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The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is set to re-launch a modified version of its open online course known as ‘Monitoring the Oceans from Space’ next week.

The course has been funded by the European Union (EU) and aims to teach how satellites contribute to a better understanding of the world’s oceans, which currently cover 70% of the Earth’s surface.

It will be provided free of charge and intends to explain the role of satellites in monitoring the influence of global oceans on weather systems and climate.

EUMETSAT training manager Dr Mark Higgins said: “Data from Earth observation satellites are crucial to efforts to better understand the health of our oceans because only satellites can give that truly global perspective.”

EUMETSAT is currently engaged in the daily operation of the Sentinel-3 satellite, as well as processing and disseminating the satellite’s marine data stream.

Sentinel-3 was launched last year and forms part of the EU’s environmental monitoring programme, Copernicus.

It has been providing additional Earth observation data for a greater understanding of the interaction the world’s oceans, as well as weather systems and climate activity.
“Data from Earth observation satellites are crucial to efforts to better understand the health of our oceans because only satellites can give that truly global perspective.”

Sentinel-3 also supplies data to the Copernicus Marine Environment Service, where experts interpret and distribute data relating to four key application areas, including marine resources, maritime safety, coastal and marine environment, and climate monitoring.

The Earth-related data provided by the satellite is free and open for use by everyone.

EUMETSAT notes that the recent devastations caused by hurricanes and the fluctuations of marine phytoplankton in the oceans, as well as the impact of sea surface temperature in the Pacific on Europe’s weather, are all interconnected via oceanic activity, despite having seemingly little in common.

The company also stated that a range of orbital Earth observation satellites are currently helping the people on Earth to identify and understand these phenomena better.

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(3 October 2017 – ESA) From the barren Sahara to lush jungles, the first high-resolution map classifying land cover types on the entire African continent has been released.

The map was created using a year’s worth of data from the Sentinel-2A satellite.

Africa Land Cover© ESA

At a resolution of 20 m per pixel, you can now explore African’s diverse landscapes from grasslands to croplands, water bodies to deserts

Land-cover mapping breaks down the different types of material on Earth’s surface. This information is important for understanding changes in land use, modelling climate change extent and impacts, conserving biodiversity and managing natural resources.

The map released this week comprises 180 000 Sentinel-2A images representing 90 terabytes captured between December 2015 and December 2016. Considering the size of the map – about six gigabytes – a web interface was developed to visualise the data.

The map was developed under ESA’s Climate Change Initiative (CCI) Land Cover project, and users are invited to provide their feedback on the new map through an online form.

“The prototype high-resolution land cover map at 20m over Africa is an impressive demonstration of the Sentinel-2A data availability and of the present capabilities for the processing of such huge volumes of data,” said Frédéric Achard from the Joint Research Centre. “The community dealing with land resources in Africa will surely look forward with great interest to this prototype and to its future development.”

ESA has been coordinating global land cover maps since 2002 through its GlobCover and CCI Land Cover projects at a resolution of 300 m. While the latest map of Africa is based on observations from one of the twin Sentinel-2 satellites, the launch of Sentinel-2B in March has put the possibility of a global map at 10 m within reach.

The pair of Sentinel-2 satellites offer ‘colour vision’ for Europe’s Copernicus programme. They each carry a multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands that can be used for agricultural and forestry practices and for helping manage food security. Satellite images can be used to determine various plant indices such as leaf area chlorophyll and water content.

The Working Group on Geospatial Information and Services for Disasters (WG-GISD) of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) has published a “Strategic Framework on Geospatial Information and Services for Disaster” to guide all stakeholders and partners in the management of geospatial information and services in all phases of disaster risk management.

The role of geospatial information has been widely recognized as an important aspect of all phases of disaster risk management (DRM). While calling on Member States to find solutions to improve availability and accessibility of geospatial information and services, the strategy document highlights the need for strengthening coordination and communication among stakeholders to ensure they are not collecting concurrent or inconsistent data.

