Category: Interview

European Earth Observation programme (GMES) and Environment

After the submission of the regulation on the European Earth Observation programme (GMES) by the European Commission: What’s under discussion in the EP at the moment? What are the next steps to be solved after the approval of the regulation by the EU Parliament? How can EARSC support future decisions on GMES?

While preparing my report I was in direct contact with many different stakeholders such as ESA, EUMETSAT, representatives of relevant companies and National Permanent Representations. Thereby I got a brought overview and insight of this project, the related problems and also challenges we face. During the discussions in the Industry Committee and with the shadow rapporteurs it turned out that all political groups supported the proposal of the European Commission. Right from the beginning on the involved Members of the European Parliament were aware of the significance of this project for environment and society.

As GMES is considered to be an important European project the Parliament is willing to adopt the GMES regulation within its first reading. The Industry Committee voted unanimously the amended report on February 4th and a first informal meeting with representatives of the Council and the Commission has already taken place. For the moment trilog meetings are being prepared. Main points to be discussed beside budget matters are questions of governance of GMES and data policy. In case an agreement with the Council can be reached rapidly the Industry Committee will vote its legislative resolution end of May which is the last step before plenary vote. The aim is to finish the legislative procedure before summer break.

Once this regulation will be completed we expect a new proposal from the Commission in the first semester 2011 to pave the way for the next financial perspective. My committee will be strongly involved and I will still have a focus on GMES matters and count on the cooperation with EARSC.

A key success factor for GMES will be an appropriate Governance structure taking into account the needs and requirements of all stakeholders at all levels (European, national and regional). Do you think that Service industry also should be considered via EARSC?

For me the governance structure is one of the key questions for the project. Of course I see the need for users as for the service industry to participate and be involved, because GMES should be user driven and service oriented. But we have to define clearly which stakeholder group is organised in which kind of body and which task they should fulfil. Transparency as well as security criteria are to be respected.

COOPERATION & PARTNERSHIP WITH EO INDUSTRY

In your opinion:

How can the dialogue between the European research institutions and the service industry be improved?

Research Institutions and service industry need to work close together in order to identify the needs and find appropriate solutions – this is obvious. Existing networks should be more promoted. As a Member of the European Parliament, I can help to organise forums and create possibilities where research institutions and industry can meet.

How can we build a strong partnership with European research institutions to avoid unnecessary competition?

Cooperation and partnership are important, especially in a sector where the market is not developed yet. But on the other hand I do not want to avoid competition. Competition can lead to innovation and new ideas. With Galileo we have seen what can happen if there was no competition left. Two industry consortia merged and no step forward was taken. I know that Galileo and GMES are a different kettle of fish, but…

The establishment of a Data Policy supporting the development of public GMES markets at all levels (from global to local!) must be a priority and it seems to be obvious, that the data from the EO satellites realized for GMES with public money, shall be free of costs… However, how can a negative effect out of the current discussion on data policy (open and free access to everybody) on private data provider be prevented?

We had an intensive discussion amongst the Members of the Industry Committee and with the Commission about the question whether the data produced from GMES should be free of charge or not. In principle we agree with the concept of “free of charge” but we did not want to exclude the possibility to charge users in a further step, once the project is established and fully operational.

The Commission carried out a market analysis and concluded that at that time no company was operating in the area of data provision. As I know from my own constituency this has changed by now. As the creation of a well functioning market is crucial to the success of GMES, it is very important to have a data access with lowest barriers possible. On the other hand we do not want to constrain the development of new companies. Therefore I introduced the passage that the information and data freely and openly provided in connection with GMES services should not jeopardise the business models of existing enterprises or those in the process of being established into the regulation.

FUNDING

After the current GMES Initial Operations Phase, how do you see the planning and budgeting process in the GMES programmes? How to organize the next steps on financing the operations. What do we need to do when it comes to financing?

The budget proposal from the Commission with 150 million Euros for the initial operations phase (2011-2013) was quite small and amongst all political groups in the European Parliament we recognized the need for more money. Together we managed to more than double the proposed funding to now 316 million Euros. In my report the Parliament also asks the Commission to submit a mid-term financial strategy for GMES in the context of the mid-term review of the current Multi-annual Financial Framework. The Commission should as well submit a long-term financing strategy for the future Multi-annual Financial Framework from 2014 on. For the moment we are waiting for the position of the Council and we will see how we can get an agreement on this question. In the future GMES will be financed by an own budget line; the Commission will come up with a proposal on this in the first semester of 2011.

Can EARSC be integrated into this process and what do we have to do to make appropriate budgets lines in the next Financial Perspective reality?

EARSC will most probably stay in contact with the European Commission that carries out a proposal for the budgets lines in the next Financial Perspective. And I am also happy to stay in contact to get relevant input when we start the work in Parliament on this.

FUTURE & SOCIETY

At the end of the interview, we would like to ask you for your overall recommendations on the future development of the geo-information service sector, and would like to ask to give some hopefully positive messages to the members of EARSC.

I see a huge market potential in the geo-information service sector in the European Union. GMES is a significant project for the benefit of the people in Europe and even other parts of the world. In its various applications I see positive environmental aspects but also an opportunity for the dynamic development of small and medium-sized companies, above all in the earth monitoring and any associated industrial fields. The industry sector should be active, innovative and take risks where necessary. Innovative solutions for existing problems to the benefit of the society will find acceptance and I will do my best to support this and help wherever I can.

Thank you in advance for the elements of contribution to the Interview and for sharing your thoughts and comments with the EOmag readers

Biography
Norbert Glante is a German socialist Member of the European Parliament, representing the region of Brandenburg (Germany). After an apprenticeship as electrical engineer and studies in Automation technology he worked several years as Design engineer and Computer scientist before joining politics with the political change in East Germany. Being Chairman of Potsdam district council between 1990 and 1994 he became MEP in 1994 where he is full member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.

Eomag!21_Interview with Norbert Glante Member European Parliament.pdf

GMES, an European earth observation programme

Given the recent findings that called for increased monitoring of climate change impacts, the importance of the regulation on the global monitoring for environment and security (GMES) is further stressed. The data that has been produced by previous monitoring has in fact, either been not complete enough (with regard to parameters), or it has not been available in a continuous manner.

In order to do so, GMES is comprised of three key components:

First of all, the Space: a space observation infrastructure which addresses service data needs, specifically through land, atmospheric and oceanographic parameters, with the aim to develop and implement a number of satellite missions known as the Sentinels; the component relying on coordination by the ESA.

Secondly, the In Situ component (including ground-based remote sensing observations): this relies on a number of facilities, instruments and tools which are owned and operated at national, regional and intergovernmental levels.

The third component, moreover, are the Services, which should ensure access to information covering various thematic areas, from climate change adaptation and mitigation, to security, and land, marine and atmospheric monitoring.

I deem this proposal as an important tool to respond to the increased research and civil protection needs, given the seriousness of global warming effects on the environment.

This regulation will provide us with the means to gather precise data on land, sea and atmosphere changes. Examples of measurable indicators include elements such as ocean salinity or biomass moisture, and sea levels.

Furthermore, there are beneficial effects with regards to our capacity to prevent and manage major disasters, i.e. oil spills, forest fires, floods and landslides. GMES is also a crucial element for ETS management and emissions control.

It has been necessary to prioritise the financial strategy between the three components of the programme bearing in mind that the funding architecture foresees the intervention of National governments and other public and private bodies mainly for the in-situ and services component.

Another element of appreciation comes from the potential spinoffs of the programme for SME growth, especially in the research sector, in a moment of economic crisis. Moreover, the European industries are the ones setting the standards for GMES, with evident beneficial effects on their competitiveness in the global market.

On the international cooperation side, clear mention of GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) should be given in the regulation text, considering that part of the funding requested for the implementation of GMES goes as contribution to this world monitoring system to which EU has officially subscribed.

Furthermore, I think that the information technology sector´s involvement will certainly grow, given the particular relevance for satellite technology.

The only serious concern is related to the funding structure of the space component : this regulation only covers financial needs for the period 2011-2013. However, the ESA commitments for the launch of the “Sentinel” satellites require precise and timely preparation and imply huge expenses for the actual launch, planned for the 2014-2017 period. For this period, decisions as regards the financial perspectives have not been taken yet.

