Technology Forum - Earth Observation System for Economic Development

Barbara Ryan
Secretariat Director
Group on Earth
Observations (GEO)
Switzerland



ABSTRACT
GEO and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)
The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), built by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), is both a policy framework, and an emerging infrastructure that allows decision makers to respond more effectively to the many environmental challenges facing us today. Built upon broad, open data-sharing practices, information from an expanding array of observation systems is being made available to users around the world. The 90 Members (countries and the European Commission) and the approximately 70 Participating Organizations have recognized that the shear complexity of the Earth’s system can not be captured by any single observation system. Having ready access to observations from multiple systems is a prerequisite for both environmental decision making and economic development. Since its inception in 2005, GEO has had four primary objectives – improve and coordinate observation systems; advance broad, open data policies and practices; foster increased use of Earth observation (EO) data and information; and build capacity. Participants have contributed data, research and other related Earth observation activities in nine Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs), including agriculture, biodiversity, climate, disasters, ecosystems, energy, health, water and weather. None of these SBAs exist in isolation and activities which cut across them are, therefore, increasingly important in order to ensure regional, national and international investments in observing systems are leveraged to the greatest extent possible. Each of GEO’s four objectives can advance economic development in and of itself. The presentation in this Session, however, using a case study will focus on the role that broad, open data policies can play in stimulating economic development.
Philippe Delclaux
Consultant - Astrium &
Member - OGC Board of Directors
France



BIO
Philippe Delclaux, retired, Consultant for Astrium Geo-Information Services, member of the Board of OGC. After 13 years at CNES (French Space Agency), Philippe Delclaux spent 3 years at Spot Image Corporation in Washington, as VP, Technical Operations. Then, he moved to Spot Image in Toulouse, as Director, Production and Technical Services. 15 years later, he joined Astrium Geo-Information Services as CTO of this entity which resulted from the merge of Spot Image and the different European Infoterra companies.

ABSTRACT
Earth Observation from Space: addressing increasing needs in a disruptive economical environment
The need for reliable, available, and up to date sources of geo-data increases, due to their recent popularity in all kinds of human activities. Space sourced data highly contributes to satisfying such needs, bringing also the certified quality required by many professional applications. After several decades of government funded satellite systems, new models call for private investments which have to be fully covered by the market, entailing addressing new market segments and developing new distribution models to ease the access to the data and their use.
Ioannis Manakos
Chairman, EARSeL
CERTH-ITI
Greece




ABSTRACT

Habitats worldwide are susceptible to the advancing human activities in the landscape along with the climate changing conditions. Mitigation actions can only succeed through multidisciplinary approaches. As such, BIO_SOS’s (FP7 on-going project) EODHaM (Earth Observation Data for Habitat Monitoring) system is an inductive-learning (i.e., knowledge based) classification system that is able to integrate remotely sensed data from a satellite sensor and on-site acquired ecology data to derive LC/LU and habitat maps. Landscape pattern methods are utilized to access biodiversity, recognize pressures, examine their impact on habitats and extract the potential trend as a warning signal to the disposal of conservation managers. EODHaM is modularly developed and remains flexible to integrate alternative site specific configurations for processing steps (including site specific ancillary data). Its functionality is being tested on seven European, Asian, and Latin America sites. Special attention is given to a) operate at fine spatial scales (1:5,000 or finer) where habitats ought to be represented, b) be user-friendly, efficient and reliable, c) be sensitive to changes in the input datasets and the user-defined parameters, d) minimize the time between data acquisition and product delivery, and e) minimize the involved costs (e.g., by reducing manpower, exploiting open source software solutions, etc.).

Reinhard Schulte-Braucks
Head of Unit - GMES
Bureau, DG Enterprise
and Industry European Commission
Belgium



ABSTRACT

The EU flagship programme Copernicus was conceived to establish an independent European capability for Earth Observation from space and moreover to put into place a set of thematic operational services to support policy makers, public authorities and commercial businesses in a wide variety of applications for which sustained, accurate and timely Earth Observation data are critical inputs. However, in today’s climate of continued and widespread financial challenges, it is the potential for Copernicus to stimulate growth and to create jobs that has recently come into sharp focus. In recognition of this, several studies have been commissioned by the EU to analyse these potential benefits and to identify the enabling factors that are pre-requisites for such benefits to be realised. Central to these enabling factors is a Data and Information Policy that encourages investment by downstream actors. Such key objectives should be achieved through a Data and Information Policy providing free, full and open access to all users. This policy would allow all interested parties to tap into the wealth of information provided by the Copernicus programme and further enrich it with their own data and skills to maximise the environmental, social and economic benefit of the programme.

