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(13 July 2016) MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) has signed a four year contract with a ceiling of 31 million euros to provide Radarsat-2 information to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

Under this contract, MDA will provide Radarsat-2 information to support EMSA in the areas of maritime safety, law enforcement, border security, fisheries control, and marine pollution monitoring.

Supporting a broad base of European users, the Radarsat-2 information will be used in detecting and monitoring oil spills as part of EMSA’s CleanSeaNet program. EMSA will also expand on its utilization of Radarsat-2 information to increase the vessel detection and monitoring services that are supplied to FRONTEX, a European agency responsible for European border management. Additionally, EMSA will also broaden its use of Radarsat-2 information to include support for the Copernicus Security Services for Maritime Surveillance (CSSMS) program.

David Belton, MDA’s manager responsible for this business said, “MDA has been closely working with EMSA for over a decade and we are very pleased that EMSA continues to increase its usage of Radarsat information, including expansion into multiple maritime surveillance application areas. We are committed to working closely with EMSA to support their mission and we look forward to continuing this cooperation for many more years.”

About MDA

MDA is a global communications and information company providing operational solutions to commercial and government organizations worldwide.

MDA’s business is focused on markets and customers with strong repeat business potential, primarily in the Communications sector and the Surveillance and Intelligence sector. In addition, the Company conducts a significant amount of advanced technology development.

MDA’s established global customer base is served by more than 4,800 employees operating from 13 locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally.

The Company’s common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “MDA.”

(source: MDA)

Pipeline operators are responsible for the safe transport of oil and gas through high-pressure transmission pipelines. In the Western world, these transmission pipelines are buried in the public space at a depth of about 1.5 metres. Operators are concerned with monitoring the integrity of their pipelines on a continuous basis, as pipeline failures can cause severe damage to people, infrastructure and the natural and built environment. This article discusses the use of Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite radar imagery to provide pipeline operators with a continuous source of information for monitoring and managing their assets from space.


Project Background

In densely populated countries such as the Netherlands transmission pipelines for gas, oil and products have a length of over 13,000 km, which is more than 3 times the length of the public motorway network. Although transport via pipelines is the safest transport modality, operators continuous monitor their pipeline routes since failures in transmission pipelines are high-impact events, with a large risk of severe damage. In Europe, the single largest cause for failures are so-called third party interferences (TPIs). Examples of TPIs are excavations, deep ploughing, construction activities and city encroachments.

Issues & Needs

HELICOPTER SURVEYS

To minimise the threats caused by TPIs, as a mitigating measure pipeline companies survey their pipeline routes regularly using helicopters. Depending on the risk profile of the pipeline route, these surveys occur with a frequency of once per one to three weeks. Normally the helicopters fly at an altitude of 300ft and at a speed of approx. 200km/h. In general, helicopter surveys have a number of drawbacks, such as low visibility or no flight being possible at all due to bad weather conditions (rain, fog), safety concerns, noise, emissions and the high costs associated with helicopter surveys in general. Pipeline operators therefore require other information sources that can reduce their need for helicopter surveys.

COPERNICUS

To detect threats to the integrity of transmission pipelines, a new method based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data has been developed by Orbital Eye, a Dutch start-up in the space industry and alumnus of the ESA Business Incubation Centre in Noordwijk. The method – named PIMSyS – uses images that are acquired by Sentinel-1, one of the European Copernicus programme’s Earth observation (EO) satellites. The Sentinel-1 satellite was launched in April 2014 and became operational in June 2015. Sentinel-1 mainly features a 12m-long C-band SAR instrument which operates day and night in all weather conditions. The satellite orbits the Earth at an altitude of 693km and has a repeat cycle of 12 days. Sentinel-1 is part of a constellation of two satellites, the second one of which is launched in April 2016 and became operational 29 September 2016. Together they will revisit every place on Earth every six days.

