2026 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium

Washington Hilton

Aug 9 - 15, 2026

Washington Hilton

Washington, D.C., United States

Aug 9 - 15, 2026

Washington, D.C., United States

About the Conference

The International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) is the flagship conference of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS). The 46th IGARSS will be held in Washington, D.C., the United States of America, on 9-14 August 2026. The theme of IGARSS 2026 is 'The Future of Earth Observations'. IGARSS 2026 will examine the future Earth observation technologies for solving grand challenges faced by our Earth and society and promote collaborative global solutions using such technologies.

Subject Areas

Special Themes (SP) A: AI and Big Data T: Theory and Techniques C: Cryosphere L: Land Applications M: Atmosphere Applications O: Oceans G: Geosphere P: Remote Sensing of Planetary and other Celestial Bodies S: Sensors D: Data and Society

Keynote Speakers

Prof. Indroyono Soesilo

Academic Plenary Speaker · Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the United States of America

Rei Goffer

Featured Industry Speaker · Tomorrow.io

Karen St. Germain

Government Perspective · NASA

Timothy Walsh

Government Perspective · NOAA NESDIS

Important Dates

2025-11-15 Abstract/Manuscript Submission System Online CLOSED

2026-01-17 Abstract/Manuscript Submission Deadline · Also listed as 10 January 2026 on the Call for Papers page CLOSED

2026-01-17 Student Paper Competition Deadline CLOSED

2026-03-22 Travel Support Application Deadline CLOSED

2026-03-19 Notifications of Acceptance to Authors · Also listed as 15 March 2026 on the Call for Papers page CLOSED

2026-04-15 Notification of Travel Support Decision · Also listed as 24 April 2026 CLOSED

2026-04-01 Registration Opens CLOSED

2026-04-30 Early Bird Registration Closes CLOSED

2026-04-30 Accepted Paper Registration Deadline CLOSED

2026-05-15 Technical Program Online CLOSED

2026-08-09 Conference Dates · 9 - 14 August 2026 CLOSED

Call For Papers

Special Themes (SP)

SP.1: Geoscience and Remote Sensing in Developing Countries SP.2: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable, Understandable, Secure, and Trustworthy (FAIRUST) Best Practices SP.3: Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Governance in Remote Sensing SP.4: Quantum Technologies for Earth Observation SP.5: Commercial and Industry-led Remote Sensing

A: AI and Big Data

A.1: High Performance Computing in Remote Sensing A.2: Foundation Models in Geoscience A.3: Large-scale Machine Learning A.4: Real-time Analytics, On-board Processing and Edge Computing A.5: IoT in Geoscience and Remote Sensing A.6: Digital Twins

T: Theory and Techniques

T.1: Interferometry: Along and Across T.2: Differential SAR Interferometry T.3: Multi-Channel DBF Imaging Techniques T.4: PolSAR and POlInSAR T.5: Bistatic and Multistatic SAR T.6: Tomography T.7: Sub-surface Sensing T.8: Feature Extraction and Reduction T.9: Image Segmentation T.10: 3D Mapping T.11: Object Detection and Recognition T.12: Classification and Clustering T.13: Inversion Techniques T.14: Change Detection and Temporal Analysis T.15: Hyperspectral Data Processing and Analysis T.16: Unmixing Analysis T.17: RFI Detection and Mitigation T.18: Multimodal Data Fusion T.19: Spatio-temporal Data Harmonization T.20: Microwave Modeling T.21: Optical Modeling T.22: Polarimetric Modeling T.23: Modeling for Signals of Opportunity (e.g. GNSS-R)

C: Cryosphere

C.1: Snow Cover C.2: Ice Sheets and Glaciers C.3: Sea Ice C.4: Permafrost

L: Land Applications

L.1: Land Use Applications L.2: Land Cover Dynamics L.3: Forest and Vegetation: Application and Modelling L.4: Forest and Vegetation: Biomass and Carbon Cycle L.5: Agriculture L.6: Urban and Built Environment L.7: Land Surveying, Geodesy and Topography L.8: Soils and Soil Moisture L.9: Wetlands L.10: Inland Waters L.11: Geology and Geomorphology

