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ICES

The ICES Foundation is an independent, non-political and non-commercial Geneva-based Swiss Foundation that was created in the month of January 2010 for the purpose of building the International Centre for Earth Simulation (ICES) and a global network of partner activities to support it. The mission of ICES is to integrate the vast pools of knowledge contained within today's multitude of scientific and socio-economic specializations and to develop next generation 'holistic' modeling, simulation, visualization and AI/ML tools that accurately depict the medium and long term future direction of planet Earth with good accuaracy. ICES is a project for the common good that provides enhanced decision support and improved scientific underpinnings to our current and future policy makers, especially with respect to the effects of climate change, global warming, extreme weather, wildfires, ocean acidification, geoengineering, resource... Read more...


HPC architectures, race to exascale, rankings, vendors, exascale software

Announcement: The ICES Foundation is delighted to announce that today, on this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, our own Dr. Marie-Christine Sawley (ICES Foundation Advisor for HPC and Exascale), has been elected as President of the newly formed Swiss Association known as ideas4HPC. Along with Marie-Christine, the new Association is co-founded by Dr. Maria Girone it's Vice President and CTO of the CERN openlab, Dr. Florina Ciorba of the University of Basel in Switzerland, and Dr. Sadaf Alam of the University of Bristol in the UK and formerly of the Swiss National Computing Centre (CSCS). Additionally, ideas4HPC has been appointed as the new Swiss chapter of the Women in HPC (WHPC) advocacy group.  We wish them well in these new ventures and hope to encourage significant collaboration between their activities and the core mission of the ICES Foundation.     HPC Rankings &... Read more...


Location

We are based in Geneva, Switzerland, and will tell you more, soon! Read more...


Open Access Journals

Science business Science without paywalls The case for open science! New initiative to boost open access  Should all research papers be free? Can open science change the world? Software-mediated community building We paid for the research, so let's see it  Secret computer code threatens science Avoiding  the guise of an anonymous review UNESCO recommendation on open science FundRef - funding source info re publications Area-wide transition to open access is possible Researchers can publish or perish - or start a business Making a difference with open source science equipment Reinventing discovery: the new era of networked science US National Academies present a guide for 'open science'  Sci-Hub: the ongoing legal battle for open access to science Radical open-access plan could spell end to journal subscriptions Do you have a conflict of interest? This robotic assistant may find it first   Industry and academia wrangle over open... Read more...


Our Solar System: planets, moons, asteroid belt, Kuiper Belt

There are 9 main planets and countless comets and meteorites orbiting our Sun - all of which have some degree of influence on the ultimate destiny of the Earth. Recently, Pluto has been reclassified as a 'dwarf planet' , rather than a planet. Since 1992, planets have been found to be orbiting stars outside of our Solar System, and as of December 2019 over 4,000 such 'exoplanets' have been documented. The Solar System: jsOrrery Nine planets NASA's planets Planetary images The atlas of moons Solar System explorer First signs of a 'heliotail' The Antikythera Cosmos  The Solar System to scale Catalog of planetary maps Planetary science websites JPL Solar System dynamics Lunar and Planetary Institute NASA's planetary fact sheets Marine science goes to space Nick Strobel's planetary tables Nick Strobel's astronomy notes Protecting planets beyond Earth NASA's Solar System exploration The ESA 'Cosmic Vision' document Scientists solve planetary ring riddle Why... Read more...


Sustainability, SDGs

We should live here on Earth as though we will be here forever, not as though we are just visiting for the weekend! The Global Goals Earth's new normal   Why the SDGs matter The road to sustainability The science of sustainability    Seizing sustainable development A radical yet realistic route to 2030  UNEP: Healthy Planet, Healthy People Roundtable on sustainable development Is sustainability science really a science? Transforming innovation for sustainability New quantitaive approaches, new indices  Transforming development and disaster risk  How can the development goals be achieved?  Building a sustainable future: protecting communities Community-based learning for sustainable development From ambition to execution: policies in support of SDGs IUCN: no one can go it alone on sustainable development Sustainable devlopmment must account for pandemic risk Sustainable energy recovery from thermal processes: a... Read more...


Cities & Urbanization

Why cities live forever China tries building a new kind of megalopolis This is what the cities of the future could look like Internal and international influences on urban change 68% of world population will live in urban areas by 2050 Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent Projecting global urban growth through 2100 based on historical time series data and future shared SEPs  Smart Cities: United 4 smart sustainable cities  Smart cities, the Dutch approach How to build a smart city that will last Six technologies crucial for smart cities 3D planning tool for the city of tomorrow Migrating smart city applications to the cloud Humane smart cities: the need for governance Open City Data Portal    WCCD Open Data Portal As world crowds in, cities become digital laboratories Smart cities should put the power in the hands of the people Adaptive cities? Institutional innovation under climate... Read more...


