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May 2012, After been awarded for the development of the new European INSPIRE Geoportal, Planetek Italia was chosen for major contracts and projects in Europe and North Africa.

The two contracts are the Geographic Information System for the Ministry of Agriculture of Morocco and the high-resolution map of Forest and Impervious Area characteristics for the EEA within the GMES Initial Operations (GIO]=650&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=e62efa09ca555620a0c7db3400724192) Land Monitoring Services.

This is a new step for Planetek Italia towards an internationalization of its activities that prizes the skills and experience gained by the Planetek team. Nonetheless it will be a new challenge and a great experience that wil consider a number of new requirement coming from specific policies, techonolgies adopted and, obiouvsly, new cultures.

More information]=650&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=e62efa09ca555620a0c7db3400724192

Geomatica 2013 Beta Software Released / PCI’s Professional Production team to map the Philippines at 0.5m resolution using GeoEye imagery

Geomatica 2013 Beta Software Released

RICHMOND HILL, Ontario, Canada—July 10, 2012: PCI Geomatics, a world-leading developer of geoimaging software and systems, announced today that it has successfully launched the beta version of its desktop software, Geomatica 2013.

The commercial release of Geomatica 2013 will build upon PCI’s successful Geomatica 2012 product, which was launched last fall. The beta program offers testers the opportunity to work with the latest version of Geomatica, where improvements have been made in key areas:

  • Faster, efficient workflows for large image-processing projects (100 to 1,000 scenes/project)
  • Atmospheric Correction – new, easy-to-use interface for automated detection/masking of clouds as well as haze removal
  • Improved results for the extraction of digital elevation models from high*resolution imagery

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PCI’s Professional Production team to map the Philippines at 0.5m resolution using GeoEye imagery

RICHMOND HILL, Ontario, Canada—June 28, 2012: PCI Geomatics, a world-leading developer of geoimaging software and systems, announced today that it will be providing advanced image processing services to Geo-Surveys and Mapping Inc. (GSMI) to produce a high-quality 0.5 meter
pansharpened, color-balanced mosaic of the Philippines. The final deliverable will be used by the Department of Agriculture in the Philippines.

GSMI turned to PCI’s Professional Production team to process over 304,000 square kilometers of GeoEye imagery, recognizing the high caliber of expertise and advanced production methods available through PCI’s new service offering. A key deciding factor for GSMI in selecting PCI’s Professional Production Services was to reduce overall project risk by leveraging the expertise and know-how developed at PCI for the last 30 years, ensuring that high-quality final deliverables are produced in a timely manner for their end customer.

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The EEA has launched the report ‘Urban adaptation to climate change in Europe’ which is the first Europe-wide assessment of urban vulnerability to climate change.


As partner in the ETC-SIA GeoVille contributed maps (such as the example), data and statistics that provide pictures of the current situation in Europe regarding cities‘ sensitivity to climate change threats and their adaptive capacity.
(2012-05-22 09:26 by Manuel Löhnertz) Source Geoville

International Polar Foundation Prize for thermography of Ghent and EUROSENSE acquires 10.000 images in 4 days!!

International Polar Foundation Prize for thermography of Ghent (25.06.2012)

The city of Ghent has been awarded with the International Polar Foundation Prize for the project on the aerial thermography, executed by EUROSENSE in 2011. The award was handed over to the city of Ghent by Alain Hubert, president of the Internation Polar Foundation, on the 7th Belgian Energy and Environment Awards.

The city of Ghent is aiming to become climate neutral by 2050. To achieve this ambitious goal, they’ve launched several activities of which the execution of an aerial thermography of the entire city of Ghent is the largest eye-catcher. During three cold winter nights, EUROSENSE executed flights with a thermal camera on board detecting the heat losses through the roofs. The images have been processed into a thermographic map of the city which has been published online together with an interpretation key and legends for the use of the inhabitants http://warmtefoto.gent.be

The Polar Foundation Prize is already the second prize that has been awarded to the city of Ghent for the aerial thermography project. A few months ago, the city also received the E-Gov Award on User Friendliness (see the corresponding news-item).

