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(25th February 2015) A James Cook University researcher in Cairns has completed detailed 3D depth maps of Australia’s Coral Sea reefs, shedding new light on the likely distribution of coral diversity and sea life in the area.

Dr Robin Beaman, from JCU’s College of Science, Technology and Engineering, said mapping the reefs and their underwater landscape had always been a challenge, because their remote locations and shallow nature made it difficult to use modern surveying techniques, such as vessel-mounted echo sounders.

Instead, Dr Beaman worked with the German Earth observation company EOMAP and used satellite imagery to develop 3D bathymetry (or depth) data over a large group of Coral Sea reefs.

“These reefs lie in clear, sunlit waters, so the Landsat8 images were able to provide high-resolution data to a depth of about 50 metres,” he said.

“By refining the satellite data and merging it with existing data, I’ve produced 3D depth maps for these reefs and atolls. That gives us a much more detailed picture than was previously available.”

The project focussed on the reefs and atolls within those waters of the Coral Sea that fall within Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, also called the Coral Sea marine Reserve.

While many of the largest reefs had been progressively mapped by the Royal Australian Navy using their LADS airborne lidar bathymetry system, there were still large areas of shallow reefs with no detailed depth data over them.

“The Flinders Reefs, about 230km offshore from Townsville, were an ideal place to start, being close to the Australian mainland and lacking an accurate 3D map,” Dr Beaman said.

“These are atolls that grew upwards from tilted continental blocks created when Gondwana was breaking up. The 3D images we now have of North and South Flinders Reefs are really stunning, showing classic atoll shapes with a shallow coral rim around a deeper lagoon.

“With this new 3D information we can now better predict where coral diversity is located around the edge of these reefs, because we know where we’re likely to find the shallow and deeper coral communities,” he said.

“That information will help marine researchers to plan future scientific expeditions, and it will help managers of the various conservation zones determine what other marine life they can expect to find there.”

Dr Beaman hopes the maps will be a valuable resource in the ongoing discussion as to what levels of protection should be given to different areas of the Coral Sea Marine Reserve.

More broadly, oceanographers could use the 3D data to more accurately model how oceanic currents move over and past these reefs before reaching the Great Barrier Reef.

North-westerly view of the Flinders Reefs in the Coral Sea. Depths are coloured red (shallow) to purple (deep), over a depth range of about 50 metres. Bathymetry data © (2015) EOMAP Bathymetry

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(31 March 2015) IKONOS outlived many of its younger siblings but today it is time to say goodbye.

After 15-plus years of successful service, DigitalGlobe made the decision to end the IKONOS mission. IKONOS was the world’s first sub-meter commercial earth imaging satellite, kick-starting what would become a multi-billion dollar industry for high resolution satellite imagery and geospatial products and services.

Built and launched by Lockheed Martin, IKONOS exceeded its initial life expectancy by nearly three times, collecting 599,754 images that contributed 408 million sq. km.—more than 8 times the surface of the globe—to the DigitalGlobe ImageLibrary. IKONOS archive imagery, dating back to 1999, provides the longest historical record of high resolution commercial satellite imagery and has greatly contributed to the understanding of our changing planet.

We remember IKONOS through some of its best shots…images that helped us change our view of the world.

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(Munich, 18.03.2014) European Space Imaging announced today that they are now able to supply 30 cm imagery from the WorldView-3 satellite for European and North African customers wishing to use the most sophisticated very high-resolution satellite imagery on the market. This is made possible through their strong partnership with DigitalGlobe and the WorldView Global Alliance.

Access to the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery captured by WorldView-3 satellite will improve decision making, enable more efficient operations, and enhance a variety of applications for customers in the civil government, defense and intelligence, energy, mining, and global development sectors.

“We are happy to be able to offer our European and North African customers access to this cutting edge imagery,” said Adrian Zevenbergen, Managing Director, European Space Imaging. “Also, as it is competitively priced against aerial imagery we believe it will contribute to greater understanding and analysis for users who decide to explore its potential”.

