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(Guildford, 15th March 2011) A team of space experts led by British company DMCii participated in a national flooding exercise, “Exercise Watermark”, to determine how satellite imagery, satellite communications and satellite navigation could be used to improve UK emergency response.

The team represented an ongoing project funded via the UK’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) as part of its contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA) IAP programme.

Exercise Watermark was masterminded by the Environment Agency, on behalf of DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government, following recommendations of The Pitt Review into the flooding emergency in June and July 2007 that resulted in 13 deaths and an estimated financial cost of £3 billion. The exercise used scenarios based on severe weather conditions including flooding from the sea, rivers, surface water and reservoirs to put the UK’s emergency plans to the test.

During a disaster, space-based services can provide disaster response teams with up-to-date satellite maps and asset tracking capabilities to improve their situational awareness. Damaged or overloaded communications infrastructure on the ground can be reinforced using satellite telecommunications.

British remote sensing company, DMCii, led the team of space experts who observed Exercise Watermark as part of the ‘Integrating Space Assets for UK Civil Resilience’ project. At the culmination of the 14 month project, the project team will recommend a system using space assets to improve situational awareness for the risks identified in the UK Government’s National Risk Register.

Adina Gillespie, DMCii Project Manager, said: “Exercise Watermark provided the team with a unique first-hand view of how a disaster is handled on the ground. We know the contingency community doesn’t need to understand whizzy gadgetry, so now we’re asking ourselves how can we incorporate information from space assets seamlessly into their existing disaster response procedures”

During the course of the exercise, the incident command centre in Wales coordinated efforts with strategic command operators, whilst feeding into national COBRA meetings at the Cabinet Office in London. The UK resilience project’s experts engaged with emergency services who are not necessarily familiar with space systems and assessed their needs. The project team also added a test activation of the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters to the exercise.

As the UK’s representative in the Charter, DMCii coordinated the response to requests for imagery by the Welsh Assembly Government and Cabinet Office. The European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency and The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and DMCii all responded to the request, supplying satellite imagery from which disaster response maps were produced.

Incident room during Exercise Watermark

The UK resilience project benefits from a five-strong consortium. DMCii and fellow specialist Infoterra UK provide satellite imaging and mapping experience; Avanti Communications provides experience of secure back-up communications; Nottingham Scientific Ltd. is a world leader in safety-critical satellite navigation systems and the British Geological Survey provides additional expertise on a number of geohazards, including groundwater flooding. DMCii will debrief the participants of the exercise next month, looking at how space assets were used during the exercise and how they could be better-used in future civil contingency responses.

About DMC International Imaging Ltd

DMC International Imaging Ltd (DMCii) is a UK based supplier of remote sensing data products and services for international Earth Observation (EO) markets. DMCii supplies programmed and archived optical satellite imagery provided by the multi-satellite Disaster Monitoring Constellation. DMCii’s data is now used in a wide variety of commercial and government applications including agriculture, forestry and environmental mapping.

In partnership with the former British National Space Centre (now UK Space Agency) and the other Disaster Monitoring Constellation member nations (Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey and Spain), DMCii works with the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ to provide free satellite imagery for humanitarian use in the event of major international disasters such as tsunamis, hurricanes, fires and flooding.

DMCii was formed in October 2004 and is a subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), the world leader in small satellite technology. SSTL designed and built the Disaster Monitoring Constellation with the support of the then British National Space Centre and in conjunction with the other Disaster Monitoring Constellation member nations listed above.

For more information, please see www.dmcii.com

About the European Space Agency and the Integrated Applications Promotion (IAP) programme

The European Space Agency is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver ever more benefits to all the citizens of Europe.

The objective of ESA’s Integrated Applications Promotion (IAP) programme is the development of operational services for a wide range of users through the combination of different systems. By using and integrating different space assets (e.g. Earth Observation, satellite communication, satellite navigation, manned space technologies), improved or new services on a regional, national or European scale will be created. Intrinsic to these new applications is the added value of space and the long-term sustainability of the resulting services. The programme thereby responds to user needs in areas such as health, safety, energy, transport and development.

For more information, please see: http://iap.esa.int

About the Technology Strategy Board

The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led, executive, non-departmental public body, established by the government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS).

