News and Updates

NOAA CoastWatch/PacIOOS Satellite and Ocean Data Training Course
Based on the popularity of their workshop at the 2024 Pacific Islands GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference and their recent PGRSC webinar from October 2025; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) CoastWatch and Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) would like to formally invite you to attend the free NOAA CoastWatch/PacIOOS Satellite and Ocean Data Training Course. This course will be hosted virtually from February 10-13, 2026, 9 AM-3 PM (Fiji Standard Time). Attendees will: – Learn where to find …
Free GIS and Remote Sensing Resources Series – Weeks 13-20
On behalf of the Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC), we apologize for the pause in our series to promote free GIS and remote sensing resources (webinars, instructional videos, technical manuals, e-books, etc.) to increase capacity, awareness, and skill development for the Pacific Islands geospatial community. During November and December, we were quite busy preparing for 2025 Pacific Islands GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference in Fiji and the following holidays. To make up for …
Happy New Year from PGRSC!
As we step into a new year, PGRSC extends its warmest wishes to all our partners, communities, and supporters around the world. The year ahead brings new challenges, but also renewed opportunities to strengthen solidarity, promote resilience, and work collectively toward a more sustainable and equitable future. Guided by our shared values and commitments, we remain dedicated to advancing our mission and supporting the communities we serve. Thank you for your trust, collaboration, and continued …
🌐 Just Released: 2025 Issue 2 of the Pacific Islands GIS & RS Newsletter!
We’re excited to share the newest issue of the Pacific Islands GIS & Remote Sensing Newsletter — now available! In this edition, we spotlight a major step forward for the Pacific geospatial community: a new Memorandum of Understanding between the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Pacific GIS & Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC). This partnership strengthens outreach, training, and regional coordination to ensure that satellite and geospatial technologies better support informed decision-making across the Pacific. The …
Sponsor
On behalf of PGRSC, we would like to extend our deepest appreciation to 𝗔𝗾𝘂𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 for being a 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 of PGRSC and the 2025 Pacific Islands GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference in Suva, Fiji!𝗔𝗾𝘂𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 is Fiji's premiere water suppliers. Hailing from the pristine landscapes of Fiji, 𝗔𝗾𝘂𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰's artesian mineral water encapsulates the pure essence of its exotic origin and, as part of 𝗔𝗾𝘂𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰's commitment to nature, their sustainable bottling plant runs …
Sponsor
On behalf of PGRSC, we would like to extend our deepest appreciation to LandPro Ltd.  for being a Sponsor of PGRSC and the 2025 Pacific Islands GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference in Suva, Fiji! Sponsor LandPro Ltd. is a multi-disciplinary team of environmental consultants using smart technology and deep local expertise to support better outcomes for people, land, and water across regional New Zealand. https://landpro.co.nz/
Bronze Sponsor
On behalf of PGRSC, we would like to extend our deepest appreciation to OSGeo Oceania for being a 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 of PGRSC and the 2025 Pacific Islands GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference in Suva, Fiji! Bronze Sponsor 𝗢𝗦𝗚𝗲𝗼 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮 is a volunteer organisation devoted to growing and enabling the OpenStreetMap and Open Source Geospatial communities in Oceania.https://osgeo-oceania.org/
Poster Contest and Bronze Sponsor
On behalf of PGRSC, we would like to extend our deepest appreciation to Vodafone Fiji for being the 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 of PGRSC and the 2025 Pacific Islands GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference in Suva, Fiji! Poster Competition and Bronze Sponsor 𝗩𝗼𝗱𝗮𝗳𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗷𝗶 is Fiji's leading mobile telecommunications provider, serving thousands of customers. https://www.vodafone.com.fj
Gold Sponsor
On behalf of PGRSC, we would like to extend our deepest appreciation to 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮 and the 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 for being 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀 of PGRSC and the 2025 Pacific Islands GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference in Suva, Fiji! Gold Sponsor Gold Sponsor 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮 is a research institution whose aim is to make atmospheric, climatic, oceanographic, seismic and space data available in order to understand and predict the history, functioning and evolution of the …
Still time to Register!
What: 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗚𝗜𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲Where: 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰, 𝗦𝘂𝘃𝗮, 𝗙𝗶𝗷𝗶When: 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟰 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟴, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱Conference theme: “𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀”. It is not too late to submit a presentation and register for the largest GIS and remote sensing conferences in the Pacific Islands region!!! We already have over 𝟲𝟱 𝗚𝗜𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 registered …
Platinum Sponsor
On behalf of PGRSC, we would like to extend our deepest appreciation to the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Digital Earth Pacific project for being 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗺 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀 of PGRSC and the 2025 Pacific Islands GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference in Suva, Fiji! Platinum Sponsor Platinum Sponsor The Pacific Community supports sustainable development by applying a people-centred approach to science, research and technology across all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Digital Earth Pacific provides decision-makers …
