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The Joint Research Center of the European Commission (JRC) published the latest MARS Bulletin: “Crop monitoring in Europe”. This report analyses the period from 1 May until 15 June, so when many regions in Europe were experiencing heavy rains and extreme weather conditions.

Despite that, the crop situation in Europe is fairly good on average. Good conditions prevailed in Romania, Hungary, and especially in Spain, but unfavourable weather conditions at the end of May and early June constrained crop development in large parts of western Europe. Besides, dry conditions persisted in parts of Poland and Germany.

The report was prepared based on agro-meteorological overview, observed canopy conditions by remote sensing. It includes also country analysis and crop yield forecasts. Yield prospects at the EU-28 level remain clearly above the five year average.

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There is growing evidence that urban sprawl is having an increasingly negative effect on the environment and on the quality of life across Europe. Existing actions to prevent, contain or control such development have had limited results. Better targeted measures are necessary. That is the main conclusion of a joint European Environment Agency (EEA) and Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) report published today.

This report provides a comparable measurement of urban sprawl for 32 European countries at three levels (the country level, the NUTS-2 region level and the 1-km2 cell level) and for two years (2006 and 2009).

The analysis is based on the Copernicus system which monitors the Earth and collects data by different sources. This data provides information about a number of thematic areas, including land. Under land a pan-European component delivers information about various areas, including the level of sealed soil (imperviousness), through high resolution layers taken from satellite imagery.

The analysis uses new urban sprawl metrics taking into account the way built-up areas are laid out and how they are used. It also looks at the factors which contribute to an increase or decrease in urban sprawl.

The results confirm the conclusions of earlier EEA reports namely that in many parts of Europe current levels of urban sprawl have contributed to detrimental ecological, economic and social effects. This gives cause for concern and such effects may increase alongside planned urban development.

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A new open web map portal was created to present Sentinel 2 data in a 1.1 million km² / 17.2 gigapixel image of Europe, to be updated every month. The idea behind is to make available for everyone the best possible cloud-free mosaic of Sentinel-2 images, based on free data from Sentinels Scientific Data Hub.

The Sentinel Map tiles available in the portal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The maps are planned to be improved in the next months and grew in terms of coverage.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 is a high-resolution, multi-spectral imaging mission, which consists of two twin satellites: Sentinel-2A, launched on 23 June 2015, and Sentinel-2B that will follow. In line with EU law, the Copernicus programme provides users with free, full and open access to Sentinels data.

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The European Space Agency (ESA) released the first Sentinel-1 satellite images sent via the European Data Relay System (EDRS), also known as the SpaceDataHighway.

The two radar images were taken over La Reunion Island and its coastal area.

Sentinel-1A, circling the globe at 28,000 kilometers per hour, transmitted the images to the EDRS-A node in geostationary orbit via a laser beam at 600 MB/second. The laser terminal is capable of working at 1.8 GB/second, allowing EDRS to relay up to 50TB per day. EDRS immediately beamed the data down to Europe.

Transfer between the two satellites was fully automated: EDRS connected to Sentinel from more than 35,000 kilometers away, locking on to the laser terminal and holding that link until transmission was completed.

“With today’s first link, EDRS is close to becoming operational, providing services to the Copernicus Sentinel Satellites for the European Commission,” noted Magali Vaissiere, ESA director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications

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[Via Satellite 06-08-2016] Two U.S. congressmen from the House of Representatives — Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and Brian Babin, R-Texas — have submitted a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) lack of decision on granting DigitalGlobe a license to fully operate its WorldView 3 remote sensing system.


“According to recent press reports, commercial satellite imagery provider DigitalGlobe is still awaiting a license approval to sell high-definition infrared imagery data from its Worldview 3 satellite almost three years after submitting the initial request, well beyond the 120 day requirement,” the letter states.

The Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 requires Pritzker to review and make a determination on any space-based remote sensing system license applications or inform the applicant of any pending issues. Smith, who is chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and Babin, chairman of the Space Subcommittee, are requesting NOAA provide communications and documentation confirming DigitalGlobe’s application date, a timeline of the application review process, names of NOAA employees involved in the application approval process, and an explanation of why NOAA has taken this much time.