For more information, please see www.innovateuk.org

Notes to editor:
This press release can be downloaded from http://fwd4.me/vKM
Image caption: Incident room during Exercise Watermark
High quality JPEG images are also available upon request from Robin Wolstenholme.
Press contacts:
Robin Wolstenholme, bcm, www.bcmpublicrelations.com
Tel: +44 (0)1306 882288 Email: r.wolstenholme@bcmpublicrelations.com
Paul Stephens, Sales & Marketing Director, DMC International Imaging Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0)1483 804299 Email: p.stephens@dmcii.com
Tony Sephton, Integrated Applications Department, European Space Agency
Tel: +31 (0)71 56 55554 Email: tony.sephton@esa.int

The Sentinel satellites that are being developed to yield data for information services through Europe’s GMES program also have great potential to advance our understanding of Earth. Scientists gathered recently to discuss how to get the most out of these missions.

The Sentinels for Science workshop, held at ESA’s Centre for Earth Observation in Italy, set the stage for more than 200 scientists to analyze and prioritize how the various data products from Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 could be put to scientific use.

Headed by the European Commission, the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program will provide accurate, timely and easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and help ensure civil security.

Within the framework of this ambitious Earth observation initiative, ESA has been tasked with developing the five new Sentinel missions specifically for the operational needs of the program.

While the aim is to deliver data to feed into GMES information services, the Sentinels could also be of great benefit to science.

Volker Liebig, Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programs said, “The range of sensors carried on the different Sentinels, their ability to provide global coverage and rapid revist times coupled with our commitment to providing long-term data, make these missions highly relevant to gaining a deeper insight into the processes and interactions that make up the Earth system and its changes.

“In order to exploit GMES fully, we need constant feedback of science. This will lead to many new applications, as we have seen with Envisat and other satellites.”

The first Sentinel is planned to launch in 2013. It is a C-band imaging radar mission to provide an all-weather day-and-night supply of imagery of land and ocean surfaces. Sentinel-1 will be followed by Sentinel-2, which carries a multispectral high-resolution optical instrument to monitor vegetation changes. Sentinel-3 carries a multiple instrument package to measure different ocean variables and monitor land.

All three missions will be made up of two identical satellites orbiting as pairs.

Josef Aschbacher, Head ESA’s GMES Space Office noted, “The sentinel data contain crucial information for all Earth sciences, especially climate-change related questions that need long time series.”

Workshop participants also talked about the complementary and synergistic retrieval of data from the Sentinels with that acquired by other Earth observation missions.

The success of the workshop has clearly paved the way for further investigation into how the Sentinels can be of maximum benefit to all users.

The workshop forms part of ESA’s study on Sentinels for Science, or ‘SEN4SCI’, managed by the Remote Sensing Laboratories at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Source RedOrbit

The geo-referenced in-situ component of EO can be a powerful enabler for remote sensing. It can help verify EO data, complement observations, improve resolution and calibrate remote sensing. Geo-referenced photos, video and sensors are relevant in-situ sensors, and they can be on the ground or flown at low altitude using for example microdrones. In-situ observations can identify the need for further remote sensing data or vice versa. However, a common challenge with in-situ is the availability of it – and specifically the rapid availability of it. The latter is due partly to communication challenges in remote regions, or in general for situational awareness.

Rapid availability of both in-situ and satellite data is clearly required during disasters and emergencies, and AnsuR is working closely with both the UN and the EU Civil protection here.

Crowdsourcing, using geo-tagged and time-stamped images can be a powerful element in situational awareness, and can help both verify satellite observations or trigger the capture of such in order to verify in-situ data in a broader perspective.

Synchronized in-situ and remote sensing using prepositioned microdrones is in focus as well. We see this as particularly suitable as a component to GMES.

About AnsuR Technolgies AS

AnsuR Technologies AS is a Norwegian SME, specifically working on rapid access to in-situ data and possibilities for EO integration for use in the context of emergency and disasters, rapid mapping or commercial operations. AnsuR are further leading work in integrated satellite solutions in EU, and builds further on two of its innovation award winning solutions, ASIGN and BirdNest.

ASIGN is the optimal solution for rapid and reliable access to high resolution in-situ data for real-time or near real-time operations. BirdNest is a microdrone docking hangar with remote control options.

AnsuR is initiator and coordinator of the FP7 SPACE Project GEO-PICTURES, and has projects with ESA in the Value Added EO Elements area. Specifically AnsuR has several projects with UN/UNOSAT-UNITAR.