The award of those 2 prizes clearly show the added-value of the approach of EUROSENSE: it is not just a map, it is a real policy and communication instrument for the cities and municipalities.

See the full article on http://www.polarfoundation.org/news/news_detail/gent_receives_ipf_prize_at_belgian_energy_awards/

More news concerning the Belgian office click here

EUROSENSE acquires 10.000 images in 4 days!! (19.06.2012 )

During the last weekend of May – first good weather period in Belgium for a long time – EUROSENSE acquired 10.000 images in 3 provinces in Flanders (Belgium), in particular West-Flanders, East-Flanders and Antwerp. To meet the geographical accuracy requirements of the final products the mission was flown with a resolution of 17 cm. The data acquisition was done with Vexcel UltraCamX digital cameras. In the coming months EUROSENSE will produce both stereo images and orthophotomosaics with a resolution of 25 cm.

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2012 sees European Space Imaging (EUSI) becoming a supporter of the GMES Masters – The European Earth Monitoring Competition with the new European Space Imaging High-Res Challenge.

This challenge is one of seven in the competition which opens for entries on 1st June and closes on 16th September.

Are you a data user with an interesting application idea to develop? Of high interest are ideas that are easily implementable, sustainable, cut costs and create efficiencies. The competition is completely open and all entries are welcome. Information is already available for download at www.gmes-masters.com

European Space Imaging (EUSI) is Europe’s leading provider of Very High-Resolution (VHR) satellite data. EUSI will award the best application idea using the most advanced VHR satellite data. Application ideas which are easily implementable, sustainable, cut costs and create efficiencies are of high interest. Participants are required to submit detailed application ideas including business concepts.

Prize:
The winner will be awarded a data package of EUSI satellite data worth up to EUR 20,000 for use in further developing the winning application.

Evaluation:
Please note that in order to determine the winner of the European Space Imaging High-Res Challenge 3 to 5 finalists may be contacted via email/phone during the week of 24 – 28 September.

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This two day symposium is a unique opportunity to review business models, assess customer requirements, network, do business and refine development strategies.

The event features top-level representatives from leading and emerging EO systems operators and data distributors as well as satellite manufacturers and end users from the government – civil and defense & security – and the private sector.

Bringing together over 200 presidents, CEOs, CFOs and senior government officials, this two day symposium is a unique opportunity to review business models, assess customer requirements, network, do business and refine development strategies.

  • Over 200 top management and senior government officials participating
  • In-depth exchanges with EO market experts
  • Outstanding balance of actors representing the entire EO value chain
  • International conference gathering participants from over 20 countries and all world regions

Consult the full program to view the detailed schedule.

For more complete information, visit the event site at www.satellite-business.com

Madrid, July 03, 2012 – Over the last few days, the Deimos-1 Earth Observation satellite, launched in space by Elecnor Deimos in July 2009, is monitoring the two major fire events heavily threatening citizens and natural resources of the Province of Valencia in Spain.
Deimos-1 satellite monitors the large fires near Valencia, Spain

As can be seen in the image taken by Deimos-1 yesterday, July 2nd 2012, at 12.11 local time, the two fire events have significantly affected forested areas of the Province de Valencia and are easily identifiable from space. The fire event that broke out last Friday (June 29th) in the town of Andilla is still partially active and some smoke plumes are visible in the image obtained on Monday morning (Figure 2). Fire burned extensive areas of the regional districts of Los Serranos, Campo de Turia and Alto Palancia. Using another Deimos-1 image acquired a few days before the event started (Figure 1), Elecnor Deimos Imaging has generated a fire map concluding that about 17,333 hectares were burned as of Monday morning (Figure 3, 4 and 5). On the other hand, Deimos-1 image partially shows the fire event that broke out last Thursday (June 28th) in the village of Cortes de Pallás, which rapidly spread in the forested landscape and burned thousands of hectares in the regional districts of Hoya de Buñol, Valle de Cofrentes, Canal de Navarrés and Ribera Alta. As for the Andilla fire event, and using the partially available information (Figure 6), Elecnor Deimos Imaging estimates that about 19,177 hectares were burned as of Monday morning in the surroundings of the villages of Dos Aguas, Millares and Catadau. The west sector of the fire scar will be further characterised shortly with new acquisition of Deimos-1 images.