Governance, Security, Migration, Law, Policy

Governance is the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority in the management of a country's affairs at all levels Population: Crowding Our Planet  Environmental migration World Population Growth Number of people living on Earth Mapping our global human footprint The evolution of human cooperation World population likely to surpass 11 billion in 2100  IUCN: A strategy of innovative approaches and recommendations to support human life in the next decade Governance: Global governance — the rise of non-state actors  Disaster governance and vulnerability: the case of Chile   Bad governance has accentuated the environment crisis Exploring climate change and disaster governance issues Disaster risk governance - unlocking progress and reducing risk Transboundary water governance and climate change adaptation Institutional vulnerability and governance of disaster risk reduction Disaster policies and governance: promoting... Read more...


Big Bang, Big Bounce, CMB, Inflation, Expansion, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Evolution, Distant Future of the Universe

Big Bang theory: Late news from the Big Bang Big Bang theory strengthened Found: pristine gas from the Big Bang Big Bang theory challenged by Big Chill A brief history of how the Universe began 50 years with the Big Bang's 'smoking gun' Is the Universe ringing like a crystal glass? The beginning of everything - the Big Bang   Why we do not know what the Big Bang looked like A stunning discovery about the start of the Universe Far-future astronomers could still deduce the Big Bang Seeing the birth of the Universe in an atom of hydrogen Gravity may have saved the Universe after the Big Bang Measurement at Big Bang conditions confirms lithium problem Big Bang query: mapping how a mysterious liquid became all matter  Ultra cold Big Bang experiment successfully simulates evolution of early universe Physicist explores the possibility of vestiges of a Universe previous to the Big Bang Big Bounce theory: How the Universe got its bounce back Big bounce... Read more...


Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), Geodesy

Definitions PostGIS Quantum GIS Revolving Maps Concept Map tools Amazing GIS work GIS Stack Exchange Machine learning for EO Why the Earth must be mapped Teaching the world to make maps Spatial sizzle spices regional plans Spatial thinking in the geosciences Five GIS trends changing the world Making maps on a micrometer scale You are not where you think you are Spatial Data Integration (R Flowerdew) 100 years of National Geographic maps The geophysicist's guide to striking It rich Future trends in GIS: the 5-10 year vision The digital revolution in geologic mapping GIS: Frequently asked questions (UN-GGIM) Tool to measure economic development succes The most-cited authors on Wikipedia had no idea Debate: geological time conventions and symbols Our mental maps of the world are pprobably wrong  History of GIS and early computer cartography project Satellite & HPC power rapid mapping of Earth's surface   GIS as integrating tool in... Read more...


Environmental Science, Ecological Systems & Nature-based Solutions

Nature is where the truth lies! Tht biomass distribution on Earth Can humans and Nature co-exist? Environmenatal psychology and logic Human intelligence and the environment Long-term study shows impact of humans on land Healthy ecosystems, healthy Earth, healthy people Just 3% of world's ecosystems remain in tact, study Stressors reveal ecosystems' hidden characteristics Where we might find ecologically intact communities Ecosystems as complex networks - and their collapse Ancient DNA yields snapshots of vanished ecosystems Fluctuating environment may have driven human evolution 'Pristine' landscapes haven't existed for thousands of years When it comes to the environment, education affects our actions Knowledge-based environmental research infrastructure: moving beyond data Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sevices in preparation Measuring progress towards achieving the environmental dimensions of the SDGs Transforming knowledge systems for life... Read more...


Insurance & Statistics

Global risk landscape Disaster risk financing Disaster risk finance analytics Counting the cost of calamities The rise of interconnected risks The FM Global Research Campus Global reinsurance: strengthening DRR The Anthrpocene reality of financial risk Covering the cost of natural devastation Developing new insurance risk products The role of insurance after disaster strikes Resilience and risk financing mechanisms Financial protection against natural disasters G7 InsuResilience for more resilient societies Businesses step up for disaster preparedness Forestry insurance: a largely untapped potential Under insurance of property risks: closing the gap Risk insurance and adaptation: managing urban risk Why all development finance should be risk-informed Reducing the fiscal and economic impact of disasters Building disaster-resilient communities and economies UNDP launches new insurance and risk finance facility Costs of natural disasters are increasing at the high... Read more...