AnsuR is also covering activities when using Smartphone solutions for in-situ visual data, various sensors including climate measurements in the Amazonas and Unmanned Areial Vehicle (UAV) solutions (with Quadro-copters) in the AnsuR BirdEye subsidiary. AnsuR BirdEye is responsible for the BirdNest UAV hangar and the SW control systems. BirdNest can be integrated with ASIGN and coordinated with EO data acquisition.

The goals of AnsuR within EO is the:

  • Integration of real-time in-situ data
  • Coordination and synchronization of in-situ and remote sensing data capture
  • Use of microdrones both to complement space and in-situ observation
  • Offering in-situ and EO data for situational awareness, like emergency, disaster management
  • Raid distribution of in-situ and EO observations to field users

ASIGN in-situ for Situational Awareness and Rapid Mapping

ASIGN from AnsuR is the award-winning solution for optimized transfer of high-resolution geo-referenced multimedia information, video streaming, video files, photos and sensor in-situ data. The main challenge is that one can not rely on stable connections, and have to expect narrowband communication links frequently.

Developed for applications such as disaster and emergency management, damage assessment, surveillance, situational awareness, quality management and photo-journalism, ASIGN images are bearers of important and urgently required information.

Situational awareness cannot be limited to areas of good broadband connection. Therefore, ASIGN can be used over any communication link, a true “anywhere, anytime”, including mobile satellite systems like BGAN. When terrestrial communication links have broken down, or coverage is poor, communication via satellite may be the only viable option. In any event, crisis and emergencies are likely to generate significantly more than usual load on networks.

The in-situ data can form a powerful verification and calibration tool for earth observation and rapid mapping. With the rapid availability of in-situ geo-tagged images from AnsuR in the GEO-ASIGN project UNOSAT is able to better assess and verify findings from satellite data when we do rapid mapping for humanitarian operations for UN.

The fact that ASIGN as such operates with practical communications links, that can be low rate and unstable, is essential for field use.

Figure 1: Rapid Integration of in-situ and EO data in an operation center server, and coordinated distribution to field users.

Figure 2: Illustration of how the ASIGN system works in two steps for providing initial previews and then high resolution data. The same concept is used for the EO browser.

Figure 3: Images from Haiti.

Figure 4: Video capture as a storyboard.

Micro-drones in EO Settings

Use of small microdrones / UAV with photo or video camera, or sensors, can provide aerial in-situ data. With ASIGN integrated into the payload, multimedia data can also be directly transferred while the UAV is in flight. The control of the flight track can be either manual or automatic based on navigation waypoints – or a mix of the two. Quadro-copter UAVs can function both as a very high camera tripod for oblique photos, or as a very low “satellite” helping to do small scale rapid mapping. Measurements can be done several hundred meters up. Currently the UAV sector is the most innovative part of the aeronautical business.

Figure 5: Remote, Aerial and ground sensors.

Figure 6: Microdrone docking hangar control can be coordinated with EO data orders.

EO browser for low bandwidth

Earth Observation images are large files relative to some typical low rate communication systems used in disaster management, such as Inmarsat BGAN. However, rapid mapping and rapid assessments often need to be communicated to the field. AnsuR has developed an efficient EO data browser, based on ASIGN technology, for low bandwidth channels for such use cases. The ASIGN EO Browser thus allows field users to access large satellite images rapidly.

Figure 7: Snapshots from the rapid and light bandwidth optimized EO data browser.

Synchronized in-situ and space-abased data

With the help of KSAT a few years ago, the first synchronized data acquisition was done with Radarsat-2 and in-situ ground photos (in this case as sea), where we captured two boats in the Oslofjord at the same time as the satellite captured a Radar Image. Since then AnsuR has focused further on the value of synchronized EO and in-situ data capture of visual and sensor data. We believe this concept carries significant value within several sectors.

Figure 8: Synchronized in-situ and space data capture.

Smartphone All-in-one in-situ assessment solution

Disaster assessment professionals have requested an all-in-one solution for in-situ data capture. Therefore AnsuR has developed a first version based on Android smartphones that are successfully used in the field with e.g. UN and EU Civil protection. Several hundred images were sent by UN from Haiti after the earthquake for rapid verification of assessments done from space based observations.

User feedback shows that close to all users would be happy with an all-in-one integrated field assessment unit that could help provide in-situ data.

Figure 9: Smartphones are excellent for light and convenient in-situ data capture.

