Sentinel-1 aids Balkan flood relief

Paris (ESA) May 29, 2014

Flood delineation map over the village of Balatun in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina based on Sentinel-1A data. Serbia lies to the north of the Sava river. File image coourtesy ESA/European Commission. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Although not yet operational, the new Sentinel-1A satellite has provided radar data for mapping the floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Heavy rainfall leading to widespread flooding and landslides has hit large parts of the Balkans, killing dozens of people and leaving hundreds of thousands displaced.
Jan Kucera of the Europan Commission's Joint Research Centre is supervising the technical aspect of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS). While mapping the flooding in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, ESA delivered a radar scan from Sentinel-1A: "I had a first look and discovered that we were missing an important flooded area visible in the middle of the image."
Although the radar on Sentinel-1A is still being calibrated, the new information could be integrated into the Copernicus EMS flood maps of the Sava river in the Balatun area in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"In emergency situations like these, it is important that we optimise all the available data to produce better maps for disaster relief efforts."
The radar on Sentinel-1 is able to 'see' through clouds, rain and in darkness, making it particularly useful for monitoring floods. Images acquired before and after a flood offer immediate information on the extent of inundation and support assessments of property and environmental damage.

DLR, TBE partner for earth observation mission

Published Date : 20 May 2014
Germany: At the ILA Berlin Air Show, the German Aerospace Centre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) and US-based company Teledyne Brown Engineering  (TBE) have signed an agreement to install and operate the imaging spectrometer DESIS (DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer) on board the International Space Station (ISS). This DLR-built instrument will be one of four camera systems for remote sensing fitted to the MUSES (Multi-User System for Earth Sensing) instrument carrier. DESIS will be able to detect changes in the land surface, oceans and atmosphere; it will contribute to the development of effective measures to protect the environment and climate.
DESIS is a hyperspectral camera that records image data using an array of up to 240 closely spaced channels, covering the visible and near infrared portions of the spectrum (450 to 915 nanometres) with a ground resolution of approximately 90 metres. This multifaceted information allows scientists to detect changes in ecosystems and to make statements on the condition of forests and agricultural land.
Among other things, its purpose is to secure and improve the global cultivation of food. The data from the ISS instruments will be available quickly in the event of a catastrophe and can help rescue teams operating on the ground to organise their deployment. DLR and TBE seek to combine the data from other MUSES instruments to develop advanced methods for remote sensing of the Earth.
The platform with the DLR DESIS instrument is scheduled to commence operations in 2016.
Source:  DLR & http://geospatialworld.net

Japan launches new satellite to survey disasters by Staff Writers

Tokyo (AFP) May 24, 2014
Japan successfully launched a new mapping satellite on Saturday that will be used to survey damage from natural disasters and changes affecting rainforests.
The Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2) will be able to see scars left by catastrophes such as Japan's 2011 tsunami as well as monitor progress made in reconstruction, officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.
"The satellite was successfully put in orbit," said an official from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, whose H-IIA rocket was used in the launch from a space centre on the southern island of Tanegashima.
The satellite will provide valuable data for Japan, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences 20 percent of all major earthquakes.
Memories are still fresh of the deadly 9.0-magnitude earthquake in March 2011 that unleashed a tsunami that devastated the northern Pacific coast, killing more than 18,000 people and triggering the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
The island nation is also routinely hit by typhoons while scientists say Mount Fuji could erupt at any time.
The new satellite, nicknamed "Daichi-2", will "conduct a health check mainly of the Earth's land areas in detail," JAXA project manager Shinichi Suzuki said.
The satellite will collect data related to deformation of the Earth's crust, but also the impact of floods and landslides, he said.
The satellite's predecessor was used to monitor damage caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The device uses a special radar to observe the planet's surface at night, during bad weather and even through vegetation.
JAXA plans to use the new satellite to regularly study tropical rain forests, which are difficult to observe because of the thick clouds that frequently cover them. It will also be used to observe snow and ice conditions in polar areas, officials said.
source:  spacedaily.com

Airbus Defence and Space partners with BAE Systems on radar satellite imagery

Tuesday, May 20th 2014

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New products to reach highest levels of accuracy, resolution and quality

