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Earthstar Geographics LLC (San Diego, CA, USA) today announced the release of the latest round of upgrades to their TerraColor 15-meter global satellite imagery dataset.

Most of the upgrades were made to reduce cloud cover in problem areas such as Tierra del Fuego, the Kamchatka Peninsula and many other regions using precision terrain corrected Landsat 7 imagery. The current upgrades are part of an ongoing program to improve the TerraColor dataset, and many examples are provided in a PDF file on the company’s www.terracolor.net website.

“We continue to upgrade TerraColor in our effort to produce the world’s most complete medium resolution global satellite imagery dataset with the least cloud cover,” said Eric Augenstein of Earthstar Geographics. “Future upgrade targets include the cloudy equatorial regions in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia, as well as other areas. “

TerraColor is a precision orthorectified global imagery base map built primarily from Landsat 7 satellite imagery. Applications include web-based mapping, GPS tracking, 3 D visualization, GIS backdrops, television, print and film images, military/defense logistics, flight simulation, accurate cartographic mapping and many others. TerraColor provides complete pole-to-pole global coverage, and is processed using Earthstar’s global ocean mask to remove clouds, ice, and image edges from ocean areas. The product may be purchased with either a standard blue ocean or a bathymetric color shaded relief ocean fill.

About Earthstar Geographics LLC

Earthstar Geographics LLC specializes in products and services for the geospatial data industries with over 20 years experience in satellite remote sensing and image processing. For complete information on the TerraColor imagery, visit the TerraColor website at www.terracolor.net.

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Europe’s future in space and the opportunities it will offer to us all will be discussed at a conference in Brussels on October 26–27 under the aegis of the European Parliament.

For the very first time, a European Treaty – the Lisbon Treaty – which entered into force on 1st December 2009, advocates the implementation of a genuine European space policy.

The institutional progress should give a decisive impulse to space programmes such as Galileo for satellite navigation and GMES for Earth monitoring and security, as well as to the European Union’s other ambitions for space exploitation and exploration. This will have a decisive impact on the many key scientific, economic, industrial and social stakes involved.

The development will also lead to a redistribution of institutional responsibilities: firstly, between member states and the European institutions, by giving a deciding role to the Commission and the European Parliament, and secondly between these institutions and the European Space Agency (ESA). This raises critical questions ranging from political responsibility and financing to project management and programme governance.

These all have serious consequences for Europe’s future space ambitions and for the huge range of services this new space infrastructure can provide to improve public welfare. They include better management of the environment and natural resources, scientific progress, entrepreneurial opportunities and enhanced public security.

Come and debate these issues and give us your input to this exciting new policy.

The President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, the Vice President of the European Commission, Antonio Tajani, the Director General of ESA, Jean-Jacques Dordain, and the President of the Committee of the Regions, Mercedes Bresso, will open the Conference.

With the participation of:
The European Parliament, The European Commission, The European Council, The European Space Agency, The European Investment Bank, The European Committee of the Regions, The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, Arianespace, Areva, ASI, Avio, CNES, DLR, EADS-Astrium, ECMWF, Eumetsat, Eutelsat, Eurospace, the Belgian High Representation for Space Policy, Nereus, OHB, Space Tec Capital, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space, T-Systems and many others

Register online on the Conference website: http://www.spaceconference.eu

NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development have expanded their successful collaboration with international partners to launch an innovative, web-based environmental management system for the Himalaya region.

The partners inaugurated this state-of-the-art regional monitoring system, known as SERVIR-Himalaya, at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu, Nepal on Oct. 5. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and USAID’s Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade Michael Yates attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Nepal.

SERVIR features web-based access to satellite imagery, decision-support tools and interactive visualization capabilities, and puts previously inaccessible information into the hands of scientists, environmental managers, and decision-makers. The Earth observation information is used to address threats related to climate change, biodiversity, and extreme events such as flooding, forest fires, and storms.

An initial SERVIR hub for the Mesoamerican region was jointly developed in 2005 by researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and USAID development experts in Washington, DC and Central America. Its name comes from the Spanish word meaning “to serve.”

“USAID’s commitment with SERVIR and NASA is to create the linkage from space to village, to apply the best in science and technology to meet development challenges,” said Yates. “We are pleased to work with our partners in Nepal, and in other regions of the world, to build capacity to use satellite data and mapping technologies for making practical decisions that improve people’s lives.”