Disaster Risk Reduction

Disasters have become serial killers of humanity, and with the growth of population, mankind is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Disasters are a true litmus test of good governance Vocabulary: Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters Peril classification and hazard glossary Hazard definition and classification review Is there such a thing as a 'natural disaster'? Lost for words amongst disaster risk science vocabulary? A dilemma of language: 'natural disasters' in academic literature Cascading disasters: Cascading disasters - definition and discussion Interconnected risks, cascading disasters and disaster management policy - a gap analysis Dealing with cascading multi-hazard risks in National Risk Assessment: the case of Natech accidents Cascading disasters triggered by tsunami hazards: perspective of critical infrastructure resilience and DRR Mapping & measuring disaster: Mapping for DRR (MapDRR) World atlas of natural disaster risk The human cost of natural... Read more...


Social Infomatics

Open Publications: UN Dept of Economic & Social Affairs Digital Sociology: Showdown The future of work Collective intelligence Who controls the world? Building digital democracy The post journalistic world The transdisciplinary meme How to create a better world! The impact of social openness Why innovation thrives in cities World Simulation - Dirk Helbing Processes too complex to explain  Here's how America uses its land Kira Radinsky is an Internet oracle Technologists, big data and society Driverless cars, who gets protected? Structural properties of ego networks The information theory of individuality The dematerialization of consumption When dense crowds act like soft solids Anticipation is the key to crowd physics What makes up the Internet of Things? Digital library text scanning and analysis Is global civilization headed for collapse? The blockchain is dead. long live the DLT Techno-skeptics' objection growing louder Proposal for a... Read more...


Wildlife

Wildlife on camera: Orangutan photos Live animal cameras Wildlife at a log bridge 2019 best nature photos Sifting through animal images Wildlife caught by camera traps Wildlife photographer of the year  90-prints in honor of Jane Goodall    National Georaphic phenomena site An osprey catching a fish in the ocean National Gepographic pictures of the year Tagging bears in Algonquin Park, Ontario Experiencing Natute through a creative lens Icarus Initiative: wildlife observation from space Animal pictures and facts - National Geographic Best wildlife photo for 2018 National Geographic  Best animal photos of 2020 National Geographic National Geograhic's best wildlife photos of 2022 Dive into the wildlife-rich waters of the Galápagos Winning images from Wildlife Photographer of the Year The Gerald Durrell legacy: my career and other animals 360 degree imagery of Galapagos Islands added to Street View Ant 'portraits' reveal how diverse and... Read more...


Economics

A true science of the economy must be founded on an integrated science of society. Ultimately, purpose in the engine of long-term profitability. History of business: The Hanseatic League: dominating the Baltic maritime trade How the East India Company became the world's most powerful business Recent trading blocs: The ASEAN Economic Community What is China's Belt & Road Initiative? 4 most important trading blocs in Latin America Major regional economic organizations of Africa Summary of the North America Free Trade Agreement NAFTA is officially gone. Here's what has and hasn't changed. Treaty establishing the European Economic Community Europe's Common Market founded in major step toward economic unity  Modern economies: Robots take over Forbes 400 2015 World GDP infographic  The global wealth report  Who controls the world? MSCI global cimate index All the world's wealth in one visual    World population data sheet 2016 The retail... Read more...


Electric Utilities & Smart Grids

The big picture: Why do electrons move? Energy and energy types Energy markets and energy policies Cross-border interconnections on every continent  A global super-grid: sociotechnical drivers and barriers The role of net metering in the evolving electrical system  Growth of 'distributed' electricity could transform utility systems Innovative superconductor fibers carry 40 times more electricity The need to coordinate transmission policy: an overview of the issues The next big thing in the energy sector: photovoltaic generated DC electricity New approach could reduce human health impacts of electric power generation The distribution of coal electricity generation worldwide in 2019, by select country Weather, Climate, GHG Emission issues: Getting the carbon out of emissions Preparing utilities for climate change Is natural gas a 'bridge' to a hotter future? Nanomaterial to help reduce CO2 emissions Financing for clean, resilient power solutions Study... Read more...


Biogeochemical Cycles

Carbon and other biogeochemical cycles Measuring, monitoring & modeling ecosystem cycling There and back again: mantle xeon has a story to tell Xenon isotopes tell the story of volatiles in Earth's mantle Delivery of carbon. nitrogen, and sulphur to the silicate Earth by a giant impact The Global Water Cycle: Woods Hole Water cycle video With a grain of salt       Water cycle diagram  Deep-Earth chemistry Where is Earth's water?  Water in a changing world   Water is always on the move An oceanographer and the water The Blue Planet's new water budget Targeting water cycles in deep Earth Volcanoes deliver two flavors of water The ocean and the global water cycle A digital twin of the terrestrial water cycle Feature story from NASA on the water cycle Big uncertatinties in the global water budget How irrigation in Asia affects rainfall in Africa New technology to monitor African water cycle Climate models overestimate... Read more...


