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VCS Aktiengesellschaft has changed legal basis and name with effect from 12th of December (according to §§ 190 ff., §§ 238 ff. UmwG). The company now operates as SCISYS Deutschland GmbH.

For the customers and partners of the VCS Space Division, the close integration of VCS and SciSys is not necessarily new. Already in 2009 all space activities in Great Britain and Germany have been bundled in an efficient international Space Division under the direction of Dr. Horst Wulf, Chief Operating Officer of VCS Space. Our latest success in the Operations & Support business in Darmstadt, the joint efforts in the Galileo FOC Phase and the development of robotics know-how at the Bochum site already impressively demonstrate the potential of the synergy between the Space Divisions in Great Britain and Germany.

The new SCISYS Deutschland GmbH will remain a strong and reliable partner for the European space activities in Germany. The key people within the SCISYS Deutschland Space Division will be the same as it was for VCS: Mr. Ulli Leibnitz remains Director of Business Development. Starting in 2012 he is also responsible for all operating activities of the German element of the Space Division. Dr. Horst Wulf becomes a member of the management board of SCISYS Deutschland GmbH and continues to head all space activities of the SCISYS Group.

These recent changes provide a solid foundation for the continuing success of the company. As a strong and versatile group with an international focus, SCISYS will also in future be at your side as a reliable and competent partner.

The contact person for all matters concerning Earth Observation remains Dr. Peter Scheidgen, Head of the Business Segment Earth Observation.

Contact:
SCISYS Deutschland GmbH
Dr. Peter Scheidgen
Head of Business Segment
Earth Observation
Borgmannstrasse 2
44894 Bochum
Germany
Phone:+49 234 9258 0
Fax:+49 234 9258 0
E-Mail:space@scisys.de

Under a R&D project, ordered by the State Agency for Information Technologies and Communications ( now an Executive Agency – Electronic Communication Networks and Information Systems, in the Ministry of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications) Remote Sensing Application Center – ReSAC, in cooperation with the Agency for Sustainable Development and Eurointegration – ECOREGION, developed the Bulgarian contribution for establishing of a model of a national spatial land cover database, based on the classification system of Food and Agriculture Organization – Land Cover Classification System (FAO-LCCS) of the United Nations.

The main purpose of the land cover dataset is to support decision making at national, regional and European level, as well as to give an opportunity for checking the up-to-date status and reliability of the different thematic spatial geodatabases, as required under the INSPIRE Directive 02/2007/ЕО. A registration of metadata for “Reference land cover database” was realized in accordance with the requirements of the Directive 02/07/EC and the “Spatial Data Access Act” of the Republic of Bulgaria, also under the same directive.

Implemented to GMES Regulation 911/2010 from September 22, 2010, the reference land cover layer gives an opportunity for better integration of space and in-situ information, application of simulation models, and conduction of prevention analysis of risk management and losses from past disasters.

The reference land cover layer is prepared, based on satellite images from the US satellite – Landsat from 2009 with spatial resolution 30 m. It is compliant to cartographic scale of 1: 50 000. Information about altitude and slope (derived from the SRTM 90 meter Digital elevation Model) is generated for every spatial land cover object. The subsequent data validation revealed a thematic accuracy of the land cover dataset of more than 85%.

Bulgaria is the first member state of the European Union, which has started land cover database, based on the worldwide methodology LCCS, throughout the territory of Bulgaria and updated in 2009. Another member state, which has built similar database, relying on the Bulgarian experience, is Romania. The first project applying the LCCS methodology was developed by ReSAC between 1999-2001 for a part of the territory of Bulgaria in the frame of TCP/BUL 8922 FAO project “Strengthening Capacity in Agricultural Development through Remote Sensing and GIS”.

The reference database – land cover layer within the territory of Republic of Bulgaria is entirely prepared by specialists from the Agency for Sustainable Development and Eurointegration – Ecoregions (ASDE) and the Remote Sensing Application Center (ReSAC).Consultations by the side of expert from FAO-UN have been also used.

On a next stage, further development of the land cover database toward better spatial resolution (compliant with larger cartographic scale) and including more land cover classes, is expected.

Eurosense recent news on thermography and REDDiness & G-Mosaic (forest monitoring).

