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The Indian Space research Organisation (Isro) has appointed V S Hegde as the full time chairman and managing director of its marketing wing, Antrix Corporation, in a bid to boost its commercialisation drive.

V S Hegde Hegde was Isro’s scientific secretary since January 2010. He was also involved in earth observation satellite (EOS) programmes in his earlier assignments.

V Koteswara Rao has been appointed the scientific secretary of Isro, while H N Madhusudana was appointed the associate scientific secretary.

“This restructuring would ensure the right kind of sharing and allocation of resources for Antrix. We hope the commercial wing would scale new heights under the present leadership,” said Isro Chairman K Radhakrishnan.

Antrix, which was established in 1992, has a mandate to promote and exploit the commercial prospects of space products. It is also engaged in technical consultancy services, along with the transfer of technologies from Isro to various user groups.

“We will look at venturing into a value-creation role from the current value-transfer role of our commercial wing. That would be beneficial for non-space applications,” Radhakrishnan said.

Under the current managerial arrangement, the board will comprise Isro scientists and academic experts, along with people from the industry who would chalk out the strategic moves for Antrix. Along with the board, there would also be a coordination management committee, comprising a few senior Isro directors the chairman and managing director of Antrix. The committee would determine the future direction for this wing.

“While the global space market is pegged at $160 billion, Antrix’s current share is just $200 million. So, there is tremendous scope for us to leverage Isro’s capabilities in the near future,” said V S Hegde.

Hegde, who is also the founder-director of Karnataka Space Remote Sensing Centre and vice-president of International Astronautical Federation, said, “There is huge demand for transponders from various countries and currently, we are not able to cater to the demand. So ,we will ensure that Antrix is able to provide enough transponders on lease in the coming years.”

Antrix had reported revenue of around Rs 1,025 crore in 2010-11, 16 per cent higher over the same period last year. The bulk of its business comes from leasing out transponders, and this contributes around 70 per cent of the total turnover. The remaining is accounted for by satellite services, including satellite launches.

Source

(June2011) ST Engineering has established ST Electronics (Satellite Systems) Pte. Ltd., a joint venture (JV) company with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and DSO National Laboratories (DSO).

The JV company will design, develop and produce advanced Earth Observation (EO) satellites. ST Engineering’s stake in the JV company is 51 percent, held through ST Electronics’ wholly owned subsidiary, ST Electronics (Satcom & Sensor Systems) Pte. Ltd., while DSO and NTU own 33 percent and 16 percent, respectively. ST Electronics is the electronics arm of ST Engineering. The set-up of the new subsidiary is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of ST Engineering for the current financial year.

ST Electronics views the EO satellite segment as a new and complementary addition to its existing satellite communications and sensor systems business. This new JV company will enable ST Electronics to offer a more comprehensive suite of satellite and earth observation solutions and services to its customers. The estblishment of ST Electronics (Satellite Systems) marks a major milestone in the development of an indigenous high-tech satellite industry. The company will leverage the research and engineering competencies of both DSO and NTU to undertake research, development and manufacturing of products and services for advanced earth observation satellites. Together with the system development expertise and global marketing reach of ST Electronics, the JV will develop satellite technologies in Singapore and take these into the global market.

Source

The Space Shuttle Endeavour was launched on 11 February 2000 for the “Shuttle Radar Topography Mission” (SRTM). When Endeavour returned eleven days later, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) had obtained high-precision mapping data for more than 113 million square kilometres of the Earth from an altitude of about 230 kilometres, forming the basis for what became known as the “Map of the 21st Century”.

The X-band DEMs from the SRTM mission can be now downloaded free of charge by registering with EOWEB.

The radar images provided a representation of Earth’s surface viewed from two different positions, enabling researchers at DLR’s German Remote Sensing Data Center (Deutsches Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum; DFZ) to derive a precise Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the surface of the Earth. The SRTM was not just a milestone in terms of high-precision mapping of the Earth from space, but also the precursor to and a test for the current TanDEM-X mission, which involves two identical German radar satellites orbiting Earth in formation to record a comprehensive and even more precise DEM that is scheduled for completion in 2013.