“NOAA regulations state that the agency must give a reason for the delay and an estimate of when its review will be completed. While the law states that applicants shall be informed of any pending issues and of actions required to resolve them, the committee would also like to know what has caused the delay in this application and when NOAA anticipates this licensing action will be closed out,” the letter states.

The letter is part of the committee of science, space, and technology’s ongoing oversight of NOAA’s licensing of private space-based remote sensing systems.

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The DigitalGlobe Foundation provides grants for Researchers (who are AARSE members) in the form of imagery, basemap, elevation suite and/or Maps API.

The grant can also include DigitalGlobe’s 50cm mosaic +Vivid as an option for AARSE members. More information on the Foundation is available at: http://digitalglobefoundation.org/ while applicants can access more detailed information on the grants application process and form at: http://digitalglobefoundation.org/application-process.

For further information, please contact Rhiannan Price at Rhiannan.Price@digitalglobe.com

An array of Earth Observation (EO) satellites, including the Sentinels involved in Europe’s Copernicus program, collect untold amounts of data as they circle our planet.


This high-resolution imagery and further information on climates and environments present tremendous potential in overcoming some of the biggest challenges of our time. Thanks to new developments in big data, cloud computing, and other areas, commercial products—and mobile apps in particular—are growing more and more proficient at handling huge quantities of information.

This is where the European Space Agency’s Space App Camp comes in: For the fifth time, this event is inviting programmers to develop creative and innovative apps that make EO data accessible to a wide audience. Professional app developers from all over Europe are welcome to apply until July 22, 2016, at app-camp.eu. Based on the applications received, 20 of them will then be invited to participate in the free Space App Camp at ESA’s ESRIN facility in Frascati (near Rome), Italy, from September 12 to 19, 2016. The selection criteria will include the applicants’ previous programming work. Travel and accommodation will be covered by the event’s organizers.

The Space App Camp is more than just another developer competition. In fact, its main goal is to familiarize the participants with the many ways satellite data can be used in mobile apps. Those who attend will be tasked with devising innovative apps and feasible business models in one of five subject areas: agriculture; environmental protection; smart cities; transport and logistics; or lifestyle, tourism, and health. The event will also be an excellent opportunity to make interesting contacts from all across Europe while gaining insights into how ESA operates.

At the most recent Space App Camp in the autumn of 2015, four students from Austria, Germany, Greece, and Spain came up with the idea for GAIA, an app designed to predict plant and crop damage based on EO data. GAIA covers all of the relevant measurement data collected by the Sentinels, other satellites, and in-situ sensors in order to monitor specific fields of interest for potential losses. The app enables farmers to identify risks early on and obtain crop yield predictions. They also benefit from precise information on the condition of their fields, which in turn facilitates the efficient use of water, fertilizer, and other resources. Meanwhile, GAIA is capable of detecting certain diseases immediately (or even before their onset) by using temperature, soil and air moisture levels, and other parameters to calculate corresponding risk.

Just recently, a team comprised of Lukas Böhler, Pascal Weinberger, and John Zachilashas founded the company GAIA Solutions Ltd. in Great Britain. They have also entered into a partnership with the Health and Environmental Management Society (HEMS) of Nepal in order to make use of the real-world data it has gathered on training its machine-learning algorithms. GAIA has found partners to help it advance its software and hardware, as well.

Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) has been organizing the Space App Camps on behalf of the European Space Agency since 2012. By leveraging its extensive experience as a specialist in building and maintaining global innovation networks and organising related competitions, AZO supports product innovations and the creation of new companies, particularly in the field of commercial aerospace applications.

space-of-innovation.com

A Practical Guide for the use of Earth Observation DataA Practical Guide for the use of Earth Observation Data

Water contributes to all aspects of economic and social development. Especially in developing countries, water supply, sanitation, and a healthy environment form the basis of successful poverty reduction and shared-growth strategies. The use of remote sensing (RS) for operational purposes in hydrology and water resources, while not new, is a fast-growing field.

