Appendix - Surface Based Remote Sensing of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer - page 152

Appendix
A.1 Introduction
ISARS, the “International Society of Acoustic Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere
and Oceans”, is an informal association of scientists from all over the world. Its
main activity is the organization of the series of conferences, which were origi-
nally called “International Symposia on Acoustic Remote Sensing and Associated
Techniques of the Atmosphere and Oceans” (also abbreviated ISARS). The Society
was founded in 1979 in Boulder, and the first ISARS conference was held in Calgary
in 1981. The society meets and holds elections at every ISARS conference. The
idea behind this conference series is to provide a regular forum for researchers
to present recent developments in remote-sensing technology and applications to
the atmospheric boundary layer. Furthermore, the conferences have always been
an opportunity to bring manufactures and scientists together. The intention is that
scientists from all over the world should participate and the cost should be held
relatively low.
A.2 Name and Scope
While the abbreviation ISARS has remained unchanged for the society and for
its conferences since Calgary 1981, the words for the name of the conferences
have been changed from “International Symposium on Acoustic Remote Sensing
and Associated Techniques of the Atmosphere and Oceans” to “International
Symposium for the Advancement of Boundary Layer Remote Sensing (ISARS)”.
This decision was taken at the 12th ISARS conference in Cambridge in 2004,
because other techniques than the acoustic ones have also become important for
boundary layer remote sensing in the preceding years. Therefore, it had been
decided in Cambridge to enlarge the scope of ISARS and to include also optical
and electromagnetic techniques for boundary layer remote sensing. The scope of
the ISARS conferences now comprises SODARs, LIDARs, microwave radiome-
ters, and boundary layer wind profilers. This broadening widens the spectrum of
applications discussed at ISARS conferences. In former times, when concentrating