More information and SRTM images are available at DLR

“Source”: GMES.Info

7th June 2011


In this Issue
1. EC Communication sets out priorities for the future EU space policy
2. Infringement procedures related to river basin plans
3. Council conclusions on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region
4. JRC-IPSC develops a new Tsunami Alerting Device
5. Council conclusions on EU Integrated Flood Management
6. JRC and Kyoto University strengthen cooperation to reduce disasters risk
7. GMES Masters Innovation Competition launched
8. “Forest and biomass management using satellite information and services”
9. Commission’s workshop on tsunami and earthquake risks
10. Agreement to provide information on land cover under GMES
11. The Council adopts conclusions on a space strategy for the EU
GMES Project Corner:
12. MACC Conference: Monitoring and Forecasting Atmospheric Composition
13. Activations of the GMES Emergency Management Service

1. EC Communication Sets out Priorities for the Future EU Space Policy

On 4 April 2011, the European Commission presented a Communication as a first step of an integrated space policy to be developed with the new legal basis provided by the Lisbon Treaty. Indeed, article 189 gives the European Union an explicit role in designing a policy for the exploration and exploitation of space in order “to promote scientific and technical progress, industrial competitiveness and the implementation of its policies”. Furthermore, space policy is a key element of Europe 2020 strategy and an integral part of the industrial policy flagship initiative. It supports the objectives of a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy by creating high-skilled jobs, commercial opportunities, boosting innovation and improving citizens’ well-being and security.

Read More…

2. Infringement Procedures Related to River Basin Plans

On 6 April 2011 the European Commission announced that it would take four Member States (Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Portugal) to the EU Court of Justice for failing to comply with EU water legislation and submit their river basin plans. All public consultations should have started in December 2008 and the plans adopted by 22 December 2009 at the latest. These plans are essential for achieving the EU’s objective of “good status” for European waters by 2015; if delayed, they could mean a failure to deliver the water quality required.

Read More…

3. Council Conclusions on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region

At a General Affairs Council meeting on 13 April 2011, the Council endorsed the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region, taking note of the annexed Action Plan that was elaborated by the European Commission on the basis of a consultation with the Member States, third countries and other stakeholders. The Council stressed that the implementation of the strategy should be launched without delay and agreed that a governance structure for its implementation and follow-up is required, therefore encouraging the EU Member States concerned, in particular their National Contact Points and their Priority Area Coordinators, to facilitate the start of the implementation.

Read More…

4. JRC-IPSC Develops a New Tsunami Alerting Device

The Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC), which is one of the seven institutes of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), has developed a new Tsunami Alerting Device (TAD). Its capacity to directly and timely alert people at risk on coastal areas represents a major step forward towards the creation of effective tsunami early warning systems. On 20 April 2011 began the testing of the device in Setubal (Portugal), in collaboration with the local Civil Protection Authorities.

Read More…

5. Council Conclusions on EU Integrated Flood Management

At a Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 12 May 2011 in Brussels, the Council of the European Union adopted conclusions on Integrated Flood Management within the European Union. Among other measures, the Council calls on Member States to promote the use of available alert systems such as EFAS (European Flood Alert System) and the GMES ERS (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security Emergency Response Service) to improve, together with other forecasting models, early warning for the citizens.

Read More…

6. JRC and Kyoto University Strengthen Cooperation to Reduce Disasters Risk

In May 2011 an agreement was signed between the Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC) – one of the institutes of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) – and the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) of Kyoto University. Their objective is to step up co-operation aimed at limiting the impact of natural disasters on the population and on critical infrastructures.