In-situ Crowdsourcing

A specific crowdsourcing version of the Android ASIGN application has been released with the EMSC in Paris, for public help and collaboration following earthquakes. The RICHTER application allows witnesses locally to rapidly contribute with geo- and time-stamped in-situ image material. Hundreds of users are testing this RICHTER application as of Q1 2011, and feedback is very positive.

User Status and Feedback

There are more than 100 Crowdsourcing users for EMSC, and an overwhelming majority says the solution is useful and will keep it. United Nations are using ASIGN in the context of GEO-PICTURES all over the world, and has plans to ramp up in humanitarian and disaster management. EU Civil Protection is regularly using ASIGN in their training courses in order to prepare users for live action. Brazil has increasing focus in use of ASIGN in civil protection and environmental disaster management with additional local development.

Contacts
AnsuR Technologies AS, NORWAY
For further info please contact Dr. Harald Skinnemoen, Founder and CEO: harald(at)ansur.no, or see also www.ansur.no

Europe must, as a matter of priority, establish a space situational awareness system to monitor orbiting debris, solar radiation and asteroids, according to a “reinforced” space policy set out by the European Commission.

Brussels is anxious to reduce the €332 million ($475 million) annual damage done to European assets by radiation and debris collisions, and to mitigate the unquantifiable but potentially massive problems caused by complete loss of a satellite or Earth impact of an asteroid.

Other key priorities are completion of the Galileo navigation constellation and implementation of the GMES Earth monitoring programme.

Underlining its belief in the social and economic value of space – and the need to preserve Europe’s independent access to Earth orbit and beyond – the EC also sees as a priority the support of research and development to increase European technological non-dependence to ensure that innovation benefits both citizens and non-space sectors. Communication satellites will be key to this effort.

Other priorities include working with European Union member states to identify EU-level action that can be taken in space exploration and to develop a space industrial policy with member states and the European Space Agency.

Internationally, the EC wants to continue working with the USA and Russia, and initiate dialogue with other space-faring nations, such as China. It says space should be an “integral part of the EU’s external policy, in particular to the benefit of Africa”.

EC vice-president for industry and entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani stresses: “Space activities create highly skilled jobs, innovation, new commercial opportunities and improve citizens’ well-being and security.”

By Dan Thisdell
Source

(April 8, 2011)

Privacy

Personal ‘geo data’ as sensitive as private genetic information Daily) Is the geospatial community losing the debate on privacy without realizing it?

No More German Street View? Earth blog) Have not confirmed whether this is true.

Swiss Court Restricts Google Street View Mag)

Personal ‘geo data’ as sensitive as private genetic information, expert argues Daily). Is location really as sensitive as our DNA?

CA legislator introduces state ‘Do Not Track Bill’ (PC World) Bill modeled after federal bill introduced in February, which would regulate ‘precise geolocation information’. (You may remember that CA state court recently ruled that a zip code is personally identifiable information).

Tell-all telephone (Zeit online) This story about a German politician who asked for record of all location information carrier had collected on him has been receiving a lot of media attention.

The risks of digital mapping (the Muse)

Mobile-app companies receive subpoenas (WSJ) Some companies had been collecting users’ location without notice and/or permission.

Spatial Data Infrastructures

Best Practices for Local Governments (GeoData Policy) Two-page report was prepared by National Geospatial Advisory Committee (U.S.

Public Sector Mapping Agreement starts (England and Wales) The Ordnance Survey is doing some innovative work with respect to spatial data licensing agreements.

Law Enforcement/National Security

Justice Department opposes privacy reforms (cnet) Justice Department takes position that warrant not needed for ‘less precise’ location information from cell tower and should only be used for GPS or multilateration-derived location information.

Va Court Upholds Conviction Based Upon Warrantless GPS USE (NBC Washington)

Minn to initiate pilot program to track drivers’ mileage (Twin Cities Daily Pilot) Note proposed legislation to protect consumers’ data.

Smart Grid

Weather data: another smart grid opportunity? (Electricity Policy)

Crowd-sourcing

Academics Join Relief Efforts Around the World as Crisis Mappers# (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

GPS

LightSquared’s Planned Wireless Internet Network Threatens GPS (Huffington Post) This issue continues to receive a good deal of attention.

Miscellaneous

NOAA CIO Tackles Big Data (Information Week)

Geospatial Information Law
(hokumonline.com) Law enacted in Indonesia. Note discussion of data accuracy and dissemination.