Thermographic map, created by EUROSENSE, wins e-GOV award

The thermographic project of Ghent city, executed by EUROSENSE, has won the e-GOV award for usability. The e-Gov Awards aim to reward the best ICT projects realized by Belgian public services which also demonstrate administrative simplification, innovation and sense for cooperation.

In the winter of 2011 a “thermographic image” of Ghent city was taken by EUROSENSE. At the same time, almost 500 voluntary inhabitants executed temperature measurements in their houses. EUROSENSE processed the thermographic imagery into one geo-referenced map and created by means of the volunteer measurements an interpretation key with corresponding legends. This detailed interpretation allows the inhabitants to make the bridge from heat losses to insulation quality.

With the support of EUROSENSE, the results have been inserted by the city of Ghent into a web application: http://warmtefoto.gent.be/ (in Dutch). By this web application, citizens of Ghent can make an assessment on the quality of their roof insulation. Additionally, a link is made to “roof insulation group purchasing”, information sessions and additional support (subsidies) for people with low incomes.

EUROSENSE’s detailed interpretation key and the involvement of inhabitants, were determining factors that distinguished this project from the others with respect to user friendliness.

Besides this award for our innovative approach, EUROSENSE has recently been awarded with 4 new thermographic projects. A thermographic map will be created for the municipality of Tervuren and some industrial areas in West-Flanders (Belgium), the City of Enschede (the Netherlands) and Luxembourg City.

REDDiness and G-Mosaic outputs presented in a poster session at the international conference on Climate change, Deforestation and the future of African rainforests in Oxford (04/01/2012)

Obtaining compensations due to Reductions of Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) presupposes the development of a robust, reliable and transparent forest monitoring system.

REDDiness and G-Mosaic are both GMES (Global Monitoring of Environment and Security) projects under the 7th Framework Programme. For both projects, there is a high interest of measuring and mapping changes in the world’s humid tropical forests to derive national and regional figures for multilateral agreements and sustainable forest management.

REDDiness, led by EUROSENSE, compiles a mixed European-African consortium combining years of experience in forest monitoring. The project’s main objective is to assist Gabon and the Republic of Congo in developing EO (Earth Observation) forest monitoring services and building national capacity. Therefore, as a starting point, a quantitative survey has been carried out in both countries to measure needs, interest and awareness of EO-based products for REDD.

Fig.Selection of REDDiness focus by surveying 4 main questions within the consortium The main part of the questionnaire is based on multiple choice questions about geomatics tools (data, expertise and resources in hardware or software), REDD topic (skills available or requested), and the involvement of participants in REDD (political and scientific knowledge, interesting products and definitions or parameters which are useful in setting up a MRV (Measurement, Reporting and Verification)).

Based on the user requirements analysis and after a detailed process of decision in the consortium, the aim of REDDiness will be to evaluate the effectiveness of different types of satellite imagery in detecting and monitoring of forest degradation. The figure above summarizes the relevant choices to be made by REDD projects (or countries) when deciding on starting up an earth observation strategy.

In G-mosaic (GMES services for Management of Operations, Situation Awareness and Intelligence for regional Crises), the critical asset working group developed geo-spatial information to assess forest changes linked to the reopening of roads, in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). Change assessment on three hot spots with very high resolution EO data has been compared to the high resolution map recently produced by our local partner OSFAC (Observatoire Satellital des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale).

Click here to see the poster
Contact us for more information
http://www.eurosense.com

GeoVille’s mission is to offer cost-effective, high quality end-to-end Earth Observation (EO) solutions, with particular emphasis on land monitoring. Recently awarded by EEA to carry out 3 of the 6 GIO Land Monitoring Services LMS, the company has solidified its heritage as a top performing provider of land related remote sensing services in Europe.

The Global Monitoring of Environment and Security (GMES) programme has entered its Initial Operation (GIO) phase (2011 to 2013). As part of the GMES Work Programme, the initial operations will start with the production of 5 High Resolution pan-European Layers (HRL), with specific land cover characteristics. The service provision was recently tendered out by EEA and divided into 6 lots.

GeoVille was selected to provide service provision for a total of 3 lots. As a prime it will produce the imperviousness (sealing degree) and forest layer in Southern Europe, partim East Mediterranean region (Lot 5, Turkey, 783.562 km²). As a subcontractor, it will produce the imperviousness layer for northern Europe (Lot1, 1.452.275 km²) in a consortium led by Metria AS and part of the imperviousness and forest layers in Southern Europe, partim West and Central Mediterranean region (Lot 4, 1.202.046 km²) in a consortium led by Planetek SRL.