Figure 1. Pre-fire conditions of the affected area in the surroundings of Andilla (Valencia) as seen by Deimos-1 satellite last 23rd of June 2012.

Figure 2. Post-fire conditions of the affected area in the surroundings of Andilla (Valencia) as seen by Deimos-1 satellite last 02nd of July 2012.

Figure 3. Post-fire image over the affected area in the surroundings of Andilla (Valencia) showing the fire perimeter obtained by a multi-temporal assessment.

Figure 4. Multitemporal composition of pre and post-fire Deimos-1 images clearly identifying the area burned by the fire event that broke out in Andilla (Valencia).

Figure 5. Fire map of the area burned by the fire event that broke out in Andilla (Valencia) resulting from the multitemporal analysis.

Figure 6. Multitemporal composition of pre and post-fire Deimos-1 images clearly identifying the east section of the fire scar resulting from the event that broke out in Cortes de Pallás (Valencia).

In the coming days Elecnor Deimos Imaging will continue monitoring the two fire events with the aim of assessing the status of the affected areas and estimating the total amount of hectares affected by the fire. Once again the capacity of the Deimos-1 Earth Observation System when dealing natural disasters and crisis has been demonstrated.

The Deimos-1 Earth Observation system, comprising the satellite and its whole ground segment, is fully owned by Elecnor Deimos, the technology division of Elecnor. Elecnor Deimos Imaging, the Remote Sensing branch of Elecnor Deimos, operates and manages all the assets of the mission in order to generate and market high-resolution images and derived products characterising Earth’s surface. Their use covers various applications, such as agriculture, environment monitoring, climate change, security, deforestation and water resources control, and the support to relief activities during natural disasters.

The imaging instrument on-board the Deimos-1 satellite produces images of the Earth surface in three different spectral bands with a detail of 22 metres, and a large swath that covers up to 620 km. The satellite circles the Earth 15 times per day, and is capable of acquiring an image of any area of the world every three days.

(Source Deimos-Imaging )

Copyright Notice. The publicly released Elecnor Deimos images may be reproduced without fee for educational or informational purposes, on the condition of crediting Elecnor Deimos as the source of the images. Examples: Photo: Elecnor Deimos; Photo: Elecnor Deimos / Deimos-1

Gisat has been contracted by the Czech State Agricultural Intervention Fund to deliver services related to remote sensing control of agricultural subsidies in the Czech Republic in 2013.

The control is done according to the EU guidelines using high resolution and very high resolution satellite imagery. Selected subsidy schemes and environmental measures are subject of the control. The contract covers the whole control process: orthorectification and processing of the satellite and airborne data; photo-interpretation of satellite and aerial images with the use of LPIS data; database processing of the results and final map compilation. The project also includes providing of consultancy services related to the on-the-spot control implementation and cross-compliance issues.

The winning of this prestigious tender confirms our leading position among the national EO based service providers. At the same time it will allow us to continue in close collaboration with the Czech administration in the domain of agriculture monitoring with remote sensing.

More information at GISAT

New land cover map for Kivu * Refugee and IDP mapping in the Horn of Africa * Land cover monitoring in IGAD countries

New land cover map for Kivu

Gisat contributed to production of unique land cover map for the two Kivu provinces.

The eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ranks among world’s least secure areas. Long-term and extremely violent conflict between shifting alliances of foreign and indigenous armed groups and militias, national government, and foreign governments’ forces has been raging for more than a decade. Attacks on civil population are reported almost on daily basis. Environment and local rich natural resources can play a role in the onset, duration and termination of conflicts and, despite not being the only factor; they may play a key role in their dynamics. Earth observation (EO) data could help to measure both environmental and certain socio economic factors.

