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GISAT contributes to the development and establishing of new innovative methodology for early detection and monitoring of selected invasive plant species using UAV remote sensing methods.

Plant invasions represent a serious threat to modern changing landscapes. They have devastating economic impacts, affect human health, and threaten biodiversity and ecosystem functionality. Despite the growing worldwide efforts to control and eradicate invasive species, their menace and abundance grows. This leads to growing research interest in this field. New techniques of fast and precise monitoring providing information on the spatial structure of invasions are needed in order to implement efficient management strategies

The project aims at developing innovative methods of mapping invasive plant species by using purposely designed unmanned aircraft (UAV). The methodology will be tested on two herb and two tree invasive species: giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), knotweed (Fallopia japonica; F. sachalinensis; and F. bohemica), tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). All selected species belong to the hundred most aggressive invaders according to the European database of invasive species DAISIE.

The goal is to establish fast, repeatable and efficient computer-assisted method of timely monitoring, reducing the costs of extensive field campaigns. For finding the best detection algorithm various classification approaches (object-, pixel-based and hybrid) are tested. Thanks to its flexibility and low cost, UAV enables assessing the effect of phenological stage and spatial resolution, and is most suitable for monitoring the efficiency of eradication efforts. However, several challenges exist in UAV application, such as geometrical and radiometric distortions, high amount of data to be processed and legal constrains for the UAV flight missions over urban areas (often highly invaded).

Developed methodology will be applicable in both monitoring of existing invasions and early detection of invasion onset, i.e. in a phase when eradication measures are significantly more effective and less expensive compared to later stages of invasion. Resulting combination of UAV data acquisition and semi-automatic image exploitation procedures will serve as a base of a new service bringing the monitoring results to customers (invasive species researchers, management practitioners and policy makers) in fast and effective manner.

The project team is formed by three partners, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences (project lead), Institute for Aerospace Engineering of Brno University of Technology and Gisat.

The project is funded through the ALFA programme run by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. The programme aims to support applied research and experimental development especially in the field of advanced technologies, materials and systems, energy resources and the protection and creation of the environment and the sustainable development of transport.

Gisat provides wide range of geoinformation services based on Earth Observation technology. It focuses on operational application of satellite mapping to monitor various aspects of our environment and development of dedicated web based platforms for geoinformation analysis and assessment
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The inexorable rush of technology affects all organisations. National Mapping Agencies (NMAs), having celebrated their existence of 100 years or more, at times feel overwhelmed by this rush. Time and tide and, I may add technology, wait for no one. It is a situation of absorb or perish. As the demand and need for geospatial content went up manifold, NMAs had to quickly change strategies to stay relevant in the game.

There was a greater rush for accurate maps, regulations on what is being mapped by private players and how, and more user-friendly applications to cater to the demand of the industry. And NMAs had no choice, but to adopt and adapt to technology in their fields of work. Of course, the adoption has not been uniform. There are two aspects to it — the policy environment for the adoption of new technologies and processes, and the inclusion of data from these new technologies and processes.

“Our overall aim is to deliver the best data to the society; be they private companies, governmental bodies and agencies, including the municipalities, or public at large,” says Anne Cathrine Frøstrup, Director General of Kartverket, Norway. “Everyone should have the right to easy, accessible data. The data we distribute is ‘public owned’, therefore it is important that every user, including the public, also gets the data required,” she adds.
A very forward-looking approach that is worth emulating globally.

Interestingly, as Frøstrup points out, ever since data became open and free of charge, there has been a significant increase in the demand for data, proving how important it is to make data easily accessible in all respects. Almost all countries talk of Spatial Data Infrastructures, or SDIs, as the medium for data sharing and delivery. Developed countries like Norway are creating a single massive depository of all types of data, while in larger countries, one may require a distributed architecture. That said, what is important is the need for data to be freely available to a wide variety of users. Stuart Minchin, Chief, Environment Geoscience Division, Geoscience, Australia, calls it essential in today’s world as geospatial content is becoming economically significant.

Authoritative Data and NMAs

Traditionally, the NMAs have been mandated to be the creators and suppliers of authoritative, trustworthy, comprehensive and regularly updated data, like national and international boundaries, place names, locations of cities, towns and villages, transport infrastructure and most importantly, precise geodetic benchmarks. Such data is of guaranteed quality and contents, so it can be used for conflict resolution, disaster response and management, planning and implementation.