In addition, many customers who were previously reliant on aerial imagery can now benefit from the improved economics, global availability, and faster refresh rate that European Space Imaging can provide with its 30 cm satellite imagery. Imagery of this resolution was previously only available from aerial platforms, which are difficult, costly, or impossible to access in many parts of the world.The 30 cm imagery products are also a rapid and affordable alternative in locations where aerial imagery is readily available. New imagery orders can be delivered on timescales of days or weeks, as opposed to months, in many cases, and customers can also leverage a rapidly growing volume of available 30 cm archive imagery.

“Today marks a significant milestone for our customers, who will now benefit from a level of image quality that has never before been available from commercial satellite providers,” said Hyune Hand, DigitalGlobe’s Senior Vice President for Product Marketing and Management. “These products will further enable our customers to save lives, resources, and time, propelling us toward our purpose of Seeing a better world™.”

The suitability of 30 cm satellite imagery for aerial imaging applications is confirmed by the National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale (NIIRS), which is used by the imaging community to define and measure the quality of images and performance of imaging systems. DigitalGlobe’s 30 cm imagery achieves a rating of NIIRS 5.7, meaning it can resolve objects on the ground such as above-ground utility lines in a residential neighborhood, manhole covers, building vents, fire hydrants, and individual seams on locomotives.

DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-3 is the first and only commercial imaging satellite capable of collecting imagery with 30 cm ground sample distance — five times the detail of the company’s nearest competitor.

The satellite also features unique shortwave infrared (SWIR) capabilities that will enable new applications such as seeing through smoke and haze, identifying minerals and man-made materials, and assessing the health of crops and vegetation.

The SWIR imagery that the satellite collects has never before been available to commercial customers with this level of spatial and spectral resolution, and it will provide unique value to users in the energy and mining industries, as well as others. Today DigitalGlobe launched a beta program for 7.5 m SWIR imagery, working with partners, customers, and users to explore new uses for this capability.

“Companies should be exploiting the competitive advantages of the WorldView-3 data to look for potential ore-related alteration that will have been missed by the previous satellites used for alteration mapping,” said Dan Taranik, Managing Director of Exploration Mapping Group, a service provider to the global mineral exploration industry. “Detailed inspection of remote areas on the peripheries of alluvium or younger volcanics would be a competitive advantage that could help reveal concealed deposits.”

To see product samples and learn more about 30 cm imagery, please visit us here

About European Space Imaging
European Space Imaging is the leading supplier of very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imagery across Europe and North Africa. They are the only European satellite data provider operating multi-mission capable ground stations, enabling optimised collection strategies, flexibility and real-time weather assessments. Since 2002 European Space Imaging has continued to provide access to the most advanced VHR satellites available and services to customers throughout their region.

About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is a leading provider of commercial high-resolution earth observation and advanced geospatial solutions that help decision makers better understand our changing planet in order to save lives, resources and time. In January 2013, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye combined to become one DigitalGlobe, creating a company capable of providing greater value to customers through an integrated constellation and a broader set of products and services. For more information on the combination and its benefits, visit www.digitalglobe.com

(Feb 2015) NLR makes satellite data more easily accessible

NLR developed infrastructure for the European Space Agency (ESA) that allows users to more easily and efficiently find, order and download Earth observation images from ESA satellites. The initial tests of this (prototype) infrastructure were recently successfully completed.

Given the ever-increasing streams of satellite data, it has become increasingly important to provide users with easier access to all of this data. The ESA project, ‘Decision Support and Real Time EO Data Management’ (DREAM), contributes to this endeavour.
The aim is to develop interfaces for planning, ordering, and accessing data from the ESA Earth observation missions. The representative users for this data are EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency) and EUSC (European Union Satellite Centre), which will use the data to monitor oil spills at sea and support anti-pirate patrols, for example.