Read More…

7. GMES Masters Innovation Competition Launched

On 18 May 2011 the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) Masters contract was signed by Jean-Jacques Dordain – Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA)–, Martin Zeil – Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs– and Thorsten Rudolph– Chief Executive Officer of “Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen” (AZO)–. The GMES Masters innovation competition will encourage European researchers and entrepreneurs to develop market-focused applications from data gathered through the EU-led GMES programme.

Read More…

8. “Forest and Biomass Management Using Satellite Information and Services”

Eurisy (a European Non-profit Association Bridging Space and Society) has recently published a report entitled “Forest and biomass management using satellite information and services”, which is an introduction for local and regional authorities, and forestry professionals. This document is part of Eurisy’s collaboration with the consortium of regional authorities involved in MORE4NRG, an INTERREG IVC project aiming to favour the exchange of good practice and experience on the topic of sustainable energy.

Read More…

9. Commission’s Workshop on Tsunami and Earthquake Risks

On 20 May 2011, the European Commission (Directorate-General for Research and Innovation) held in Brussels a workshop under the theme “Tsunami risks in Europe – Research Achievements and Future Perspectives”. Six innovative EU-funded projects (to the amount of EUR 16.25 million) presented their work in areas such as risk assessment, new early warning systems and rapid response protocols. Other EU initiatives were also represented: GDACS (Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System), coordinated by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, and the Emergency Management Service, currently in preparation under the European GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) programme. The workshop provided experts with an excellent opportunity to exchange views on the main research findings and to identify areas where more research is needed.

Read More…

10. Agreement to Provide Information on Land Cover Under GMES

On 25 May 2011 and on the occasion of a Green Week event in Brussels, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission signed an agreement to provide detailed information on land cover in Europe, under the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme. The EEA will manage a EUR 20 million budget over the period 2011-2013 to coordinate technical implementation of the continental and local GMES land monitoring services.

Read More…

11. The Council Adopts Conclusions on a Space Strategy for the EU

On 31 May 2011, the Competitiveness (internal market, industry, research and space) committee of the Council of the European Union adopted conclusions “Towards a space strategy for the EU that benefits its citizens”. As far as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) is concerned, the Council reaffirms the need for the European Commission to ensure a quick and effective implementation of the programme by 2014, in partnership with the Member States, recalling the role of the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and other organizations, as appropriate, in respect to GMES.

Read More…

GMES Projects’ Corner

12. MACC Conference: Monitoring and Forecasting Atmospheric Composition

The EC-funded project MACC (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition & Climate) is implementing the pre-operational version of the GMES Atmosphere Monitoring Service. An accurate monitoring of the depletion of the ozone layer in March and an improvement of aerosol forecasts are part of the recent achievements of the project.

Read More…

13. Activations of the GMES Emergency Management Service

The GMES Emergency Management Service powered by the EC-funded project SAFER (Services and Applications for Emergency Response) reinforces the European capacity to respond to emergency situations: it provides a reactive cartographic service to the registered users involved in the management of humanitarian crisis, natural disasters and man-made emergency situations with timely and high quality products derived from Space Observation. During the last two months (April-May 2011), this service has been triggered several times due to fires in Bulgaria, Belgium and The Netherlands as well as an earthquake in Spain.

Read More…

(Source GMES.Info)

Fish farming is the world’s fastest growing food production method and is projected to continue rising to meet the demands of an increasing world population. ESA’s new Aquaculture project will support sustainable aquaculture by developing an information service based on state-of-the-art remote sensing.

Satellites can provide a wealth of data on waves, sea-surface temperature and ocean colour – all highly useful for planning where to establish new fish farms.

“Sustainability depends on knowledge of the environment to draw useful conclusions for aquaculture,” said Juan Pablo Belmar from the Chilean Under-Secretariat of Fisheries.

“It is clear that remote sensing is one of the most useful tools for providing this knowledge.”

The environmental impact of new sites can be determined by comparing satellite-based water quality data from different periods. Satellite data can also play a key role in protecting farmed shellfish and finfish.