EVIDENCE-BASED INSPECTION

The proposed satellite-based method is a cloud service to support pipeline operators with additional information about possible TPI threats to their pipeline infrastructure. The service facilitates evidence-based inspection: it supports the optimisation of the scheduling of inspections by providing information about the location of potential TPI threats so that real threats actually have a higher probability of being detected. Potential threats are identified through change detection based on amplitude and phase information in two radar images of the same area (that are acquired successively in time). The observed changes are then evaluated and filtered according to their probability of being a change in reality (in order to avoid a large number of false positives). The resulting change information can be complementary to other surveying methods or can partly – or even completely – replace current methods.

Solution

PROCESSING CHAIN

So far, a fully automated processing chain has been developed for Sentinel-1, TerraSAR-x and RadarSAT-2 images. The chain detects when new satellite images are available for areas with pipeline systems that are currently being monitored. The data is then automatically downloaded and processed. TPI threats are detected by comparing sets of two images for the same area. The time interval between two successive images depends on the satellite used. The intervals for Sentinel-1, TerraSAR-X and RadarSAT-2 are respectively 12, 11 and 24 days. The detected TPI threats that are not in the vicinity of the pipeline are filtered out to reduce data storage and transfer. All reports are sent via a secure internet connection to a client system located at the pipeline company. The client system consists of a spatial database, a mobile application (for tablets used by field operators) and a desktop application (for use at the office). The client system supports the display of maps, the location of pipelines, and display and interactive retrieval of detected TPIs, helicopter reports, vehicle reports and other observation reports. This information can be further combined with additional information about municipalities and landowners (where available).

Results & Perspectives

VALIDATION PROJECT

The satellite-based service was validated during an eight-month project executed together with a pipeline operator. During this project the identified threats were compared to the results of helicopter surveys. The validation project was executed in 2014–2015 in an area measuring 30km by 50km in the western part of The Netherlands. The original plan was to utilise Sentinel-1 data for this project. However, Sentinel-1 was not yet operational in this period so TerraSAR-X imagery was used instead. The total length of the pipeline route monitored during the project was approx. 238km, with a total pipeline length of approx. 366km (some routes contained more than one pipeline). For the eight-month period, six satellite images were available which were acquired at intervals varying from 22 to 66 days. For this time period, all reports of helicopter surveys (with a surveying frequency of once per three weeks) were also provided by the pipeline operator. In addition, a list was made available of all locations in the vicinity (within 50m) of the pipeline route where third-party excavation activities were planned. The pipeline company selected four locations in the project area where its own activities were planned during the validation project. For these four locations, the detected changes showed a perfect match with the actual start and end dates of the activities. However, these locations together represented no more than approx. 1km to 2km of the total pipeline route. For that reason, a statistical analysis was made for the entire validation period and for the total project area. This analysis proved a strong correlation of the results with other activities executed by the pipeline company for extension and maintenance of the pipeline system.


Figure 1, Transmission pipeline in a small area in Netherlands © Aerodata International Surveys


Figure 2&3, Individual SAR satellite images for the change detection image shown in Figure 4. The radar images were acquired on 12 December 2014 (a) and 14 January 2015 (b)


Figure 4, Satellite-derived differences between 12 December 2014 and 14 January 2015 for a small area in The Netherlands. The transmission pipeline is shown in green. The colour scale runs from blue (no change) to red (relatively large change)

CORRELATION

For approximately 90km of pipeline route, the correlation was investigated between detected TPI threats and the results of the helicopter surveys and planned third-party excavation activities. In The Netherlands, planned excavations are registered through a mandatory central system, known as KLIC. During the validation project, the helicopter and satellite based method detected events at 152 unique locations. For 80 of those 152 locations (53%) there was information available via a helicopter report and for 134 of the 152 locations (88%) information was available via the PIMSyS satellite-based method. Table 1 shows the number of locations for which a certain combination of data sources was available. For example, only 4.6% of the 152 unique locations were covered by all available information sources. In 7.2% of the number of locations, a helicopter report matched with a KLIC registration (the sum of the number of locations in rows ‘Helicopter + Satellites + KLIC’ and ‘Helicopter + KLIC’ in Table 1). Similarly, the correlation between KLIC and the satellite-based method was 23.7%. One of the reasons for the relatively low correlation is that most third-party excavation registrations are active for only a short period of time (a few days up to two weeks) while the surveying frequency is once per three weeks for helicopters and 22-66 days for the radar satellites.