“Authoritative data is frequently updated and because of this, the comprehensive accurate data offers high levels of trust to users and customers,” says Peter ter Haar, Director of Products and Innovation, Ordnance Survey, Great Britain. Location data is used by both public and private sector to deliver a vast range of products and services — which now include emerging areas like Smart Cities, Internet of Things and Big Data — by geospatially connecting datasets and information sources, including sensors and beacons. A common, authoritative geospatial dataset leads to easier decision making, and reduces confusion, conflict and error.

However, in large countries, some of this work gets delegated to local government bodies in their areas of jurisdiction. But, they also have to follow the base authoritative data of the NMA and need to get it vetted and approved for distribution and use. In countries like Norway, the NMA may set the standards for the private companies to collect data, but manage its distribution.

Thus, the question arises whether the NMAs should be the only source of authoritative data. Frøstrup believes We should not be the only ones. Every public agency distributing datasets from our ‘common heritage’ must expect to meet the same expectations from the society

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EUROCONSULT: The 7th Summit on Earth Observation Business concluded in Paris after two days of hectic activities on Friday. The event, a unique opportunity for top-level executives and senior government officials of the earth observation & geoinformation communities to gather, present and share ideas, was part of Euroconsult’s World Satellite Business Week.

Bringing together over 200 presidents, CEOs, CFOs and senior government officials, the conference was a unique occasion to review business models, assess customer requirements, network, do business and refine development strategies.

Speaking at the summit, expert after expert noted that the supply and demand of earth observation continues to evolve. Following a few years of slower growth as a result of reduced US defence spending, the market for commercial EO data sales grew by 11% to total $1.6 billion in 2014, revealed Adam Keith, Euroconsult’s Managing Director for Canada. Keith noted that the global defence sector remains the main growth driver, brought about by continued geographical tensions and limited proprietary very high resolution data. The opening plenary session, comprising heavy duty EO industry stalwarts such as DigitalGlobe CEO Jeffry Tarr, Airbus Defence and Space Senior Vice President Bernard Brenner, MDA Geospatial Services General Manager David Belton, e-GEOs CEO Marcello Maranesi and Imagesat CEO Noam Segal deliberated on the strategies on how to maintain business growth in a market that is seeing increased competition from several new entrants.

The other sessions ranged from the Copernicus programme, how national institutions were meeting the demand in data and services, to EO data supporting sustainable development. While leading satellite manufacturers deliberated on strategies for turnkey solutions, there was a discussion around how data and service distributors were acting as key players between operators and end users. Another important takeaway was the new era of constellations and video offerings from emerging space operators. There was a lot of discussion around the evolution of the small satellite market and disruptive technologies like Big Data, 3D modelling and the likes are creating a niche market. Amid all this, it remains to be seen how EO operators adapt to a competitive market.

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(30 September 2015) MDA’s Information Systems group has released two new Radarsat-2 imaging modes for commercial use.

These modes are designed specifically for maritime monitoring and will enhance the capabilities of the Radarsat-2 satellite:

The Ship Detection mode. A mode that provides superior ship detection capability for ships 25 meters in length or greater, over areas as large as 450 kilometers x 500 kilometers in a single Radarsat-2 scene. The Ship Detection mode is ideal for applications such as monitoring illegal fishing and sovereignty protection.

The Ocean Surveillance mode. A mode that provides maritime monitoring capabilities for a variety of maritime applications. The Ocean Surveillance mode can image areas as large as 530 kilometers x 500 kilometers in a single scene. This mode also delivers ship detection capability, but includes monitoring of other ocean features such as detecting oil on water, ice and wind analysis and wake detection.

The Radarsat-2 satellite has global high-resolution surveillance capabilities that include a large collection capacity and high accuracy. The satellite acquires data regardless of light or weather conditions, provides frequent re-visit imaging options, and is supported by ground receiving stations that provide near real-time information delivery services. This versatility makes Radarsat-2 a reliable source of information in multi-faceted intelligence surveillance and monitoring programs.