Phytoplankton blooms are common and usually harmless. But in some cases they reduce oxygen levels in water by preventing gas exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, by blocking the light needed for other oxygen-producing algae below, and when decomposing.

These harmful algal blooms have devastating effects on farmed fish, which are unable to move into better-oxygenated stretches of water.

Some algae contain toxins that accumulate in the body tissue of shellfish and pose serious health risks for humans.

Satellites can warn of potential harmful algal development by identifying the conditions, such as sediment flows or pollution run-off, that might promote their growth.

Once a bloom begins, ocean colour sensors can map its extension and monitor its evolution.

chile,“There are great opportunities for using this type of technology to control aquaculture activities and monitor the surrounding environment both for sustainability and warnings of algae and jellyfish ‘attacks’,” said Ingrid Lundamo from Marine Harvest Norway. Marine Harvest is the world’s largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon.

Satellite data can also be fed into models simulating the spread of parasites and disease in farmed fish stocks.

Diseases can devastate fish stocks: the production from Chile’s salmon farms fell from 400 000 tonnes in 2005 to 100 000 tonnes in 2010 as a result of infectious salmon anemia.

These models can help to reduce the risk of contamination between production sites by improving site selection and supporting measures to protect the farmed fish.

To fine-tune the requirements of the project’s potential users and to identify the types of satellite data needed, ESA organised a meeting last month with 35 potential users and experts in remote sensing applications.

The Aquaculture project will develop and demonstrate products and services tailored to the needs of the marine aquaculture sector, involving users from industry and from public administrations in Europe and developing countries.

Source

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) seeks public comment on the candidate standard “Earth Observation Metadata profile of the OGC Observations and Measurements Standard.”

The Earth Observation (EO) profile of Observations and Measurements is intended to provide a standard schema for encoding Earth Observation metadata to support the description and cataloguing of products from sensors aboard EO satellites.

This second version of the Earth Observation metadata profile is based on Observations and Measurements, an OGC and ISO standard used in several communities. For example, O&M is used as a basis for the application schemas in several draft INSPIRE Annex II+III data specifications.

The metadata elements defined in this candidate standard are applicable for use in catalogues and applications, including various EO cataloguing applications based on OGC standards like the ebRIM Application Profile of the OGC Catalog Services – Web (CS-W) Interface Standard.

EO products are differentiated by parameters such as date of acquisition and location as well as characteristics pertaining to the type of sensor, such as cloud, haze, smoke or other phenomena obscuring optical imagery. Metadata used to distinguish EO product types are defined in this candidate standard for generic products and also for specific thematic EO products, such as optical, radar, atmospheric, altimetry, limb-looking and synthesized products. In addition, this document describes the mechanism used to extend these schemas to specific EO missions.

The candidate OGC Earth Observation Metadata profile of Observations & Measurements Standard document is available for review and comment at http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/requests/77

The OGC is an international consortium of more than 415 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC Standards support interoperable solutions that “geo-enable” the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC Standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org

Source

Managing Biodiversity, Cultural Heritage and the Movement of People in Norfolk County: How Satellite Services Can Help


Norfolk County Case-Study Recommendations

This report is an introduction to how the actors of a regional authority – in this case Norfolk County Council – can use satellite applications to promote and protect natural and cultural heritage, and tackle the challenges of climate change locally.

As a case-study, its focus is on analysing and defining local needs, before matching them with practical recommendations from satellite application experts. This means that regional and local authorities, who are faced with similar challenges, can seek inspiration from their peers as to how to organise themselves to implement and use these innovative solutions.

The report is the outcome of the case-study workshop hosted by Norfolk County Council in Norwich on the 20 January 2011.

Eurisy is grateful to Norfolk County Council, Coast Alive! and the experts involved for making this possible.