Beyond Moore's Law, after silicon, new forms of computing

Moore's Law: Is it the end of Moore's Law? Moore's Law is about to get wierd Transistors won't shrink beyond 2021 Are the chips finally down for Moore's Law? Moore's Law seen hitting big bump at 14nm Another step toward the end of Moore's Law IBM clears path to 5nm with silicon nanosheets US chip initiative aims for 'Moore's Law inflection'  International technology roadmap for semiconductors (ITRS) 2015     The end of Moore's Law: a new beginning for information technology The nanosheet transistor is the next and maybe last step in Moore's Law 'Moore's Law is dead': three predictions about the computers of tomorrow Visualization of Moore's Law versus actual microprocessor transistor count 1971-2019   Extending Moore's Law: Vortex laser offers hope for Moore's Law Intel turns to photonics to extend Moore's law 3D-stacked CMOS takes Moore's Law to new heights Valleytronics discovery could extend limits of Moore's Law DARPA continues... Read more...


EARTH DAY 2015

Announcements from two of our important partners ....       ... Read more...


Our iCREST Education Initiative is now the independent US-based 501(c) iCREST Foundation

 Please check out www.icrestfoundation.org for more details          Mission The fledgling iCREST education initiative is dedicated to building an Earth resilience literacy among high schoolers worldwide. The goal is to enable students to examine sustainability and resilience choices using data and models, and then, empowered with narrative and storytelling skills, become effective advocates for sensible solutions. iCREST is the initiative of the International Centre for Earth Simulation, a Swiss foundation embracing resilience, sustainability, ecology, and holistic modeling. The iCREST Education Advisory Board (EAB - see below) brings a wide range of expertise to the enterprise. Through its multipronged focus, iCREST aims to enable its youthful participants to contribute to community wellbeing and grow to be wise, civically engaged adults. Overview iCREST is aiming to provide a web-based system that allows students to do... Read more...


AI, Robotics, Machine Learning

We can fully expect that the world of AI, Robotics and Machine Learning will accelerate human understanding of Earth, Space & Social Sciences, and thereby massively assist in achieving the seventeen announced United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by year 2030.  Machine Learning, Deep Learning & Artificial Intelligence: AI  Definitions The impact of AI  AI and life in 2030 Beyond the 'I' in AI      The problem with AI Physics-AI symbiosis  The tipping point for AI  The great AI awakening  Why deep learning, and why now? Deep neural networks are easily fooled The most amazing AI milestones so far Does synthetic data hold the secret to AI?  500 years of robots go on show in London Superintelligence: myth or pressing reality? Machine Learning - things are getting intense AI system surfs web to improve its performance Why deep learning may not be so 'deep' after all Man beats machine at Go in human victory... Read more...


ICES Biennial Workshop IV, 5th December 2017

Modelling the whole Earth System, a challenge whose time has come (and its relevance to the UN SDGs)  08:30-09:00 Introduction to the ICES Foundation Bob Bishop – President & Founder, ICES Foundation 09:00-09:45 Panel session 1:  Open Data – portals, sources, quality control, formats – official vs. crowd-sourcing? Panelists: Dr. Barbara Ryan, Secretariat Director, Intergovt. Group Earth Obs.(GEO)  Dr. Massimo Craglia, Senior Scientist, EC-JRC, Digital Earth Reference Data Moderator: Bob Bishop  09:45-10:30 Panel session 2:  UN goals – SDGs, NDCs, Habitat III, Sendai – cohesion, impact and public support? Panelists: Prof. Peter Head, Chief Executive, The Ecological Sequestration Trust(UK) Dr. Ghassem Asrar, Director, Joint Global Change Research Institute (USA) Moderator: Prof. Jean-Claude Badoux, ICES Ambassador-at-Large, FormerPresEPFL  11:00-11:45 Panel session 3: Extreme... Read more...


Whaley Bridge dam 2019

Climate-driven extreme weather is threatening old bridges with colllapse 2019 Whaley Bridge dam collapse is a wake-up call: concrete infrastructure will not last forever without care   Read more...


ICES Biennial Workshop V

     08:00-08:30 Arrival, registration, refreshments 08:30-09:00 Introduction to ICES and the day’s agenda - Bob Bishop & Barbara Ryan 09:00-09:45 Panel session 1 - Healthy Planet, Healthy People   Moderator Dr. Ghassem Asrar, ICES Expert & Senior VP of Science, Universities Space Research Association;         former Director, Joint Global Change Research Institute, PNNL, US Dept of Energy;         former... Read more...