Leading role of GeoVille in EU Land Monitoring

The GIO services have been subject to a very competitive bid, with all major European Earth Observation (EO) service companies participating. GeoVille’s success is build upon subsequent activities and performances in the EEA CORINE and High Resolution Layer productions, the EC geoland projects, the ESA GSE Land Information Services, as well as commercial roll outs of land cover/use mapping projects at regional and national scale throughout Europe. Specifically, the land cover production heritage of GeoVille in Turkey, the Mediterranean region and the northern European countries have contributed positively to EEA’s evaluation.

More about GeoVille


GMES High Resolution Land Cover – Degree of Imperviousness (2009)
Test product for Lot 5 (Turkey) – 20m x 20m spatial resolution, national projection

Tel: +352 26 71 41 35
Fax: +352 26 71 41 35
Email: info@geoville.com
Web: www.geoville.com

GeoVille Group is a private sector enterprise located in Austria and Luxembourg. GeoVille Group specialises in products and services related to Earth Observation (EO) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications.

GeoVille is Europe’s leading company in using satellite data for land monitoring and spatial planning applications.

Our services provide the bridge from user needs to technical implementation – merging geospatial explicit data with statistics – to the analysis of what on-going processes and trends mean for real world applications.

More about GeoVille

“INSA has implemented an innovative geospatial system to improve the monitoring of high temperature events using MODIS and SEVIRI data in Madrid”.

Climate change will affect human health, either directly, in relation to the physiological effects of heat and cold, or indirectly, for example, through altered human behaviours. An increase in some of these impacts has already been observed in Europe over recent decades (for example, the summer heat waves in 2003 alone are believed to have resulted in more than 70 000 excess deaths, Robin et al., 2008). Spain is one of the most affected European countries by the increase of temperature, with an observed variation between +1 ºC and +2ºC in the 1970-2004 time period (IPCC Climate change report 2007). In addition, climate change scenarios suggest that other not Mediterranean European Countries could be affected in the future by heat waves. As extreme events (i.e. Urban Heat Islands) become more frequent and spatially distributed due to climate change, weather related deaths and diseases could rise. In addition, population ageing is changing disease patterns, and putting pressure on the sustainability of EU health systems.
EUROSTAT estimates that by 2050 the number of people in the EU aged 65+ will grow by 70% whereas the 80+ age group will grow by 170%. Therefore, the challenge for policy-makers, at both national and EU levels, is to understand these climate change impacts and to develop and implement policies to ensure an optimal level of adaptation and mitigation. In EU countries, it is estimated that mortality increases by 1-4% for each one-degree rise in temperature, meaning that heat related mortality could rise by 30 000 deaths per year by 2030s and by 50000 to 110000 deaths per year by the 2080s (PESETA project report).

Therefore EU policies suggest that healthy ageing must be supported by actions to promote health and prevent disease throughout the lifespan by tackling key issues including environmental risks. In this context INSA has implemented an innovative geospatial system in order to:

  • improve the monitoring of high temperature events (air temperature and urban heat islands products) using a combination of satellite data, static multisource information (synthetic products), and an on-line platform (geoportal) for the product delivery. This service helps to reduce the impact of heat waves on human health and giving a near real time identification of population on risk, its location.
  • support both decision making and planning processes in the short-, mid- and long-term and improving the efficient allocation of health resources with the provision of synthetic products about affected population, high risk zones and related health infrastructures; with this information, socio-economic impact can be reduced.
  • support future urban planning indicating the location of the high risk zones which need mitigation actions and verifying the effects of these activities.

In order to achieve these objectives, INSA has dedicated internal R&D resources to the definition of remote sensing applications and development of processing algorithms to monitoring of high-temperature events in order to reduce their impacts on human health.

Urban Heat Islands (UHI) in the city of Madrid

Over the last century, the world has witnessed a huge growth in its population; this intense and relatively fast spread of the urban areas changes the characteristics of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. The anthropogenic activities induce changes in the physical characteristics of the surface (albedo, thermal capacities, heat conductivity, moisture) and have significant implications for energy budget (Oke, 1987). In metropolitan areas and more so in the city centres, the removal of natural land cover and the introduction of artificial materials, such as concrete and asphalt, modify the surface energy balance, resulting in an increase in surface temperature; in turn this creates an increase in sensible heat flux and a resultant rise in air temperature. In case of a heat wave, these factors usually associated with low wind speeds and high humidity put the population under strong thermal stress with dramatic consequences.

