09/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - ESA organises major earth observation symposium. The Living Planet Symposium 2016 is being organised by the European Space Agency (ESA) on Monday 9 May - Friday 30 May at the Prague Congress Centre. It will focus on the latest results from Europe's satellites and ambitious Earth observation initiatives, such as the Copernicus observation programme. Data generated by the three ESA missions: CryoSat, SMOS and Swarm providing new information on Earth's cryosphere, soil moisture and ocean salinity, and magnetic field, respectively, will also be discussed. The question of "big data", the cornerstone of the future European space strategy (see EUROPE 11540), will be one of the key subjects at the event. One challenge in the future will involve storing considerable quantities of data and using it over a protracted period (30 years and more) in an effort to better understand the mechanisms of climate change, explained the ESA. (PH)