Table 1, Number and percentage of detected TPI threats based on the various combinations of available information sources, which shows the correlation between different TPI detection methods

FURTHER INTERPRETATION

There are 14 helicopter reports for locations that were not detected by the radar satellites. Analysis of these 14 reports showed that 10 reports were related to short-lived events that most likely both started and ended in the period between two satellite images. In addition, two helicopter reports showed no activity (false alarms) and two reports showed longer-lived activities that were not detected with satellite imagery. Of the 43 locations that were only reported by the satellite-based method, 33 were related to a major pipeline extension activity executed by the pipeline company. The helicopter did not report these events, even though the helicopter observer is instructed to report all activities including the activities of the pipeline company itself. In conclusion, the correlation between KLIC and PIMSyS was roughly three times higher than for helicopter reports. Furthermore, 88% of all locations were detected in total. This shows that the satellite-based TPI detection method is more reliable and provides pipeline operators with a valuable source of additional information for monitoring and managing their pipelines.

Related Info

Please contact us via the contact details below for general inquires, business opportunities or to request a demo of PIMSyS.
Orbital Eye B.V.
P.O. Box 608, 2600 AP Delft
www.orbitaleye.nl
Email: info@orbitaleye.nl. Telephone: +31(0)15 262 98 89. Fax: +31(0)15 262 95 67

ReSAC participation in two projects, which are financed by Program BG03 “Biodiversity and Ecosystems” and co-financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA FM 2009-2014)


GRASSLAND: Assessment and mapping of GRASSLAND ecosystems condition and their services in Bulgaria, Contr. Д-33-90/03.09.2015

Duration: 27.08.2015 – 30.11.2016

The project will contribute to the overall objectives of the Programme for concise inventory of ecosystem services in the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy of the EU. The main task of the project is to describe and evaluate the grasslands in Bulgaria or, more popularly all pastures, meadows and other grasslands, which by preliminary estimates represent about 30% of the country.

The project aims to ensure an opportunity to explore various issues related to the availability of grassland ecosystems, combined with the long-term preservation of their potential. The project will contribute original information about the grasslands outside the Natura 2000 Network, about their distribution, biophysical parameters and capacity for commercial use. The collected and processed information will be fed into the National Information System on Biodiversity to establish a reliable source for monitoring changes and implement adequate conservation measures.

An important part of the project is related to raising public awareness about the benefits of ecosystem services and their importance for the economy of the country. It will be organized seminars on the main users of open grasslands – farmers and representatives of medium and small hotel and tourism business. Cooperative work with the institutions responsible for the protection of Bulgarian nature will introduce them in detail to the methodology applied for Ecosystem Assessment, which will allow systematic monitoring of their status in the future.

Project website


Fig.1 Example of grassland ecosystem types

FEMA: Fresh water ecosystem services mapping and assessment in Bulgaria, Contr. Д-33-87/27.08.2015

Duration: 27.08.2015 – 30.11.2016

The specific goal of the project is assessment of the freshwater ecosystems in Bulgaria, following the national methodology for assessment and elaboration of maps, which comply with the technical specifications of the National Information Network for Biodiversity in freshwater basins, which fall outside of the Natura 2000 Network and/or other protected territories.

The general goal of the project is to improve the integration of biodiversity into sectoral policies and, more specifically, in water resource management, including an assessment of the societal benefits, which freshwater ecosystems generate.

Using available information of various sources numerous GIS layers will be elaborated with specific values of the freshwater ecosystems of rivers and lakes. The results obtained will serve to integrate the freshwater ecosystems’ values into the Second River Basin Management Plans, Regional Development Plans and to support the national Biodiversity Information System with data/assessments.

The main target group of the project comprises of representatives of the central and local authorities, scientists and researchers, non-governmental organizations, business organizations, students and direct beneficiaries, such as fishers, farmers and tourist organization.