Airbus Defence and Spaceand BAE Systemshave launched a strategic alliance to produce, market and sell innovative geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) products and solutions using state-of-the-art data collected exclusively by TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X radar satellites.
Under the terms of the partnership, Airbus Defence and Space and BAE Systems will jointly develop a new line of global SAR (synthetic aperture radar) products that are unrivalled in terms of accuracy, resolution and quality.  The two companies will exclusively market these products to US government, commercial, and select international customers.
“BAE Systems’s unique expertise will leverage the SAR data we are collecting into refined sets of geospatial intelligence products, that meet stringent US government standards,” said Evert Dudok, Head of Communications, Intelligence & Security at Airbus Defence and Space.
The precision and richness of Airbus Defence and Space’s radar data products, combined with the rigour of BAE Systems’s GEOINT exploitation and analysis expertise, will drive the development of advanced geospatial products that will benefit both the public and private sectors. The resulting GEOINT products will enhance mission planning for defence customers, support flight systems, improve emergency response, and help the world’s energy sector strategically plan new power grids, plot pipelines and manage resources.
“The Airbus Defence and Space radar satellite missions are collecting data of unprecedented quality and accuracy on a global scale,” said DeEtte Gray, president of BAE Systems’s Intelligence & Security sector. “The products we are teaming to develop represent a major leap forward in SAR-based products and services that enhance various sophisticated applications.”

George Clooney Announces Expansion of Satellite Sentinel Project

Wednesday, May 21st 2014

| New York, NY

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During a speech yesterday, May 20, at the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity dinner, George Clooney announced a significant expansion of the Satellite Sentinel Project, an initiative he co-founded three years ago.  While it will continue to use satellite imagery to monitor and warn against human rights abuses in war-torn Sudan and South Sudan, the Satellite Sentinel Project will expand its focus to undertake forensic investigations to reveal how those committing mass atrocities are funding their activities and where they are hiding their stolen assets.
Satellite Sentinel Project Co-Founder George Clooney said, “We want to follow the money and find out how these atrocities are funded, who enables them, and what the smart tools are to counter these activities more effectively.  Genocide and other human rights crimes are never just spontaneous events.  They require planning, they require financing, and they require international indifference to succeed.  Where is the money coming from and where is it being hidden? To the extent we can, we want to make it more difficult for those willing to kill en masse to secure their political and economic objectives, and we want to move the needle away from indifference and inaction.”
Satellite Sentinel Project Co-Founder John Prendergast said, “We’ll investigate exactly how the illegal exploitation of resources like diamonds, gold and ivory help finance the activities of some of the world’s worst abusers of human rights.  And we’ll focus on imposing a cost on those that contribute to or facilitate the perpetration of these human rights crimes. The objective is a comprehensive approach to countering atrocities that involves satellite imagery, forensic investigations, on-the-ground research, and deeper investment in impacting the calculations of policy makers and commercial actors who might possess the leverage to help stop these human rights crimes.”

BlackBridge Secures $22 Million for New Satellite Constellation

Thursday, May 22nd 2014

BlackBridge (formerly RapidEye) | Berlin, Germany

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A new generation of RapidEye Satellites is underway

BlackBridge has secured $22 million (CDN) in funding from the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) for the development of its next generation of satellites, RapidEye+, and for the renewal of existing credit facilities.  This financing will contribute to the development of a new satellite constellation that will enhance BlackBridge’s already remarkable imaging prowess, allowing the company to expand its current range of geospatial solutions.

BlackBridge CFO Richard Goode says of the investment, "We are pleased that both BMO and BDC have joined us in the development of our next generation of satellites. We are seeking strong long-term partners as we continue to grow our business, and both BMO and BDC provided the financial strength and commitment we were looking for.”

MDA expands imaging modes for RADARSAT-2

Thursday, May 22nd 2014

| Richmond BC Canada

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MDA’s Information Systems group has commercially launched a unique new imaging mode for RADARSAT-2. This Extra-Fine mode provides an unprecedented ability to capture exceptional resolution imagery over large areas, providing a capability that is ideally suited to support monitoring large areas coupled with identifying detailed changes. The Extra-Fine imaging mode is able to provide single polarization synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery at a 5 meter resolution, over a 125 km x 125 km area (or 15,625 km² per scene).
The RADARSAT-2 satellite has global high-resolution surveillance capabilities that include a large collection capacity and high accuracy. The satellite acquires data regardless of light or weather condition, provides frequent re-visit imaging options, and is supported by ground receiving stations that provide near real-time information delivery services. This versatility makes RADARSAT-2 a reliable source of information in multi-faceted intelligence surveillance and monitoring programs.
Related Websites
www.mdacorporation.com
source:  directionsmag.com

BlackBridge Unveils Concept for its New Mission

Thursday, May 22nd 2014

BlackBridge (formerly RapidEye) | Berlin, Germany

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Enhanced capabilities, including very high resolution and superspectral bands, will be the new benchmark for commercial earth observation

Following its commitment to provide continuity to the existing RapidEye constellation, today BlackBridge has released the details of the RapidEye+ constellation concept at its ENABLE 2014 Partner Conference. RapidEye+ will be a constellation of five satellites with an imaging capacity that will far exceed the current RapidEye constellation’s capacity of 5 million km² per day.