M: Atmosphere Applications

M.1: Precipitation and Clouds M.2: Numerical Weather Prediction and Data Assimilation M.3: Atmospheric Sounding M.4: Aerosols and Atmospheric Chemistry M.5: Ionospheric Remote Sensing

O: Oceans

O.1: Ocean Biology (Color, coral reefs) and Water Quality O.2: Ocean Surface Winds and Currents O.3: Ocean Temperature and Salinity O.4: Ocean Altimetry O.5: Coastal Zones

G: Geosphere

G.1: Earth System Modeling

P: Remote Sensing of Planetary and other Celestial Bodies

P.1: Moon P.2: Mars P.3: Other Celestial Bodies

S: Sensors

S.1: Spaceborne SAR Missions S.2: Spaceborne Passive Microwave Missions S.3: Spaceborne GNSS-R Missions S.4: Spaceborne Hyperspectral Missions S.5: Spaceborne LIDAR Missions S.6: Multi-platform Earth Observation S.7: High Altitude Platforms S.8: Unmanned Aerial Systems and Payloads S.9: Ground-based Systems S.10: Sensors Using Signals of Opportunity (e.g. GNSS-R) S.11: Lidar Sensors S.12: Passive Optical Multi- and Hyperspectral Sensors S.13: SAR Instruments S.14: Scatterometer, Clouds and Rain Radar S.15: Microwave Radiometer Instruments S.16: Ground Penetrating Radar S.17: Advanced Future Instrument Concepts

D: Data and Society

D.1: Data Management Systems and Security D.2: Remote Sensing Data and Policy Decisions D.3: Education and Remote Sensing D.4: Standards in Remote Sensing D.5: Geographic Information Systems D.6: Citizen and Open Science D.7: Risk and Disaster Management (Extreme Weather, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, etc) D.8: Remote Sensing for Food Security D.9: Remote Sensing for Sustainable Development D.10: Remote Sensing for Climate Change Impacts

Publication & Indexing

PublisherIEEE

IndexingIEEE Xplore

Conference Organization

In cooperation with

IEEE CMS Worldwide

Organized by

IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS)

Committee

General Chair

Liping Di

IEEE Fellow · CSISS, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

Mitch Goldberg

Distinguished Research Professor · City College of New York for the NOAA Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies (CESSRST), NY, USA

Michael Seablom

Earth Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., USA

Technical Program Co-Chair

Jenny Q. Du

Mississippi State University, MS

John Kerekes

Rochester Institute of Technology, NY

Jeff Piepmeier

IEEE Fellow

Jennifer C. Wei

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Finance Co-Chair

Liying Guo

George Mason University, VA

Ruixin Yang

George Mason University, VA

Local Arrangements Chair

Zhengwei Yang

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC

Publicity Co-Chair

Sudhir R. Shrestha

NOAA NESDIS Center for Satellites Applications and Research (STAR)

Sirish Uprety

CISESS/ESSIC, University of Maryland College Park, USA

Social Program Chair

Paolo de Matthaeis

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

Publications Co-Chair

John Qu

George Mason University, VA

Zhiliang Zhu

U.S. Geological Survey

Social Media Chair

Zhe Guo

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Exhibits Chair

Eugene Yu

George Mason University, VA

Student Activities Chair

Ruixin Yang

George Mason University, VA

Technical Tour Chair

Changyong Cao

NOAA/NESDIS/STAR

TIE Forum Chair

Chen Zhang

George Mason University, VA

Government Liaison Co-Chair

Flavio Iturbide-Sanchez

NOAA/NESDIS/Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR)

Upendra Singh

NASA Engineering and Safety Center

Private Sector Liaison Co-Chair

Barry Tilton

KBR Inc.

Frank Avila

Tutorial Co-Chair

Katarina Doctor

US Naval Research Laboratory

Christopher Funk

Kitware, NY

Feng Gao

USDA-ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Lab

Conference Secretary

Liying Guo

George Mason University, VA

Ruixin Yang

George Mason University, VA

Eugene Yu

George Mason University, VA

Chen Zhang

George Mason University, VA

Summer School Program Co-Chair

Ramesh Singh

Chapman University, Orange, CA

John Qu

George Mason University, VA