Consequently the project will be faced with uncertainties in a transitional phase (January -December 2014) during which no funds will be allocated, while the space purveying industries involved will nevertheless have to be paid for the services delivered.

A solution will have to be found in this respect.

Vittorio Prodi
Vittorio Prodi (born on 19 May 1937 in Reggio Emilia) is an Italian politician and Member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament and sits on the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, Subcommittee on Human Rights, Delegation for relations with the Mercosur countries.
Curriculum vitae
-Graduate in physics (University of Bologna, 1959); lecturer in nuclear measurements (1970). University lecturer and researcher in leading national and international institutes; associate professor in the Physics Department of the University of Bologna (since 1983).
-Chairman of the Provincial Council of Bologna (1995-2004); member of the provincial representation of the Conference ‘State – Cities – Local Governments’ and of the ‘Unified Conference’ (State, Cities, local governments and Regions) (2001-2004).
-Author of numerous publications and of five international patents.
Parliamentary activities
Questions
Opinions
Speeches in plenary
Written declarations

Vittorio Prodi
Europarl

Eomag!21_Interview with Vittorio Prodi Member European Parliament.pdf

EUROPEAN EARTH OBSERVATION PROGRAMME (GMES)

How would you explain in a few words the benefits of the GMES programme for the citizen? Could you explain the benefits of GMES on the political, economic, social and scientific levels?

The independent data and information that GMES provides have a strategic value for EU policies and priorities and strengthens EU leadership in climate change adaptation and mitigation. Economic benefits in a variety of fields will result from improved policy-making, better-informed planning and decision-making, and improved monitoring of implementation and compliance. Just to mention two concrete examples: GMES has already since several years been delivering air pollution forecasts which are particularly useful for people with asthma, and supported emergency management, e.g. during the fires around Genova in September and the flood in Ireland end of November last year. GMES will also enable innovation and growth in the downstream sector and thereby strengthen Europe’s services market and knowledge economy. Especially SMEs, which form the backbone of the Earth observation industry in Europe, will benefit from the certainty of future data continuity without which they cannot afford to invest in service development and infrastructure. The reduced data costs will enable them to provide services at more competitive prices, while more frequent observations and improved data quality will increase the value of existing services and facilitate the development of new ones. This, in turn, will significantly contribute to job creation in a high-tech sector of strategic importance. Additionally, the free and open availability of Sentinel data could be instrumental in reducing the disparities between Member States, since economically weaker MS will be able to reap the same economic benefits resulting from increased data availability as those owning EO space infrastructure. In particular, downstream services market development in countries with a weaker industrial base will most likely accelerate with the full and open access to Sentinel data. European scientists, not only remote sensing experts but from a number of scientific communities, will benefit from improved access to a larger amount of better-quality data. The value of long-term continuity of data series is here obvious, in particular for climate change science.

Governance (or ownership) was identified as a key challenge for GMES. Concerning the GMES Space Infrastructure, the situation seems to be clear at least at a first glance (ESA’s responsibility during an interim phase), governance issues are much more complicated and diverse in the service sector. What is your idea for the GMES governance scheme?

As programme manager, the Commission ensures the overall coordination of the EU Earth Observation programme (GMES), and will make sure that the programme is driven by user needs. Therefore, a strong coordination will be ensured with various DG’s within the Commission. At the same time, the Commission relies on existing technical expertise in Europe, including ESA, EUMETSAT and Member States for the Space Component. ESA is responsible for the overall coordination of the GMES Space Component, and is also development and procurement agent on behalf of the EU. ESA (ad interim) and EUMETSAT ensure, on behalf of the EU, the operations of the Sentinels. For the in-situ component the EEA is expected to play an important role, in coordination with the Commission, in relation to the supervision of some services and coordination with user communities under the SEIS umbrella. Some specific coordination activities could be delegated to other existing relevant coordination bodies. For the services different tailored approaches will be applied. To ensure the provision of operational marine and atmosphere services the Commission suggests establishing a network of technical centres at EU level. The European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) could be given an important coordination role. Land, emergency and security services should be provided in a decentralised way. Consequently a shared methodology will be needed so that services can be integrated and aggregated at European level following the successful agriculture model. The Commission is ready to contribute to the development of a common methodology for service delivery and aggregation of geo-information products. In the context of the consolidation of crisis management activities, the Emergency Service will be made available to various emergency response actors at EU and Member States levels, including through the civil protection response instrument, humanitarian aid interventions and crisis management operations.

COOPERATION & PARTNERSHIP WITH EO INDUSTRY

A recent study from Euroconsult states: “to compete against free and low-cost government data solutions, commercial operators must develop and expand their service offerings by providing complete geoinformation solutions, a move which will lead to increased pressure on the already-fragmented value-added services industry”. What is your opinion on this analysis?

I think we will on one hand see “integrated” companies possessing the entire value-adding chain from sales of raw data to delivering user-tailored services with a large amount of value-adding. On the other hand, I think we will see the development of SMEs specialising in a thematic field, with a better knowledge of a particular market and its needs. They will be able to adopt a completely user-driven approach without any push to adopt a certain technology or data. The improved availability of free or low-cost data will further improve their competitiveness SMEs with a prominent remote sensing expertise will have to find ways of collaborating or joining with information service providers specialising in a certain market.

FUNDING

What in your opinion is a suitable budget envelope for the years to come to launch the operationality for GMES? How do you see the future financing steps for the GMES?

Based on an ESA technical analysis, the overall cost of the Space Component would represent a total investment of €4 Billion for the period 2014/2020, meaning an estimated annual average of € 430 Million in operation costs and €170 Million for R&D from the EU and ESA. The European Environment Agency (EEA) will perform an analysis of in-situ costs in the context of a Specific support action funded through FP7; this will be the main input for estimating costs of the in-situ component of GMES. The cost of the service component is being estimated on the basis of technical inputs by the FP7 Core service projects validated by the Implementation Group experts. It is on this basis, and after an ex-ante budgetary evaluation, that the EU contribution will be assessed in the context of the preparation of the next multiannual financial framework.

FUTURE & SOCIETY

At the end of the interview, we would like to ask you for your overall recommendations on the future development of the geo-information service sector, and would like to ask to give some hopefully positive messages to the members of EARSC.

President Barroso announced he intends to launch a major initiative to help the EU anticipate the changes that need to be made so that we can cope with climate change. This work will involve marshalling all the necessary scientific and economic data that exists to help the EU to adapt its policies to the challenge of climate change. I’m convinced that GMES, as a knowledge-based system, should be at the heart of this vision. For President Barroso, GMES will be amongst the priorities actions, as stated in his mission letter for Mr Tajani, the future Commissioner in charge of the Industry and Entrepreneurship portfolio:

The Lisbon Treaty has given the Commission more competences vis-à-vis space policy. This is a long term agenda for which I would ask you to bring GMES to maturity, outsourcing gradually the operational elements to the European Space Agency.
The geo-information service sector should take the opportunity of this high priority given to GMES and the resulting improved long-term availability of data and information, and adapt as needed to the expected boost in the market. GMES remains situated inside the Directorate General in charge of industry and entrepreneurship. Other priority actions of this DG, such as the fostering of the development of SMEs in Europe and the development of an integrated industrial policy taking into account input from stakeholders, European industry and SMEs will also be of direct relevance for GMES.

Eomag!20_Interview with Francisco Gastelu, Deputy Head of cabinet of Vice President Verheugen.pdf

INTRODUCTION: SHELL STRUCTURE ON GEO-INFORMATION

1. From the point of view of geo-information, how can EO service industry better understand the oil & gas sector (business structure, strategy, potential growth technologies and prospects)?

For the EO service industry to understand this sector the oil and gas businesses first needs to understand the benefits of using earth observation data. Some companies, like Shell, are already embracing the benefits of using satellite imagery in exploration and other business activities but we could do more. There needs to be more collaboration between the service sector and the oil and gas sector. A good example of this is a radar workshop that I’m working with ESA to organise next year, bringing together key players from the two sectors. The understanding needs to increase from both sides.

2. Could you please introduce how Shell collects, manages and utilises spatial information to help achieve its business goals? And what are the processes and workflows that support those geo-information activities?