Earth Observation for Water Resources Management aims to shed light on the strengths and limitations of remote sensing in order to help specialists to provide decision makers with fast and reliable information.

This report:

  • describes some of the key global water related challenges and how the World Bank has been making use of remote sensing for water resource-related activities
  • includes a wealth of detailed technical information on existing sensor systems and data products (with examples)
  • provides practical guidelines and information about whether remote sensing may be useful for a given problem, and if so, which data sources would be most suitable and
  • offers an extensive literature review of studies evaluating the reliability of remote sensing.

This report also provides a guide to Water Resource Management professionals considering the use of Earth observation. Essential questions are provided that must be answered to help to navigate and evaluate the abundance of earth observation-based options and data products, including the likely validity of water resource variables estimated though Earth observation. The focus is on appropriate questions to ask once it has been concluded that exploring earth observation options for the Water Resource Management problem at hand is worthwhile.

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BlackSky has plans for a 60-satellite imaging constellation that will partner with the UN Institute For Training and Research (UNITAR).

BlackSky, a satellite-imaging company, announces it has established an official partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). UNITAR, created in 1965, is an autonomous body within the United Nations that was formed to develop capacities to enhance global decision-making and support country-level action for shaping a better future.

“With BlackSky’s constellation, we not only have access to more information, but we also have access to it much faster than ever before,” said Nikhil Seth, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, and Executive Director of UNITAR. “Our vision as an organization is to live in a world in which knowledge-empowered people can achieve results to overcome global challenges, and BlackSky’s service enables us to do this better.”

BlackSky officially announced its commercial entry into satellite imagery in June 2015, with initial operating capability in 2017 and plans for a 60-satellite constellation in the coming years. This will enable the company to provide cost-effective, high-resolution, rapid-revisit satellite imaging services, capturing all of the Earth’s populated area.

Through BlackSky’s revolutionary constellation, UNITAR and BlackSky will work in tandem to explore how imaging can be applied to humanitarian relief, human security, climate change adaptation, sustainable water management, territorial management, high priority peace-keeping missions, maritime monitoring of illegal activity, and more.

BlackSky Executive Vice President and General Manager, Rakesh Narasimhan, stated, “BlackSky is the first satellite imaging company of its kind to jointly explore new ways of leveraging the information collected from our satellite images to help achieve UNITAR’s many missions. This partnership is the first step in establishing a long standing relationship with UNITAR with a commitment to positively impact our joint customers.”

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Esri enhanced its ArcGIS technology to simplify the use of free global imagery from the Sentinel-2 satellite launched by the European Space Agency. ArcGIS supports visualization, interpretation, and analysis of Sentinel imagery, which is of significant value in applications for forestry, agriculture, land resources management, and environmental monitoring.


“Scientists and GIS professionals rely on consistent access to high-quality imagery data and information products for a range of applications in their work observing, modeling, and predicting Earth systems,” said Lawrie Jordan, Esri’s director of imagery and remote sensing. “Sentinel imagery can also be enhanced by the Landsat imagery already available in ArcGIS Online, which provides additional temporal depth.”

One of the unique capabilities ArcGIS offers is that it can work simultaneously with a wide range of spectral bands and indices at different resolutions. ArcGIS has image processing and analysis tools that allow people to view and analyze all types of imagery.

Institutions, organizations, and startup businesses use ArcGIS to manage, analyze, and share imagery and applications related to land monitoring, maritime, climate, and security issues.

For those working with a large collection of images, Esri released an image management workflow for Sentinel. The workflow ensures that Sentinel scenes can be quickly served as dynamic image services, making the full information content accessible to applications for use on desktop, web, and mobile devices. All processing is applied on the fly, with no intermediate storage required.

“The single-button image management workflow tool is an easy way to share and provide access to a wide range of derived Sentinel-2 imagery products,” said Jordan.

Find specific and technical details on the Esri blog

Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, Esri software is used in more than 350,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms.

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