This NASA-USAID partnership combines NASA-derived technologies with USAID understanding of foreign assistance to improve livelihoods in the developing world to reduce poverty and help avoid conflict in order to bring people and their environment into harmony.

This year, USAID will invest $18 million in the global expansion of the SERVIR platform, establishing new hubs in the developing world as an integral part of its global climate change initiative.

“NASA’s science mission begins here on Earth, with greater awareness and understanding of our changing planet, and solutions for protecting our environment, resources and human lives,” Bolden said. “The SERVIR technology, and our partnership with various organizations and people around the globe, reflects NASA’s commitment to improving life on our home planet for all people.”

Since 2005, SERVIR has served the Mesoamerican region and the Dominican Republic from the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean, which is based in Panama. Building on this initial success, USAID and NASA added a second SERVIR hub in East Africa at the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development in Nairobi in 2008.

NASA and USAID are now expanding SERVIR to the Hindu-Kush – Himalaya region to address critical issues such as land cover change, air quality, glacial melt and adaptation to climate change. The agencies are working in partnership with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, a regional knowledge development and learning center that serves member countries in the region, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan.

The countries in the Hindu-Kush-Himalaya area have unique needs related to their extreme mountain environments. The region is known as Earth’s “third pole,” because of its inaccessibility and the vast amount of water stored there in the form of ice and snow. Like the Polar Regions, this area is experiencing glacier melt due to a changing climate.

“I am very pleased that through the partnership with USAID and NASA on SERVIR-Himalaya, ICIMOD will be able to augment its capacity and its network of cooperative partners in the region to use Earth observation for societal benefits of the mountain communities,” said Basanta Shrestha, division head of the Mountain Environment and Natural Resources Information System for ICIMOD.

SERVIR-Himalaya will integrate Earth science data from NASA satellites with geospatial information products from other government agencies. SERVIR was developed in coordination with the Group on Earth Observations, more than 80 nations working together to build a Global Earth Observing System of Systems to benefit the needs of society.

For more information about SERVIR, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/servir

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://nasa.gov

Source

In 2000, the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” was set up on the initiative of ESA (European Space Agency) and CNES (France’s Centre national d’études spatiales). Its purpose is to make it easier for emergency services to access satellite data in the event of natural or man-made disasters.

On Tuesday October 19, ESA, CNES and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of this Charter, which has been joined by a further seven space agencies worldwide and activated on average more than twice a month since its creation.

The principle underlying the Charter is that images and data acquired by Earth observation satellites should be made available without charge to the authorities responsible for organising relief operations in disaster areas, via a unified and coordinated system of image acquisition and delivery, wherever in the world the affected region is located.

This public interest initiative on a global scale quickly attracted a number of new partners having operational Earth observation satellites in orbit. After ESA and CNES, which initiated the Charter, Canada’s CSA joined it, early on, in 2000, followed by the United States’ NOAA/USGS and India’s ISRO in 2001, Argentina’s CONAE in 2003, Japan’s JAXA and the United Kingdom’s BNSC (now the UKSA) in 2005, and China’s CNSA in 2007. These agencies take on the Presidency of the Charter in turn every six months.

Each Charter member space agency cooperates on a voluntary basis, with no exchange of funds involved, and undertakes to provide its resources free of charge to enable the Charter to function.

Between its operational startup in November 2000 and 19 October 2010, the Charter has been activated 280 times, and already 39 times since the beginning of 2010, notably for the earthquake in Haiti in January. It is used throughout the world to monitor natural disasters, mainly those linked to meteorological, seismic and volcanic phenomena. It demonstrates the contribution that space systems can make to crisis management, making the work of the rescue teams on the ground easier.

On Tuesday October 19, from 18:30, an anniversary ceremony will take place at ESA’s Headquarters in Paris in the presence of Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of ESA; Yannick d’Escatha, President of CNES; Steve McLean, President of the CSA; and Alain Perret, Head of French Civil Security. Media members who would like to attend this event are invited to register with ESA’s Press Service, Brigitte Kolmsee, email: brigitte.kolmsee@esa.int, tel.:+33.(0)1.5369.7299.

