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Experts in satellite monitoring of the Earth’s climate and ecosystem are to pool their talent to observe changes on the planet.

Scientists at the Universities of Surrey and Reading will work with colleagues at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the new collaboration called Global Satellite Sensing (GLOSS) – a world leading Centre of Excellence to monitor changes to the Earth, its ecosystem and climate.

Working together with the Satellite Applications Catapult, the Centre aims to contribute to the UK Government’s drive to capture at least 10% of the predicted global space market of $400bn by 2030.

The aim is to develop ways of using the very latest advances in the new generation of small, lightweight and highly innovative satellites, being developed in the UK.

GLOSS will provide new satellite data services for meteorological purposes and use in disaster scenarios, as well as proving a wide range of services to commercial sectors, including energy resource management, urban and environmental monitoring, security and insurance industries.

Keith Robson, Director Enterprise and Growth at the University of Surrey, said: “Bringing these world-leading research capabilities together within a single centre of excellence provides the UK with an unrivalled ability to provide expertise across a range of areas.

“This includes everything from developing new low cost sensors, designing groups of small satellites that can work together which are called ‘swarms’, in-orbit calibration systems, data assimilation, data processing and visualisation.

“The Centre’s aim is to ensure the UK plays a key role in the exploitation of new sophisticated Earth Observation services which will be in increasing demand as the cost of putting satellites into orbit falls dramatically over the next decade.”

Professor Robert Gurney, Director of Space and Earth Observation at the University of Reading, which has the largest research capability in weather and climate science and earth observation of any university in Europe, said: “This centre provides a unique opportunity for scientists and engineers to work collaboratively on research with the potential to deliver breakthrough technologies and applications for a changing planet.

“British scientists are among the best in the world at using data from satellites to provide vital information about weather and climate. By helping to develop the next generation of satellite technology, this collaboration will help to expand the range of information available to businesses and industry, such as real-time data. Such crucial and affordable information will help to give British businesses the cutting edge, boosting innovation and economic growth.”

Stuart Martin, CEO at the Satellite Applications Catapult, added: “We are excited to be working with the academic community in this new initiative. This new Centre of Excellence will provide important links to a wide range of sectors including water, oil and gas, financial services, transport and telecom.”

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In the field

JRC presents the progress of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service to Commissioner Georgieva
The Copernicus Emergency Management Service has been presented in the 4th European Civil Protection Forum, that took place in Brussels on the 15th and 16th of May 2013.

The regional dimension of Copernicus: actions and benefits
The Copernicus Programme is characterised by successful technological development, and has demonstrated its capacities for application in many different sectors, creating a wide range of benefits for Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) as well as for SMEs and Entrepreneurs.

The European Space Agency promotes discussion on how to handle significant volumes of EO data
By the end of next year the first of the Copernicus Sentinels will be in orbit and will be providing large volumes of Earth Observation (EO) data. Once this satellite is in place, the user community will have access to an unprecedented amount of EO data. Actors involved in its use and delivery will have to face the significant challenges in relation to the processing, storage and distribution of data.

New Copernicus mapping products support emergency response to floods in central Europe
Since the beginning of June, surging rivers have caused extensive flooding in Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. Heavy rain in late May and early June caused the banks of the Elbe and the Danube rivers to swell, causing extensive damage and leaving at least 19 people dead in the affected area. Reference and flood extent maps have been produced by the EMS to support emergency management and civil protection authorities in their planning and rescue operations.

European Space Expo visitors reach 185,000!
The European Space Expo in Dublin closed its doors with record attendance figures reaching almost 30,000 people during the six-day period it was open to the public, ‘beating’ the visitor numbers of any previous Expo. With this record, the number of visitors to the European Space Expo has reached 185,000 since its first deployment.

In motion

Towards the European Copernicus Marine Service.
MyOcean, the precursor of the Copernicus Marine Service provides free access to worldwide oceanographic core products to support a range of applications in the public, private and scientific domains, at a pre-operational level. Up to now, MyOcean has been serving more than 2,200 users worldwide.