The framework emphasizes sustainability, accessibility, complementarity and interoperability of geospatial information and aims to achieve the following outcome:

“The human, socioeconomic and environmental risks and impacts of disasters are prevented or reduced through the use of geospatial information and services”

In order to achieve this outcome, the document encourages Member States to make available and render accessible quality geospatial information and services in a timely and coordinated way to support decision-making and operations within and across all sectors and phases of DRM. Cooperation among stakeholders from governments, UN agencies, civil society, academia, the private sector and the media will be key in implementing the five priorities for action the Strategic Framework defines, which are outlined in detail in the graphic below.

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(Published Sep 28, 2017. by Nicolo’ Andreula and Fraser Thompson from AlphaBeta) With Google Maps, we’re committed to creating a rich, deep, and detailed understanding of the world. By digitizing and providing access to a wealth of information about the real world, we allow people to easily explore the world around them, provide tools for businesses to attract and connect with customers, power map and location experiences for third party apps and websites, and enable NGOs and governments to leverage our map and resources to tackle real-world challenges like urban planning or emergency response…

At AlphaBeta, we’re passionate about identifying the forces shaping global markets and developing practical plans to create prosperity and well-being. We believe that geospatial technology is one of these forces, which is why we recently undertook research, commissioned by Google, to evaluate the impact of digital maps and their underlying technologies.

We asked ourselves: what is the full value of digital maps for users? How is this technology affecting the broader economic environment? How can societies make the most out of it?

We used consumer surveys across 22 countries spanning six regions, and other estimation approaches (such as big data analysis of online job postings), and found that geospatial services make an impact in three key ways:

Consumer benefits

Maps help people move and shop in a faster and more efficient way. For example, not only do digital maps reduce travel time, they also help people save time on purchases by providing information like directions and product availability. By helping people plan routes in areas they aren’t familiar with, maps also improve public safety.

Business benefits

Maps help make small and large businesses more visible, productive and profitable. By providing useful facts such as store hours, contact information and reviews, maps help drive sales—particularly important for small businesses that may find potential new customers without incurring additional advertising costs. Geospatial services also play a strategic role in helping companies in sectors covering approximately three quarters of the world’s GDP raise revenues and/or diminish costs. For example, retail companies use digital maps for market research and to identify the most profitable locations for their network of stores.

Societal benefits

Finally, maps have positive spillover effects on the environment and societies around the world—for example, by creating jobs and reducing CO2 emissions through more efficient vehicle trips and easier identification of alternative transportation options. Geospatial technology can also play a role in emergencies—such as helping people prepare for a natural disaster by highlighting flood-risk areas.

The impact of geospatial services also varies from country to country—showing that there’s still room in many places to maximize the benefits of geospatial services for everyone. To do so, the geospatial industry, businesses, NGOs and governments in these areas will need to work together to promote, adopt and implement existing and new applications of geospatial technology.

To find out more, visit www.valueoftheweb.com.

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The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) organized a day-long consultation and user engagement workshop on collaborative development of agricultural drought monitoring services in Bangladesh on 17 August 2017. The event took place at the BARC campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The workshop was organized under the USAID-funded SERVIR-Hindu Kush Himalaya (SERVIR-HKH) initiative and the Climate Services for Resilient Development (CSRD) in South Asia partnership.

The workshop brought together key partners to discuss anticipated methods, work plans, and the user engagement process for the effective development and long-term sustainability of the agricultural drought monitoring service. The northern region of Bangladesh has been facing agricultural droughts. This can reduce the productivity of farming communities, especially where irrigation is not available. Climate change projections suggest a future decrease in precipitation in the dry season, with uncertainties for the spatial location of precipitation in the future monsoon season. Where farmers are unable to adapt, bottlenecks in crop productivity and increased livelihood vulnerability are likely to result.