The above result in downtown areas being much warmer than its rural surroundings produces the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. The UHI are typically detected by ground stations using thermometers in order to measure air temperature in the canopy layer. An alternative method uses infrared radiometry from aircraft or satellite platforms, which observe the surface heat island or, more specifically, they see the spatial patterns of upwelling thermal radiance received by the detector and use it to estimate the surface temperature. An advantage in using satellite data with respect to ground-based observations is to provide more spatially representative measurements of surface temperature over large areas of cities.

Different approaches have been published in the last years in order to retrieve land surface temperature (LST) from satellite-derived radiances. Among these methods, the two-channel or split-window algorithms have been the most commonly used. The split-window algorithms take advantage of the differential absorption in two close infrared channels to correct for the atmospheric effects, describing the surface temperature in terms of a linear combination of brightness temperatures measured in both thermal channels. The algorithm’s coefficients depend on the atmospheric state and on the surface emissivity and they are chosen in order to minimize the error in the LST determination.

Numerous studies have been done to estimate these coefficients; but, sometimes fixed values are utilized, imposing significant errors to the results.

In order to employ a method for the evaluation of the UHI in Madrid with less uncertainty, INSA has developed a local and more suitable algorithm for the estimation of the UHI with MODIS and SEVIRI data (Fabrizi et al., 2011). This innovation method exploits the availability of air temperature data from ground-based weather stations in the study’s area for the calibration and validation of the model. The following figure describes the UHI algorithm workflow:


Figure 1: UHI workflow of INSA’s method
The UHI maps are generated automatically and provided experimentally by the INSA geoportal (www.insageoservices.com). The maps (Figure 2-3) contain semantic data (open street data, administrative data). The output product is a vector layer (shape file) including Air Temperature and UHI Spatial Extent and Intensity, as well the affected population (provided by the National Statistic Institute (www.ine.es)), high risk zones and related health infrastructures.


Figure 2: Urban Heat Islands in the city of Madrid with MODIS data in August 25th 2010 at 22:00 UTC (Google Earth).


Figure 3: Urban Heat Islands in the city of Madrid with MODIS data in August 25th 2010 at 22:00 UTC (Google Earth 3D).

Reference

  • IPCC: Climate change 2007: The physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Edited by: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL. United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Cambridge University Press:996.
  • Fabrizi, R., De Santis, A., Gomez, A. (2011) Satellite and ground-based sensors for the Urban Heat Island analysis of the city of Madrid. 10.1109/JURSE.2011.5764791
    Oke, T.R. Boundary Layer Climates, 2nd Ed.; Routledge, London, 1987; pp. 435
  • Robine, J., Cheung, S., Le Roy, S., Van Oyen, H., Griffiths, C., Michel, J.P., Herrmann, F., 2008. Death toll exceeded 70,000 in Europe during the summer of 2003. C. R. Biol. 331, 171–U175.

Opportunities expected from satellite export & international data sales by Euroconsult

Paris and Montreal, October 20, 2011 – Despite ongoing budget cutbacks and measures of fiscal restraint, governments will continue to drive the Earth observation (EO) industry over the coming decade through new satellites and a growing demand for data. According to Euroconsult, the leading international research and consulting firm specialized in the satellite sector, the expansion in EO satellite missions impacts the entire value-chain, from manufacturing to data supply and services for an ever-growing number of end-users. Geographical expansion will also play a role in future growth as new government initiatives emerge and commercial data distribution networks proliferate across the globe.

As reported in the new report, “Satellite-Based Earth Observation, Market Prospects to 2020,” EO commercial data sales reached $1.3 billion in 2010. Optical data represented 83% of overall sales, with the remaining 17% from SAR. The majority (60%) of data revenues in 2010 were from very high resolution optical systems to support a predominantly government defense customer base. In 2010 the U.S. government through the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) remains by far the single largest user of commercial data.