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, visits the European Union Satellite Centre
During her visit to the European Union Satellite Centre (EU SatCen), the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, was briefed on Copernicus services for Security Applications developed by the EU SatCen.

MEP Vittorio Prodi: “Copernicus is becoming a key cornerstone for our local decision makers
Vittorio Prodi, Member of the European Parliament (EP) and Chair of the EP’s Sky and Space Intergroup, has shared with readers of the Copernicus Observer his reasons for becoming one of the most high-profile supporters of the Copernicus Programme.

A workshop to showcase Copernicus progress in the area of Maritime Surveillance
On the occasion of the 6th edition of the European Maritime Day (EMD), held in Valetta (Malta) on the 21st and 22nd of May 2013, three R&D (FP7) projects presented the benefits and achievements of the Copernicus support to Maritime Surveillance.

‘International Innovation’ interviews Dr. Reinhard Schulte-Braucks, Head of the GMES/Copernicus Unit
The ‘International Innovation’ scientific magazine has published an in-depth interview with the Head of the GMES/Copernicus Unit, Reinhard Schulte-Braucks, who has shared his vision on how the Copernicus Programme will provide sustained and reliable Earth Observation information, enabling European public authorities, commercial businesses and the scientific community to get a continuous picture of our ever-evolving world.

The upcoming Lithuanian Presidency of the EU will place emphasis on the Copernicus Programme Regulation
In the forthcoming days, Lithuania will take over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, which has been in Irish hands since January 2013. Lithuania forms part of the current Presidency Trio, along with Ireland and Greece, which is ensuring the consistency of the work of the Council of the EU until July 2014.

Copernicus and Eastern Europe: the way ahead
To ensure that the uptake of Copernicus services by users of Eastern European Member States (formerly known as ‘New Member States’) is smooth and efficient, the European Commission worked collaboratively with the European Space Agency, the Romanian Space Agency and the Eurisy network to organise the ‘The European Earth Monitoring Programme Copernicus: its benefits for the citizens of Eastern Europe’ conference in Bucharest on the 21th and 22nd of May 2013.

Business Corner

Copernicus on the global stage: the Geospatial World Forum 2013
The Geospatial World Forum is an annual international conference bringing together business leaders, policy-makers, industrialists, academics and users in the field of geospatial technologies. The benefits of Copernicus were highlighted during the conference by stakeholders from across the Copernicus community.

Start-up founder sees Sentinels as boost to geo-marketplace
CloudEO is a German start-up company looking to make it easier for Earth Observation (EO) data providers, software developers and potential customers to come together. The company’s innovative platform will incorporate data from the Copernicus Sentinels, which the founder says will stimulate demand for commercial EO data and services.

Become the 2013 Copernicus Master!
The Copernicus Masters Competition opens once again to award prizes for innovative solutions for business and society based on Earth Observation data.

Contact

13-17 October 2014, Darmstadt, Germany

Background

Satellite observations are a key element in an integrated and sustained climate observing system and have been critically important for monitoring and understanding the Earth’s climate system during the past several decades. The expected completion of the IPCC Fifth Assessment (AR5) in 2013- 2014 makes it timely to discuss these achievements, to assess future opportunities and challenges with satellite derived climate information, and to provide guidance on future priorities.

The symposium will be an important step towards defining requirements, and the further development of an efficient and sustained international space-based Earth observing system.

This symposium is intended to bring together the international experts in climate observations, research, analysis and modeling to present and discuss results from their studies, with a particular emphasis on the role of space-based Earth observations in improving our knowledge of the current climate at global and regional scales, and in the assessment of models used for climate projections.