During the inaugural session of the workshop, Muhammad Jalal Uddin, Executive Chairman of BARC said that the country’s agricultural institutions are committed to ending hunger and poverty. He added that with the adoption of improved agricultural practices, Bangladesh has become self-sufficient in rice, and that further work is needed to attain overall nutrition sufficiency. Jalal Uddin also discussed Bangladesh’s vision for 2030 and its strategy to realize the vision. Referring to the loss of life and property the ongoing flooding has caused, Jala Uddin emphasized on the need to adopt new technologies, including remote sensing applications, to improve the predictability of climate hazards, including floods and droughts. He also thanked the leadership at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) for their efforts in establishing the necessary climate services.

Shams Uddin Ahmed, Director of BMD, extended his full support to establishing agricultural climate services to benefit farmers in Bangladesh. He noted that recurrent droughts in parts of Bangladesh have caused severe groundwater depletion. Citing the case of the High Barind Tract, where groundwater accessibility is a growing concern due to continued drought, he shared that the government has posed restrictions on deep well extraction—allowing the practice only for drinking water extraction—to conserve crucial groundwater resources. He added that access to good quality drought monitoring and early warning information could help develop climate services that can be used to help farmers adapt to these challenges. As such, institutions involved in agro-meteorological prediction bear the responsibility of helping facilitate improved information flow and climate advisories to farmers across Bangladesh.

Timothy J Krupnik, Systems Agronomist with CIMMYT and Project Leader for CSRD in South Asia and Bangladesh, briefed the participants on the CSRD programme. He said that as an international public-private partnership dedicated to promoting and enabling climate services that increase farmers’ resilience to the impacts of climate variability and climate change, the programme can positively change behaviour and affect policy in developing countries.

Birendra Bajracharya, Regional Programme Manager, Mountain Environment Regional Information System (MENRIS) at ICIMOD, highlighted the opportunities earth observation data products present for addressing societal challenges. He emphasized that the user-centric “services” approach of the SERVIR-HKH initiative at ICIMOD is guided by the overarching goal of increasing the sustainable use of earth observation information and geospatial technologies for environmental management and improved resilience to climate change in the region.

Through CSRD and SERVIR-HKH, efforts are underway to strengthen existing or establish new drought monitoring and early warning systems by incorporating suitable earth observation datasets and linking them to information on local cropping systems in South Asia. The collaborators are working together to establish information communication technology (ICT)-based platforms for the provisioning of user oriented, easily accessible, timely, and decision-relevant scientific information in the form of climate services. Under this partnership, BARC is working to strengthen the capacities of national research and agricultural extension institutes in terms of using geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing approaches for drought risk management.

ICIMOD hosts the SERVIR-HKH hub and is part of a larger SERVIR network—a joint development initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). CSRD brings together public and private organizations and agencies committed to realizing the potential of enhancing climate resilience and climate-smart policies and practices throughout the world, particularly in developing countries. As a public-private partnership, CSRD is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK AID, the UK Met Office, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), ESRI, Google, the American Red Cross, and the Skoll Global Threats Fund.

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The new platform provides a wealth of information on key Earth Observation (EO) stakeholders from North Africa, Middle East and the Balkans.

The users can navigate through the profiles of stakeholders and be informed on the existing networks, capacities, skills, etc. in the combined region. Whilst the platform is primarily targeting stakeholders from the region, organisations from other countries are invited to become part of the network. Interested stakeholders can easily complete their profile by providing their credentials and filling in a quick survey. The survey is split in five main sections: Contact Details, Activity Focus, Capacities, National Activities, Engagement in GEO-CRADLE.

The platform offers an intuitive interface whereby visitors can browse the stakeholder profiles using three mechanisms: the map filters; the “search by keyword” option; and the advanced search page.

The map offers three filters “Country”, “Organisation Name” and “Thematic Area” and displays the results on the map. The search by keyword mechanism offers a quick search using one or more keywords separated by a comma. The Advanced search page contains 10 filters regarding the main questions in the GEO-CRADLE Survey in combination with a search by keyword mechanism on the top of the page, to add any other word of interest. The user can also browse all profiles from the “Profiles” tab. The “User Manual” is offered to help visitors understand how to exploit the searching-tools offered on the platform. Improvements to the functionalities and content of the platform will continue in the months to come.

Discover the networking platform (http://geocradle.eu/platform/) and make the most of this opportunity to network with key stakeholders in the region!