Data sales are expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12% over the decade, reaching nearly $4 billion by 2020 with very high resolution datasets remaining the primary supply source. Although slower growth is expected in the short term following delays reported by leading operators in establishing key defense and enterprise contracts due to tightening budgets, long-term prospects for commercial data sales remain. Again, governments are expected to constitute most of the demand base, thanks to ongoing defense requirements, however the customer base is expected to diversify with growing demand from non-US defense agencies in order to support their image intelligence (IMINT) requirements. This will be supported by further increased data demand from key private sector end users, in particular oil & gas and developing location-based-services solutions.

Competition for the sale commercial data is also expected to increase. The number of high-resolution imaging satellites in operation offering commercial data is expected to nearly double over 2010-2015 as both new private enterprise and government systems offering commercial solutions enter the market. In addition existing commercial operators will replenish and expand their fleets in order to increase image collection capabilities. Through this growing competition and the need to expand their client base, both commercial and government operators will continue to develop mechanisms and networks for data distribution to tap into the growing demand for data and gain a return on investment. ”Operators are developing mechanisms to provide data to a global client base – through providing direct access to their proprietary satellites, developing online services and expanding distribution networks,” said Adam Keith, Director of Earth Observation at Euroconsult. “Each has its role to play with differing client typology showing preferences for various delivery mechanisms.” In particular a proliferation of distribution agreements for data resale between operators and local service providers is occurring, especially in those regions (such as Southeast Asia and Latin America) which do not have significant high resolution capacity in order to serve growing demand for data and services locally.

Government investment into the sector reached $5.9 billion in 2010 and is set to remain high with environment monitoring, natural resources monitoring and defense at the top of policy agendas. That said, most leading agencies (especially in the US and Europe) have to deal with a complex budgetary environment resulting in uncertainties over future programs. Emerging EO programs will continue to represent a major driver for government investment as over 40 countries are forecast to launch EO satellite capacity by 2020.

251 EO satellites are set to be launched_1_ over the next decade representing a manufacturing market value of $21.6 billion_2_ , a 27% increase compared to the previous ten years. Manufacturing revenues from the aforementioned developing and emerging regions will nearly triple accounting for 18% of the market. As these countries often lack an established satellite manufacturing infrastructure, this growth will translate into significant export opportunities for established manufacturers, either in the form of direct procurement contracts or technology transfer agreements.

Report Profile

Satellite-Based Earth Observation, Market Prospects to 2020 is the only report providing industry forecasts, assessment of business opportunities and analysis of the entire value chain for this growing segment of the satellite industry. Now in its 4th edition, this exclusive report contains exhaustive benchmarks of governments and commercial players. The report includes forecasts for commercial imagery and satellites to be launched (commercial, civilian government) as well as a comprehensive assessment and analysis of commercial operators & distributors (financing mechanisms, capacity); government programs (focus & strategy, the move towards commercialization, emerging initiatives); drivers and risks facing the industry and a complete analysis of the value chain.

About Euroconsult

Euroconsult is the leading international consulting and analyst firm specializing in space applications, communications, and Earth observation. Euroconsult provides strategic consulting and analysis, develops comprehensive research reports and forecasts, and organizes events including the annual World Satellite Business Week, the industry’s leading executive-level gathering, including the Symposium for Earth Observation Business (www.satellite-business.com). With more than 25 years of experience Euroconsult has over 560 clients in 50 countries, including leaders throughout the satellite industry; satellite operators and service providers; government agencies; satellite manufacturers and launch service providers; equipment providers and integrators; media and broadcasting companies; and banks and investors. The company has completed 500 satellite-related consulting projects. Euroconsult is based in Paris with offices in Montreal and Washington, DC. www.euroconsult-ec.com.

—-
1. Excluding 47 meteorology satellites
2. Excluding meteorology revenues

www.euroconsult-ec.com
Media Contact:
Andrew Smith (Montreal)
+1 (514) 903-1001
smith@euroconsult-na.com

Brandenburg / Havel, Germany, October 14, 2011 – RapidEye, a leader in wide area, repetitive coverage of Earth through its constellation of five satellites announced today that it has secured a multimillion Euro contract with the European Space Agency (ESA).


“This contract is for a full coverage of Europe.” said Dr. Marcus Apel, Market Manager for European Governments at RapidEye. “We are looking forward to a successful completion of this project and the opportunity to demonstrate within the European Community the quality and speed with which RapidEye can complete such a mission.”

RapidEye will deliver 39 full country coverages over Europe in varying resolutions. ESA has requested a delivery time line for the project which calls for one third of Europe by November this year and complete delivery by the end of 2012.

