With the aim of promoting the "Eddy Correlation Method," a new technology that can continuously measure the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbed by forests, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology offered the first training course in Asia for observation specialists from August 21 through 30, 2006 at its research center in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.

Twenty people from eight countries and one region (India, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan) took the training course. The course was led by about 10 Japanese lecturers and staff, along with four lecturers from Canada, the United States, South Korea and China. The participants learned such things as measurement theory, comprehensive measurement techniques, including methods for setting up and maintaining the device, and data processing techniques to calculate CO2 absorption.

The institute is promoting the establishment of an observation network, named the AsiaFlux Network, to monitor the amount of atmospheric CO2 absorbed by forests in Asia, in partnership with several Asian nations, as well as Japan's Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, the National Institute for Agro-Environmental Science, the National Institute for Environmental Studies, and Hokkaido University. The training course is expected to contribute to the accumulation of systematic observation data, improving the quality of the data, and strengthening partnerships among researchers and policymakers in Asia.

The next course is scheduled for fiscal 2007. Information about the schedule and participants is to be posted around November 2006 at:
http://www.asiaflux.net/index.html

http://www.asiaflux.net/index.html
http://www.aist.go.jp/index_en.html

Posted: 2006/10/30 08:16:12 AM
Japanese version

TAG Ecosystem , Global warming , Government , University/Research institute