ICES Biennial Workshop V, December 3rd 2019

    08:00-08:30 Arrival, registration, refreshments 08:30-09:00 Introduction to ICES and the day’s agenda - Bob Bishop & Barbara Ryan 09:00-09:45 Panel session 1 - Healthy Planet, Healthy People   Moderator Dr. Ghassem Asrar, ICES Expert & Senior VP of Science, Universities Space Research Association; former Director, Joint Global Change Research Institute, PNNL, US Dept of Energy; former Director, World Climate Research Program, Geneva ... Read more...


COVID-19

Covid-19 global updated dashboards & toolkits: ncov2019.live Worldometer Germ Tracker  Covid-19 vaccinations UN Covid-19 Data Hub John Hopkins University CSH Corona Traffic Light World Health Organization Covid19 Poops dashboard Covid-19 Weekly newsletter Earth Observing Dashboard Data in the time of Covid-19 NYT Covid-19 vaccine tracker NASA's Earth Observing Dashboard Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity WSJ tracking Covid-19 vaccine distribution Coronavirus Government Response Tracker Cumulatine confirmed Covid-19 deaths per million people  National Geographic - mapping the global spread of the corona virus History and future of epidemics & pandemics: How pandemics end Hunting for 'disease X' Animals, humans, disease 536 AD the worst year in history Visualizing the history of pandemics On the hunt for the next deadly virus Another decade, another coronavirus Pandemic 1: the first modern pandemic Public-private solutions to pandemic... Read more...


Negative Emissions

Direct-from-air CO2 Capture, Negative Carbon Emissions: Negative carbon not on Negative CO2 emissions Enabling direct carbon capture Harvesting electricity from CO2 The role of direct air capture (DAC) Direct air capture of CO2 with chemicals 'Solar Sponge' soaks up CO2 emissions Research priorities for negative emissions The Mechanical Tree' is a 2019 top technology New method developed to remove CO2 from air Pulling CO2 from air vital to curb global warming Converting CO2 into methane or ethane selectively This machine just started sucking CO2 out of the air New biochar model scrubs CO2 from the atmosphere Going negative: removal of CO2 from the atmosphere Nano-spike catalysts convert CO2 directly into ethanol  Engineering a more efficient system for harnessing CO2 Spreading rock dust on farms - an idea how to lock up CO2 Negative emissions - Part 1: research landscape and synthesis The urgency of the development of CO2 capture from ambient air Chemists... Read more...


Infectious Diseases

Epidemics & pandemics: Exponential growth and epidemics Visulaizing the history of pandemics The pandemic threat to human security Perspectives on pandemic risk and response Protecting the world from the threat of pandemics Researchers develop new model to study epidemics It takes a village to protect us from dangerous infections What does turbulence have in common with an epidemic? Three deadly viruses that could spawn the next pandemic World of viruses uncovered - not just unwanted house bugs Do we keep waiting for the next pandemic or try to prevent it? A mysterious infection, spanning the globe in a climate of secrecy Emerging viral diseases: confronting threats with new technologies Humans are not prepared for a pandemic caused by fungal infections Global health experts advise advance planning for inevitable pandemic Improving decision support for infectious disease prevention and control World leaders simulate a pandemic that will become 'sooner than we... Read more...


Astrobiology, Colonisation, SETI, Space Tourism, Health Risk, Propulsion, Navigation, Computation, Re-entry

The emerging space economy: Can space save Earth? Life in space: Looking for life Life, here and beyond Astrobiology at NASA NASA's astrobiology roadmap A modern way to lookfor aliens Intelligence as a planetary scale process What is life? Its vast diversity defies easy definition Why extraterrestrial life may not seem entirely alien In the hunt for alien life, this planet just became a top suspect Searching for life where the Sun doesn't shine: Part 1    Part 2   Part 3    Part 4    Part 6 Searching for life on Mars: Lichen on Mars Ancient Atlantis on Mars A yellowstone guide to Mars  Asteroid sites hint at life on Mars  New technique for finding life on Mars Antarctica offers insights into life on Mars  Mars scientists investigate life in Australia Organic carbon from Mars, but not biological Potential signs of ancient life in Mars rover photos Studying meteorites may reveal Mars' secrets of... Read more...


Australian bushfires 2019-20

 Persistent stratosheric warming due to 2019-2020 Australian wildfire smoke Read more...


ICES Biennial Workshop VI

   Wednesday, 28 September 2022 Evening 21:00-22:00 Presentation - Biosphere Restoration Plan - Bru Pearce, Chairman of Envisionation (UK)  ... Read more...