DONWNLOAD

(Source Eurisy)

On 21 June 2011, the first sea-ice thickness map of the Arctic was presented by the European Space Agency (ESA) at the Paris Air and Space Show. ESA’s CryoSat mission has spent the last seven months delivering precise measurements to determine changes in the thickness of Earth’s ice, which is necessary to fully understand how climate change is affecting the fragile polar regions.

CryoSat measures the height of the sea ice above the water line, known as the “freeboard”, to calculate the thickness. The measurements used to generate this first map of the Arctic were from January and February 2011, as the ice approaches its annual maximum. The data are exceptionally detailed and considerably better than the mission’s specification. They even show lineations in the central Arctic that reflect the ice’s response to wind stress.

A new map of Antarctica has also been created showing the height of the ice sheet. In addition, detail of edges of the ice sheet where it meets the ocean can now be closely monitored thanks to CryoSat’s sophisticated radar techniques. This is important because this is where changes are occuring.

Further information can be found at ESA

Source GMES.Info

Over the last two years the European Space Agency (ESA) has been funding a project aiming to establish a ‘service concept’ based upon satellite Earth Observation (EO) technologies that could be applied to monitoring of CO2 capture and storage facilities.

Fugro NPA One of the biggest challenges facing the CCS industry is demonstrating that CO2 capture and storage is safe, effective and can be achieved at industrial scale at a competi­tive cost.

The establishment of test sites in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and elsewhere indicates a growing need to address the lack of existing infrastructure currently in place to capture CO2 from industrial and power generation plants and store it in underground reservoirs available in the form of previously exploited oil and gas fields or other alternative storage sites/technologies.

Over the last two years the European Space Agency (ESA) has been funding a project aiming to establish a ‘service concept’ based upon satellite Earth Observation (EO) technologies that could be applied to industry and government, and that would support the establishment and monitoring of CO2 capture and storage facilities as part of future emissions-reduction and carbon-trading initiatives.

Project participants included: SciSys UK (lead), a company which has worked in all aspects of the space industry for many years from ground stations to on-board satellite software, Fugro NPA Ltd (UK), an acknowledged world leader in EO and specifically terrain-motion mapping from space, TNO, the largest fully independent research, development and consultancy organisation in the Netherlands, the British Geological Survey who are actively involved in the monitoring of many of the CCS sites, and AEA Technology, whose role was to provide user consultants and expose service concepts to key stakeholders within the industry.

Current Capabilities in EO

A wide range of EO application services were considered in the project, including terrain-motion measurement, geological modelling, gravimetry, pipeline monitoring, land cover and ecosystem monitoring, vessel-tracking, sea-state forecasting, intelligent in situ sensor webs, real-time telemetry and monitoring of complex systems.

Conventional EO-based geological mapping is regarded as a routine tool used by most oil and gas producers when exploring for new reserves, planning surveys and establishing baselines for the monitoring of sites. However its wider application to CCS may not be relevant as most if not all CO2 to be stored is envisaged as filling existing, commercially depleted reservoirs where the geology has been largely determined during the discovery phase.

Ecosystem analysis to detect indications of vegetation stress linked to gas seepage and other factors is reasonably well developed using EO techniques and data sources available today, although not necessarily at resolutions always applicable to specific CCS sites. One of the research areas of CO2GeoNet (a non-profit association joining together 13 partners spanning 7 European countries

(www.co2geonet.com) is that of testing remote sensing monitoring technologies for potential CO2 leaks. Work has been carried out in an area near the town of Latera in Lazio, Italy. This geothermal area, in a collapsed volcanic caldera, has long been known to have natural gas leaks and as such acts as a natural analogue to a leaking geological store of CO2. Since 2005 the indirect detection of CO2 via its effect on vegetation health has been studied using airborne multispectral and hyperspectral sensors in the visible, near and thermal infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (Bateson, et al 2008). Methodologies developed have been extrapolated to the lower spatial resolution of satellite based sensors to investigate their use.