Main Goal of the symposium
The main goal of the symposium is to provide a forum for discussing the current state of climate science and climate observations in order to evaluate recent achieve- ments, ascertain critical objectives to be achieved with satellite-based climate information, and identify gaps in the current space-based climate observing system. A major topic that will be discussed is the proposed Archi- tecture for sustained Climate Monitoring from Space that has been developed under the auspices of the Commit- tee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), the Coordi- nation Group of Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) and WMO. Beyond the monitoring of the current state of the Climate System, the conference will also consider how Earth observation contributes to future developments in climate prediction and climate change projection.

Symposium participants

• Climate scientists primarily interested in satellite observations and their use for climate research, modelling and prediction.
• Experts from space agencies engaged in the development of climate missions, and the development and provision of corresponding data and information services.
• Private sector, non-governmental organisations, and organisations that are involved in the develop- ment of Earth observing and information systems, and / or dependent on science-based climate information for decision-making.

Symposium themes

• Satellite observations for monitoring of the climate system.
• Satellite observations for earth system modelling and prediction.
• Challenges and opportunities in sustaining and expanding Earth observing systems, including the role of new and emerging observing techniques.
• Processing, re-processing and analysis of Earth observations for climate applications.
• Archiving, distribution and access to Earth observa- tions and information derived from the observations.
• Results from the use of satellite observations for climate analyses and climate model validation.
• The Scientific Organising Committee will be respon- sible for the further development of the suggested themes, subsidiary sessions, topics and speakers list. They will also oversee the evaluation and selection of the abstracts for submitted papers and posters to the symposium.

Expected outcomes of the symposium

The symposium and the follow-on activities are expected to benefit climate-related risk management, and help to underpin the development of responsible and affordable climate change mitigation and adaptation options. A key aspect will be the detection and attribution of climate change beyond the basic variables.

The symposium will also benefit climate science by putting in motion a process for creating a joint action plan for the planning and development of an interna- tional space-based climate observing system that will be responsive to the current and emerging needs in the areas of climate research, modelling and services (in the context of the Global Framework for Climate Services in the latter case).

This will be achieved by:
• Presenting recent scientific achievements related to the development and use of high-quality and innova- tive space-based observational datasets for climate research, assessments and evaluation of climate mod- els that provide future climate projections. The impor- tance of bringing together models and observations cannot be over-emphasised; while Earth observation provides evidence of variability and change now, the causality of those variations and changes and their future evolution can only be identified through the use of climate models.
• Identifying future research and observations needed to enhance the value, and improve the sustainability of, high-impact science-based climate information obtained from space-based observations. The focus will be on Climate Data Records, including those resulting from the reprocessing of historical observations. These can help us understand past variations and change in the climate system. The use of multiple streams of observations can also help in identifying processes and interactions within the climate system, especially when used in combination with theory
and models.
• Identifying pathways for productive international collaborations for the development of satellite-based climate observations in support of climate research, prediction and services.
• Presenting innovative methods applied to satellite data to provide better science-based applications and information to support climate decisions at all levels.
• Discussing how to best quantify the inherent uncertainties associated with satellite observations and how to best use these uncertainty estimates in data assimilation, climate modelling and re-analyses.
• Presenting new approaches for assimilating satellite observations, and related use, in Observing System Simulation Experiments with a view to improving cli- mate observations and climate observing systems.

Format of the symposium

The symposium will consist of two segments. The first day/segment will focus on findings from the Fifth Assessment of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the necessary dialogue between information providers and users of science-based climate information for decision-making. The second segment of the symposium will be organised over the following three days around the key scientific themes presented above.

The scientific and technical oral and poster presentations for each daily theme will be organised in the form of a morning plenary session, including dialogue and discussion with participants, followed by a poster session with dedicated viewing time and one-on-one discussions with authors, and parallel sessions in the afternoon to allow more in-depth presentations and discussions on some major topics associated with each daily theme.

The Climate Symposium
Registration & More information

(July 2013) U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth Observatory (NASA’s Earth Observatory) today announced a model diagram, showing the launch of its Earth observation satellites over the years.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 5 news, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth Observatory (NASA’s Earth Observatory) today announced a model diagram, showing its Earth observation satellites launched over the years.