Who Wants To Not Get Stabbed? Interesting ‘game’ combining Google Street View and crime data. Raises all sorts of possibilities.

Gisat operational snow monitoring in the Czech Republic, Gisat involvement in GRAAL.


Gisat provides operational snow monitoring in the Czech Republic

The company has set up a national operational snow monitoring service since beginning of this year. The system supports the existing hydrological activities of the Czech Hydro-meteorological Institute.

The service is based on Earth Observation Terra MODIS system in spatial resolution of 250 m and temporal resolution of one day. Satellite images bring synoptic view on the snow cover dynamics in the Czech Republic with daily acquisitions. Cloud-free acquisitions, covering at least one third of the total country area, are processed into classification maps. The maps are presented as raster or vector product and can be viewed via the Google Earth & Google Maps applications.

Beside that, snow occurrence probability maps are calculated from 80 meto-stations measurements. In case of cloud coverage in the optical images the cloud information is substituted by the probabilities. This way uncertainty in the maps is reduced. So-called hybrid map is presented for further analysis. Additionally, catchments snow statistics is calculated. Graphs of snow statistics present percentage snow coverage in the catchments according to land cover types and altitude levels.

The service products are available daily via dedicated mapserver or weekly by means of flash reports in pdf sent to the user every Monday.

GRAAL turned up in GMES

Can GMES downstream services help regional and local authorities in decision making?
GRAAL (GMES for Regions: Awareness and Access Link) project is funded under 7th FWP (Seventh Framework Programme). The overall objective of GRAAL is to foster the development of GMES Downstream Services and develop the link of GMES with Regions (and other local authorities of comparable importance).

The essence of GRAAL lies in the balance between these two sub-objectives. The members of the GRAAL consortium believe that there is as much a need to develop the awareness of the potential of GMES downstream services among Local and Regional Authorities (LRA) as it is necessary to ensure that there are Service Providers in a position to serve this market and to accomplish the Lisbon strategy-related objectives of GMES.

It is proposed to achieve this overall ambition through the following objectives:

  • To characterise the offer in terms of GMES services for LRAs;
  • To establish an observatory of the GMES Downstream Service sector;
  • To develop a user oriented tool implemented on a Website where demand and offer will meet and where exchanges can take place by using the most advanced web-based technologies;
  • To increase awareness of GMES among LRAs and potential Service Providers.

The GRAAL consortium is led by Syseco and the team consists of 10 partners from 8 countries covering 4 of the GMES priority areas (Land, Atmosphere, Ocean and Emergencies). Gisat brings to the project the views and experiences of the respected GMES service provider as well as the knowledge of the needs of new Member States.

You may find more Gisat news here

There is so much happening at the moment it is difficult to know where to start!. I am writing this editorial on the eve of travelling to Washington to present to the World Bank on what EO service providers can offer to support WB activities. It promises to be a very interesting trip during which I shall also meet with the Alliance for Earth Observation (the US closest equivalent of EARSC) and several US companies. I shall be looking out for where there may be opportunities for European EO service companies and also if there is a useful role that EARSC can play in bringing them to the attention of the World Bank.

I see this promotion as the first in many awareness raising ventures which are about more than just increasing knowledge of EO services and what they can offer. For me a strong element is to help those inside organisations who already know what can be done, to have an easier time when they wish to procure industry services. If we can raise awareness amongst the management and senior decision makers inside the organisations then even if they do not drive the use of EO services directly, they will be far more receptive when presented with project proposals for approval from those who are using and wish to use EO products and services.

For the visit with the World Bank I shall be showing examples supplied by a number of EARSC members. I thank you for your support and we shall no doubt be contacting you for other specific examples in the future. All the examples received have been put into eopages which will very soon be going live (I am hoping to demonstrate using it next week – we are that close). To recall, eopages is a yellow pages brokerage service for our industry. Once it is live, service providers will be invited to put examples of products and services into the database whereby any prospective users will be able to search and find if a particular service is available. They will then be able to get in touch with suppliers either directly or through eopages depending on the type of service and the brokerage selected.

The second focus of our activities with a strong emphasis on awareness-raising, is with the O&G industry. EARSC has taken on the secretariat of a working group that was established following the successful workshop held at ESRIN, Frascati last September. We are working with a number of senior oil & gas industry representatives to improve communication and to organise future events. We are also putting together some tools that will hopefully enable an exchange between our two communities. I cannot say more now but you can be sure I’ll report on progress next time when I am hopeful we shall have a prototype working.