The Geomatics group in Shell lead these activities, guided by our own geo-information strategy. I’ll focus on EO data as this is the area where I’m working. We’ve simplified acquisition and licensing as much as possible by working with external service companies to provide data and services to the group. Licensing data appropriately makes sharing much simpler and reduces the risk of duplicated acquisition. As the remote sensing lead in Shell, it’s also my job to follow developments in the EO sector closely, so that we can deploy new technology to the business quickly.
Like many big organisations, it’s taken us time to organise our enterprise raster data management. Getting remote sensing and other raster data into the strategy was the turning point. Rather than develop our own in-house solutions we’ve worked with vendors to identify the technology we need to meet the requirements of our internal customers. Although it has taken time and effort to break new ground, I’ve seen the market changing over the last couple of years, with ESRI in particular putting real focus on enterprise solutions. There is also an increasing emphasis on external services, with more EO data being made available via web map services, which are available for subscription. This gives us access to data without having to manage it in-house. The other way in which we are reducing the amount of data we’re managing is by utilising external hosting, reducing the burden of data management.

COOPERATION & PARTNERSHIP WITH EO INDUSTRY

1. I understand, technology is seen as one of the key differentiators for SHELL, and an area in which the company can gain significant competitive advantage over its rivals,.. could you please comment on the relation with service providers, the main products and services using geo-information?

Shell has a good working relationship with the main satellite operators (for example Digital Globe, Geoeye and SPOT) and I work hard to maintain these connections. These relationships help the operators to understand our business and helps us to make the most of EO technology. I focus on deployable EO and there is also a group in Shell focusing on research which I collaborate with.

2. Is there a role for geo-information community in the oil and gas sector? Could both sectors work together? What type of dialogue mechanism already exists or could take place with the EO service industry?

The two sectors have to work together. I’m fortunate that Shell sees the value of engaging with piers in other oil and gas companies, and in EO, but there needs to be more cross-sector engagement. I’d also hope to see more focus from remote sensing organisations on the energy sector. There are limited opportunities for us to influence EO developments, including new satellites, and we need to make the most of these opportunities by collaborating.

3. In your opinion, what milestones in last two decades have made an impact in the growth of EO downstream products in the oil and gas sector?

This is obviously only an opinion, but I’d say the two biggest milestones are the availability of high spatial resolution imagery, first from optical satellites, and more recently from radar, and Google Earth. Now almost everybody has had some experience of EO data. This translates into a better understanding of what is possible, but also sometimes can set unrealistic expectations. Seeing your house in glorious detail via satellite, doesn’t mean you can see an exploration license with the same level of detail.

4. Please tell us about your opinion on the possible growth of the EO service industry within the oil and gas sector. What trends your foreseen?

There’s considerable unrealized potential for the EO service industry, providing data and flexible access to services. The demand for recent high-resolution imagery will increase, reducing health and safety risks, aiding exploration and development of new resources, particularly if the trend for increasing positional accuracy continues. If we’re going to make the most of the new generation of radar satellites (Radarsat 2, COSMO Skymed, TerraSAR-X) the operators and service providers must help us to understand their potential and develop new applications.
There’s also greater potential for elevation data for remote locations, and for surface deformation monitoring, but this isn’t exploited as much as it could be because of the perceived high cost and long lead-times. The EO service industry needs to work to reduce the complexity of licensing, and cost. As EO data become more accessible, the use will inevitably increase.

5. Where are SHELL geo-information investments (business development opportunities)? And who are the most important stakeholders?

We’re investing in data management, investing in training and in raising awareness of the value of EO internally. I believe that EO has value across the business, and also can help us engage with communities and governments, illustrating our focus on minimising the footprint of activity and maintaining the natural environment.

6. Where is SHELL announcing opportunities for the EO service industry and what can you advice to our members who like to start business with SHELL? Would there be a role for EARSC to help finding potential contractors for doing business with SHELL?

I often receive unsolicited approaches from companies, which I file away for future reference. I’d suggest creating more opportunities to bring EO and oil and gas professionals together for focused and effective engagement. Illustrating capabilities by relevant examples is also very helpful, as this material can also be used in internal education and promotion.

SERVICES

1. Images from remote sensing satellites have been used for geological and environmental mapping since the 70´s . Today, imagery from different sensors is being used to support exploration and production activities within the oil and gas industry…but which satellite sensors you will see relevant to your services? And what type of information can EO service providers supply your sector? what is the added value of those services?

My view on this is simple – in many of the places we work there is little or no quality mapping available and having any remote sensing data available is helpful. I’d hope to see more focus on higher spatial resolution constellations, regardless of spectral resolution or sensor type, to fill in the white space on maps. The minerals sector has demonstrated that multispectral and hyperspectral sensors can provide unique geological and environmental data but the oil and gas sector first needs to realise the value of looking at the surface in black and white, or colour, before it will be ready for more complex data sets.

2. Innovation within the oil and gas sector is usually important, can we (EO service industry and oil and gas) do take actions to bring the research and industry in both sectors together? Do you co-operate with industry to improve and innovate in terms of your products?

As I mentioned previously, I see this as very important and Shell is very active in this. I see excellent cooperation from satellite operators but the service delivery sector needs to engage more effectively. I would rather know that something is new and experimental, so that I can balance the risks, than be promised the world and subsequently be disappointed.

FUTURE & SOCIETY

1. At the end of the interview, here is the opportunity for your final thoughts on the future, what do you see as the task ahead?

The world is more familiar with EO than ever before and the EO service industry and EARSC and the rest of the EO community needs to make the most if this visibility, educating potential consumers about the possibilities, and the limitations of EO.
I see considerable potential from radar sensors, both as a qualitative mapping tool and as a means of quantitative surface measurement. These sensors provide valuable information offshore and onshore and I for one certainly need to better understand how to make the most of the potential.

2. Would you like to give some message to the entrepreneurs interested in helping your company with his long term goals

This might be a hard message, but focus on educating your current and future customers and understanding their needs, rather than selling solutions in search of problems.

3. What do you see as the biggest long-term challenges?

Maintaining the talent pool of remote sensing professionals is essential, as is ensuring that satellite programmes continue to be well funded and accessible to multinationals and to individuals.

Thank you for your time Richard…, and specially for sharing your thoughts and comments with the EOmag readers.

Richard Eyers’s Summary
Team leader and Principal Technical Expert, supporting Shell projects around the world and providing advice on remote sensing and raster data management. Current business focus is on developing remote sensing capability, delivering a Remote Sensing Business Plan and developing a global raster management solution.
Richard Eyers’s Specialties: Data management and publishing, remote sensing, GIS, image processing, spatial analysis, knowledge of satellite image and software vendors

eomag.eu_articles_1034_Interview-with-Richard-Eyers-remote-sensing-consultant-at-SHELL-international-exploration-and-production

The Directive tasks EMSA to ‘work with the Member States in developing technical solutions and providing technical assistance in actions such as tracing satellite discharges by satellite monitoring and surveillance’. Therefore the Agency has established a European wide operational system for oil slick detection based on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images from satellites. This service, called CleanSeaNet, supplements existing surveillance systems at national and regional level and supports Member States response to illegal discharges and accidental spills as well as helping to locate and identify polluters in areas under their jurisdiction.

CleanSeaNet uses SAR satellite images primarily from ENVISAT ASAR (ESA) and RADARSAT-1 and RADARSAT-2 (CSA/MDA). Looking to the future the planned GMES Sentinel-1 mission series will be important for routine monitoring, while other X-band radar data from TerraSAR-X (DLR) and CosmoSkyMed (ASI): could potentially be used in case of an oil spill emergency. After acquisition by the satellite, SAR data are transmitted to a network of ground receiving stations, where the data is processed and the image interpreted by image analysts. The analysed satellite imagery is available to the relevant Coastal State operational users within 30 minutes after satellite overpass. In case of a detected oil slick, an alert message to the end user is transmitted by phone call as well as e-mail and optionally by fax or SMS. The final verification of the possible slick needs to be done by in-situ means such as patrol vessel or ideally by aerial surveillance. National aerial and vessel surveillance patrols can then target this area to verify the possible spill and potentially identify the polluter. By complementing national aerial and vessel surveillance with satellite images a more cost effective use of these expensive resources is achieved.

Image 1: A CleanSeaNet Envisat ASAR satellite image acquired in February 2009 alerted the Irish Coastguard of an extensive oil slick approximately 50 miles South East of Fastnet Rock off the West Cork coast of Ireland.