Hans van 't Woud
Founder Black Shore
The Netherlands





Bio

Hans van 't Woud (1983) born in Leiden, the Netherlands, studied Human Centered Multimedia at the University of Amsterdam where he was awarded his MSc degree regarding his research now known as "The Mars Crowdsourcing Experiment". Before this he graduated for his Bachelor at the Rotterdam University, partly the Willem de Kooning Academy of Arts, for the education Communication and Multimedia Design. After this he worked a period as product manager for a company involving health care software. Nowadays he is full time entrepreneur for his company, BlackShore, where he is taking crowdsourcing to the next level with his Cerberus. For this he is collaborating closely and participated with success in the ESA business incubation centre in the Netherlands. Worth mentioning Hans van 't Woud, with Cerberus, is the GMES master 2012 overall winner and the winner of the European Space Imaging High-Res challenge.

ABSTRACT
Cerberus, the GMES Master 2012 and European Space Imaging High-Res challenge winner, quickly and thoroughly analyses optical satellite data by using real participants as “sensors”. Cerberus is a crowdsourcing platform where we involve people in the creation of maps. The supplied mapping tool provided to the crowd is a so called “serious game” where e-learning and motivation are essential aspects. On satellite photographs, participants can mark where they see for example cracks in ice, damaged power cables, areas of drought or even lost pyramids. Cerberus is able to handle multiple sources of space-based remote sensing data and thus mapping in a variety of work areas. Participant output is translated into map layers to be used, after verification, by governments or interested parties. Originally developed to help NASA help map the surface of Mars, Cerberus is now being advanced to serve a variety of remote-sensing tasks involving Earth (e.g. situation assessment following natural disasters). Blackshore’s business model involves a Facebook gaming environment hoping on viral interest. Participants will be able to pay for upgrades and new tools. But in the event of a disaster like Hurricane Sandy, for example, the money people optionally pay in game through micro transactions to boost the play experience and then can be directed toward the disaster victims, so users contribute financially as well as with their input.Further down the line the generated maps will be real time supplied as a service and are sharable within any type of GIS application supported by our own WMS system.

Prof. dr. P.F. (Pieternel) Levelt
Head Climate Observations Interim
Head Chemistry and Climate and Principal Investigator EOS-Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI)
The Netherlands



ABSTRACT
The growth of human population and the industrialisation in the 19th and 20 th century has led to dramatic changes in the Earth atmosphere. Especially the chemical composition of the atmosphere is rapidly changing as a result of human activities. We entered the “anthropogenic” epoch, where the activities of humans play a key role in the further development of the ozone layer, air quality and climate change. The rapid development of megacities and the strong development in the Asian countries are clear examples of the rapid changes that effected the atmosphere in the last decades and will continue to do so in future. In the last 30 years the capability of measuring the atmospheric composition from space did grow tremendously. Due to that, the potential to operational monitor the atmosphere, following the meteorological community, is now within reach. At the same time, the importance for society of regular operational environmental measurements, related to the ozone layer, air quality and climate change, became apparent. The EU initiative Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) recognises this importance, amongst others materialising in the operational GMES sentinel satellite programme, that includes several satellites for atmospheric composition measurements. In this presentation I will give a short introduction in the capabilities from space to measure the atmospheric composition and emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Then I will discuss societal and economic benefits of the atmospheric composition satellite data along the following three themes:
  • Use of satellite data for Protocol monitoring (Montreal and Kyoto Protocol and Air Quality Protocols)
  • Operational forecasts based on atmospheric composition satellite data and their cost-benefit analyses
  • Economic growth or decline detected from atmospheric composition satellite data
David Belton
General Manager
MDA Geospatial Services
Canada



ABSTRACT
RADARSAT-2: Supporting the Transition from Envisat to Sentinel
The recent loss of the Envisat satellite in April 2012 is taking its toll on thousands of operational and scientific users and programs around the world. In support of this user community, MDA Geospatial Services Inc. (GSI), in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency, is providing access to C-band SAR data in advance of the anticipated start of Sentinel-1 SAR satellite operations in mid-2014. Many of the applications that depend on Envisat ASAR data require continuous access to current data to detect and monitor geological hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes and flooding. Similarly, maritime applications that include sea ice monitoring, shipping and industrial pollution monitoring depend on current data. Some programs could tolerate a data gap over a comparatively short time. However, the expected time to operational Sentinel-1 SAR data availability requires extraordinary measures to ensure their ongoing viability. the presentation will discuss how many of these user communities are affected by the loss of the Envisat mission and how the current agreement provides ESA with the option to continue to obtain RADARSAT-2 data from MDA GSI on behalf of the Envisat user community, ensuring ongoing, continuous C-band SAR data access at a comparable level of service experienced with Envisat ASAR data. Finally, Mr Belton will discuss how RADARSAT-2 can bridge the commercial SAR gap to the Sentinel mission for other value-added service providers that have been left without access to reliable, C-band SAR data.
Julia Yagüe
Project Manager - Payload Data Processing and Applications Business Unit Remote Sensing Applications and Services Division
GMV
Spain