I have also held many meetings over the last few weeks which should in time lead to new opportunities. For example, I met separately with both NEREUS and ERRIN in Brussels. Both organisations act as umbrella associations representing European regions which should become significant users of data coming from GMES. They are also involved in two projects (Graal and DorisNet) recently started by the European Commission under FP7, with the goal to enable the uptake of GMES services. I shall be following these closely and looking to see how we can ensure that they create opportunities for the EO services industry.

You may also have seen that I have prepared and issued a position paper on “Exploiting GMES Operational Services”. You will find this elsewhere in Eomag. It was quite a challenge to reach a position that all EARSC members could agree with; but we managed it and the paper has been welcomed by both ESA and the EC. It highlighted three issues that are critical for EO service companies and I expect that we shall continue to develop our views on all of them. In this respect, we are examining the possibility to set up a workshop to look in more detail at GMES data policy and how our recommendations can be implemented. If anyone is interested to join an EARSC working group looking at this topic please let the secretariat know.

Just a reminder that the EARSC AGM will take place on 30th June and as usual it will be held in Brussels. We hope to have a good line-up of speakers and an afternoon workshop looking at new markets. More details will be sent shortly and I hope to see you there.

Finally, this is the 25th edition of Eomag. Congratulations are due to Monica for having developed and run this so successfully to reach this milestone. Eomag is one of our primary communication tools and feedback I have received shows that it is very well appreciated. Well done Monica and I look forward to the next 25 issues with great interest.

Geoff Sawyer
EARSC Secretary General

www-eomag-eu_articles_1480_editorial-spring-2011_spb4fcam.pdf

VITO recent news on APEX, ESA’s first airborne imaging spectrometer and E-farming


APEX, ESA’s first airborne imaging spectrometer

In December 2010, the Airborne Prism EXperiment (APEX) was officially accepted by ESA-PRODEX. This means that after a long development phase that started in the mid 90’s, the instrument is now ready for operations. APEX has been developed by a Swiss-Belgian consortium led by the Remote Sensing Laboratories (RSL) at the University of Zurich and the Flemish Institute of Technological Research (VITO). The latter will be responsible for the airborne campaigns and the data processing, while RSL is primarily responsible for the scientific aspects.

APEX is intended as a simulator and a calibration/validation device for future spaceborne sensors. It is an advanced scientific instrument for the European remote sensing community, recording hyperspectral data in approximately 300 bands in the wavelength range between 400 nm and 2500 nm and at a spatial ground resolution of 2 to 5 m. Hyperspectral remote sensing or imaging spectroscopy greatly extends the scope of traditional remote sensing. It is based on the detection of many narrow, contiguous spectral bands. This presents opportunities for more precise identification of surface materials than is possible with broadband multispectral sensors. Possible applications are endless, but the most promising ones are in the field of geology, mineralogy, agriculture, vegetation analysis, aquatic monitoring (as well as snow & ice), and atmospheric applications.

From now on acquisitions with APEX can be requested via:
Koen Meuleman, operations manager
e-mail: koen.meuleman@vito.be
Tel: +32 14 33 68 63
Please note that the instrument is also offered via the EUropean Facility for Airborne Research (EUFAR – http://www.eufar.net/).


APEX cube: APEX quicklooks acquired above Oostende (B) in June 2009 during the acceptance campaign.

VITO goes E-farming

On 24 March, the E-AGRI project had its kick off meeting at VITO in Mol, Belgium. Its purpose is to support the uptake of European ICT applications in agriculture in developing economies. This will be achieved by setting up an advanced European E-agriculture service in two developing economies, Morocco and China, by means of crop monitoring. The activities of capacity building will be carried out in the third developing country, Kenya, to raise the interest of local stakeholders on European E-agricultural practices and to pave the way for an eventual technological transfer in the future.

The European research institutions including VITO, Alterra, JRC and University of Milan, have developed series of agricultural monitoring approaches to support European Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). These approaches are based on the European Information and Communication technologies including space-based Earth Observation (EO), geographical information systems and agro-meteorological modelling. The transfer, adaptation and local application of these E-agriculture practices will assist the policy makers of developing countries in their challenge to sustain agriculture’s productivity growth. It helps to achieve the food security, increase farmer incomes and protect local farmer interest, in the context of agricultural liberalization. On the other hand, the feedback from this project will enhance the applicability of European crop production forecasting technology on a global scale, thus ultimately strengthen its capacity in global monitoring of food security.