CleanSeaNet began operating in April 2007 and oil pollution response authorities of 24 European Coastal States have access to the service. Since the beginning of the service over 400,000,000km2 of European seas have been monitored. More than 4000 possible oil slicks have been detected, but not all of these detections were oil. A study conducted after 18 months of operations showed that the percentage of detections checked on-site by aircraft or patrol vessels and confirmed as oil varies from one region to another but can reach values as high as 80%.

SAR image data is able to detect ships and quite often their wakes. In order to identify vessels suspected of causing pollution, traffic monitoring information from AIS (Automatic Identification Systems) and LRIT (Long Range Identification and Tracking) data is necessary. Later in 2009 CleanSeaNet will provide vessel track information as an added layer on top of the SAR image. Therefore it shall be possible to link a recent spill to a vessel if the vessel is shown to be attached to the spill, or if the track matches pattern and shape of the spill and if there is no confusion between the different vessels observed in the vicinity of the slick.

Image 2: An illegal oil discharge was detected in this CleanSeaNet satellite image acquired in June 2009 off the coast of Spain. The polluting vessel was also detected in the SAR image. Vessel track information taken from the SafeSeaNet AIS database identified the ship responsible for causing the pollution.

Oil spill modelling tools further assist in the identification of vessels responsible for illegal discharges (spill backtracking) and for prediction of spill drift and fate (spill forecasting) to support decision making for pollution response activities. Backtracking of spills and the intersection of the spill trajectory with vessel tracking data can limit the number of potential polluters and allows authorities to carry out more in-depth checking of suspicious vessels. Beginning in 2009 EMSA plans to integrate oil spill modelling capabilities within CleanSeaNet in co-operation with model operators at Coastal States. In the future the service will be further enhanced by the inclusion of additional information to Coastal States, such as sea surface temperature maps, surface chlorophyll maps, and reference data sets including nautical charts.

The Agency has recently launched an open invitation to tender for the “EMSA CleanSeaNet Data Centre”, part of the 2nd generation CleanSeaNet to be in place from 2011. The procurement includes the design, development, implementation, and maintenance of the CleanSeaNet Data Centre (CSN DC) The CSN DC information system shall provide a platform for the Agency to manage Earth Observation data. The data will be stored and managed by the CSN DC and distributed to CleanSeaNet users. The CSN will guarantee an advanced platform for the alerting, visualisation, dissemination, ingestion, and archiving of both data and information.

Further information on CleanSeaNet and this tender can be found at: http://cleanseanet.emsa.europa.eu/

EMSA 2. CleanSeaNet. An oil spill detection service for European seas.pdf

INTRODUCTION

Please tell us about EMSA and the relation with satellite services

Maritime safety issues were brought sharply into focus with the sinking of the oil tanker Erika off the coast of France in 1999, followed by the sinking of the Prestige off Spain in 2002. These disasters led to the decision to set up a new EU body which could act as the technical and operational arm of European Union decision makers. With this in mind EMSA, one of the EU’s decentralised regulatory Agencies, was established in 2003. The Agency is required to provide technical support and advice to the European Commission and Member States in certain key maritime safety areas and to monitor the ways in which different Member States and organizations are implementing EU legislation. EMSA has operational tasks in the field of satellite monitoring and detection of illegal discharges of oil at sea, oil pollution response, and in the field of vessel traffic monitoring with Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) tools. These maritime support services permits EU Member States to share live information on incidents and ship movements off each country’s coast. Overall, EMSA can be seen as a maritime safety, maritime security and protection of the marine environment agency.

What is the EMSA’s role in monitoring system for marine oil spill detection and surveillance in European waters?

The majority of oil spills occur when tankers and other vessels clean out their oil tanks at sea. This practice is illegal, but is very difficult to detect and subsequently prosecute. As a support service for Member States in the fight against pollution, in 2007 EMSA set up CleanSeaNet (CSN), a satellite service for oil spill detection. The system provides pollution alerts and analysed Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images to pollution control authorities of Member States within 30 minutes of the satellite overpass. In a nut-shell CleanSeaNet provides the initial detection and tracking of possible discharges from ships using satellite imagery which is then backed up with on-the-spot surveillance by Member States with patrol vessels and aircraft.

(The illustrations and side article provide more information on CleanSeaNet)

How can EMSA assist in satellite monitoring and surveillance during an accidental oil spill?

The Agency can place emergency orders for fast delivery of satellite radar imagery for the affected area and provide pollution emergency reports to the relevant authorities at Member States. In case of major accidental spills the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters may be activated. EMSA acts as a Project Manager of the Charter in case of a major spill in European waters and coordinates the delivery and analysis of radar and optical satellite images made available through the Charter to monitor the evolution of the spill.

What is the added value of a pan-European operational system for marine oil slick detection and surveillance?

EMSA would like to enable greater sharing of data and information, as well as expertise between Coastal States in relation to marine oil slick detection and surveillance. It has been demonstrated that satellite services operated at a regional level allow co-ordination of surveillance resources and an improvement in cost efficiency for aerial and vessel surveillance. Certainly the purchase of a large volume of imagery and services creates a cost reduction due to economies of scale.

Is any other type of data from satellites used in CleanSeaNet?

CleanSeaNet provides wind and wave swell information derived directly from the SAR data and from meteorological sources. In the future, the Agency will bring in other types of data derived from Earth Observation satellites including sea surface temperature maps, and maps of chlorophyll a distribution derived from satellites to support image analysis and interpretation.

Could you describe the vessel traffic services offered by EMSA and how this data is linked to CleanSeaNet?

With so many vessels loading and unloading in European ports, information about cargo, ship safety records and port destinations is vital. EMSA has developed SafeSeaNet (SSN), which is a pan-European electronic information system which harmonises the way maritime data on ship movements and cargoes is exchanged. The EU has the best covered coastline with AIS receiving stations picking up all signals from passing ships.
Data from these systems are being integrated at EMSA to provide Member States and the Commission with a comprehensive image of vessel traffic in the EU. The goal is to distribute to participating countries, the full real-time AIS information picture, enhanced with selected data stored in the SSN system (e.g. notifications on hazardous goods, alert incidents posing threats to safety of navigations and/ or the environment) and LRIT information.
Vessel traffic information will very shortly be available in CleanSeaNet. Integrating vessel track positions with CleanSeaNet satellite radar images assists in the identification and eventual prosecution of the polluting vessel responsible for the spill. Within CleanSeaNet we have already successfully combined satellite SAR with vessel information to positively identify ships responsible for causing pollution.
In fact we plan to enhance CleanSeaNet further by offering Synthetic Aperture Radar automatic vessel detection information layer to identify the presence of vessels which are not transmitting their position by AIS or LRIT.

INTEROPERABILITY, QUALITY & STANDARDS

Coming to the interoperability issues how do you compare EMSA satellite based products with others?

The satellite services team is very aware of the importance of standards and interoperability issues for EO data. CleanSeaNet is a formally recognised GMES service and we aim to follow recommendations for appropriate common standards and protocols within the framework of GMES, the INSPIRE (Infrastructure for SPatail InfoRmation in Europe) Directive and GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems).
In the near future we are moving towards implementation of OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) compliant web services for the CleanSeaNet Data Centre. The standards applied to the CSN DC components shall be compliant to the GMES/INSPIRE recommendations on architecture; catalogues/metadata; sensor planning; ordering; web mapping services, data access and dissemination amongst others.

COOPERATION & PARTNERSHIP WITH EO INDUSTRY

What type of dialogue mechanism could take place with the EO service industry?

We have an open dialogue with industry. We receive industry at EMSA to be informed about innovations and staff attend relevant conferences and big exhibitions.

In your opinion, what milestones in last two decades have made an impact in the growth of EO downstream maritime services products?

Certainly R&D activities and pre-operational demonstration projects, for example MarCoast from European Space Agency, and Oceanides from the Joint Research Centre (JRC), as well as developments through the EU Framework Programmes, have been valuable for improving reliability and strengthening the downstream service chain. Of significant importance for the successful establishment of CleanSeaNet has been the availability and reliability of Near Real Time SAR satellite data. Delivery of satellite image products that have been ordered must be delivered 95% of the time, and within a strict time limit. For services which impact operational decision making, fast and reliable delivery of images and derived information is indispensible.

Are there other satellite based service technologies which may have an impact on the maritime sector?