For more information about ESA, visit www.esa.int

~~~

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 amassed 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 a natural choice for many industries and government agencies. RapidEye: Delivering the World. www.rapideye.de.

RapidEye Contact
Kim Douglass, Communications Manager
Molkenmarkt 30
14776 Brandenburg a. d. Havel, Germany
press@rapideye.de

Other resources
Spacenews

RapidEye’s EyeFind tool provides online viewing access to the complete RapidEye archive of Earth Obersvation imagery.

EyeFind allows for quick and easy browsing of images collected by the RapidEye constellation satellites over a defined area of interest.

Users can browse RapidEye’s rapidly growing archive based on date, cloud cover and product type. Advanced options allow for parameters to be entered on a map or for a shape file to be uploaded outlining an area of interest.

EyeFind gives you access to over 2.5 BILLION* square kilometers of earth.

Once the desired images have been located, an inquiry can be sent to RapidEye through EyeFind for a quote on price and an estimated delivery time. RapidEye invites you to try EyeFind for yourself for all of your imagery inquiries. EyeFind can be accessed at http://eyefind.rapideye.net

Amount of RapidEye imagery collected between February 2009 and October 2011

The SPOT/VEGETATION programme is the result of a space collaboration between various European partners: Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden and the European Commission.
The programme consists of two optical multispectral instruments in orbit, VEGETATION 1 and VEGETATION 2, respectively launched in 1998 and 2002, as well as the necessary ground infrastructures.

In 2013 the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), will have been hosting the user segment of both SPOT-VEGETATION instruments uninterruptedly for 15 years.

This activity includes the continuous processing, correction, archiving and distribution of the VEGETATION data and added-value products to scientific and commercial customers.

Obviously we will not let the occasion of this 15th anniversary pass unnoticed …. We will, amongst other activities, organize a contest to employ a PhD student at our Institute to work on the extensive VEGETATION (VGT)-archive for a 4-year period. Since VITO, as part of an industrial consortium, is developing the user segment of the ESA PROBA VEGETATION (PROBA-V) mission, methods or improved products based on PROBA-V can also be part of the PhD research. The PROBA-V context is however not a prerequisite. The PhD candidate selected in this contest will be fully funded by VITO. The research will be conducted in close cooperation with a University, which will also act as promotor of the PhD thesis, whereas the Scientific Coordinator of the Remote Sensing Unit (TAP) at VITO will act as co-promotor. Please find more information, as well as a link to the application form, at:

www.spot-vegetation.com

A tentative timeline for the contest described is as follows:
• September 2011: Publication of the announcement of opportunity
• December 2011: Deadline for proposal submission
• March 2012: Contractual issues and start of the PhD activities at VITO
• By mutual arrangement: start of the PhD

Taking part in this contest is exclusively possible via the VGT website. The process is self-explanatory, but if in doubt, please contact the VGT helpdesk at helpdesk@vgt.vito.be

The VEGETATION Team.

Requirements and examples of products for analysis at a European and regional level

Geoland2 project aims at developing and demonstrating a range of reliable, affordable and cost efficient European geo-information services, supporting the implementation of European Directives and their National implementation, as well as European and International policies.

Planetek Italia and ISPRA promote a workshop dedicated to the dissemination of some of the Geoland2 activities as well as to related projects legacy over the Italian territory. A special emphasis will be placed in the description of the 5 High Resolution layers (HR): Imperviousness, Water Bodies, Wetland, Agricultural and Forests. The key aspect is to present a realistic and convincing overview where HR layers may support environmental reporting, together with examples of how the HR-layers can be used for CORINE LC update. The focus should be on the regional/national usage of the data – not only for pan-European analysis.

The workshop wants to stimulate and promote the debate around new land monitoring techniques based on Earth Observation data, and how this can create new opportunities for Public Administrations.

This workshop wants to represent an opportunity to discuss other approaches for land monitoring and spatial information analysis across Europe. The format of this workshop is similar to other initiatives with a common objective to raise user awareness across Europe with regards to the use of the 5 HR layers for which Geoland2 contributed substantially for the prototype development.

GeoLand2 will be presented next 16th November 16-18, 2011 during the XV Italian Conference ASITA.

LINKS
Official website GMES-Geoland
Project Description
Event information and subscriptions