Pipeline routing and monitoring are well established remote sensing techniques but are normally aircraft and/or GPS-based. Pipeline monitoring can be accomplished using time-sequence aerial photography. Analysis of temporal change in the vicinity of the pipeline can provide information on nearby hazards such as landslides.

Terrain-motion

Many potential storage sites are depleted oil or gas reservoirs which implicitly have already been mapped in minute detail, the project concluded that monitoring applications were of most interest, and the most relevant of these was terrain-motion mapping using Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry, or InSAR for short. The rest of this article, therefore, focuses on applications of InSAR for CCS.

InSAR technology is already widely used in the oil and gas industry to measure the integrity and optimise the productivity of onshore reservoirs. Depending on target characteristics and the temporal distribution of SAR data used, relative accuracies of better than 1mm displacement can routinely be achieved. When this accuracy is combined with the wide-area coverage that characterises satellite EO, a unique and valuable tool is provided with many applications, one of which can be the monitoring of terrain-motions related to CCS life-cycle, e.g.

1. CCS site characterisation, i.e. tectonic setting: InSAR can represent a useful tool in the provision of synoptic maps of crustal deformation relating to tectonics, e.g. fault-mapping and dynamics, of obvious concern to those positioning permanent subterranean reservoirs of potentially hazardous gases.

2. Transportation, i.e. pipeline routing and integrity monitoring: Besides monitoring general terrain-deformation, the main use for InSAR in this area is landslide mapping where potential slides might mean a re-routing of a proposed new pipeline, or for the risk management of slopes carrying an existing infrastructure.

3. Analyses of plume migration as a surface expression: In some circumstances, InSAR can be used to map CO2 migration through the reservoir as an expression of surface terrain deformation.

4. CCS-injection-facility integrity monitoring: InSAR can be used to access the general, relative stability of a CCS pumping facility, e.g. effects of differential subsidence could lead to leaks and blowouts.

Note that appropriate SAR data availability for ongoing monitoring is assured by several different missions, not least ESA’s Sentinel 1a and 1b radar satellites, due for launch next year as part of Europe’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security initiative (www.gmes.info), which will provide continuity to the invaluable SAR data archive already established since 1991.

Satellite InSAR

Since 1991, European Space Agency satellites (ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat) carrying Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments have been consistently acquiring data across the world, establishing an archive of over 1.5 million images. These systems have since been augmented by a number of other SAR satellites operated by a other agencies (in particular the Canadian, German, Italian and Japanese space agencies), providing yet further opportunity for analyses. SAR images contain information about the position of the terrain at the time of image acquisition. As subsequent images are acquired over the same location they can be compared and used to map relative terrain-motion. This principal forms the basis of InSAR.

A range of InSAR techniques have been developed to extract optimal information from SAR imagery. Of particular importance for the CCS industry is a hybrid technique known as Persistent Scatterer InSAR (PSI). PSI allows relative sub-millimetric measurements to be made against individual, radar-reflective terrain-features that provide a persistent response in each SAR image. These ‘persistent scatterers’ (or ‘virtual GPS points’) generally correspond to parts of man-made structures, though they can also include bare rocks and outcrops. They act as persistent scatterers because of their serendipitous geometry, surface-roughness and electrical conductivity. The exact location of persistent scatterers cannot, therefore, be accurately predicted in advance of processing, but over urban areas their densities are usually measured in the hundreds per square kilometre (thousands with the latest high-resolution SAR imagery). The unique products derived from PSI include average annual motion maps and the motion history of individual scatterers, both covering the time-span of the dataset used, e.g. 1992 to the present day. The capability of PSI allows users to uniquely interrogate historical information (although PSI can also be used for up-to-date monitoring campaigns), an ability not possible with conventional surveying methods. The PSI technique was rigorously validated during a specific campaign over sites in the Netherlands during Stage 2 of the ESA Global Monitoring for Environment & Security (GMES) project Terrafirma, and is now widely used by dozens of national geoscience organisations across Europe.