For further information, please contact:
CNES press contacts:
Gwenaëlle Verpeaux, tel.: 01 44 76 74 04
gwenaelle.verpeaux@cnes.fr
Julien Watelet, tel.: 01 44 76 78 37
julien.watelet@cnes.fr
ESA press contact:
Brigitte Kolmsee, tel.: 01 53 69 72 99
brigitte.kolmsee@esa.int

Source

Content for publication is welcomed and can be submitted at any time for consideration. Let us help you bring your article to the world.


Please feel free to suggest any news, study and successful cases, events, projects, blogs or other geoinformation content items that you deem relevant for our community and interested stakeholders. This will enable us to share important knowledge and expertise networking among other experts who will exchange their know-how.

EOmag is released every three months, with focus articles on members, news in depth features, achievements, progress reports on programmes, communication and partnership with organisations and events.

The distribution of the Newsletter is based on our stakeholders database (Industry and relevant Institutions worldwide interested in geo-information domain).

The Newsletter is an excellent platform for companies and organizations to communicate on actions and programmes related to geo-information.

Articles:
We would be happy to publish all relevant articles for companies/institutions (max 1000-word articles, preferably with illustrations) for the next issues of the Newsletter

Events:
In order to improve the information offered about the activities of our stakeholders, we are collecting basic data concerning all the already scheduled events. For the purpose, we kindly ask companies and institutions to
provide the following information about each event:

Start Date
End Date
Title
Web
Place – City and Country

Please send this information to EARSC secretariat always stating [Events] as the beginning of your message description at the subject box, in order to help managing and archiving. Since it is intended to keep this list as much updated as possible, please remind to inform Secretariat every time a new event is scheduled.

Optional Information:
Theme
Description
Language
E-mail contact

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to “secretariat-at-earsc.org”:

Many thanks in advance
EARSC secretariat

EARSC is a non-profit-making organisation created in 1989. The mission of EARSC is to foster the development of European Geo-Information Service Industry. Our main objective is to stimulate a sustainable market for geo-information services using EO data, which is openly accessible to all members.

We all know quite well that it took many more years for the market itself to mature pushing many to forget some of their illusions on the way. However realizing that maturity and market expansion could only happen little by little in this complex domain EARSC has been sticking to its goal of helping develop the European remote sensing industry, reaching today 80 members, and being a recognized association worldwide. All the major European industrial actors of remote sensing are EARSC members and are involved in numerous ways to foster the development of the domain together with European institutions. Lately the EARSC strategy has evolved one step further to account for the geospatial information revolution of the 21st century.

EARSC is representing the European providers of geo-information services in its broadest sense creating a network between industry, decision makers and users. It is a crucial stage of maturing of the sector as nowadays Earth observation is used more frequently by society and adds positive value to our daily lives.

At the same time, an active participation from all of our members is the best guarantee that EARSC will play an important role on the European Earth observation and geo-information arena. For our members, the annual membership dues are a cost-effective way to stay informed, promote their company, political and institutional representation, networking opportunities with industry players and help to support the future of geo-information Industry: “industry stakeholders together could transform activities into meaningful action on behalf of our sector”.

Internally EARSC informs and involves its members though the website, newsletter, directorate and the organization of more numerous events. This will allow us to be more present on the European and International scene and to contribute more efficiently to the implementation of European programmes.

To get more information on EARSC membership, please contact us at

EARSC membership

EARSC membership represents the entire spectrum of the Earth Observation industry including all sector chain: providers, stakeholders and users. Membership of EARSC is currently 500 Euros per annum. For our members, the annual membership dues are a cost-effective way to stay informed, promote their company, political and institutional representation, networking opportunities with industry players and help support the future of Earth Observation. Industry together could transform activities into meaningful action on behalf of our sector

Full Members
Any commercial European company or partnership offering and undertaking consulting and contracting services or supplying equipment in the field of remote sensing which is based in a European Country which contributes to the European Space Agency or which is a member of the European Community shall be eligible for membership.

Observer Members
Companies from countries associated to European programs but not eligible for full membership. Any active representative organization, institution or association party in the field of Earth observation and not engaged in commercial or profit-making activities such as Public/Governmental Bodies, International Organisation, International Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Private Non Profit Organisation/Foundation, Network/Association/Aggregation of Intermediaries(profit or non profit), Business Association, Universities, other?) with interest in Earth Observation.