(source: MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates)

Dimitri Papadakis and Lefteris Mamais are two entrepreneurs who launched their start-up consulting firm Evenflow in January of this year, with an eye on turning the promise of space technology into benefits of decision-makers, businesses and the wider public. The co-founders discuss the opportunities that new, free and open data and services, such as those provided by the EU flagship programmes Copernicus and Galileo, offer to the geospatial industry, and the challenges linked to their exploitation.

The breadth, volume and impact of geospatial applications is continuously growing. Examples of new and innovative applications abound, from monitoring the ground deformation caused by earthquakes (e.g. Chile and Nepal) and using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to map diamond mines in Africa to exploiting the geo-location capabilities of mobile devices within citizen observatory projects. Despite the troubling global economic climate, the growth and economic output of the geospatial sector in recent years has been remarkable; it generates between $150 and $270 Bn annually, and recent studies project an annual growth of 8-10% for the global market.

There is a host of good reasons behind this growth: the massive explosion in global smartphone sales (1 Bn in 2013) driven largely by the development of successful location-based apps; the emergence of new Earth Observation business models backed by risk capital (e.g. Skybox, Planet Labs, Urthecast); the development of sophisticated cloud-based platforms for intensive data processing (e.g. CloudEO); significant public investment in the development of EO and GNSS-based downstream services; and, of course, the increasing availability of new, free and open data sources.

The advent of Copernicus’ free, full and open data policy, the reality of the multi-GNSS era, and the rapid uptake of UAV- or crowd-sourced data, create ample opportunities for the development of innovative applications while challenging the resourcefulness of entrepreneurs and service providers. These new and enhanced data sources, forming part of a “data revolution”, promise to address a range of societal challenges and create economic benefits across a number of domains, via their exploitation in the form of value-adding “downstream” services. Cost-effective road transport, increased agricultural yields, efficient emergency management services and robust climate change monitoring are just a few examples of the benefit areas which such downstream services support.

The need for informed, sound and often real-time decision-making is driving the improvement of existing applications and the development of new ones, and hence, the growth and evolution of the geospatial sector. Citizens, business managers and policy makers alike stand to benefit and profit from the combination of multiple new, free and open sources of geospatial data in tailored downstream applications and services.

Per aspera…

In fulfilling this need, a number of challenges need to be overcome. Managing, ensuring the interoperability of, and extracting value from multiple sources of data calls for new tools and methodologies. A storm of activity is now brewing around the theme of “Big Data for Space”, both within public institutions and in the private sector.

The development of new and innovative geospatial solutions requires the systematic identification of end-user requirements, whilst new user communities also need to be identified and made aware of the potential benefits to their industries or activities. Only in the last few years, for example, has the insurance industry started to systematically use Earth Observation data for its risk and damage assessment functions.

Moreover, the exploitation of the opportunities presented by these solutions requires knowledge of potential new markets, and the development of effective commercialisation strategies. This will be further supported in the long term by the availability of a highly-skilled workforce equipped not only to carry out the relevant science and technology aspects but also effectively link them to societal and business needs1.

…ad astra

Inspired by the complexity and intrinsically synergetic nature of the geospatial sector (across disciplines, skills and nations), and driven to address the above challenges, Evenflow was founded in January 2015. Our aspiration to support the broader uptake of geospatial solutions builds on our combined experience of the space sector in both institutional and commercial settings, and our extensive engagement with key stakeholder groups, i.e. academia and industry, as part of R&D projects or in the context of consulting activities.

Evenflow strives to communicate the various aspects of geospatial solutions to the respective user communities, raise their awareness vis-à-vis the corresponding business opportunities, engage them together with industrial or academic stakeholders in the implementation of novel collaborative R&D projects and, finally, support the intelligent exploitation of those projects’ results.

A concrete case which exemplifies the challenging yet highly inspiring nature of our work as young professionals in the geospatial sector is a Horizon 2020 project which Evenflow recently won. The APOLLO project will use free and open data from the Copernicus Sentinels 1 and 2 (complemented with other sources) to provide small farmers with a suite of services, including irrigation scheduling, crop growth monitoring and crop yield estimation. Evenflow is leading the communication and exploitation activities which will contribute towards tapping the reservoir of future potential users, and enable the creation of a sustainable commercial downstream service. In summary, the continuous growth of geospatial services and their increasing tangible impact on a wide range of societal needs comes with its own challenges: the complex fusion of technological aspects, business considerations and end-user requirements, and the development of sustainable strategies for exploitation, communication and uptake amongst the relevant communities. As the data revolution gathers pace, the doors are wide open for new and innovative geospatial services to overcome these challenges, and head for the stars: Per Aspera, Ad Astra.