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The Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI) recently held an Industry Consultation Workshop on ‘Advanced Manufacturing Techniques for Space Instrumentation’

The round-table consultation brought together industry representatives from a range of sectors to discuss and provide input on market trends, challenges and opportunities that will inform CEOI’s strategy for the next generation of Earth observation / remote sensing instruments. The participants identified a wide range of opportunities and challenges in adopting Advanced Manufacturing Techniques (AMT) and this report synthesises the discussion and summarises the key points raised.

CEOI, funded by the UK Space Agency, supports innovative research in Earth observation instrumentation and technologies. Further information is available at http://ceoi.ac.uk/.

Download the final summary report

WINDHOEK, July 4 (Xinhua) — Namibia’s University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Airbus will meet on Wednesday with national Space Data Centre stakeholders to explore the benefits of Earth observation solutions and use of collaborative Virtual Space Data Centre for Namibia.

Sub-Sahara Africa, spokesman for Airbus, Linden Birns, on Tuesday said this workshop in Windhoek follows an agreement between NUST and Airbus in Feb. 2017 to collaborate in establishing a Virtual Space Data Centre, to be hosted by the university to assist the country in monitoring and growing key elements of its economy.

“Namibia is a key market for Airbus in Sub-Sahara Africa and this initial project is a starting point for a broader relationship with our partners at the NUST and the Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Innovation, which will include other aerospace themes,” said Head of Airbus Defence and Space for Africa, Middle East, France and UK, Jean-Marc Nasr.

Meanwhile, the Namibian government has delegated NUST to host the country’s Institute for Space Technology and mandated it to implement the Virtual Space Data Centre as part of its strategic plan for developing the country’s aerospace, geo-information, earth observation and spatial science capabilities.

Airbus is a global leader in aerospace technology and geo-information with access to Earth observation satellite imagery and expertise and space data is widely used by governments, research institutes, businesses and various other organizations around the world in a number of fields.

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Three radar images were acquired by the Sentinel-2A satellite on April 12, 2017 , May 19, before and on June 21, 2017 after the Amyntaio (Anargyroi) landslide in western Macedonia (Greece) on June 10, 2017. S2A images processed through NDVI classification with their spatial resolution is 10 metres. Compasion of the three images show the progress of the landslide that occurred in the region of the active Amyntaio Anargyroi lignite mine of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) of Greece (Ganas, A. 2017). According to official reports the landslide area was about 3.3 square kilometres. Through normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) classification of the three dates, detection of land cover change was observed. The main body of landslide was clearly identified due to neighboring of different land use areas mainly mining and agricultural activities.

Satellite images before the landslide

After the landslide

NDVI Comparison between 2 dates

Authors: Krassakis Pavlos MSc geologist / GIS Specialist and Kazana Stavroula MSc geologist

7 July 2017. Rezatec is working with the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and UK Space Agency to establish how common threats to forests can be detected and addressed to mitigate risk to valuable tree stock.

Through the Space Applications for Precision Plant Health Information, Response & Evaluation project, funded by the UK Space Agency’s Space for Smarter Government Program (SSGP), DEFRA’s Plant Health team used Rezatec’s geospatial forestry intelligence products to generate an understanding of how Earth Observation (EO) technology can be used to address the challenges posed by tree pests and diseases.

Rezatec is also working closely with Forestry Corporation New South Wales (FCNSW) in Australia to enrich its existing forestry datasets with derived tree type mapping to help the organization understand its forested land assets and support strategic decision making.

“Forestry Corporation NSW manages 2.2 million hectares of state forest across New South Wales. Remotely sensed data is an important forest management tool and combining this with accurately located plot information provides an opportunity to add value to this data. Given the complexity of eucalypt forests this is a difficult task. But FCNSW is watching, with interest, the modeling approach being trialed by Rezatec, and has provided plot data to assist with the model development phase, which is an important first step in getting cost effective, current and consistent information about the forest estate,” stated Mike Sutton, manager of forest information and planning at FCNSW.

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