The RapidEye+ superspectral system will include 14 bands strategically placed for applications in agriculture, vegetation monitoring, land cover discrimination, water quality, and many others. This band set also includes a panchromatic channel with resolution better than 1 meter. RapidEye+ is expected to launch in 2019, allowing significant overlap with operation of the current RapidEye constellation.

“RapidEye+ will allow BlackBridge to address the growing high resolution imagery market, with an unmatched imaging capacity,” said CEO Ryan Johnson.“It also allows us to continue to serve and grow our core markets in agriculture, REDD, and environmental monitoring with enhanced capabilities.”

BlackBridge will announce the results of a competition for the design of RapidEye+ in the coming weeks.

Why DigitalGlobe Wants Approval for Higher Resolution Imagery; Pressure Mounts Internationally

Saturday, May 24th 2014

By Joe Francica

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According to a report by Reuters, DigitalGlobe finance chief Yancey Spruill sees a large untapped market for higher spatial resolution imagery. Nearly a year ago, DigitalGlobe appealed to NOAA to lift the 50cm spatial resolution restriction on its imagery so that it can produce images with a 25cm resolution. Currently, DigitalGlobe collects imagery with greater spatial resolution than 50cm but must resample the raw pixels to the allowable limit.

"There is a market opportunity with a roughly $400 million addressable market that we cannot participate in today because of the regulatory regime of our government," Spruill said.

The pressure is on government regulators to let DigitalGlobe compete in a growing market of satellite imagery from both domestic startups to international providers, some supported with heavy government funding. Yesterday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the H-2A series earth observation system. According to The Asahi Shibum:

Using advanced radar technology, the Daichi-2 is expected to contribute significantly to Earth observation sciences, monitor disasters and explore for natural resources.

According to JAXA:

The digital 3D map to be compiled this time has the world's best precision of five meters in spatial resolution with five meters height accuracy that enables us to express land terrain all over the world ... In order to popularize the utilization of the 3D map data, JAXA will also prepare global digital elevation model (DEM) with lower spatial resolution (of about 30 meters under our current plan) to publish it as soon as it is ready. Its use will be free of charge. We expect that data from Japan will become the base map for all global digital 3D maps.

The Daichi-2 satellite has just 5-meter spatial resolution, comparatively low with respect to DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3 satellite which is expected to be able to deliver 25cm accuracy. However, the race to launch more earth observation platforms for a variety of mission objectives is underway (see Directions on the News podcast, April 15).

source:  http://www.directionsmag.com

40 Maps They Didn’t Teach You In School

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By the time we graduate high school, we learn that they never taught us the most interesting things in there. Sure, you might be able to name the European countries or point New York on the map, but does that give a you real understanding of how the world functions? To fill this gap, we have gathered a great and informative selection of infographical maps that they should’ve shown us at school: every single one of these maps reveals different fun and interesting facts, which can actually help you draw some pretty interesting conclusions.
What makes infographical maps so engaging is how easy it becomes to conceive graphically presented information. The best part, there are brilliant services like Target Map that “allow everyone (from individuals to large organizations) to represent their data on maps of any country in the world and to share their knowledge with the whole Internet Community.” Just choose a country and a way to create your map by color, type values or by uploading your excel files (you can even use your zip / postal code column to get the best and most accurate maps.
Without further ado, we invite you to learn things like most popular sports in different countries, who has the largest breasts, red hair map of Europe, world’s most consumed alcoholic beverages, or which brands dominate in different states of the USA.
Trust us, these are way better than the ones they taught you at school!

The Most Famous Brand From Each State In The US

Image credits: mapsontheweb.tumblr.com

Red Hair Map of Europe

Image credits: imgur.com

Most Popular Sports in the World

Image credits: imgur.com

Experts demonstrate versatility of Sentinel-1

Paris (ESA) May 12, 2014

Ice charts are the primary means of providing near-realtime ice information to mariners, and are traditionally drawn manually from satellite data. The first Sentinel-1A ice chart was drawn from an image acquired at 10:10 GMT on 26 April 2014. Image courtesy ESA/DMI.