(Source EARSC)

EARSC members will recall the successful eoVox-1 study conducted in 2006 by EARSC, with ESA support (Several of the outputs of that study helped to define the EARSC evolution strategy for 2007 and beyond )


In 2010-11, a set of follow-on activities is being undertaken by EARSC, again with support from ESA – this is eoVox-2
-Activities specified by EARSC and managed by the BoD
-These activities are designed to help EARSC strengthen and grow the European EO/RS value-adding sector, and continue EARSC’s evolution and growth strategy
-The activities are supported by funding from ESA, which enables EARSC to do things we couldn’t otherwise afford to do

eovox2 activities

-Horizon scanning taking a look at the ‘next big things’
-Industry position papers capturing the views of the industry
-Trade directory – “eoPages” to promote the service providers and services
-Promotional packages targeted at specific market sectors
-Trade missions to talk to key customers in those sectors

In support of these activities, we warmly encourage all EARSC members to come up with fresh ideas and input for EARSC to take forward. The EARSC secretariat will keep you informed of ways to get engaged in the process. Your active participation will add value to the association and bring greater benefit to all of our members and the industry as a whole.
eoVox2 will be organising a consultations that you might be interested to look at and participate. For more information please do not hesitate to contact secretariat-at-earsc.org

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), launched in to service a Regional Cooperative Mechanism on Drought Monitoring and Early Warning in Nanjing, China.

The Mechanism provides satellite products for general drought monitoring and higher resolution products for identified high drought risk areas, and assists its members in developing localized products and services for relevant decision making. Space capable countries in the region committed to provide satellite information based technical services through the Mechanism, to drought prone ESCAP member countries to help them achieve effective monitoring and early warning of drought events so that the Governments and relevant stakeholders will have more lead time to take measures in preventing drought hazards become major disasters.

For more information please visit:
UNESCAP

or contact:
Mr. Guoxiang Wu
ESCAP Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division
Tel: +66-2-288-1456
Email: wugu@un.org

For full article go to: Preventionweb

The small satellite constellation for environment and disaster monitoring and forecasting (SSCEDMF) is an important component of China’s earth-observation satellite system.

SSCEDMF is being deployed in two stages. On 6 September 2008, two optical satellites, Huan Jing (HJ)-1-A and B, were successfully launched. Each carries three main sensor types, including wide-coverage CCD cameras, IR sensors (IRSs), and a hyperspectral imager. Both HJ-1-A and B carry dual CCDs that image four bands with a spatial resolution of 30m. Each image is 360km wide. HJ-1-A also carries a hyperspectral imager capable of imaging 115 bands from 0.45 to 0.95μm with average spectral and spatial resolutions of 5nm and 100m, respectively, and 50km image width. HJ-1-B carries a four-band IRS with two near-IR and one mid-IR band, each with 150m resolution, and one thermal band of 300m resolution.

China’s National Committee for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) and the National Disaster Reduction Center of China (NDRCC) are responsible for satellite operations and management. From September 2008 to February 2010, NCDR and NDRCC organized sessions at educational and other institutions to carry out on-orbit test and disaster-reduction application capacity assessment.

In March 2010, the satellites were declared operational. To satisfy the government’s disaster-management needs, NCDR and NDRCC established two work patterns, one for routine daily operations and another for emergency response. Separate teams were established for data processing and applications of the CCD, hyperspectral imager, and IRS instruments. Background parameters and disaster vulnerability assessments are obtained during routine daily operations. When disasters occur, we activate the ‘Working procedure for emergency response with space-technology application against unexpected natural disasters.’ A satellite-observation plan is created to obtain disaster-area images as quickly as possible.