Regional Reference Server

Making the accessibility of satellite data efficient plays an important role in the automation of processes. For this, standards are needed to establish how the data can be searched for, and how the data can be ordered, downloaded and formatted. NLR works on this within the Regional Reference Server (RRS), which focuses on supporting commercial service providers when ordering and procuring Earth observation data. To this end, NLR collaborates with BMT ARGOSS and HERMESS, which are value-adding companies situated in the Geomatica Business Park.

NLR has developed an interface for the Regional Reference Server, which can more easily supports users, by hiding all the complex standards. HERMESS, for example, uses radar and optical satellite images to monitor the ice conditions in the Caspian Sea. Following a simple search for satellite data, HERMESS can immediately place an order. When, after a certain amount of time, the data automatically becomes available in the RRS, it is included in HERMESS’ processing chain without the need for further intervention.

In short, NLR’s contribution to the major DREAM project has resulted in a prototype infrastructure that allows users to more easily and efficiently find order and download Earth observation images from satellites. This infrastructure, and the acquired experience, assists NLR in developing future infrastructures focusing on Earth observation-based products and services. Commercial service-providing companies are thereby supported in automatically processing the huge amounts of satellite data provided by ESA’s Sentinel mission and the missions of other parties.

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Madrid (Spain), February 2015. The Spanish government services satellite company, Hisdesat, informed that took part in IDEX 2015 as exhibitor in the Spanish pavilion of the exhibition area (A7). It has displayed its portfolio of services, including an innovative new generation of satellites to improve and provide greater flexibility and security to communications in the bands X and military Ka, through its satellites: SpainSat and XTAR -Eur, which provide communications coverage in more than two thirds of the Earth.

More on Hisdesat

It also has a system of Earth Observation consists of two satellites, Ingenio and Paz, who will use the two observation technologies, optics and radar, respectively. Both satellites allow observation of the territory for multiple applications: border control, intelligence, environmental control, protection of natural resources, military operations, international treaty verification, monitoring of the land surface urban planning, infrastructure planning, and assessment of natural disasters high-resolution mapping, among many other applications.

It also has an information system for maritime traffic satellite (AIS), which allow the location of all ships in the world (100,000), equipped with AIS. Through this new constellation of satellites can know the status of world maritime traffic in real time. This information is invaluable to the government, maritime, port authorities, and fishing. The AIS solutions fill the vacuum solutions to ensure the viability of sensitive and comprehensive concept of maritime safety and help reduce environmental impact. They are innovative applications offered from space and in the service of society.

“Middle East is a strategic market for us, which offers significant opportunities for growing and that our portfolio of satellite services in secure communications, Earth observation and AIS satellite, fits perfectly,” said Miguel Angel Panduro CEO at Hisdesat.

Hisdesat was founded in 2001 as operator of government services by satellite to act primarily in the areas of defense, security, intelligence and foreign affairs. Since 2005, the company provides secure satellite communications to government agencies of different countries and is currently developing new satellites in two areas: Earth Observation and Information of the worldwide maritime traffic by satellite (AIS). More information: www.hisdesat.es

This issue features the:

  • MEOS™ GEO HimawariCast
  • SSA-SWE Architecture Definition
  • MEOS™ Capture HRDFEP for METOP and NOAA 18/19
  • MEOS™ Dual Polarity L & X-band Feed

in addition to the upcomming events, latest contracts, newest upgrades and latest information from Kongsberg Spacetec.

You will find it here

KSAT present at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs 13th to 16th of April

Representatives from both our SatOps division – Ground Station Solutions, as well as from our EES (Energy, Environment and Security) division are there. Please visit our booth 1514 to learn more about our worldwide network of ground stations spanning from 78 degrees north to 72 degrees south, as well as our oil spill detection and vessel detection services provided to clients world-wide for the last 20 years.

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Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 12:00 PM CEST

This webinar will focus on very high resolution satellite information supporting the monitoring of dredging activities for the installation of offshore infrastructure.

Speaker of the webinar is Sergio Samarelli, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Business-to-Business SBU of Planetek Italia.