One area EMSA is closely following is the development of satellite based AIS. This technology, which is in demonstration phase, could strengthen the portfolio of vessel information services at the Agency. Satellites can collect the positions of vessels which are far off-shore. This position information is technically difficult to capture using sea or ground based systems. It is in this respect that space-based AIS technology could play an increasingly important role in providing AIS data to the maritime sector, which in turn may be used for various purposes including maritime surveillance.

FUTURE & SOCIETY

At the end of the interview, here is the opportunity for your final thoughts on the future, what do you see as the task ahead?

Following the European Commission’s Blue Book for an Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union, and the strategic goals and recommendations for the EU’s maritime transport policy until 2018 the Agency will continue initiatives for sharing ship related information. EMSA’s guiding principle for the medium term is to focus on those actions that can be undertaken more efficiently at EU level than national level. Certainly the strengthening of maritime surveillance services for Member States and for other Agency bodies at EU level is a medium term goal for the Agency.

Would you like to give some message to the entrepreneurs interested in helping EMSA with its goals?

Data fusion and increased availability of integrated, information rich, products for maritime surveillance is of interest to the Agency. Continuing improvement of Near Real Time Performance for SAR processing would be advantageous. Industry innovation and flexibility in responding to the needs of EMSA for further development of maritime surveillance services is appreciated.

Thank you for your time, and for sharing your thoughts and comments with the EOmag readers.

EMSA 1. Interview with Leendert Bal. Head of Operations Depart. of EMSA.pdf

INTRODUCTION

Please tell us something generic about your role as mission manager and the responsabilities for throughout the process of designing, building and the future launching SMOS

Susanne Mecklenburg: Since I became the SMOS Mission Manager in June 2007 I am responsible for all aspects of the mission in the operations phase. This means I will take care of the smooth running of the mission after launch in autumn 2009 and the subsequent commissioning phase and, most importantly, of the scientific exploitation of the data. We are now in the final stages of the development phase, which is led by my colleague Achim Hahne at ESA-ESTEC. He has been taking care of building the mission over the last years since SMOS was selected as the second Earth Explorer Opportunity Mission in 1999.

At the moment I am busy planning the operations phase, which comprises all scientific, technical and financial aspects of the mission. We now have all the ESA internal and industrial teams in place that will support the SMOS operations. The main activities at the moment focus on preparing for the SMOS commissioning phase, which will last 6 months after launch. This time will be dedicated to the calibration and validation activities, which are a major undertaking in any environmental science related satellite mission. Once the data get to the ground they need to be checked in terms of whether they make sense and can be used for scientific research.

DEFINITION PHASE

How did the SMOS mission come about and what was involved in formulating the concept for the SMOS mission?

Achim Hahne: Formally speaking, the starting point for the SMOS mission was the proposal submitted by Y. Kerr and J. Font as Principle Investigators to ESA’s first Call for Proposals in the first slice of the Earth Observation Envelope Programme.

However, the work on the proposal was preceded by about 8-10 years of scientific investigations and technology development, which laid the foundation for the credibility of the proposed mission. The technology development covered not only the instrument principle and the receiver technology but also mission-critical elements like an overall calibration methodology, the principle of the structure and deployment mechanism, and the optical fiber harness for fast and radio- emission free data transmission.

During the definition phase, how difficult was it to balance the scientific requirements with what is feasible from an engineering perspective?

Achim Hahne: In spite of all this preparatory work there were moments in the early definition phase in which painful decisions had to be made: deletion of the additional C-band array, reduction of the numbers of receivers on the arm segments and in the hub. This could only be achieved in close cooperation with the involved scientists, by tuning other mission parameters or through ingestion of external data e.g. from ECMWF. Without these drastic measures, the mission would probably not have been feasible within the financial and programmatic boundaries (e.g. use of a recurrent PROTEUS satellite bus).

SMOS waiting for launch, Thales Alenia Space in Cannes in April 2009 ©ESA

TEAM

How many people work on the project?

Achim Hahne: In the beginning, the main effort was concentrating on the payload development and delivery. With a small but experienced ESA project team, an excellent team spirit grew quite quickly between the ESA project team, the scientists, and the involved industry lead by EADS CASA (Spain). At the peak of the payload activities, just a little less than 100 people were working on SMOS issues in agencies, academia, and industry.

Please tell us about challenges SMOS have presented so far?

Achim Hahne: With the delivery of the payload to Thales Alenia Space (France), emphasis shifted from the development of novel technologies to an orderly environmental and functional test programme at satellite and system level. This put the French partner agency CNES into the foreground, as they hold the contracts for the satellite AIT programme and will operate, eventually, the satellite from the generic PROTEUS Satellite Operations Ground Segment.

Of course, different agencies not only have different internal rules and regulations but also different cultures, which have to be recognised and accepted.

Which partners are involved and how does the SMOS team work?

Susanne Mecklenburg: The SMOS mission is special in that three different agencies were involved and supported the development of the mission. In addition to the ESA funding there were significant national contributions provided by the French and Spanish space agencies, CNES and CDTI. This collaborative approach will partly continue in the operations phase, where ESA will be responsible for the overall coordination of the mission and the ground segment operations, whereas CNES will be operating the spacecraft. There is a significant number of ESA and CNES staff and industrial teams involved in the operations being located at different stations covering a variety of functionalities. The main stations to keep SMOS running day-to-day will be at ESAC Villafranca hosting the main part of the Data Processing Ground Segment and at CNES in Toulouse hosting the Satellite Operations Ground Segment, with their respective receiving stations. In addition we will operate another X-Band receiving station at Svalbard guaranteeing a near-real time data delivery to a few operational agencies such as ECMWF and MétéoFrance.

Other SMOS related stations are at Kiruna, where the reprocessing and archiving of the data will be done, at ESA-ESRIN in Frascati, which will host the mission management and the user services, and at ESA-ESTEC in Noordwijk, where the Post Launch Support Office will be located. This team will be responsible for the maintenance of the satellite and payload performances and will intervene in case of anomalies, reacting quickly to rectify non-nominal performances of the mission.

In addition to the teams that keep the mission running on a day-to-day basis we will have so called Expert Support Laboratories, consisting of industrial and scientific groups, supporting the calibration of the SMOS MIRAS data and the development of the retrieval algorithms to derive SMOS level 2 data for soil moisture and sea surface salinity. These consortia are strongly linked and scientifically led by the SMOS Principal Investigator Yann Kerr from Centre d’Etudes Spatiales de la Biosphère (CESBIO, Toulouse) and the Co-Principle Investigator Jordi Font from Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM, Barcelona). In addition, there will be strong national efforts to develop level 3 (global, single-instrument) and 4 (global, multi-instrument) SMOS data products through the French Centre Aval de Traitement des Donnees SMOS (CATDS) and the Spanish SMOS Level 3/4 Processing Centre (CP34).

SMOS ground segment: the various functionalities will be covered by ESA and industrial teams ©ESA

USERS and PRODUCTS

Who will be the main users and how will SMOS data be delivered to users?

Susanne Mecklenburg: There are two main groups of users. Scientists, such as oceanographers, hydrologists, atmospheric physicists etc., will use the global measurements for their research projects. We already have a significant number of registered users who will receive data directly from the Data Processing Ground Segment at Villafranca or from the archive in Kiruna.

The other group of users, including the ECMWF and national meteorological services, will focus more on operational applications. They have requested to receive SMOS measurements within three hours of acquisition to assimilate the data into their forecasting models. ESA has responded to this need by establishing a near-real time service by funding a further ground station at Svalbard that will receive SMOS data more frequently than the ESAC station at Villafranca. ECMWF and MétéoFrance in particular are already now working on integrating these data in their predictive models, testing the improvements SMOS data will be able to make to meteorological forecasts.

What information can SMOS provide to potential users and what benefits will SMOS bring?

Susanne Mecklenburg: The original proposal for the SMOS mission was submitted more than 10 years ago with the main motivation to address the lack of global measurements of soil moisture and ocean salinity. These are two very important variables in the Earth’s water cycle and climate system, yet there are currently no global observations available. Furthering our knowledge about soil moisture, especially in the root zone, will improve short- and medium-term meteorological modelling, hydrological modelling, the monitoring of plant growth and the forecasting of hazardous events, such as floods. Global observations of ocean salinity will support the monitoring and modelling of the ocean circulation, which plays a crucial part in the climate system. In addition, SMOS will also improve the characterisation of ice and snow covered surfaces. Thus, the SMOS observations will be really innovative and make a significant change to many areas of research and applications. However, as with all Earth Explorer missions, these are really novel concepts and data and we will have to invest effort and time to exploit them to the full.