The main project activities are collection of data about freshwater ecosystems, mapping and assessment of services relating to freshwater ecosystems, formulation of scientific conclusions and dissemination of the project results and publicity.

Project website


Fig.2 Example of standing waters, water courses, and water bodies

ReSAC solve and develop high-tech tasks in the field of geo-informatics, integrating the methods of remote sensing and geographic information systems. The results are widely used in decision-making process of land management and land use, environmental management, inventory of soil, forestlands and water resources, urban planning, infrastructure, assessment of natural and anthropogenic environmental risks, citizen awareness, etc.

In both projects ReSAC is responsible for digitization and georeferencing of all data, visual interpretation, modeling and creation of GIS databases to create a modern digital map of the different ecosystem types in Bulgaria – freshwater and grassland ecosystems. ReSAC also responsible for development and maintenance of projects website and WEB GIS portal, and conducting of training courses on GIS applications and Web-based GIS for the experts-biologists.

For more information:
Remote Sensing Application Center – ReSAC
61, Tzar Assen Str., fl. 2, 1463, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Tel: +35929800731 / Fax: +35929818216.
E-mail: vassil.vassilev@resac-bg.org

1 July 2016 – Two United Nations agencies have signed an agreement to protect cultural and natural heritage sites by using the latest geo-spatial technologies, including a satellite imaging system.

The strategic partnership between the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) under the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) will enable their collaboration during conflict situations and in the aftermath of natural disasters.

UNOSAT is a technology-intensive programme delivering imagery analysis and satellite solutions to relief and development organisations within and outside the UN system. Satellite imagery is often the only source of objective information for areas affected by conflict or by natural disasters.

“UNOSAT and UNESCO have complementary capacities that can considerably enhance UNESCO’s ability to protect heritage in emergency situations,” said UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, Alfredo Pérez de Armiñán, referring to ongoing cooperation to document the state of heritage sites in Iraq and other conflict-affected countries.

“UNOSAT’s track record of innovative solutions now has a significant impact on the way the UN operates,” said UNOSAT’s Manager, Einar Bjorgo. “While it is fascinating to note how new technologies are applied to protect ancient cultural heritage, our partnership with UNESCO helps us take specific action on the ground.”

The entities will share their respective expertise, and collaborate on prevention and capacity development. This helps the international community to understand the situation on the ground and plan emergency measures. For example, a recently-published report on cultural heritage sites in Syria by UNITAR-UNOSAT, revealed the extent of damage to cultural heritage, confirming information obtained through unofficial sources.

Other geo-spatial technologies that may be harnessed include the use of crowd-sourcing app UN-ASIGN, successfully applied following the recent Nepal earthquake, and the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) both for general recording purposes and for detailed damage assessments of buildings and other infrastructure. The entire range of geo-spatial information gathering tools is combined using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and advanced web-mapping solutions.

UNESCO and UNITAR-UNOSAT will jointly explore new and innovative solutions that can further contribute to improved management and protection of cultural heritage sites.

Source

The European Commission recently released two videos presenting the Copernicus programme.

The first video (5’38”) provides an overview of the Copernicus programme. It describes the objectives of the programme, how the systems works, the services offered to users and their effective areas of application.

The second one (1’06”) illustrates the wide range of opportunities for business development offered by Copernicus.

Both videos exist in 6 different versions (English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish).

Source

The new Eurisy publication “Satellites for Society: Reporting on operational uses of satellite-based services in the public sector” analyses more than 100 replies submitted to the Eurisy survey for public authorities in 2015.

Public managers were asked why they started using satellite-based services, how much the services cost and how the uptake was financed, which challenges they face, and how the satellite solutions help them saving time and resources while improving the quality of public services.

This publication is disseminated by Eurisy with the aim of contributing to building a knowledge base on the uses of satellite-based services in the public sector. By taking into account the direct feedback of public managers, the report offers a distinctive insight into the work of European public administrations, which will be useful to policy and decision-makers to increase the potential benefits of satellites for society.