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Copernicus Land Monitoring Service releases a new product: We’re pleased to announce a new product in our portfolio, a global Water Bodies detection product (known as Version 2). The product is provided in Near Real Time and is a backprocessed since January 2014 onwards, so nearly 2 years of data are available.

The product contains a water bodies (WB) detection layer (at 1km spatial resolution) and a quality information (QUAL) layer, providing information on the occurence of the detected bodies over time. The PROBA-V derived Water Bodies V2 product is provided at global scale in demonstration mode. The quality assessment report shows a good accuracy on omission errors (<10% for pixels with a Water Surface Ration larger than 95%) and an acceptable commission accuracy (~20%) across the globe.

More information can be found at http://land.copernicus.eu/global/products/wb.

The Water Bodies V2 product is currently being tuned to work on the SPOT-VGT dataset to provide a full time-series from 1998 onwards in 2016.

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22 September 2015. Using satellites to predict plant and crop diseases is just one of the fresh ideas produced over a week-long camp dedicated to creating mobile apps using Earth observation data.

Twenty-three developers from nine countries, representing Austria, Britain, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain, gathered last week at ESA’s ESRIN centre in Italy, for the fourth annual Space App Camp.

Their aim was to bring Earth observation data – particularly from the European Copernicus programme – to the everyday user through smartphones.

Each of the teams had a week to create an app from one of five areas: agriculture, emergency and rescue management, environmental protection, marine environments and maritime transportation, or lifestyle and tourism

The teams presented their apps to a panel of judges from ESA and partner companies, who ranked the projects based on innovation, relevance for Copernicus, market and business value, feasibility of the concept and overall presentation.

Thomas Beer, ESA’s Copernicus Policy Coordinator, said: “This year’s participants have been particularly skilled and ambitious. It was a pleasure to see them working hard and interacting with our coaches, helping them to create a perfect prototype app. I hope that each of the six groups will apply for ESA business incubator support.”

The GAIA App won the challenge by proposing the use of satellite data for agriculture, matching areas of interest with possible diseases. This would allow farmers to benefit from early warnings, for evaluating crops at risk. It could also provide tips on how to respond to possible dangerous situations in their fields.

With four participants representing Germany, Greece, Austria and Spain, the winners had the youngest member ever on their team. Germany’s Pascal Weinberger is only 18 years old and recently finished secondary school, while the other three winners, John Zachilas, Lukas Böhler and Pablo Garcia-Nieto Rodriguez, are all university students in computer science and electrical engineering.

John Zachilas from Greece stated: “It was great and extremely interesting to meet such people, since not many of my friends in Greece are into such things.”

Each member of the winning team was presented with a cash prize of €625. All teams were encouraged to apply to one of ESA’s 19 Business Incubation Centres to develop their ideas further.

Responsible for programme planning and coordination of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes, Josef Aschbacher said: “Participants this year have shown impressive app concepts using the newly available Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data

“These satellites, due to the free and open data policy, will increasingly become a widely available information source to inform European citizens about the state of our planet.

“The App Camp participants have very impressively shown how this can work in practice.”

Other apps developed during the week included the Rocket Tourist App, which uses Earth observation and crowdsourced data to locate the best spots for activities. The gQUERY App is an Earth observation-based geolocation search engine for decision-makers and the public. PEBLY is an easy-to-use app for tourists, which provides information on typical holiday activities such as sunbathing, surfing, snorkelling and swimming. SATVR enables dedicated industries such as construction companies and the mining industry to visualise ground deformation by combining Earth observation data and augmented reality. BIOME simplifies the process of research projects for scientists and governments by gathering in situ data and validating EO data in a better way.

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25 September 2015. The launch of Sentinel-5 Precursor is planned for next spring so the satellite is being put through its paces to make sure it is fit for liftoff and life in orbit tracking air pollution. Vibration and acoustic tests are next up.