How will you compare SMOS products with others?

Susanne Mecklenburg: There will also be other soil moisture and ocean salinity observations provided by two satellite missions from NASA, Aquarius and Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), which will be launched over the next years. Both will measure in the same spectral region, L-Band, as SMOS, but will also have different features that will make them complementary to the SMOS data. We are working closely with these two teams and hope to combine the data in future.

COOPERATION & PARTNERSHIP WITH EO INDUSTRY

How important is it involving the EO service providers with the development of a mission such as SMOS?

Susanne Mecklenburg: For the operations phase we already have strong support from the EO service industry in place for all aspects of running the mission on a day-to-day basis. The support ranges from the acquisition, processing, quality control, distribution and archiving of the data to the maintenance and evolution of the systems we use. We are presently finishing the development of all the systems and services of the SMOS ground segment, working closely also with CNES. Final tests are underway and we are confident to have a robust and reliable system in place at the time of launch.

INDUSTRY CONTRACTORS

What role does the Prime Contractor play?

Achim Hahne: The specific programmatic setup with ESA and CNES cooperating for the space segment had one major implication for the industrial construction: the absence of an overall prime contractor! Whilst the payload was developed by EADS CASA under ESA contract, the provision of the PROTEUS platform and the merging of the platform and payload was done by Thales Alenia Space under CNES contract. Hence, the two cooperating agencies had to jointly assume the role of a prime contractor. This made the development particularly challenging but also rewarding.

What challenges has SMOS in terms of design? Will advancements made here also benefit future space missions?

With the excellent results obtained with the MIRAS instrument during ground testing, the concept of interferometry at microwave frequencies is now gaining momentum. Technology preparations for an operational SMOS – follow on have started, and concept studies for interferometric observations from the geostationary orbit are under way.

Industrial teams involved in developing the SMOS mission ©ESA

FUTURE & SOCIETY

At the end of the interview, here is the opportunity for your final thoughts on the future, what do you see as the task ahead and would you like to give some message to the industry interested in SMOS products?

Susanne Mecklenburg: Of course we are always interested to have new users for SMOS data on board. ESA’s data policy foresees to make Earth Observation data as widely and freely available as possible. Therefore all data will be made available through the ESA category-1 procedure, either through dedicated Announcements of Opportunities or, for users who have not participated in the past AOs, registration service online EOPI. If you are interested in further information you can also consult the ESA Bulletin special issue on SMOS

More information at ESA Website

Thank you for your time, and for sharing your thoughts and comments with the EOmag readers

Eomag! 18_ Interview with Susanne Mecklenburg and Achim Hahne to talk about some aspects relevant for the SMOS Mission.pdf

GEO AND YOUR EXPERIENCE

As Director of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Secretariat, Mr. Achache is responsible for managing programmatic and administrative support to GEO, coordinating the development and implementation of Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), and maintaining effective working relationships with the broader GEO community…. but please let us know few personal words on the GEO´s office daily running and the interactions with GEOSS?
Last year the world faced a major global food crisis. Last week, the World Water Forum failed to agree on a coordinated approach to water resources management. Forest carbon monitoring will be one of the key issues of the post-Kyoto agreement on carbon emissions reduction. Having to work every day to build an information system to provide answers and support decision-making on such important issues is a privilege and a challenge. It requires jumping from one subject to another 20 times a day, interacting with many different communities and traveling the world over. Exhausting yes, but who would complain…?

Are GEO’s objectives being translated in a concrete manner into Earth observation activities at national, regional level global levels?
Yes they are. While GEO of necessity involves itself with process and procedures – the meetings and documents and phone calls that are needed for coordination and information sharing – we are also changing reality on the ground (and in the air, the oceans and space). New and better observation systems and services are steadily becoming a reality. The disaster-response system SERVIR in Central America and, soon Africa; the China Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program; and the Argo fleet of ocean-monitoring buoys are just a few examples. One ongoing initiative that I trust will be realized in the near future is the creation of a global carbon monitoring system. Another practical recent achievement was the decision by the United States to open up the full Landsat archive – which contains the largest collection of satellite imagery in the world – to all users free of charge. Dick Kempthorne, the previous US Secretary of Interior who made this decision, was directly inspired to do so by his participation in the 2007 GEO Ministerial Summit. In less than a month this decision led to a 30-fold increase in the demand for space imagery; this is a great demonstration of the value of the data policy being advocated by GEO.

How GEO is coordinating the network all existing and future observing systems? and how relevant is GEO to sustainable development?
The coordination required for constructing GEOSS is driven by an agreed three-year work plan for 2009 to 2011, which in turn is based on the ten-year implementation running from 2005 to 2015. But new ideas and opportunities for coordination continue to emerge organically from within the community. The coordination of observation networks is taking place on a voluntary, best-efforts basis, and it is really bottom up rather than top down. First the representatives of governments and organizations share ideas and information, they see where the gaps and the opportunities are, and then they coalesce into partnerships for coordinating work on a particular theme or issue. Their progress is reported back to the rest of the GEO community through what we call Task Sheets as well as reports at meetings, and this in turn inspires new ideas and new partnerships.

What are the most significant achievements at GEO Secretariat? How was born the GEONETCast concept and how is it working?
The GEO Secretariat plays a key role in guiding the overall process and bringing people together. We contribute our own ideas, a number of which have had an important influence, and we stimulate new connections between various people and organizations that may not have occurred otherwise. We also encourage more governments to join GEO, we promote GEOSS amongst key groups such as scientists, donors and the media, and provide other general coordination and support.

As for GEONETCast, it was born from the recognition by NOAA and CMA that EUMETCast could easily be extended to provide a global service and one which addresses all GEO societal issues. Currently, this facility can broadcast information and key data sets over 90% of the continents.

From your dedicated experience and know-how, how has the concept of Earth Observation developed over the years? And what about the lessons learnt?
The world’s capacity for and interest in Earth observation has increased geometrically over the past two or three decades. Certainly the first photographs of the Earth from space changed the way people saw their home, expanding their perspective from their village or country to encompass the entire planet. At the same time science has continued to demonstrate the interconnectedness of all aspects of the Earth system – the geosphere, atmosphere, biosphere and so on. New technologies such as SAR, growing national investments in satellites and other monitoring instruments, and of course the planet-wide challenges of sustainable development, the depletion of the ozone layer, the loss of biodiversity and perhaps most importantly climate change have also contributed to the growing interest in environmental monitoring. All of these elements have combined to make earth observation an essential tool for the modern world.

Today, services based on Earth observation are blooming. Google is determined to increase its provision of information. Cisco has come up with “Planetary Skin”, which is directly inspired by the concept of GEOSS. I have the feeling that this is only the beginning, that we are close to an explosion of demand and that growth in the near future will be exponential.

GEOSS AND GMES

Could you briefly comment on the GEOSS Governance models?
When GEO was launched in 2005, governments easily recognized the benefits of collaborating on GEOSS, but they had to decide what form it should take. The answer they hit upon was to rely on the extremely flexible form of governance embodied by GEO. As suggested by the informal nature of a “Group,” GEO has a limited legal identity based on a multilaterally agreed 10-Year Implementation Plan. GEO has established a small secretariat to facilitate collaboration, and contributions to the secretariat’s budget are strictly voluntary. The staff consists largely of experts seconded from governments and organizations for two or three years, and overhead is reduced by working in English only and limiting the amount of documentation for meetings. Collaboration on networking the world’s Earth observation systems takes place through specific “Tasks”, which are informal arrangements led and implemented by all governments and organizations willing to participate. Governments and organizations also “contribute” their national systems, instruments, services and tools – known as “components” – to GEOSS. This flexible and completely voluntary approach is working well.