The Eurisy survey for public authorities remains open and accessible in nine languages at this LINK.

Source

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July 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
July 14, 2016 July 15, 2016 Prague Czech Rep.
July 14, 2016 July 15, 2016 Novi Sad, Serbia
July 18, 2016 July 29, 2016 Ispra Italy
July 18, 2016 July 20, 2016 Tianjin China
July 19, 2016 July 22, 2016 Kaliningrad Russia
July 30, 2016 August 7, 2016 Istanbul Turkey
August 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
August 1, 2016 August 3, 2016 New Orleans USA
August 1, 2016 August 12, 2016 Frascati Italy
August 2, 2016 August 4, 2016 Ekurhuleni South Africa
August 18, 2016 San Francisco USA
August 20, 2016 Washington USA
August 20, 2016
August 24, 2016 August 26, 2016 Bonn Germany
August 24, 2016 August 26, 2016 Bonn Germany
August 26, 2016 August 28, 2016 Beijing China
August 28, 2016 September 1, 2016 Davos Switzerland
August 29, 2016 August 31, 2016 Munster Germany
September 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
September 1, 2016 September 2, 2016 Singapure
September 1, 2016 September 2, 2016 Singapore
September 5, 2016 September 6, 2016 Kigali, Rwanda
September 5, 2016 Brussels Belgium
September 5, 2016 Brussels Belgium
September 6, 2016 September 8, 2016 Frascati Italy
September 6, 2016 September 9, 2016 Brest France
September 10, 2016 online
September 11, 2016 September 13, 2016 Denver USA
September 12, 2016 September 16, 2016 Frascati Italy
September 12, 2016 September 16, 2016 Paris France
September 14, 2016 September 15, 2016 Estec, Noordwijk Netherlands
September 14, 2016 September 15, 2016 London United Kingdom
September 14, 2016 Brussels Belgium
September 14, 2016 September 16, 2016 Enschede Netherlands
September 14, 2016 September 15, 2016 Lisbon Portugal
September 15, 2016 September 16, 2016 Krakow Poland
September 18, 2016 September 25, 2016 Qingdao China
September 19, 2016 September 23, 2016 Beijing China
September 20, 2016 September 22, 2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
September 20, 2016 September 22, 2016 Noordwijk Netherlands
September 21, 2016 September 22, 2016 Brussels Belgium
September 21, 2016 September 22, 2016 New York City USA
September 23, 2016 September 25, 2016 Guadalajara, Mexico
September 26, 2016 September 29, 2016 Edinburgh United Kingdom
September 26, 2016 September 28, 2016 Brussels Belgium
September 26, 2016 September 30, 2016 Barcelona Spain
September 26, 2016 September 30, 2016 Guadalajara, Mexico
September 26, 2016 September 30, 2016 2016 EUMETSAT Meteorogical Conference
September 28, 2016 September 29, 2016 Brussels Belgium
September 28, 2016 September 30, 2016 Constanta Romania
October 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
October 11, 2016 October 13, 2016 Brest France
October 11, 2016 October 13, 2016 Hamburg Germany
October 12, 2016 October 13, 2016 Coventry United Kingdom
October 12, 2016 October 13, 2016 Brussels Belgium
October 12, 2016 October 14, 2016 Noordwijk Netherlands
October 17, 2016 October 21, 2016 Lyon France
October 17, 2016 October 18, 2016 Rabat, Morroco
October 18, 2016 Brussels Belgium
October 18, 2016 October 20, 2016 Elsinore Denmark
October 18, 2016 October 20, 2016 Tunis, Tunisia
October 18, 2016 October 20, 2016 Elsinore Denmark
October 19, 2016 Brussels Belgium
October 19, 2016 October 20, 2016 ExCel, London United Kingdom
October 19, 2016 October 20, 2016 ExCel, London United Kingdom
October 24, 2016 October 28, 2016 Kampala, Uganda
October 24, 2016 October 27, 2016 London United Kingdom
October 25, 2016 Madrid Spain
October 27, 2016 Paris France
October 27, 2016 Berchtesgaden Germany
October 31, 2016 November 2, 2016 Las Vegas USA
November 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
November 2, 2016 November 3, 2016 Telford United Kingdom
November 9, 2016 November 10, 2016 St Petersburg Russia
November 12, 2016 Malta Malta
November 15, 2016 November 17, 2016 Nairobi, Kenya
November 18, 2016 November 19, 2016 Shenzhen China
November 22, 2016 Workshop on "Internationalisation of EO companies" Brussels Belgium
December 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
December 22, 2016 December 23, 2016 Dubai, UAE
January 2017
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
January 22, 2017 January 25, 2017 Hyderabad, India
January 24, 2017 January 25, 2017