The idea of using InSAR for the monitoring of CCS reservoirs first evolved from results obtained monitoring the inverse, i.e. gas and oil production where depletion of certain reservoirs cause a surface expression of subsidence. Such measurements proved to be of use to practitioners in understanding ‘compaction-drive’ and fluid dynamics. It was a natural progression to apply similar techniques to the reverse, to the injection of fluids into reservoirs, where the natural elasticity of the cap rock would heave in sympathy with increased reservoir pressure.

Case study: In Salah CCS Project, Algeria

In Salah is a world leading industrial scale CCS project located in central Algeria. The project, a joint venture initiative between BP, Sonatrach and Statoil, has been in operation since 2004. CO2 is separated from natural gas produced from three fields of Krechba, Reg, and Teguentour (Onumaa & Ohkawa 2008) and is re-injected into the Krechba Carboniferous Sandstone reservoir via three long (1,500m) horizontal wells at a depth of around 1,900m.

In 2005 a Joint Industry Project was set up to monitor the CO2 storage process using a variety of geochemical, geophysical and production techniques over an initial 5 year period (Mathieson, Midgely, Wright, Saoula & Ringrose 2010). InSAR has been used to better understand the impact of gas production and CO2 injection on the terrain, and provide a deeper understanding of reservoir characteristics.

Fugro NPA Ltd have carried out a proprietary study of the impact of In Salah production/storage activities on the regional terrain using PSI. The quantity of satellite SAR imagery archived and available across the Krechba field, as well as the local ground cover conditions (dry, vegetation-free rocky desert) were key prerequisites for the application of PSI to this area.

PSI was undertaken using 50 archived SAR images (acquired by ESA’s Envisat satellite), spanning a 7 year period (July 2003 to September 2010). High densities of measurement points, 406 per km2, were observed across the reservoir. PSI was successful in identifying four domains of terrain motion. Mapping these features against well locations highlights a correlation, along a northwest axis, with natural gas production (subsidence), enveloped to the north and east by three smaller domains of motion that relate to CO2 injection (heave). Subsidence rates along the axis KB-CA/CB/CC/CE approximate -2.9 mm/year, as opposed to +4.7mm/year at heave locations KB-501/502/503. The match between terrain deformation and evidence from subsurface data for the movement of CO2in the reservoir is intriguing. If PSI data can be calibrated against aspects of the injection dynamics, then the opportunity exists in certain circumstances for the remote monitoring of CO2 movement in the subsurface (Mathieson, Wright, Roberts & Ringrose 2008).

Elsewhere, PSI has been used to measure terrain heave associated with a gas storage facility located in the western region of Berlin, Germany. PSI was used to enhance measurements derived from ground levelling campaigns which, although highly accurate, only provide readings over a coarse network of measurements and are inherently time consuming and costly. PSI was integrated into the study with great success; movement correlated well with an increase in borehole head pressures resulting from gas injection. It was determined that PSI can be used effectively to monitor the initial phases of gas storage operations (Kuehn, Hoth, Stark, Burren & Hole 2009).

Conclusions

This article has provided a brief snapshot of the work done in a European Space Agency project looking at the potential for satellite EO technologies in application to CCS. A wide array of EO technologies were considered and although many might ultimately prove useful, the main potential is thought to be offered by satellite SAR interferometry where terrain-motion-measuring techniques can be applied to all stages of the CCS life-cycle. It is also clear, however, given the prevailing public scepticism and suspicions of CCS as a concept, particularly if sited onshore and near populations, that the current focus is more on public relations than the analysis of state-of-the-art monitoring technologies. It is good to know, though, that, if and when required, satellite EO can offer cost-effective, non-invasive tools that match the cutting-edge nature of CCS.