From climate change monitoring to supporting humanitarian aid and crisis situations, early data applications from the month-old Sentinel-1A satellite show how the radar mission's critical observations can be used to keep us and our planet safe.
Launched from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on 3 April, Sentinel-1A is the first satellite in Europe's Copernicus environmental monitoring network. The mission uses radar to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of Earth's surface.
At an event in Brussels, experts who had been given access to early Sentinel-1A radar data presented how a variety of operational and scientific applications will benefit.
"These [radar] images and their analyses will benefit European citizens, enterprises and decision makers, as well as the international scientific community. They will allow us to better protect our planet and improve the quality of life of our citizens," said Philippe Brunet, Director of Aerospace, Maritime, Security and Defence Industries at the European Commission.

Swarm's precise sense of magnetism

Paris (ESA) May 12, 2014

Data from Swarm were used to generate a model of the magnetic field from Earth's lithosphere. The image compares the Swarm model with the Chaos-4 model and shows good agreement, especially considering Swarm is still only in the calibration and validation phase of the mission. The colours in the image show differences between the two models. Image courtesy ESA/DTU Space-N. Olsen. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Although they were launched only five months ago, ESA's trio of Swarm satellites are already delivering results with a precision that took earlier missions 10 years to achieve.
Engineers have spent the last five months commissioning the identical satellites and carefully guiding them into their orbits to provide the crucial measurements that will unravel the mysteries of Earth's magnetic field.
Swarm has a challenging task ahead.
Together, the satellites will measure and untangle the different magnetic readings that stem from Earth's core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere.
In addition, information will also be provided to calculate the electric field near each satellite - an important counterpart to the magnetic field for studying the upper atmosphere.
Two satellites are now orbiting almost side by side and have started their operational life at 462 km altitude. The third is higher, at 510 km.
The readings made at different locations will be used to distinguish between the changes in the magnetic field caused by the Sun's activity and those signals that originate from inside Earth.
Swarm is now in its fine-tuning phase but it has already produced enough information to build models of the magnetic field for comparison with existing models.
This proves that only a few months of Swarm data agree very well with a decade or more of predecessor missions.

Greece Guaranteed Access to Sentinel Data

Details

Written by ESA

Published: 12 May 2014

Hits: 5

earth observation   greece  

Just weeks after the launch of Sentinel-1A, ESA and Greece have signed a first arrangement that establishes access to Sentinel data, marking a significant step forward in their exploitation.
The Sentinel family of satellites is being developed to meet the operational needs of Europe’s environment monitoring programme, Copernicus.
The information provided by the Earth-observing missions will provide a wealth of information for various services that help improve daily life and address the environmental consequences of climate change.
The data will be made freely accessible for Copernicus Services, as well as to scientific and other users.
Marking a significant step forward in the data exploitation, ESA and Greece today signed an Understanding for the Collaborative Ground Segment Cooperation at a ceremony in Athens, Greece.
Signing on Greece’s behalf, the President of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) Kanaris C. Tsinganos expressed his appreciation of working with ESA on establishing the agreement that guarantees Greece the valued access to Sentinel data.
Under the agreement, NOA intends to set up a ‘national mirror site’ for hosting and distributing Sentinel data, ensuring the access, archiving and redistribution of Sentinel data and products for the derivation of value-adding environmental services and information.
“The objective of this activity is to provide data for priority national activities with a prospect to serve the needs of transnational cooperations between Greece and neighbouring southeastern Mediterranean and Balkan countries, as well as the Black Sea Region,” said Prof. Tsinganos.
ESA supports national initiatives by establishing direct and efficient access to Sentinel data, providing technical advice on the set-up of data acquisition and dissemination, as well as making data processing and archiving software available to national initiatives.
“The Understanding we just signed with Greece, which holds the current presidency of the EU, is the first of its kind. We are looking forward to future agreements with other Member States to establish successful data access to and the exploitation of Sentinel data on national levels,” said Volker Liebig, Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes and co-signatory of the Understanding.
“This is an important step forward in the exploitation of the Sentinel data.”
The signing ceremony took place at the beginning of the two-day conference, Copernicus Sentinels Serving Society and Environment, held in Athens, Greece.

source:  sensorsandsystems.com

NASA-CNES Proceed on Surface Water and Ocean Mission

Washington DC (SPX) May 06, 2014

SWOT will be able to measure the ocean's surface with 10 times the resolution of current technologies. This will allow scientists to study small-scale features that are key components of how heat and carbon are exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere.

NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) have agreed to jointly build, launch and operate a spacecraft to conduct the first-ever global survey of Earth's surface water and to map ocean surface height with unprecedented detail.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall signed an agreement Friday at NASA Headquarters in Washington to move from feasibility studies to implementation of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. The two agencies began initial joint studies on the mission in 2009 and plan to complete preliminary design activities in 2016, with launch planned in 2020.
"With this mission, NASA builds on a legacy of Earth science research and our strong relationship with CNES to develop new ways to observe and understand our changing climate and water resources," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "The knowledge we'll gain from SWOT will help decision makers better analyze, anticipate and act to influence events that will affect us and future generations."
SWOT is one of the NASA missions recommended in the National Research Council's 2007 decadal survey of Earth science priorities. The satellite will survey 90 percent of the globe, studying Earth's lakes, rivers, reservoirs and ocean to aid in freshwater management around the world and improve ocean circulation models and weather and climate predictions.

Egyptian satellite to monitor construction of Ethiopian dam

Published Date : 05 May 2014

Egypt:  Egyptian authorities will monitor the construction of Ethiopian Renaissance dam through a recently launched satellite Egysat.
Alaa El Din El Nahry, vice president of the Office for Space Science and Remote Sensing, said the satellite, the cost of which was 300 million Egyptian pounds (some $43 million USD), was launched two weeks ago and the information provided by it will outline negotiations with Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian hydroelectric dam is one of the main conflicts between Egypt, which fears a decreased flow of the Nile river, and Ethiopia, which claims its right to use the waters of the Nile river across its territory. The satellite will not only track the dam but it will also monitor the Kongo River basin to assess the effectiveness of a proposed project to link the Kongo and Nile rivers
Disagreements between the two countries about the dam will be one of the first problems to be faced by the Egyptian president elect in of May 26 and 27 elections.
Source:geospatialworld.net & Trend

European Space Imaging, DigitalGlobe and e-GEOS partner for European Commission framework contract

Published Date : 08 May 2014

(Munich, 7.5.2014) European Space Imaging announced today that they have joined forces with e‑GEOS and DigitalGlobe to provide imagery and data processing services as part of the multi-year framework supply contract with the European Commission for the provision of very high-resolution satellite data and associated services in support of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The valuable four year framework agreement between the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission will be carried out by European Space Imaging together with partners e-GEOS and DigitalGlobe. Through this partnership a total of five satellites will be available to the JRC Controls with Remote Sensing (CwRS) project, an agricultural monitoring program of the European Union.

“DigitalGlobe’s constellation has a proven pedigree in delivering high quality, very high resolution information for the JRC. We build on that tradition through this partnership which will ensure continuity of collection capability leveraging the most advanced high resolution commercial satellite constellation,” said Andrea Bersan, Vice President of Sales EMEAR.

Each partner will play an important role in the creation and delivery of data. European Space Imaging, the Munich based Bavarian company will be managing activities from planning satellite image acquisition through to the final imagery delivery, including liaison with all partners and stakeholders involved on EU and national level. They will also manage tasking of DigitalGlobe’s WorldView constellation through their Direct Access Facility (DAF) located on the grounds of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen. QuickBird data will be centrally tasked through DigitalGlobe and made available through European Space Imaging. e‑GEOS will provide access, tasking, processing and delivery of GeoEye-1 and IKONOS data, through their Imaging and Processing Facility (IPF) located in Neustrelitz, Germany, operated by its subsidiary Euromap, activities for which e‑GEOS has a sound and longstanding reputation.