Travel Award and General Sponsor
On behalf of PGRSC, we would like to extend our deepest appreciation to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for being 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀 of PGRSC and the 2025 Pacific Islands GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference in Suva, Fiji! The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmBH is the main development agency of Germany. It is headquartered in Bonn and Eschborn and provides services in the field of international development cooperation …
Free GIS and Remote Sensing Resources Series – Week 12: Global Fishing Watch
On behalf of the Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC), we welcome you to Week 12 of our series to promote free GIS and remote sensing resources (webinars, instructional videos, technical manuals, e-books, etc.) to increase capacity, awareness, and skill development for the Pacific Islands geospatial community. Last week, we introduced the Copernicus ERA5 Reanalysis Dataset – a high-resolution, global, and hourly atmospheric, land, and ocean dataset, which are used to generate drought indicators. This week we will explore …
Free GIS and Remote Sensing Resources Series – Week 11: Copernicus ERA5 Reanalysis Dataset
On behalf of the Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC), we welcome you to Week 11 of our series to promote free GIS and remote sensing resources (webinars, instructional videos, technical manuals, e-books, etc.) to increase capacity, awareness, and skill development for the Pacific Islands geospatial community. Last week, we provided a recap of the first 10 weeks of free resources that we posted. This week we will explore the Copernicus ERA5 Reanalysis Dataset – a high-resolution, global, and …
𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱!!!
What: 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗚𝗜𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲Where: 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰, 𝗦𝘂𝘃𝗮, 𝗙𝗶𝗷𝗶When: 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟰 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟴, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱Conference theme: “𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀”.   It is not too late to submit a presentation and register for the largest GIS and remote sensing conferences in the Pacific Islands region!!! We already have over 𝟲𝟱 𝗚𝗜𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 …
Free GIS and Remote Sensing Resources Series – Week 10: Google Earth Engine Course and Tutorial from Spatial Thoughts
On behalf of the Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC), we welcome you to Week 10 of our series to promote free GIS and remote sensing resources (webinars, instructional videos, technical manuals, e-books, etc.) to increase capacity, awareness, and skill development for the Pacific Islands geospatial community. Last week, we introduced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) dataset – a free high spatial resolution global weather and …
Free GIS and Remote Sensing Resources Series – Week 9: Global Historical Climatology Network daily (GHCNd) temperature and precipitation data
On behalf of the Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC), we welcome you to Week 9 of our series to promote free GIS and remote sensing resources (webinars, instructional videos, technical manuals, e-books, etc.) to increase capacity, awareness, and skill development for the Pacific Islands geospatial community. Last week, we introduced the WorldClim project – a free online database of high spatial resolution global weather and climate data that can be used for mapping and spatial modeling. This week …
Free GIS and Remote Sensing Resources Series – Week 8: WorldClim weather and climate data
On behalf of the Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC), we welcome you to Week 8 of our series to promote free GIS and remote sensing resources (webinars, instructional videos, technical manuals, e-books, etc.) to increase capacity, awareness, and skill development for the Pacific Islands geospatial community. Last week, we introduced the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) Voyager project – an online web mapping application that provides visualisation of historic, real-time, and forecasted ocean conditions. This week we …
Free GIS and Remote Sensing Resources Series – Week 7: PacIOOS Voyager
On behalf of the Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC), we welcome you to Week 7 of our series to promote free GIS and remote sensing resources (webinars, instructional videos, technical manuals, e-books, etc.) to increase capacity, awareness, and skill development for the Pacific Islands geospatial community. Last week, we introduced the GeoAI: Artificial Intelligence for Geospatial Data project – a Python library for image classification and segmentation.. This week we will explore online web mapping applications that provide …
Free GIS and Remote Sensing Resources Series – Week 6: GeoAI
On behalf of the Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC), we welcome you to Week 6 of our series to promote free GIS and remote sensing resources (webinars, instructional videos, technical manuals, e-books, etc.) to increase capacity, awareness, and skill development for the Pacific Islands geospatial community. Last week, we advertised a free massive open online course (MOOC) hosted by Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc (ESRI) on October 22, 2025 for working with various imagery. This week we will …

  • The Varda Space Industries W-5 capsule returned to Earth in Koonibba in South Australia on Jan. 29, 2026, with the protection of a heat shield made of C-PICA, a cutting-edge […]
  • A full moon is seen shining over NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher in the early hours of February 1, 2026.
  • NASA's Orion spacecraft sits atop the agency's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at the launch pad after rollout on Jan. 17, 2026.
  • Deep Space Station 15 (DSS-15), one of the 112-foot (34-meter) antennas at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, looks skyward, with the stars of the Milky Way […]

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