Call for Papers – Agriculture and Food Availability

Earthzine is an informative scientific online journal dedicated to promoting global interconnections among Earth observers. It is sponsored by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) in support of the Group on Earth Observation’s Global Earth Observation System of Systems. We invite you to examine Earthzine, and to submit an article to us. We can offer as incentives participation in building the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), and the values of being part of a professionally diverse and global readership network.

Earthzine is soliciting articles for its theme issue on observing and monitoring key indicators for agricultural and food availability issues globally. We are seeking contributions addressing current issues, techniques and applications of Earth information for global agriculture, as well as efforts focused on food security. This may include a wide range of topics related to agriculture and food production including implications and predictions of climate change, land use/land cover change, water resources, human health, humanitarian relief, environmental degradation and remediation, and sustainability.

We are most interested in receiving articles that explore the use of scientific and technological research and application, as well as policy and its application.

Specific topics of interest focus on, but are not limited to,

• How Earth observation technologies have contributed to or can contribute to
understanding the impacts of climate change on agricultural sustainability and food
availability at local, regional, and global scales.

• Countries and organizations that are using Earth observation technologies for monitoring
agricultural conditions, assessing food availability, and/or developing food relief efforts.

• Use of Earth observations technologies to assess key environmental issues such as water
availability, land use, and biofuels that can influence agricultural practices and food availability.

• Innovative people who are using Earth observation technologies to meet agricultural and
food availability issues, or who know how Earth observation technologies can be adapted to address these issues.

The theme issue is scheduled for the fall of 2009. We are actively soliciting articles from all regions of the globe. Submissions must be in English. Submit to Guest Editors Brian Wardlow or Menghestab Haile.

Types of articles we are interested in receiving are program, project, organization descriptions; latest discoveries, unusual findings, examples of interdisciplinary and/or cross-regional research. In addition to running a review process for original articles, we also publish opinion essays, book and art reviews. Please consult the Writer’s Guidelines for further information.

Important dates: Queries to the editors may be sent at any time (Brian Wardlow or Menghestab Haile) Submission of original articles, letters, opinions, book and art for review begins September 1, 2009.

Publication: All accepted contributions will be published on-line at Earthzine
in the fall of 2009 and will be freely accessible to the public.

Information:
Earthzine website: http://www.earthzine.org
Writer’s Guidelines: http://www.earthzine.org/about-2/writers-guidelines
GEO/GEOSS website: http://www.earthobservations.org

Editor-in-Chief:
Paul E. Racette, DSc
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD, USA

Managing Editor:
Maeve Hickok, MA
Freelance Professional Writer

Associate Editors:
Brian Wardlow, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor / Remote Sensing
Specialist
National Drought Mitigation Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Menghestab Haile, Ph.D.
Policy Advisor to the Deputy Executive
Director Hunger Solutions Office
Office of the Executive Director
The World Food Programme
Via Cessare Giulio Viola, 68/70 Parco De
Medici, Rome, ITALY
Telephone 0039 06 65132276 Fax 0039 0665132817 Mobile 0039 348 0515475