In framework of the project G-MOSAIC a service chain “Exploitation of Natural Resources” was activated for the two Kivu provinces in the eastern DRC. In cooperation with project partners from consortium coordinated by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), Gisat carried out land use change detection from recent high resolution data (Landsat, DMC). EO based change detection allowed synoptic analysis of large areas for identification of hot-spots for further analysis. Transition zones with natural resources decrease were detected from the imagery and could have been linked with other conflict and socio economic information.

During the course of the service activation the need for up-to-date, detailed land use / land cover map for Kivu provinces emerged from the service users. There are land cover maps available at national level for DRC, but for regional applications they are insufficient in terms of detail provided and their up-to-datedness. Gisat provided its expertise with land use / land cover classification of complex African landscapes from EO data. It played a key role in the service chain comprising satellite data processing and classification of Landsat and DMC scenes acquired in 2009-2011. Common problem present in equatorial areas, extensive cloud coverage, has had to be resolved by utilizing of multiple backup scenes for cloudy areas. Mosaic of atmospherically and terrain corrected images was created which served as a basis for object-based image classification, post-classification interpretation and enhancements. Resulting vector dataset is categorized into 9 LCCS compatible hybrid land use / land cover classes and at given scale it provides unrivaled detail referring to the source data resolution (30 m) and the minimum mapping unit (5ha). It has been mapped more than 125,000 square kilometers in total, which is for instance more than sum of the areas of Austria and Switzerland together. On top of vector results digital Land cover map of North and South Kivu with scale 1:300,000 and related Land cover atlas with scale 1:250,000, both referencing to the status as of 2010, were created by JRC. Attached land cover vector dataset enables analysis up to scale equivalent to 1:100,000.

Huge effort was devoted to validation of thematic accuracy of the product. Therefore, multi-level approach consisting of 3 independent steps was implemented:

  • Standard accuracy assessment using interpretation of set of random points in reference EO data carried out by Gisat
  • Accuracy assessment by cross-matching with available reference LU/LC products (FACET) carried out by the JRC
  • In-field accuracy assessment organized by the JRC was carried out by local staff of various NGO organizations active in the Kivu.

Each validation method showed high overall accuracy rate of the classification. With this respect and taking into account its characteristics reflecting user-driven requirements, release of the land cover map and atlas for Kivu provinces is supposed to be great success both for Gisat and JRC as involved service providers and for G-MOSAIC consortium as a whole. Product has been distributed to several NGOs and other entities from various application fields: natural conservation agencies, human rights agencies and local government organizations, who will take benefits from utilization of validated GMES services and products developed in framework of the G-MOSAIC. Last but not the least they may serve as a basis for further land use / land cover change analysis as a reference 2010 baseline.

The service has been provided in the frame of G-MOSAIC (FP7 EU-funded project aimed at identifying and developing products, methodologies and pilot services for the provision of geo-spatial information in support to EU external relations policies and at contributing to define and demonstrate the sustainability of GMES global security services).

More information at GISAT

Refugee and IDP mapping in the Horn of Africa

Gisat participated in emergency response mapping in support of UN agencies mitigating food insecurity and situation of refugees and internally displaced people (IDP) in Horn of Africa. Horn of Africa, one of the world’s least stable and insecure areas, is subject to continuous ethnic and military tension, droughts and consequent negative impacts on civil population in form of malnutrition and recurrent famines. In early 2012 Gisat responded the requests of various UN agencies and participated in emergency response activations aimed at Refugee/IDP mapping in Ethiopia and Somalia.

Following on fighting in Blue Nile State in Sudan in fall 2011 the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) set up refugee camps in western Ethiopia to absorb the influx of refugees. Tongo camp was one of the largest and in terms of mapping urgency also one with the highest priority. In close cooperation with UNHCR, who delivered in-situ data, Gisat carried out semi-automatic object-based classification of very high resolution satellite imagery identifying single tents in the camp and land cover/land use categories in its surroundings. Main emphasis was put on correct identification of agriculture fields. Situation analysis was supplemented by extraction of additional assets such as existing settlements and villages, individual houses and road network as well as hydrographic and topographic features. Despite the activation wasn’t carried out in rush mode, timely delivery of the map outputs and related vector data was critical issue. Resulting products were immediately utilized for site planning and further camp construction and extension.

The Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping unit of the World Food Programme (WFP) Somalia requested large scale mapping to assist in estimating the current agricultural production and population density in the several districts in Somalia. The request reflected the food insecurity linked to long-term presence of large amount of IDPs and several rounds of fighting between government forces and Islamic militias in recent years. Mapping performed by Gisat supported the WFP activities in Beled Weyne district. Agriculture change assessment maps based on interpretation of very high resolution imagery from previous 3 years were produced as well as population density and population density change maps, which were based on detection of individual dwellings using state-of-the-art object-based classification algorithms. Classification was followed up by subsequent manual interpretation and validation. Genesis of IDP camps at urban fringe of Beled Weyne could have been clearly detected from multitemporal imagery. Agriculture and population change assessment was supplemented by information dossier summarizing statistics obtained from analysis of results in GIS environment. The dossier included additional information on crops development related to vegetation vigour during a couple of recent harvesting periods in the area. The analysis was based upon series of MODIS NDVI 16-day composites and it demonstrated the benefits of utilization of low spatial resolution data for monitoring of vegetation and agriculture change in the emergency response mapping domain. The outputs were delivered to VAM unit of WFP where they serve as a basis for decision making.

The output products from both mappings were appreciated by the responsible UN experts. They prove the strength of satellite data and subsequent geo-spatial analysis for monitoring of up-to-date status or retrospective change detection and assessment for the sake of Refugees/IDP related humanitarian needs.

The service has been provided in the frame of SAFER (FP7 EU-funded project focusing on the development of the pre-operational GMES emergency response service). Mappings in non-rush mode (emergency support services) serve to support preparedness and prevention as well as recovery activities and long-term development projects of humanitarian community.

More information at GISAT

Mapping East Africa

Results of land cover monitoring in IGAD countries presented at AMESD conference.

The „Conference on the Use of Earth Observation to Support Environmental Policy Making in Africa“ was the last activity planned under the direct responsibility of AMESD Program Coordination Team (PCT). It was held in Addis Ababa – Ethiopia the 22nd and 23rd May 2012 with the theme “Showcase the use of AMESD services for policy making”.

The AMESD program addresses the need for improved environmental monitoring towards sustainable management of natural resources in five regions of sub-Saharan Africa, namely CEMAC, ECOWAS, IGAD, IOC and SADC (RECs). The purpose of the program is to increase the information management capacity of African regional and national institutions in support of decision makers at different levels and to facilitate sustainable access to Africa-wide environmental information derived from Earth Observation technologies. Its goal is to help African governments in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating their regional and continental policies towards sustainable development.

The conference included also the poster section. In this section Geoland-2 SATChMo-Africa (the Seasonal and Annual Change Monitoring Service) contributed with presenting research and application results. The objective of SATChMo-Africa is to provide assessment of land cover and land cover change products for the Environmental Country Profiles in East Africa countries; namely IGAD region – Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea; by statistically relevant sampling scheme, the so-called Area Frame Sampling. The base for this monitoring is the Earth Observation satellite data from LANDSAT and DMC with spatial resolution of 30 m.

In the frame of SATChMo activities Gisat has done extensive mapping focused on land cover monitoring in IGAD region. The main products of the project are status land cover layer of reference year 2000, change layers 1999-2000 and 2000-2009 and summary statistics indicating the status and development of land cover during the period of interest.

More information at GISAT

The GlobWave Project is an initiative funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and subsidised by CNES through the Data User Element (DUE), which is a programmatic element of the 3rd period of the Earth Observation Envelope Programme (EOEP-3), an optional ESA programme.

GlobWave is led by Logica, with key expertise provided from Satellite Oceanographic Consultants Ltd (SatOC), Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), Ifremer and National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and aims to improve the uptake of satellite-derived wind-wave and swell data by the scientific, operational and commercial user communities. The project, running from January 2009 – December 2012, covers the development of an integrated set of information services based on satellite wave data, and the operation and maintenance of these services for a demonstration period.