link

Brussels Belgium
July 2017
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
July 2, 2017 July 7, 2017 Washington USA
October 2017
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
October 10, 2017 October 12, 2017 Berlin Germany
November 2017
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
November 28, 2017 November 30, 2017 "Centre de Congrès Pierre Baudis", Toulouse France

Joining EARSC is a very efficient way of knowing the status of our industry, getting answers, and being active at defending the development of our business.

EARSC represents the European providers of geo-information services creating a network between industry, decision-makers and users. We consider that the market is at a crucial stage of development as Earth observation becomes more frequently used by society and adds positive value to our daily lives. Nevertheless, there are many issues, opportunities and threats facing industrial actors and, through a small secretariat, EARSC informs and involves its members though its website and newsletters, through the provision of web-tools, as well as organizing events.

Members tell us that they appreciate the opportunity to network with other similar companies and that this helps them develop new business opportunities as well as exchanging on best practices. They also like the regular flow of information as well as the knowledge that EARSC is able to influence EU and ESA policy when it is important for the sector

Industry stakeholders together could transform activities into meaningful action on behalf of our sector. Your membership is more important to us than anything else. Our strength is in our unity and together we can bring about positive change for the EO service community.

More info

hosted at the Circulo de Belles Artes in Madrid / Spain

Explore cutting-edge space applications in a wide range of key future topics
The conference will feature an outstanding blend of sessions, solution soundbites and roundtable discussions, centred on leveraging satellite-derived data and other space solutions for business and society.

Programme at a glance

Tuesday, 25 October

Opening Roundtable “Galileo and Copernicus – EU space programmes unite forces to tackle global challenges”
The dedicated roundtable with high-level institutional stakeholders and industry representatives will discuss the Initial Operation of EU Space Programmes.

Awards Ceremony 2016
Join the festive Awards Ceremony of Europe’s major innovation competitions for commercial space applications – the European Satellite Navigation Competition and the Copernicus Masters.

Wednesday, 26 October

Satellite Masters Conference
The conference is much more than a mere networking event: It is a unique marketplace for sharing ideas on space-based innovation and connecting with the world’s leading network for downstream satellite business

www.satellite-masters-conference.eu
#SatMaConf #AZOspace

The Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing (IAASARS), one of the three institutes of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), recently signed an agreement with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs to become a Regional Support Office of the UN-SPIDER Programme.

IIAASARS conducts basic and applied research in a number of topics in astrophysics, from distant galaxies to the solar neighborhood, as well as ground based and space-borne remote sensing, earth observation and signal processing. The Institute is also committed to outreach and science dissemination for the general public and operates a very popular visitor center in Penteli.

Recently, the Institute established the Centre of Excellence for Earth Observation based monitoring of Natural Disasters (BEYOND), which situates IAASARS/NOA as a dynamic actor for regional and potentially European hazard management. Through this Centre of Excellence, IAASARS aims to enhance its capacities, drawing new creative perspectives in EO-based disaster management, rendering IAASARS/NOA into the leading south-eastern Europe/Balkan research centre of excellence, and allowing sustainable collaborative schemes to be formed.

The focus of the Centre of Excellence on the topic of natural disasters is the cornerstone of the recently signed agreement to establish IAASARS as a Regional Support Office for the UN-SPIDER programme.

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