The partner institutions based in the three developing countries include the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) from Morocco, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Jiangsu Agricultural Academy of Sciences from China, Anhui Institute for Economical Research from China and the Ministry of Environmental and Mineral Resources from Kenya.

The kick-off meeting highlighted the progress and the adaptability of Europe’s crop monitoring technology in different continents of the world and defined the specific objectives of the activities. Especially, in the frame of capacity building, the consortium decided to strengthen the activities in the third study region in Kenya by including them in the task of yield monitoring using remote sensing. Furthermore, in order to strengthen the visibility of the project, the consortium has planned several E-AGRI workshops attended by decision-makers from the local governments as well as the European Union. These workshops intend to promote globally the importance of E-Agriculture tools in the domain of food security and agricultural commodity trading.

The E-AGRI project is an FP7 collaborative project of the European Commission and will be implemented between 2011 and 2014.

E-Agri: Participants at the E-Agri Kick-off meeting at VITO in Mol.

Two new FP7 projects lead by EUROSENSE, Malareo and Reddiness, have started in February 2011. Both have a duration of two years and are dedicated to the international cooperation between several European and African partners.

2 new FP7 projects lead by EUROSENSE, Malareo and Reddiness, have started in February 2011. Both have a duration of two years and are dedicated to the international cooperation between several European and African partners.

MALAREO

Malareo is focusing to develop technology and implement earth observation data that contributes to the fight against malaria in southern Africa. MALAREO compiles a mixed European-African consortium that combines years of experience in malaria control with GMES Earth Observation (EO) capacity.

The project aims to build the fundaments of a malaria EO monitoring cell that will support a more efficient, effective and wider malaria vector control programme in South-Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique and at the same time contributes to research on malaria and EO. The consortium is well-equipped and highly skilled to achieve the MALAREO project objectives. It is a good mixture of SME’s, universities and administrations uniting remote sensing experts with epidemiology experts and public health specialists from 3 European partners and three Southern African partners. Project partners are the Medical Research Council and the University of KwaZulu-Natal from S-Africa, the National Malaria Control Program of Swaziland, Remote Sensing Solutions from Germany and the Schweizerische Tropen- und Public Health- Institut from Switzerland. The consortium will work in very close collaboration with the local end-users which are the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative and the Malaria Control Programme of Mozambique.

REDDINESS

As part of international efforts to combat global warming, preserving Africa’s forest is a part of the solution to the climate change challenge. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) negotiations for climate change mitigation aim to better manage our global forest resources.

The European Commission project called Reddiness, led by Eurosense, helps monitoring Gabon and the Republic of Congo in their commitment to reducing the annual rate of deforestation from 0.19 to 0.10 percent. Reddiness relies on Central African regional actors to assist Gabon and the Republic of Congo in improving their readiness to join potential carbon payment schemes. The project responds to the EC call for increased collaboration between African and European partners through Specific International Cooperation Action (SICA).

Project partners are the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation of the University of Twente(The Netherlands), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (France), Observatoire Satellital des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (Republic Democratic Congo), Centre National d’Inventaire et d’Aménagement des Ressources Forestières et Fauniques (Republic of the Congo) & Ministère des Eaux et Forêts (Gabon).

Main office: EUROSENSE
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info@eurosense.com

Presentation of WALPHOT at the International Conference “Data flow from space to earth: application and interoperability” in Venice on this 23rd of March. Paper untitled “GEO-SERVICES USING EARTH OBSERVATION (EO) AND ANCILLARY DATA IN PREVENTION OF SEVESO DIRECTIVE: 3WSA PROJECT (Wallonia World Wide Space Applications)” .

In response to the European Union SEVESO directive, industrial operators and public security services have to plan emergency scenarios. WALPHOT developed user friendly geo-information on potential adverse impacts of accidents such as physical/environmental damage, pollution and potential victims according to the vicinity of transport infrastructure (rivers, railways, airports) or high density of population. This rapid mapping tool is presented at the International Conference “Data flow from space to earth: application and interoperability” in Venice on this 23rd of March.

Figure: Walphot-Esri Rapid mapping tool developed in 3WSA project for the site of Engis, Belgium