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Remote Sensing Application Center – ReSAC is subcontractor of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences – BAS on a project for preparation of methodology for hazard and flood risk assessment.

This project was commissioned by the Ministry of Environment and Water of Republic of Bulgaria (MOEW) in reference to the implementation of the second stage of Directive 60/2007/EU, known as Floods Directive. When carrying out the project tasks, ReSAC will develop the following:

  • preparation of methodology and criteria for identifying and classifying of flood risk and defining the regions with significant potential flood risk;
  • preparation of methodology for mapping of regions with significant potential flood risk.

These activities should be completed by January 2013 and after that the work on mapping of regions under flood risk and hazard will begin.

The Floods Directive is published in the Water Act of Republic of Bulgaria on 6th August 2010. In the end of 2011, the first stage of its implementation was completed – preliminary flood risk assessment. As a result, places that have registered significant past floods and places with possibility to happen future significant floods, were defined. The implementation of Floods Directive has three stages:

  • Preliminary flood risk assessment, as a result of which the river basins and the coastal areas are defined as regions with significant potential flood risk;
  • Mapping of regions under flood risk and hazard
  • Preparation of Flood Risk Management Plans.

Bulgaria has already started reporting of its activity under the EU Directive, following all the rules and frames, set in it. The country is in the beginning of the second stage of its implementation, in which Remote Sensing Application Center – ReSAC takes active participation.


Fig. Flood hazard mapping for Biser Village, Bulgaria. Source: ReSAC, Produced: 08.02.2012

For more information:
Remote Sensing Application center – Bulgaria

e-GEOS, an ASI/Telespazio (Finmeccanica/Thales) company, has been named “Earth Observation Operator of the Year 2011” by Euroconsult, the leading global research and analyst firm specializing in the satellite sector. The award was presented to Marcello Maranesi, e-GEOS’ Chief Executive Officer, at the 4th Symposium on Earth Observation, held on September 13-14 in the French capital during World Satellite Business Week.

The award is made annually by Euroconsult based on an analysis of the performance and contribution of companies and their management to innovation and development in the Earth Observation sector. The “Earth Observation Operator of the Year” award was conferred on e-GEOS by a panel of experts chosen by Euroconsult, who assessed companies on both quantitative (financial performance, revenues) and qualitative criteria (business strategy, innovation, international partnerships and infrastructure development).

For e-GEOS, the award is international recognition of the work, expertise and dedication of the its employees, who have helped make the company one of the global leaders in the geospatial information sector.

e-GEOS was established for the worldwide commercialization of data and applications of the COSMO-SkyMed system, a radar satellite constellation financed by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defense. e-GEOS has inherited Telespazio’s 35-year expertise and knowhow in Earth Observation, as well as acquiring Eurimage’s commercial capabilities.

Today e-GEOS, together with its German subsidiary GAF, is a leader in Europe for services provided to the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) Programme; particularly for maritime surveillance, emergency response, land mapping and for the acquisition and processing of Sentinel satellites data. All this is made possible by a growth strategy which has prioritized investments for the development of applications and services.

For the future, e-GEOS is working closely with the Italian Space Agency and Telespazio on the development of the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation, a constellation that in a few years will provide advanced application solutions in support of integrated telecommunications services, satellite navigation, and Earth Observation.

Source Eurospace & Geoplace

Brandenburg / Havel, Germany, August 27, 2012 – RapidEye, the leader in high-resolution, wide area repetitive coverage of Earth through its constellation of satellites, announced today that it is part of the Natural Resources Imagery Grant Program along with Esri, PCI Geomatics and MDA.

The grant program will provide software, data, and training for detecting and analyzing land-cover change through the combined use of geographic information system (GIS), image processing, and remote-sensing technologies.

The aim of the program is to foster innovative approaches that solve natural resource management problems. A total of 20 grants will be awarded, valued at $100,000 each and includes:

  • Esri GIS software and training
  • PCI Geomatics imagery processing and analysis software and training
  • MDA RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery
  • RapidEye 5-meter multispectral imagery

Applications for the Natural Resources Imagery Grant Program will be accepted beginning in September 2012 and ending November 16, 2012. Additional information can be found at http://www.esri.com/grants/image-grant-program/.

