ERSEC Conference on Understanding, Extinction and Prevention of Spontaneous Coal Seam Fires Beijing, China

29 November – 01 December 2005

Official information

The conference is organized by the Beijing branch of the Unesco in the context of the ERSEC programme. Klick the two links below to reach the official home page and additional information:

Overview

Coal has been used as an energy reserve for centuries and it will be an important resource for the future. Besides other fossil fuels it has remained indispensable for our energy demand. Coal fires not only destroy coal resources - particularly those that could be easily exploited - but they also lead to blockage and devaluation of coal resources in the seams below, above and around them. Several coal fires are known from different coal fields world-wide. China, India, USA, Australia, Indonesia and South Africa are the main countries affected by coal fires. In result the mine workers and the people living in the surrounding area are affected by large amounts of aerosols and toxic gases, like carbon monoxide or sulphur oxides. But also greenhouse relevant gasses such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides are being released in large amounts affecting the environment. Additional hazards include land-subsidence, contamination of drinking water and damage of flora and fauna occur around the fires. Protecting the economically valuable coal resources and the environment is of great relevance on a national and international level. Therefore, coal fires are a global issue and subject of international scientific cooperation.

Ecological Research for Sustaining the Environment in China (ERSEC) is a joint effort between the Chinese Ministry of Education, the German Ministry of Education and Research and the UNESCO Office Beijing to promote the practical use of ecological research results in China by creating a dialogue between scientists and policy-makers. This conference will gather specialists from China, Germany and other parts of the world. We would like to include presentations of real case studies, and promote an active discussion on the main topics of the conference.

Targeted primarily at political decision-makers and institutions that deal with resource management in China as well as the public, this conference provides scientists from the associated Sino-German ecological research projects as well as other interested scientists with a platform for an interdisciplinary exchange among scientists and institutional experts. The discussions are aimed at deriving or refining recommendations for implementing socioeconomically viable and environmentally friendly policy measures in non-technical terms. The presentations and a summary of the discussions will subsequently be published in an Ecological Book Series.

Objectives of the Conference

1. Promote the application and extension of scientific research results through specific recommendations for policy-makers;
2. Facilitate the exchange and integration of multi-disciplinary research regarding coal seam fires;
3. Encourage international research cooperation by providing a platform in multilateral forum to discuss and share the bilateral research, i.e. exchange of international experience and information on coal fire.

Conference Topics

Sessions about one given topic around invited talk(s), contributed talks and panel discussion will be organized. Additional poster presentations will be accepted. Oral and poster contributions are solicited. The number of Oral contribution will be limited, and part of the time will be devoted to panel discussion. Emphasis will be put on the following topics:

1. Spontaneous fires on outcropping coal seams as a worldwide challenge for resource conservation and climate protection.
2. Estimates of the global impact of coal seam fires
3. Understanding the process of ignition, combustion and inertisation of coal seam fires
4. Laboratory scale experiments and numerical modelling
5. Prevention, extinction and monitoring of coal seam fires
6. Remote sensing as a tool for monitoring and assessment
7. Localisation and geometrical definition of coal fire areas by means of geophysical airborne and ground surveys