GEO will need to mobilize financial resources, especially with regard to enhancing observation capacities. How do you view this challenge?
The current financial crisis, of course, does not make our efforts to mobilize resources any easier for the immediate future. But building GEOSS is a long-term enterprise, and government investments in satellites and other instruments involve multi-year programmes. Given the growing importance of Earth observations, natural resource management and global environmental degradation, and the fact that collaboration through GEO means that each government is getting more bang for its investment buck, I am confident that public investments in Earth observation will continue and even expand. Perhaps the biggest challenge will be channelling more resources to developing countries and to users who need to strengthen their capacity for using Earth observation information and services. The European Commission through its 7th Framework Programme has been a very generous provider of resources for both producing and using Earth observations. But clearly resource mobilization is a vital issue that we need to continue working on.

How do you see the role of GEOSS in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)?
GEOSS can make an essential contribution to support environmental conventions, which after all are the centrepieces for global cooperation and decision making on a number of key issues. Last year’s meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a decision explicitly recognizing the potential of GEOSS in supporting the implementation of the Convention. I have also signed an MOU with the Executive Secretary of the CBD setting out the various ways that GEO and the Convention can collaborate, and the emerging GEO Biodiversity Observation Network is already interacting directly with the Convention. I am hopeful that our work on a global carbon monitoring system, including an innovative component on forests, will be seen as useful by the Parties to the Climate Change Convention.

Moving towards a global scene, GMES and GEOSS should work in concert to determine the plan for ensuring the proper system(s) components and the proper architecture are in place to meet user requirements, how is this management taking place?. Full and open sharing of data between systems is essential, How is being built the architecture for the technical operation of the system of systems (features as data capture, data collection, processing, dissemination, storage/archiving, exchange, products and services, etc)?
Officially, GMES is the European contribution to GEOSS, together with many other FP7-funded projects. As such, the European Commission, ESA and Member states will define how GMES will fit in the global picture of GEOSS. Architecture is not the issue since the approach we have taken for GEOSS is not to enforce a common architecture but to recommend simple interoperability requirements. The development and availability of services will be more important and, on this one, we have continued exchanges of information between the GEO Secretariat, the Commission and ESA. The other critical issue will be the data policy of GMES. As you know, GEO is strongly advocating for data sharing principles which will guarantee free and open access to data and information. The sudden boost in requests for Landsat data, following the shift in data policy at the US Geological Survey that I mentioned earlier, is a striking demonstration that there is great demand on the part of users for involvement in GEO, including in developing countries. The success of CBERS for Africa and GEONETCast are two other examples where GEO has been instrumental in improving access and generating an increased use of Earth observations.

How do you see the future steps for GEOSS and GMES?
GEO is only five years old, which is very young for an intergovernmental body. Despite that, we have already achieved a great deal, with a number of what we call “early achievements”, a growing network of contributors, growing support and commitment by key players, and an ambitious and targeted work plan. At our next ministerial summit, to be held in November 2010, I am optimistic that we will be able to demonstrate that we are now moving beyond the start-up phase to the phase of real, concrete implementation. New systems, new information resources, truly effective internet portals, and integrated data sets will be starting to come on line. We need to prove that GEO is not a mere chat shop but is a factory for producing real and tangible systems and services that would not otherwise exist.

DIALOGUE WITH EO INDUSTRY

What will cooperative efforts between GEO and Industry will bring? and what type of dialogue mechanism could take place with the service industry?
Engaging the private sector is critical for the success of GEOSS. Companies have a great deal of expertise, and they are key investors in new technologies. Just as collaboration amongst governments can help to leverage public investments, bringing in the private sector can help to spread the burden and the work. The challenge is getting the incentive structure right. How do we meet the needs of the private sector for profitability while also ensuring that GEOSS remains a global public good? We have started to explore this issue from different angles and to engage with different industry sectors. Our engagement with Iridium is a good example. We invited them to a meeting with a number of space agencies to present their case for piggybacking public-sector monitoring instruments on the Iridium communications satellites, which have some spare capacity. Recently the oceanography community has started to explore how to engage the shipping industry in hosting ocean monitoring instruments. There have been other openings as well, and this remains a major priority for us. We are completely open to dialogue with the private sector.

How can your organization help our industry and how can we help you?
As with the Iridium example, we have the power of convening, of bringing public and private sector interests together to discuss this issue freely. Because we are active with different industry sectors, we can facilitate the flow of ideas and potential models for cooperation. I invite industry to help us by thinking through possible frameworks for combining public and private interests and to share their insights and proposals with us.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges the commercial earth observation industry is facing in the years to come? What kind of downstream service industry would Europe benefit from? Is the European Earth Observation on the right track?
The same as yesterday and the day before: shifting the emphasis from data to end-to-end services. I have been constantly advocating for this shift over the last 10 years. And it is becoming urgent for Europe to put its act together since the other big players are now moving in this direction. If Google Earth and Google Ocean are merely attractive displays supporting commercials, future developments like Google Forest may deliver real services, and not just to the citizen but even to the public sector. After Microsoft, with Virtual Earth, we now have Cisco Systems announcing Planetary Skin, an ambitious project for a global information system of systems “closely inspired” by GEOSS.

FUTURE AND SOCIETY

What are your comments on the latest developments in the earth observation arena for the service of the citizen? How will GMES and GEOSS be innovative in the coming years meeting the expectations of the citizen?
For the average citizen, Earth observation probably brings to mind weather forecasts and Google Earth, and perhaps not much beyond that. But as I just mentioned, things are changing. The concerns of the citizen include climate change and a need to understand better the world they live in.

GEOSS, itself a system of systems, will change the way people view our shared planet. They will increasingly see the Earth as a system of interlinked systems. This emerging paradigm is well understood by scientists and many policymakers, but less perhaps by much of the general public. The integrated data sets and information services available through GEOSS will make it easier for people to recognize how climate affects the water they drink, how rain patterns affect the energy supplies, how extreme weather events such as droughts affect their health, and so forth. As advances are made in the interface between data generation and information delivery via internet portals, GEOSS will increasingly serve as a powerful educational tool. People will be able to track changes in the Earth system, model it on their home computers and explore various future scenarios. Just as photographs of Earth and then the internet resulted in a paradigm shift in the way people perceive the world, GEOSS will one day soon also contribute to a paradigm shift.

Dr. Achahe, thank you for your time, and for sharing your thoughts and comments with the EOmag readers.

The goal of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (or GEO) is to integrate today’s fragmented earth observation measurement systems to create a comprehensive Global Earth Observation System of Systems (or GEOSS) for monitoring and forecasting changes in the global environment. It is a bold idea requiring an unprecedented level of cooperation and coordination between national agencies with diverging interests, as well as the emerging commercial interests building business models around the sale of climate data.

José Achache – [photo: Joerg Reichardt] – source http://www.earthobservations.org/press_room.shtml

Eomag! 17_ Interview with Jose Achache, Director of GEO Secretariat.pdf

INTRODUCTION

Please tell us something generic about your company development on navigation and LBS Thales Alenia Space is leading the Assisted-based infrastructures based on EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) and is providing advanced GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) solutions to the whole Thales group for transport, defence and security

BUSSINESS

What expectations do you think customers have on navigation products?

Simplicity, high level of performances (TTFF (Time to First Fix), light indoor coverage, good behaviour in urban canyon)

MARKETS, TRENDS & MERGING TECHNOLOGIES

In your opinion, how is the market reacting to merging technologies?

The PND (Portable Navigation Device) market in Europe should decrease in the coming years to let the room to mix GSM/GNSS market (Global System for Mobile Communications/Global Navigation Satellite Systems). Also, new markets will develop on Transport, Security and Defence

What countries are showing the most growth potential on these technologies?

US, Japan, France, UK

LBS)

What trends your foreseen for the wider availability of low-cost and easy to base LBS and geo-information?

-Mobile operators with their strong custormer based assets should push for use of LBS services
-Institutionnal entities should push for the use of EGNOS/Galileo through regulation (dangerous goods, road-tolling, multimodal, precise e112)

How are technologies like Galileo having an impact on the geo-information market?

Galileo introduction should offer improved GNSS performances such as data integrity

INTEROPERABILITY, QUALITY & STANDARS

As we see on A-GPS, standard adoption was a pre-requisite to market development. Same should happened and be encouraged on other segments, particurlaly to prepare the introduction of Galileo (to be used as a differentiator vs GPS).

Coming to the interoperability issues how do you compare your products with others?