Sentinel-5 Precursor is the first satellite dedicated to providing information about the atmosphere for Europe’s environmental monitoring Copernicus programme.

With air pollution a serious concern, this new satellite carries the Tropomi instrument an imaging spectrometer that can measure a multitude of trace gases such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide and methane, and aerosols affecting air quality and the climate.

Tropomi was developed as a joint venture between several Dutch institutes and the Netherlands Space Office.

The satellite arrived in Toulouse, France, at the end of July after engineers at Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage, UK, had equipped and tested the satellite with Tropomi.

Now at Intespace’s facilities in Toulouse, it is going through a rigorous series of environmental checks.

The ‘thermal balance and vacuum’ tests have already been completed – in record time. They simulated the vacuum of space along with the huge swings of temperature the satellite will be exposed to as it orbits Earth.

As its name suggests, Sentinel-5 Precursor is the forerunner of the Sentinel-5 instrument that will be carried on the MetOp Second Generation weather satellites, which are expected to start operations around 2021.

Until then, Sentinel-5 Precursor will play an important role in forecasting air quality and supplying decision-makers with accurate information.

With such an important undertaking ahead, it is vital that the satellite is fully tested before it is delivered to the launch site in Plesetsk, northern Russia.

It has now been removed from the chamber and is being prepared for the vibration and acoustic tests.

This involves placing the satellite on a shaker and simulating the worst possible conditions during transport and launch. The acoustic chamber will replicate the very high sound pressure levels during liftoff and its journey into orbit.

In parallel, the ground team at ESA’s ESOC space operations centre in Germany are ramping up efforts to have everything in place for the launch and commissioning phases.

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According to a JRC study published on 24 September, projections under a “high-end“ climate scenario show that river floods in Europe could directly affect more than half a million people a year by 2050 and nearly one million by 2080, as compared to about 200 thousand today. Related annual damages could climb from the current 5.3 billion EUR to up to 40 billion EUR in 2050 and reach 100 billion EUR by 2080, due to the combined effect of climatic change and socio-economic growth.

The study assesses the future flood risk in Europe under high levels of global warming, combining projections of extreme streamflow based on EURO-CORDEX RCP8.5 climate scenarios with recent advances in European flood hazard mapping. Under these high-end climate scenarios, estimates of population affected and direct flood damages indicate that in 2080 the socio-economic impact of river floods in Europe could more than triple, i.e. rise by an average 220% due to climate change alone.

An earlier JRC study published in May 2015, showed a substantial increase in the future flood hazard under high end scenarios, due to a pronounced increase in the frequency of extreme river flooding as opposed to relatively smaller changes in the flood magnitude. In Europe, the flood peaks that currently strike less than once a century are projected to double in frequency within the next few decades. Such flood peaks are mostly above the average protection level of European rivers and may have devastating impacts on our society if adaptation measures are not implemented in due time. The climate projections of the study also indicate a 30% reduction in the mean annual precipitation in southern European countries, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula, Greece and southern Italy. However extreme daily rainfall accumulations are likely to increase across Europe, increasing the need for flood mitigation plans and efficient management of water resources.

Background

EURO-CORDEX is a new generation of downscaled climate projections that is used for climate change impact studies in Europe. The climate RCP8.5 scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assumes the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and foresees a global temperature rise exceeding 4⁰C before the end of the century. RCP8.5 assumes high population, slow income growth, modest technological innovation and energy intensity improvements leading to high energy demand, without change in climate policies.

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Written by Dr Samantha Lavender and Andrew Lavender, the Practical Handbook of Remote Sensing will be published in November 2015 by CRC Press of the Taylor & Francis Group.

It combines Samantha’s 15 years of remote sensing experience, with Andrew’s non-expert perspective as he navigates the subject for the first time.

The book is general how-to guide for anyone wanting to use remote sensing, and quickly guides inexperienced individuals through the principles and science, allowing them to undertake remote sensing at home with just a computer and free-to-access desktop software. The book is very practical with lots of example exercises that walk readers through the process of finding, downloading, analyzing, and viewing environmental data. In addition, there are further exercises and a complementary website to support readers.

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