References

Mathieson, A., Midgely J., Wright I., Saoula N., Ringrose P. 2010. In Salah CO2 Storage JIP: CO2 sequestration monitoring and verification technologies applied at Krechba, Algeria. GHGT-10, Energy Procedia 00 (2010) 1063-00

Onumaa T. & Ohkawab S. 2008. Detection of surface deformation related with CO2 injection by DInSAR at In Salah, Algeria. GHGT-9, Energy Procedia 00 (2008) 000–000

Mathieson A., Wright I., Roberts D., Ringrose P. 2008. Satellite Imaging to Monitor CO2 Movement at Krechba, Algeria. GHGT-9, Energy Procedia 00 (2008) 000–000

Kuehn F., Hoth P., stark M., Burren R. & Hole J. 2009. Experience with Satellite Radar for Gas Storage Monitoring. Erdöl Erdgas Kohle 125. Jg. 2009, Heft 11

Authors

Adam Thomas and Ren Capes. PSI processing by Harry McCormack and Alex Fairbarns (Fugro NPA Ltd).
Fugro NPA
ESA

By Adam Thomas and Ren Capes,
CarbonCaptureJorunal

Probably no-one worries more about the practical effects of climate change and natural disasters than insurance company executives and, in particular, those in the reinsurance industry – the companies that insure the insurers. These managers need to base their policies and premiums on cogent analyses of risk but the information that underlies their decisions is often difficult to obtain or non-existent. In short, they lack “environmental intelligence”.

Carl Hedde, a senior executive with Munich Reinsurance’s American branch, outlined the state of play at a forum on creating a national strategy for environmental intelligence held in Washington DC, US, last week. Among his duties, Hedde chairs a group of 35 geoscientists who seek to anticipate factors such as the extent of insured losses resulting from hurricanes in the US each year.

The problem is getting worse, Hedde said, reciting a litany of disasters that have befallen the US alone already this year: blizzards in the north-east, floods in the mid-west, fires in the west, strong tornadoes in both usual and unusual areas. Munich Re maintains an enormous database on catastrophic losses to help spot trends and anomalies, explained Hedde. Over the last 40 years, North America has accounted for over half of insured losses due to natural disasters worldwide, according to company data. Eight of the 11 worst global disasters since 1950 occurred in North America, with Hurricane Katrina at the top of the list.

Hedde must estimate his company’s risk accumulation; that is, does it have the resources to cover its clients’ losses in worst-case scenarios? “One of our frustrations,” he said, “is that we need data to be able to convince the insurance departments that this” – the continuing upward trend of natural disasters as the climate warms – “is a phenomenon that is actually happening.”

Other speakers also emphasized the need for more environmental data than current satellites and ground-based stations provide. One of the problems in formulating policy, observed Richard Engel, is that responsibility for monitoring environmental change is diffused through many US government agencies, and no-one has overall responsibility for coordinating their observations. Engel heads the environmental and natural resources programme for the director of National Intelligence. He noted wryly that US intelligence agencies collect environmental information everywhere in the world, except in the US.

The contribution of the Landsat satellites to Earth observation since 1972 cannot be over-estimated, according to several participants in the forum. The six satellites that achieved orbit, two of which are still functioning, have provided millions of images related to worldwide land use. “Food-security issues facing us as a species are really unprecedented,” said Gerald Nelson of the International Food Policy Research Institute. Climate change is a “threat multiplier” to other causes of concern in this area. Since Landsat data became freely available in 2008, their use has been “exploding”, he said.

Yet despite Landsat and other satellites, we still know far too little even about basic land cover, Nelson said. “We need observations that occur year after year after year in the same place,” he continued. And they need to be at relevant resolution. For example, in Java, Indonesia, “you will find fields that are the size of five metres by five metres”. Nelson urged that future Earth-observation satellites be inexpensive (“forget the gold plating”), and use off-the-shelf technology and simple but reliable launch vehicles. He suggested that a near-ideal system could be produced for €150 m, backed by ground-based GPS units, possibly within cell phones.

The forum was sponsored by the Alliance for Earth Observations, comprising US government agencies, academic institutions, industrial corporations and non-profit organizations.

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