Terminal vendors are performing full inter-operability testing with TAS products to assure a high level of performances. It is a key issue for them

Mr. Buret, thank you for your time, and for sharing your thoughts and comments with the EOmag readers

Interview Contact
Hervé Buret
Solutions & Applications Director
Navigation &Integrated Communications Business Unit
Thales Alenia Space
email: herve.buret@thalesaleniaspace.com
Tel: +33 (0)5 34 35 7035

INTRODUCTION

Please tell us something about your company: your business focus, your market share and strategy for growth

Rob: Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, including nearly 29 million kilometres of roads, nearly two billion inhabitants, and 30 million Points of Interest (POIs)

Collaborating with an expanding universe of pioneers in personal navigation, Internet, wireless, automotive, enterprise and public service markets, Tele Atlas delivers valuable products and services that help users find the people, places, products, and services they need, wherever they are.

Today, Tele Atlas maps are developed with the insight of a community of millions of GPS system users worldwide, who are adding to the company’s unmatched network of sources to track and validate changes in real time, and deliver the best digital maps and dynamic content.

Tele Atlas is a subsidiary of TomTom N.V. For more information: www.teleatlas.com

What is your company like to work for?

Rob: We are a global company that operates in a rapidly evolving market. Tele Atlas was founded in 1984 and currently employs more than 2,000 full-time and contract cartographers in 24 countries around the world. In a sense, “multi-cultural” is what best describes our company culture.

Working at Tele Atlas means working in a challenging environment, where everyone is encouraged to contribute their ideas, knowledge and efforts in order to achieve a shared goal and sustain our culture.

The Navigation Destination
Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services. The information is the foundation for a wide range of personal and in-car navigation systems and mobile and Internet map applications that help users find the people, places, and services they need, wherever they are.

BUSSINESS

What expectations do customers have for product development and marketing?

Rob: Our customers also expect that our maps are the mirror of reality, with high-quality content and map coverage around the world. Community feedback enables Tele Atlas to update its maps quicker and to get reality into the database faster.

How do you strategise your business especially in the current scenario of competitiveness?

Rob: Tele Atlas believes that current customer requirements with regards to more coverage, more content and higher quality can only be met under the current and future business context by a rationalisation of the map production process. The acquisition of Tele Atlas by TomTom N.V. enables Tele Atlas to do that in a revolutionary way – providing Tele Atlas access to customer input of TomTom users regarding what they encounter while using the map. For this, TomTom has developed its proprietary Map Share technology which enables TomTom customers to very easily correct map errors directly on their devices and provide reports to TomTom and other users of the Map Share community on their feedback. The size of the TomTom community input at this moment already indicates that it will enable Tele Atlas to deliver the freshest maps possible. Tele Atlas also invites its other customers to contribute to the community via additional channels.

What are the forthcoming products/services from your company in next couple of years?

Rob: Community Input enables Tele Atlas to revolutionize navigation. Through the cooperation with TomTom it has been possible to generate and develop Tele Atlas Speed Profiles, which provides highly accurate speed profile information to allow end-users of navigation systems to better estimate their travel time and to find the most optimal routes to their destinations. In practice Speed Profiles can save minutes or even hours as opposed to the existing methods of routing calculation.

Tele Atlas will also make navigation dynamic, taking the actual traffic situation into account, deriving information from even more detailed and extensive sources than traditional traffic information. As a consequence, many more roads will be covered with much more detail.

MARKETS, TRENDS & MERGING TECHNOLOGIES

What is the market reacting to merging technologies?

Simon: It’s an exciting time for the LBS market right now. Many major players, including Apple, Google and TomTom, together with the major mobile operators and device manufacturers are investing. The arrival of mainstream mobile phones with integrated GPS and other location technology is enabling compelling services such as navigation and mobile local search to be readily available to a wide range of consumers. We expect that the next generation of LBS applications will be characterized in a number of ways:

There will be more LBS applications for the consumer and the enterprise.

This is a result of both technology and commercial barriers disappearing and application developers gaining access the tools and enablers they need to build LBS applications. Additionally, consumer awareness, usability, quality and price are all influential factors that are now being addressed.

Location ‘enhanced’ applications are starting to appear.

Whereas LBS services such as navigation have location and mapping at the core, there will be new mobile application categories that have yet to exploit location in a significant way. For example, many of the latest Web 2.0 social networking applications that have seen major uptake on the internet are moving to mobile, and these are being enhanced with location, maps and presence in innovative ways. Similarly, mobile gaming, friend-finders, geo-tagging, blogs and travel guides, as well as business / enterprise oriented services in areas such as fleet management and logistics will become increasingly prevalent. At Tele Atlas we are working hard to build additional layers of content and attribution to further enhance our maps and ensure that there is plenty of opportunity for LBS application developers to innovate. For example, we have an extensive database of Points of Interest (POIs), 2D and 3D City maps, 3D landmarks, and aerial and satellite imagery that provide options for developer creativity. In addition to GPS and a variety of other location determination mechanisms, the latest mobile devices now have the necessary processing power and display capabilities to take advantage of many of these new digital map features. We are also collaborating with the major chipset manufacturers and specialized technology providers to ensure our products deliver the consumer electronics-quality user experiences on mobile devices.

In your opinion, what countries are showing the most growth potential?

Simon: The US and Asia are currently the most mature markets in terms of LBS application deployment but we see major growth potential in Europe and also emerging markets including China, India and Latin America.

What are your target markets? What is your marketing and sales model?

Simon: Tele Atlas serves a diverse range of markets including Automotive, Internet, Wireless, Personal Navigation, Enterprise and Government. We collaborate with partners to build marketing and business models and are frequently flexible to our approach in this area. For example, in wireless, which is still a nascent market, we see scope of a wide variety of business and licensing models including those based on subscription, transactions, ‘try-and-buy’ and, in future, advertising subsidised. We are part of the ecosystem that is helping to create the LBS market, and all players need to be flexible to ensure models are implemented that meet the needs and expectation of suppliers, and also increase the uptake of applications and services by consumers.

LBS

What trends do you foresee for the wider availability of low-cost and easy to base LBS and geo-information?

Simon: We see increasing use of community input as key to enhancing the quality, richness and value of map data and other forms of geo-coded content. At Tele Atlas, we are already embracing community input in a number of ways. For example, we enable consumers to feedback on anomalies they find in the road network or to inform us if they come across interesting new points of interest. We are also using the large installed base of TomTom personal navigation devices as real time probes in interesting ways. Both to identify and verify changes in the road network, and also as a means to build highly detailed profiles of actual road speeds. This data in turn leads, for example, to the availability of more accurate routing calculations in the products developed and sold by our customers. We also foresee wider use of mobile devices as a valuable source of community input, as consumers interact with the environment around them in different ways – capturing and geo-tagging photos of interesting POIs, for example. We also expect to see demand for more content to support out-of vehicle use cases – for example, data for use by pedestrians. 2D and 3D imagery – used not so much for navigation, but more for user orientation when out walking around cities, will become increasingly relevant.

Where do you think the location based technology or industry is heading for?

Simon: Location is moving from becoming just a discrete application to an enabler for a wide range of new applications and services. Turn-by-turn navigation will remain a key component of the LBS market proposition, but the convergence of web, mobile and even automotive propositions will bring about whole new categories of solutions that use location, presence, mapping data and a rich variety of geo-coded content to deliver new services to consumers. Also, as more devices start to include new technologies, including electronic compasses, accelerometers as well as A-GPS and other location determination mechanisms, this will open up opportunities for even more innovative LBS applications.

How are technologies like Galileo having an impact on the geo-information market?

Rob: Galileo is well poised to be an important stimulant to the LBS and navigation sector. It should give rise to a large number of Government based applications (e.g. road pricing) and safety critical applications. Based on this, also new types of commercial applications will develop. These all will contribute to a fast expanding geo-information market.

FUTURE & SOCIETY

At the end of the interview, here is the opportunity for your final thoughts on latest developments In general which is your vision for the future? What do you see as the task ahead?

Rob: We are commited to driving industry innovation – to the next era in digital mapping which will be a world where community based input and real time data help create the best experience for digital map users by providing much fresher maps and more dynamic content. Our products will deliver and set the standard for a completely new level of quality, content and innovation that helps our partners deliver the best products. We’re very excited about the possibilities of what is to come next!

CONTACT
Sandra Van Hauwaert
Global Communications Specialist
Gaston Crommenlaan 4, bus 0501, 9050 Gent – Belgium
+32(0)9 244 92 22 direct
http://www.teleatlas.com