About RapidEye
RapidEye is a provider of quality high-resolution satellite imagery and derived geo-information products. With a constellation of five Earth Observation satellites, RapidEye images over 4 million square kilometers of Earth every day, and has amassed over 2 billion square kilometers in its archive in just over two years of commercial operation. With an unprecedented combination of wide area repetitive coverage and five meter pixel size multi-spectral imagery, RapidEye is an obvious and cost-effective choice for many industries and government agencies.

Contact
RapidEye AG
Molkenmarkt 30
14776 Brandenburg a. d. Havel,
Germany
marketing@rapideye.com

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(29th August 2012) DHI hosted a conference themed “Best Environmental Practices for the Marine Industry” last 24-25th September 2012 in Singapore.

GRAS was chairing a dedicated remote sensing session where applications of earth observation data relevant to the wider maritime industry were presented. Applications included operational satellite observations for EIA’s, estimation of metocean conditions from satellites and mapping of bathymetry from satellites.

The main purpose of this conference was to present and discuss planning and operational tools and methods required to work with the environment and develop more sustainable solutions for the maritime industry. The conference participants were managers, professionals and researchers working within the wider maritime industry, who were involved in planning, construction and operation of ports and other coastal and offshore structures.

Read more about the conference here

Source

(August 2012). GRAS is increasing the level of activity within the Oil & Gas industry offering mapping and monitoring services based on earth observation data. Remote sensing is relevant in all stages of the oil & gas lifecycle, including exploration, appraisal, development, production and restoration.

Examples of services currently provided to companies in the O&G industry are; * Suspended sediments baseline mapping and operational monitoring * Shallow water habitats and bathymetry mapping * Coastline dynamics assessment * Inland vegetation and land cover mapping * Detailed change detection within upstream activity areas

By applying remote sensing analyses knowledge and insight into long term dynamics can be achieved in a cost-effective manner. For baseline purposes a satellite based approach is often the only way to access information about historical conditions in a project area, including long term trends, seasonal and inter-annual variations, frequency of extreme events and sources and nature of suspended matter.

Furthermore, earth observation satellites facilitate instantaneous and systematic mapping of large areas. This enables the user to monitor both the dynamics of ocean parameters such as chlorophyll-a or suspended sediment concentrations and coastal changes including bathymetry and submerged vegetation.
In onshore areas land cover maps can assist in searching for surface indicators of subsurface oil and gas as well as generating up to date topographic maps for planning of seismic surveys for exploration drilling. Moreover, the access to historical data and the continued supply of new image data allow clients to monitor existing facilities and assess environmental conditions within operational areas.

Source

(17/09/2012) Compliance with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards accredited by the supervisory audit.

The supervisory audit extended the certification of internal Quality Management System and company’s Environmental Management System according to the ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 1400:2000 standards.

Gisat has successfully confirmed its commitment to maintain and continuously improve the quality of provided services and products and its awareness of increasing importance of environmental issues and principles of sustainable development.

Source

Astrium Services has posted the first images from the SPOT 6 satellite, just 3 days after its launch on 9 September.

SPOT 6 will assure continuity of data from the series of satellites operating since 1986, along with many technological innovations.
Its unique responsiveness and acquisition capacity are set to benefit a broad spectrum of operational applications.

These first images present very varied landscapes, highlighting SPOT 6’s potential for applications like urban and natural resource mapping or agricultural and environmental monitoring.

The wide imaging swath (60km), identical to that of the other SPOT satellites, makes SPOT 6 an ideal tool for covering vast territories,
while its 1.5m resolution – against 2.5m on SPOT 5 – enables it to distinguish smaller features than ever before.

To post the images, all operational systems swung smoothly into action, from satellite tasking to image acquisition, reception and processing.