Source: SPIE and UN-Spider

News

Research on the UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal as a human-technology network
Mr. Florian Neisser, Geographer at the University of Bonn, has finalized his research on the UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal as “An Interactive Platf…
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NASA Administrator launches SERVIR-Himalaya Programme with ICIMOD in Kathmandu
The SERVIR-Himalaya system is being launched today, 5th October, by Mr. Charles F. Bolden Jr., NASA Administrator, and Mr. Michael Yates, Senior Deput…
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Satellite to provide images of disasters
Satellite to provide images of disasters KATHMANDU: A team of Japanese scientists has installed a receiver that will directly provide real time satel…
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High Level Conference “Space for the African Citizen” in Brussels
UNOOSA/UN-SPIDER Senior Expert Jörg Szarzynski participated in the High Level Conference “Space for the African Citizen” in Brussels….
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Application of earth-observation satellites to disaster monitoring
The small satellite constellation for environment and disaster monitoring and forecasting (SSCEDMF) is an important component of China’s earth-obser…
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ESCAP launches Asia-Pacific mechanism on drought monitoring and early warning
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), launched in to service a Regional Cooperative Mechanism on Droug…
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DMCii-led project exploits satellites to strengthen UK disaster response
The project is being run by a consortium of five organisations: DMCii takes the lead role, with Infoterra Ltd supporting the Earth observation compo…
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Flood mapping for Pakistan by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development
ICIMOD has taken up rapid response mapping for the flood affected areas in three provinces with the support from Sentinel-Asia partners and the reques…
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China launches “Mapping Satellite-I”
China successfully launched a new mapping satellite, “Mapping Satellite-I”, from the northwestern Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 3:10 p….
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International Telecommunication Union Aids Pakistan
Geneva – ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré has issued a global appeal for contributions to assist the flood-affected victims in Pakistan. IT…
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SPOT 4 Availability in Russia Extended
ScanEx Research & Development Center (Russia) and French Spot Image (France) have signed an agreement, entitling ScanEx with exclusive rights star…
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ISRO Launches Gagan Satellite Navigation System
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has launched the GPS-supported Geo Augmented Navigation (Gagan) satellite navigation system to aid India…
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FAO Launches Real Time Fire Monitoring Website
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a new online portal on fire information and real time monitoring to help count…
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Remote Sensing of the Forests of Belize
CATHALAC and NASA in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment of Belize have completed a remote sensing-based assessme…
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NASA Instrument Tracks Pollution from Russian Fires
Drought and the worst heat wave Russia has seen in 130 years have sparked a devastating outbreak of wildfires across the nation this summer, primarily…
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Satellites Help Measure Earth’s Water
Scientists say they’ve used satellite data to measure for the first time the amount of water that rises and falls in the Amazon River floodplain each …
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New Maps of Central America for Risk Management
Germany: GfK GeoMarketing released new maps for Central America offering comprehensive coverage from Mexico to Panama. These digital administrative an…
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First output of the project to assess coastal vulnerability_
Australia: Department of Planning/Department of Transport, Australia, has delivered the first outputs of the project to assess coastal vulnerability a…
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TanDEM-X delivers first 3D images
On 22 July 2010, researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) facility in Oberpfaffenhofen publish…
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UNSW to develop satellite surveying technology
University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers will develop satellite surveying technologies that will allow flooding, bushfires, deforestation and …
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Newsletter publication is also accessible at UN SPIDER

1. High Level Conference “Space for the African Citizen” in Brussels
2. UN-SPIDER strengthening ties with Crisis Mappers at ICCM 2010 in Boston
3. SpaceAid supporting response to floods in Senegal
4. Research on the UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal as a human technology network
5. Read our latest Newsletter and follow UN-SPIDER on Facebook and Twitter
6. Sentinel Asia covering volcano eruption in Indonesia and flash flood in India
7. International Charter Space and Major Disasters activated nine times in September
8. SAFER activated for fires in France
9. NASA Administrator launches SERVIR-Himalaya Programme with ICIMOD in Kathmandu
10. MapAction reviews challenges of gathering and managing spatial data sets in humanitarian emergencies
11. Satellite to provide images of disasters
12. ESCAP launches Asia-Pacific mechanism on drought monitoring and early warning
13. DMCii-LED project exploits satellites to strengthen UK disaster response

Conferences and Workshops
-4th United Nations International UN-SPIDER Bonn Workshop on Disaster Management and Space Technology: “The 4C – Challenge: Communication – Coordination – Cooperation – Capacity Development”, Bonn, 12-14 October 2010
-The 4th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction: Incorporating space-based information and technologies into DRR and CCA; Incheon, Korea, 25-28 October 2010
-8th International Conference of the African Association o Remote Sensing and the Environment; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 25-29 October 2010
-Pacific GIS and RS User Conference; Suva, Fiji, 23-26 November 2010
-34th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment: “The GEOSS Era: Towards Operational Environmental Monitoring”, Sydney, 10-15 April 2011
-Gi4DM 2011 – GeoInformation for Disaster Management; Antalya, Turkey, 3-8 May 2011