Board

   Dear colleagues,
   
   At its 1996 May 23 meeting, the IERS Directing Board decided to 
review the service missions and organisation in order to enhance its 
provision of global references to space- and ground-based scientific 
projects. The 1996 IERS Workshop, to be held in Paris on 14-18 October, 
will be devoted to this review. The months between now and the Fall will 
be used for a careful preparation of the decisions, with the hope that 
some actions may be started following the Workshop. This may lead to
the proposal of modifications in the organisation of IERS that would be 
discussed in August 1997 at the IAU General Assembly in Kyoto, and in 
September 1997 at the IAG General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

   The discussion will be organized under six topics, each prepared by 
Topic Coordinators helped by a small group. The Topics are as follows.

	1: Assessment of current missions
	2: Astronomical reference frames 
	3: Vertical references, incl. geoid, sea level, etc.
	4: Topography and crustal deformations 
	5: Unification of regional reference systems
	6: Earth rotation dynamics and geophysical fluids
	
The details of topics and people in charge are given in the attachments.
   
   All interested individuals are invited to contact the Topic Coordinators
to promote their views. In thinking about what should IERS be in the future,
please consider that opening the above questions is exactly that - opening
questions, not deciding now that every action mentioned has necessarily
to be done in the future by IERS.

   The participation to the Workshop will be by invitation only. The list of
invitees is being set up in concertation between the Topic coordinators and
the IERS Directing Board. Efforts will be made to insure balance of disciplines
and countries.

   This information is sent to the IERS Central Bureau largest distribution
list (about 500 items). Redistribution by any recipient is welcome. The
IERS Directing Board intent is that the discussion be as broad as needed.

   We thank you for any contribution you could make to improve the IERS.

   Martine Feissel
---
Attachment 1: Topics for discussion and Topic Coordinators
Attachment 2: Schedule of meetings connected with the IERS Workshop
Attachment 3: Useful e-mail addresses
==============================================================================
Attachment 1: Topics for discussion and Topic Coordinators

   TOPICS
   ------ 
_____1: Assessment of current missions
_______ Topic Coordinators: G. Beutler, I. Mueller
_______ Questions asked:
	
     	- Users of, requirements for, and access to the International
     	  Terrestrial Reference System. 
     	- Users of, requirements for, and access to the International
     	  Celestial Reference System. 
      	- Users of, requirements for, and access to Earth orientation 
     	  information (universal time, polar motion, precession-nutation).
      	- Conventions: How often should conventions be updated? Does IERS 
       	  want to produce and maintain software for users?  
	- How did the IERS structure work (Directing Board, Coordinating 
	  Centres, Bureaux) work? How can this be improved? How to use it
	  in the case when the IERS missions would be extended?
  
_____2: Astronomical reference frames 
_______ Topic Coordinators: J. Kovalevsky, M. Standish
_______ Question asked:
	
	- What should be the role of IERS in the future maintenance of
	  the International Celestial Reference Frame, changes in radio 
	  source structure, dynamical reference frames, frames for other 
	  wavelengths, links between frames?
	     
_____3: Vertical references, incl. geoid, sea level, etc.
_______ Topic Coordinators: C. Boucher, B. Carter
_______ Questions asked:
	
	- Should IERS make an effort to put tide gauges in the International 
	  Terrestrial Reference System?
	- Does IERS want to maintain a geoid?  
        - Issues related to the geopotential 
        - Tidal variations and surface loadings
	- Should IERS monitor the motion of the geocentre?
		  
_____4: Topography and crustal deformations 
_______ Topic Coordinators: B. Engen, J.B. Minster
_______ Questions asked:
	
	- Does IERS want to coordinate the monitoring of crustal motion? 
	- Does IERS want to produce bulletins of abnormal station motions?
	  
_____5: Unification of regional reference systems
_______ Topic Coordinators: W. Augath, J. Manning
_______ Question asked:
	
	- What should be the role of IERS in unifying the national datums
	  into the International Terrestrial Reference System?
	
_____6: Earth rotation dynamics and geophysical fluids
_______ Topic Coordinators: V. Dehant, C. Wilson
_______ Questions asked:
	
     	- Assessment of current mission: Users of, requirements for, and 
     	  access to the Atmospheric Angular Momentum.
     	- Possible mission extension: Should IERS take some part in the 
     	  coordination of the monitoring of global fluids (underground 
     	  waters, ocean currents, core currents)?
        - Geophysical monitoring pertaining to nutations. 

==============================================================================
Attachment 2: Schedule of meetings connected with the IERS Workshop

                   Meetings - all at Paris Observatory:
               
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1996 OCTOBER 7-11         Morning                 Afternoon 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Monday                      free                IAU WGRF Meeting 
........................................................................... 
Tuesday                 IAU WGRF Meeting        IAU WGRF Meeting 
........................................................................... 
Wednesday                   free                ITRF Workshop
........................................................................... 
Thursday                ITRF Workshop           ITRF Workshop
.............................................................. ............ 
Friday                  EOP Techn. disc.        EOP Techn. disc.             
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1996 OCTOBER 14-18     Morning                         Afternoon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Monday       DB mtg   DB+Topic Coord.           Topic 1          Topic 2
........................................................................... 
Tuesday      Topic 3      Topic 4               Topic 5          Topic 6
........................................................................... 
Wednesday    --- group discussions ---          Gen. discus.     Conclusion 
........................................................................... 
Thursday     CSTG(1)      CSTG(2)               CSTG(3)          CSTG(4)  
.............................................................. ............ 
Friday       CSTG(5)      CSTG(6)            DB+Topic Coord.     DB mtg       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
==============================================================================
Attachment 3: Useful e-mail addresses

Topic Coordinators

        W. Augath	[email-masked],
        G. Beutler	[email-masked], 
        C. Boucher	[email-masked],
        B. Carter	[email-masked],
        V. Dehant	[email-masked], 
        B. Engen	[email-masked], 
        J. Kovalevsky	[email-masked],
        J. Manning	[email-masked]
        B. Minster	[email-masked], 
        I. Mueller	[email-masked], 
        M. Standish	[email-masked], 
        C. Wilson	[email-masked], 

Extended IERS Directing Board

        O. Andersen	[email-masked],
        F. Arias	[email-masked], 
        C. Boucher	[email-masked],
        M. Feissel	[email-masked], 
        D. Gambis	[email-masked], 
        B. Kolaczek	[email-masked], 
        C. Ma		[email-masked]
        D. McCarthy	[email-masked],
        W. Melbourne	[email-masked],
        C. Reigber 	[email-masked],
        S. Salstein	[email-masked], 
        B. Schutz	[email-masked],
        C. Veillet	[email-masked], 
        P. Willis	[email-masked]

[Mailed From: "Lucette Castrique, Paris Observatory, 40 51 22 28"]