In most people’s imagination, NASA is an observation and exploration of outer space for the target organization. However, many have found that astronauts into outer space, the earth is they see the most beautiful and amazing planet’s I(http://www.best-news(Technology News http://www.best-news.us/).us/). Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders (William Anders) when he said: ‘Our aim is to explore the moon, but the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.

In the Apollo moon landing spacecraft nearly a half century later, to study the Earth from space has become one of the important mission of NASA. Currently, there are 16 NASA Earth observation satellite launched around the Earth.‘s First Earth observation satellites 1997 launch of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring mission satellite (TRMM), the youngest was in February 2013 launch of Landsat 8 (Landsat 8).

NASA’s satellite fleet monitoring Zhezhi wide range, each one monitoring are directly related to the global environment, including climate change, weather forecasting, fire monitoring, vegetation health. NASA Secretary Charles Bolden (Charles Bolden) in 2013 June published a blog post talking about the important mission of these satellites shoulder his outlook for the future of the team by satellite fleet.

Source

(03July2013) By PHILIP A. JANQUART , WASHINGTON (CN) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration seeks comments on a proposed regulation involving integrating regional information entities into a federal marine monitoring system.

These Regional Information Coordination Entities (RICEs) coordinate regional observing efforts; manage and operate observing assets; manage and distribute data; and engage user groups in product development,” according to NOAA.

The proposed action is meant to integrate some of the regional entities into the federal Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System (ICOOS).

The ICOOS Act of 2009, which the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Program Office is to implement, is aimed at “the development and sustainability of a national and international integrated ocean observing system designed to collect, monitor and disseminate marine environment data in an interoperable, reliable, timely and user-specified manner by leveraging federal, regional and private-sector partnerships,” according to the Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance. The office helps entities interested in federal programs wade through the application process.

The NOAA said the data is used to “support national defense, marine commerce, navigation safety, weather, climate and marine forecasting, energy siting and production, economic development, ecosystem-based marine, coastal and Great Lakes resource management, public safety, and public outreach training and education.”

A big part of accomplishing that goal is integrating non-federal entities into ICOOS. The proposed action, if approved, would solidify criteria and certain requirements outlined by the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee for RICEs acceptance into the federal system.

The RICEs, however, would not be government funded once accepted and would be obligated to report their respective financial statuses while outlining “plans and strategies to diversify funding sources and opportunities,” according to the NOAA’s action.

Another purpose of the system is to “fulfill the nation’s international obligations to contribute to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS),” the NOAA said in its action. Both systems are ICOOS’s international counterparts. The GEOSS observes the earth as a complete system while the GOOS observes the ocean as a separate system.

“Earth observations include measurements and monitoring of the Earth under water, on the land surface and beneath, air and water quality, of atmospheric conditions, and measures of the health of humans, plants and animals. Measurements can be made directly or by sensors in contact or remotely, and all these observations support modeling or other tools that create information for environmental decision-making, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The proposed action makes certified RISE entities a part of the NOAA and its government employees “for the purpose of determining liability arising from the collection, dissemination and use of observation data,” the NOAA said in its action.

Comments are due by Aug. 1.

Source

(05 July 2013, Written by Matt Ball) Today, China signed an agreement to provide earth observation satellite data to members of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO). The China National space Administration (CNSA) and APSCO signed a memorandum of understanding at a meeting in Beijing to provide the data for use in natural disaster reduction and relief.


APSCO is an inter-governmental organization established in 2005, with China as its host and one of its nine member states. Members include agencies from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand and Turkey. The APSCO convention promotes collaborative space technology development in member countries, with research, training, and peaceful applications. The organization has defined projects on designing, building and launching light satellites, middle class satellites weighing 500–600 kg, research satellites, remote-sensing and telecommunications satellites.