ABSTRACT
Saving is Earning: Precision Agriculture Revenues from Earth Observation
Precision agriculture is evolving to enhance the efficiency of farm production. Yield monitoring and variable rate application are the most widely used precision technologies. Apart from that, the agricultural productivity equation is a ratio between optimized production and costs, most relevant of which include watering, fertilization, phytosanitary treatments and seeding. GMV procures site specific management services for precision agriculture minimizing production costs; this solution is based on DigitalGlobe high-resolution Earth imagery products combined with agro-climatic field records from in situ stations. The high spatial resolution combined with the enhanced multispectral conditions of eight narrow bands increments the applications for decision agriculture. Upgraded satellite capabilities allow obtaining highly accurate biophysical and biochemical indexes linked to crop phenology, anomalies and soil compounds. Service experiences on extensive and intensive crops have yield cost production savings in the range of 4 to 6% in the said production stages. The paper presents quantitative results of savings accounted for in olive groves, vineyards and extensive soya fields. Additional benefits from GMV’s smart agriculture management service account for further economic revenues in intangible spheres such as environmental sustainability, reduction of water and nitrogen footprints, care for food security and business image boosting.
Paul Bogaard
International Policy
Officer Geological Survey of the
Netherlands, TNO
The Netherlands



ABSTRACT
PanGeo - Enabling Access to Geological Information in Support of GMES
PanGeo is a 3-year Collaborative project, funded by the European Commission, that started 1st February 2011 with the objective of enabling free and open access to geohazard information in support of GMES. The project aims to achieve this by providing an INSPIRE-compliant, free, online geohazard information service for 52 of the largest towns in Europe covering approximately 13% of the EU population. This service will enable policy-makers, regulators, and the public to:
  • Systematically assess geohazards in each of the 52 towns involved
  • Gain understanding of the geohazards themselves
  • Know who to talk to for more information
  • Statistically analyse and cross-compare geohazard phenomena across EU countries
  • Gain a better understanding of the socio-economic costs involved
  • Make more informed decisions, e.g. on civil defence, planning controls
  • Have confidence that the information provided is robust and reliable

The geohazard information (a ground stability data-layer and accompanying interpretation) is served in a standard format by the 27 EU national Geological Surveys. These products are compiled from integrations of:

  • Satellite Persistent Scatterer InSAR processing, providing measurements of terrain-motion
  • Geological and geohazard information already held by national Geological Surveys, together with their expertise
  • The polygonal landcover and landuse data contained within the GMES Land Theme Urban Atlas

At the conference, project results for the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam will be presented.

Prof. Sisi Zlatanova
GIS Technology Section OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment TUDelft
The Netherlands





ABSTRACT
The Value of Geo-Information for Disaster and Risk Management (VALID)
This talk will present the current status of the publication project "The Value of Geo- Information for Disaster and Risk Management (VALID)". VALID builds upon the previous publication "Geoinformation for Disaster and Risk Management – Examples and Best Practices" which was published by the Joint Board of Geospatial Information Societies (JBGIS) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in 2010
(http://www.isprs.org/news/announcements/Geoinformation_for_Disaster_and_Risk_Management.pd). While the first booklet comprises case studies on the application of geoinformation, VALID will provide information on the value of geoinformation, i.e. its economic and operational benefits. The intention is to produce a publication to give evidence of the economic, humanitarian and organizational benefits which can be realized by applying geoinformation to disaster management, based on analyses of representative cases, and on an expert stakeholder assessment. Two methods are applied in this project in order to ensure a holistic view on the benefits of geoinformation: Socio-Economic Benefit Analysis and Expert Stakeholder Assessment. Presently a reference set of different geodata product descriptions has been identified and distributed to a group of potential users (practitioners as well as planners and deciders, affiliated in public disaster management bodies, international organizations and NGOs), together with a template for product appraisal. This presentation will elaborate on the outcomes of the study and provide first estimates on benefits.
Donatella Giampaolo
Head of International Sales
e-GEOS
Italy




BIO
21 years of experience in the Earth Observation business, with a special focus on Defense Very High Resolution Data requirements both Optical and Radar. For several years, in fact, Donatella has been working in the Eurimage Business Development Department as the EU Defence and Security Key Account Manager, including International Organisations such as ESA, EUSC and United Nations located in Europe; today Donatella covers the same role, but with a wider prospective and with additional sales responsibility. Recently her activity has been focused on the business development of COSMO-SkyMed Commercial User Terminals, COSMO-SkyMed Data and the start up of new and innovative Geospatial Services such as maritime surveillance - ice charting.