In January 2014, the arrival of SPOT 7 will bring more new services including daily revisits.
Together, the SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 constellation will assure continued availability of high-resolution, wide-area products through to 2024.

Credits Astrium

(09/2012). RapidEye is a constellation of 5 multispectral remote sensing satellites launched on the 29th of August 2008.

As they are equally spaced on a single orbit, daily image of any point on the Earth can be collected. This constellation is also particularly suited for rapid large area collection. RapidEye provides images with a spatial resolution of 5 m in five spectral bands. It was the first commercial satellite to offer a red-edge band. This band is really useful for measuring variances in vegetation and monitoring vegetation growth and health.

  • Launch date : 29th August 2008
  • Orbit : 97,8°, sun-synchronous
  • Orbital altitude : 630 km
  • Viewing angle : Max +/- 25° off-nadir
  • Equator crossing time : 11.00 am solar time
  • Revisit time : dayly (off nadir / 5,5 days (at nadir)
  • Swath width : 77 km at nadir
  • Resolution : 6,5 m (5 m after resampling)
  • Radiometric resolution : 12 bits per pixel
  • Geolocational accuracy (without GCP) : 12,7 m CE90%
  • Spectral range :
    0,440 – 0,510 µm (blue)
    0,520 – 0,590 µm (green)
    0,630 – 0,685 µm (red)
    0,690 – 0,730 µm (red edge)
    0,760 – 0,850 µm (near infrared)
  • Product types : Basic and Ortho products, stereo are available
  • Price : pricing per km²
  • Area of interest: Irregular polygon, minimum width 10 km², no donut shapes
  • Minimum order size :
    500 km² for archive imagery
    3500 km² for new acquistions
  • Standard acquisition window new imagery: 45 days
  • Tasking : Possible
  • Application examples :
    Topographic mapping up to 1:25.000
    Damage assessment
    Crop mapping
    Change detection

Source

(08/08/2012) GeoVille has been awarded a service contract to update a series of ESPON maps and related data on natural hazards.

The work includes data collection on 11 natural hazards (including avalanches, floods, forest fires, drought potential, etc.), indicator development as well as an analysis of its territorial dynamics and policy impacts.

(06/09/2012) GAF GeoMap is a GIS desktop application for visualization, analysis and acquisition of raster and vector data as well as map generation and 3D visualization.

The user-friendly software is easy to use – also for non GIS-specialists. Further predefined functionality for more experienced users can be switched on in addition.

GeoMap is developed OGC-conform – also with respect to INSPIRE guidelines – and in compliance with certified ISO 9001:2008 procedures and common standards. The Software is programmed in Visual C# under the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0. It is based on disposable openSource components (GDAL) and own developed class libraries. Through the use of the Microsoft DirectX library a high performance visualization of data in 2D and 3D is achieved.

Selected features/Key facts:

  • Simple and intuitive operability, ease of use also for users without detailed GIS knowledge
  • Flexible user oriented license models, also in terms of source code
  • No charged license of other parties incurred
  • Multilingualism
  • Linkable multi document interface
  • Modular architecture and extensibility
  • Modules and additional functions activatable
  • Contextual menu navigation
  • Management of standard and user related settings
  • Support of common raster and vector formats
  • Support of numerous geographic and projected reference systems as well as transformations in between
  • Geometry and topology operations
  • Integration and composition of graphic elements
  • Representation and analysis of elevation data in 2D and 3D, hillshades, slopes, contour levels, cross sections, line of sight, perspective and 3D views, anaglyphs
  • Hillshades and anaglyphs on-the-fly
  • High performance 3D visualization with unrestricted movement
  • Map generation with map grids, legends, further text and graphic elements
  • Usage of predefined and self-defined layouts, storage of templates
  • Real time access to GPS information and full-time navigation
  • Support of OGC conform data access (database and web services)
  • On-line help / tooltips
    System requirements:
    Windows XP/Vista/7, Microsoft .NET Framework from Version 4.0 and above, DirectX 9.0c

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