China’s remote sensing capacity has been expanding rapidly, with the Gaofen-1 high-definition Earth observation satellite launched this year. The The the third satellite of its Environmental Protection & Disaster Monitoring Constellation, Huanjing-1C was launched in November 2012. These satellites are owned by the National Committee for Disaster Reduction and State Environmental Protection Administration of China, with the objective to establish an operational Earth observing system for disaster monitoring and mitigation using remote sensing technology and to improve the efficiency of disaster mitigation and relief. This series of satellites, and their corresponding data, will be a large contributor to meet the new international agreement.

The APSCO Data Sharing Service Platform is designed for managing and storing remote sensing data and providing data retrieval facilities.

Sources: Xinhua, APSCO
Source

The recent terrorist incidents at the Boston marathon in the US have highlighted once again the real danger to society from chemical attacks and explosive devices in urban settings. The detection of chemicals in the air by remote means is of great importance not only to security agencies globally. In addition, there are also industrial and environmental applications for reliable remote sensing technologies.

Exploiting Novel Space Instrumentation

Researchers at the STFC Rutherford-Appleton Laboratories, funded by the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI), have developed a novel instrument that could be used for the early warning of chemical or explosive threats. Originally designed for Space missions this laser-based system can detect tiny traces of specific gases in the atmosphere. This high resolution spectrometer uses an infrared laser beam to analyse the spectral properties of atmospheric gases – that is the absorption and emission of light by molecules, all in a very compact package.

This Earth observation instrument has been adapted for terrestrial stand-off detection of volatile chemicals released by threat materials, such as explosives. To tackle this challenge, the instrument has evolved into a new design known as the Active Coherent Laser Spectrometer (ACLaS), which operates by illumination of the target volume with a low-power eye-safe mid-infrared laser beam. This remote sensing technology has already been demonstrated at up to 50 metres, and can provide unambiguous identification and quantification of highly specific chemicals for defence and security applications

Indeed, the ACLaS is well suited for the detection and identification of highly localized releases of chemical at low concentration (sub part per million).

Non-Space Remote Sensing Applications

The detection of threat chemicals has stringent requirements. Safety prevents the use of in-situ detection methods and therefore a stand-off chemical analyzer operating from safe distances is required. An instrument must be able to identify and quantify chemicals at low concentrations (sub part per million), selectivity reduce interference and false alarm rate, with stand-off ranges between a few metres and few hundred metres. The instrument must also provide a rapid response time, must be eye-safe, compact, robust and cost effective. The ACLaS is unique in offering a solution to these requirements and has great potential in the areas of defence and security.

The technology derived from the development of the ACLaS for terrestrial security and defence applications can also now be spun back into terrestrial environmental monitoring. For example, the ACLaS can also be used to remotely monitor highly localized emission of pollutants or greenhouse gases to gather accurate quantitative evidence of release such as those from industrial facilities.

Further information about this technology and others funded by the CEOI can be found at www.ceoi.ac.uk. You can also contact the Project Lead, Dr Damien Weidmann, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory: Tel: +44 (0)1235 445804, or email: damien.weidmann@stfc.ac.uk , or the CEOI Director, Professor Mick Johnson: Tel: +44 (0)1438 774421 or email: mick.johnson@astrium.eads.net.

CEOI Article – Space Technology for Remote Detection of Explosives 20130618.pdf

source UN-SPIDER team


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(June-SatelliteToday). After 11 and a half years tracking sea levels, NASA’s satellite Jason 1 has ended its useful life, the agency announced. The satellite was decommissioned this week after its last remaining transmitter failed.

Jason 1 was one of three oceanographic satellites that carried a radar altimeter and bounced radio pulses off the Earth, enabling sea surface height to be determined within a few centimeters. From the data, scientists have enhanced their models of ocean circulation and observed events such as El Nino, where large masses of warm water pool in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Communication with the satellite was lost on June 21 and efforts to re-establish it were unsuccessful. The satellite was ordered to turn off its attitude control systems on Monday. Jason 1 will turn away from the sun and its solar-powered batteries will drain over the next 90 days. The satellite will remain in orbit for at least 1,000 years before it falls back into Earth’s atmosphere.

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