Planetek Italia has developed standardized(*) geospatial products, based on remotely sensed data, such as Worldview-2 and Worldview-3, designed in particular to support dredging operations. Currently different organizations worldwide have already adopted these solutions. In this webinar, we will present an overview of how these geospatial products can help Engineering and Oil & Gas Companies having full visibility on the impact of dredging operations.
DigitalGlobe webinar “Saving Time and Resources in Global Dredging Activities”

Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 12:00 PM CEST

Register here or read more on DigitalGlobe event page

If you can’t make this date then we’d urge you to register anyway so that we can send you a video of the webinar to listen to at a better time in your schedule.

Detailed description

Dredging is a worldwide activity fueled by global trade, coastal defense, urban development, Energy and Tourism requirements. Primarily project driven, the Industry is experiencing significant growth generating associated revenues in 2013 of approximately €11.68 Bln (IADC). With this increased level of activity, comes a greater understanding on the corporate social responsibility associated with dredging including sustainability, environmental impact and safety. Very high resolution satellite information can effectively support the monitoring of some of these core issues during dredging activities for the installation of offshore infrastructure.

The use of traditional monitoring techniques (sampling at sea, measures, laboratory analysis) is certainly effective, but presents logistical and operational obstacles and long processing times, often incompatible with the need to obtain information in real-time. Furthermore, field observations and measurements, although frequent, are not able to provide a complete and exhaustive spatial answer to describe all the issues that could occur.

The proposed solution integrates traditional methods with daily collections of high-resolution satellite images over the area of interest. All the monitoring phases are accurately planned: the programming of the satellite acquisitions, the data collection, the ingestion and processing. Within a few hours, this method provides accurate and validated information, useful for measuring the quantitative and spatial information required in the dispersion of sediments during dredging operations.

Planetek Italia has developed standardized(*) geospatial products, based on remotely sensed data, such as Worldview-2 and Worldview-3, designed in particular to support dredging operations. Currently different organizations worldwide have already adopted these solutions (read more stories here). In this webinar, we will present an overview of how these geospatial products can help Engineering and Oil & Gas Companies having full visibility on the impact of dredging operations.

(*) All products are realized using Hexagon Geospatial technologies, namely the Spatial Modeler in ERDAS Imagine and ERDAS Apollo, which provide great benefits in terms of automatic processing, speed of information extraction and standardization in resulting products.

Key Advantages:

  • Near real time overview of dredging impact
  • Flexibility in coordinating and scheduling monitoring activities and dredging activities
  • Fast setup in any remote area

Key Benefits:

  • Access – Leverage DigitalGlobe’s global archive of informationand acquire new data anywhere in the world to start the assessment of dredging activity in days, rather than weeks, or months.
  • Time – rapid dissemination of information providing you with an overview of dredging activity worldwide.
  • Relevant – Information provided is useful to monitor and coordinate dredging activity and its impact to stakeholder objectives.

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SERTIT participated in the international conference “ Water Bodies Mapping from space “, organized by the European Space Agency , which took place on 18 and 19 March 2015 at ESAESRIN in Frascati , Italy.

The workshop brought together representatives of european and international space agencies, Sentinel 1 and 2 users as well as members of the global scientific community. The purpose of the conference was to provide an opportunity for scientists and users of satellite data to present the progress of their research on the extraction of water bodies in various environments. In this context, SERTIT took the occasion to present its expertise and experience in this field through the work done on the Alsace and China.

More information on the conference website
Download presentation (soon) here

SERTIT, Service Régional de Traitement d’Image et de Télédétection, of the University of Strasbourg, within an international consortium led by e-GEOS an Italian company, and comprised of GAF, Ithaca, SIRS and the DLR, has won the Copernicus Emergency Management System (EMS) Rapid Mapping contract with the European Commission to provide satellite derived maps for crisis management.

This contract should cover the next 4 years.

SERTIT, also won in a consortium led by Airbus DS, a second Copernicus Emergency Management System (EMS) contract in the domain of Risk & Recovery with the European Commission for the next 4 years to provide geo-spatial information as a support to crisis management in the prevention, preparation, disaster risk reduction and reconstruction domains.

More information on the official website