These activities are intended to make it easier for the global user community to use satellite wave data, to facilitate routine comparison with wave models and to stimulate the development of satellite wave data assimilation.

A study carried out by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) shows how GlobWave data has been successfully used to examine the climatic factors affecting piracy in the Indian Ocean.

CHALLENGE

Piracy may be a topic of schoolboy adventure stories, but it’s still a dangerous and costly problem for merchant shipping and tourism in some parts of the world. In the pirate-ridden waters of the Indian Ocean, satellites show that environmental conditions have limited recent pirate activity. Figure 1 shows the mean daily wind speed at Socotra (Yemen) and pirate attacks by latitude for April 2010 to July 2011.


Fig 1: Mean daily wind speed at Socotra (Yemen) and pirate attacks by latitude for April 2010 to July 2011. When the wind speed dropped, pirate attacks increased

Nearly half of all recorded maritime piracy worldwide in 2010 has been attributed to Somali pirates, with a cost to the international community of over USD$8bn a year. And that’s just the financial impact; some 62 deaths and many more injuries of over 3500 captives in the last four years have been due to Somali pirates.
Unfortunately, these figures only tell part of the whole story of recent maritime piracy. For a myriad of political and commercial reasons, piracy is often downplayed and underestimated by both governments and industry. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), for example, estimates that as many as half of all pirate attacks go unreported. Attacks and hijackings of ships by Somali pirates in waters off the Horn of Africa have sharply increased in recent years, and show no sign of waning.

But while the number of attacks per year continues to increase, 2011 saw a 40% drop in ‘successful’ attacks – or hijackings – compared to the previous year. The drop in successful attacks could be due to a number of factors such as increased security – but satellites show that climate is also controlling piracy.

INITIATIVE

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has used information from ESA’s GlobWave project, to examine in detail the climatic and oceanographic conditions that accompanied attacks by pirates in the Horn of Africa region between 2010 and 2011.
Considering the problems collecting direct observations of marine weather in recent years, a valuable alternative for oceanographic data east of Somalia are observations collected by satellites. They used observations of significant wave height and wind speed from the European Space Agency GlobWave project databases.
These databases provided quality controlled satellite altimeter measurements from the Envisat, Jason1 and Jason2 satellites. Observations that were measured within six hours and 1000 km of a singular pirate attack were selected for this study. If more than one observation met these criteria, the satellite with the closest spatial observation was used.

RESULTS

The study found that there was a strong correlation between successful pirate activity and wind speed and wave height. The summer monsoon season from June to September, when weather conditions are usually bad, saw a significant drop in pirate activities. This correlation is probably due to the difficulty of launching pirate boats from beaches when the waves are high.
The GlobWave databases provided observations of significant wave height (SWH) and surface wind speed for 54% of all pirate attacks. Wind speeds during pirate attacks were mainly low (less than 11 m.s-1) but once wind speeds exceeded 9 m.s-1, no successful attacks occurred (Fig 2a). Their satellite-derived record showed only one instance where pirates attacked in winds speeds greater than 11 m s-1. Nearly all piracy was in seas with SWHs <2.5 m (97% of paired observations) (Fig 2b), and most attacks were conducted in calm oceans with waves <1 m height. No successful attacks occurred on days where SWH exceeded 2.5 m. Four events, representing 3% of the satellite observations, were recorded with SWH >2.5 m. These attacks all happened in June 2011.


Fig 2: Satellite observations of wind speed (a) and significant wave height (b) for pirate attacks off Somalia, 2010–2011

TESTIMONIALS

“What we like about the GlobWave database is that it provides different data from a number of altimeters all in the same format with a very short turnaround time between collection and being available online,” said Sally Garrett, co-author of the paper.
“In the NZDF we have very small teams of people work on projects, so the ability to access an external database rather than develop one in house enables us to include data from a greater number of platforms and analyse a longer time series.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This study was undertaken by Duncan Cook and Sally Garret from the NZDF and Martin Rutherford from the Royal Australian Navy and was presented in December 2011 at the International Congress of Biometeorology in Auckland, New Zealand. Further information and a link to the paper can be found on the GlobWave portal

(Source Logica)