Status of mapping around the world

The map depicts countries which use satellite imagery for their mapping purposes. Countries depicted in green use satellite imagery for mapping, while those in red do not use satellite imagery for updating their maps. The data for this map was collected through a questionnaire on April 27, 2012 by the GGIM Secretariat to UN Member Countries. 103 answers were received by March 31, 2014.

source: geospatialworld.net
Credit: Prof. Gottfried Konecny, Leibniz University, Hannover, Germany, konecny@ipi.uni-hannover.de

DigitalGlobe introduces new line of product - 50cm TRUE

Published Date : 19 March 2014
US: DigitalGlobe has introduced the product name 50 cm TRUE for its highest resolution satellite imagery products. The satellite images have a resolution better than 50 cm at nadir (directly overhead) and deliver minimum 5 m CE90 accuracy. Although, DigitalGlobe has been delivering true 50 cm imagery since the last five years, the new product line was created to inform customers about the quality of images, Digital Globe claims in its official blog.
Below is an example of 50 cm TRUE image of the Burj Kalifa, Dubai


And here is an example of 70 cm image of the Burj Kalifa, Dubai

In the blog, the satellite imagery provider also reiterated its claim that it is currently the only commercial provider of native 50 cm satellite imagery.Three out of the five satellites in DigitalGlobe’s constellation are capable of collecting imagery at 50 cm resolution or better, and with WorldView-3 ready to launch this summer, DigitalGlobe believes that it will be able to collect imagery down to almost 30 cm resolution.

Source: geospatialworld.net & DigitalGlobe

Mapping world’s 22 most deadly highways

An interactive map by Hertfordshire-based firm Driving Experiences has highlighted 22 most deadly highways of the world. The map includes fear factor ratings for the routes and includes perilous facts about them to highlight the dangers of driving.

The map is based upon the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global status report of 2013 on road safety as well as other data sets. Each road is rated according to its fear factor with the North Yungas scoring 10 out of 10. The North Yungas road in Bolivia is widely considered to be the world’s most dangerous route and has even earned the nickname of death road. While Pakistan’s picturesque-sounding Fairy Meadows Road was rated the second scariest because of its treacherous high altitude, unstable and narrow mountain roads. Factors such as altitude, safety precautions in place including barriers, local driving techniques, the condition of vehicles, road surfaces, annual road deaths per country and weather conditions were all taken into account when producing the map.

Source: geospatialworld.net & Daily Mail

How Does Your Garden Glow? NASA's OCO-2 Seeks Answer

by Laurie J. Schmidt for JPL News Pasadena CA (JPL) May 07, 2014

This animation shows the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, the first NASA spacecraft dedicated to studying carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Science is full of serendipity -- moments when discoveries happen by chance or accident while researchers are looking for something else. For example, penicillin was identified when a blue-green mold grew on a Petri dish that had been left open by mistake.
Now, satellite instruments have given climate researchers at NASA and other research institutions an unexpected global view from space of a nearly invisible fluorescent glow that sheds new light on the productivity of vegetation on land. Previously, global views of this glow from chlorophyll were only possible over Earth's ocean, using NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on NASA's Terra and Aqua spacecraft.
When the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT), known as "IBUKI" in Japan, launched into orbit in 2009, its primary mission was to measure levels of carbon dioxide and methane, two major heat-trapping greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere.
However, NASA researchers, in collaboration with Japanese and other international colleagues, found another treasure hidden in the data: fluorescence from chlorophyll contained within plants.
Although scientists have measured fluorescence in laboratory settings and ground-based field experiments for decades, these new satellite data now provide the ability to monitor what is known as solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence on a global scale, opening up a world of potential new applications for studying vegetation on land.
A "signature" of photosynthesis, solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence is an indicator of the process by which plants convert light from the sun into chemical energy. As chlorophyll molecules absorb incoming radiation, some of the light is dissipated as heat, and some radiation is re-emitted at longer wavelengths as fluorescence.

Seeing the bedrock through the trees

Berkeley CA (SPX) May 06, 2014

Weathered rock (light brown), an often thick layer of fractured rock underlying the thin veneer of soil (dark brown) and just above the impermeable bedrock (gray), can hold more water than soil and plays a major role in determining runoff, landslides and the evolution of mountainous or hilly terrain. Berkeley geologists argue that the rate at which water drains from bedrock (blue arrows) determines the thickness of weathered rock. For a larger version of this image please go here.

University of California, Berkeley, geologist William Dietrich pioneered the application of airborne LIDAR - light detection and ranging - to map mountainous terrain, stripping away the vegetation to see the underlying ground surface.
But that didn't take him deep enough. He still couldn't see what was under the surface: the depth of the soil, the underlying weathered rock and the deep bedrock.
He and geology graduate student Daniella Rempe have now proposed a method to determine these underground details without drilling, potentially providing a more precise way to predict water runoff, the moisture available to plants, landslides and how these will respond to climate change.
The technique, which will help improve climate models that today take into account only the soil layer, was published online last week in the Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A major challenge to including groundwater in climate models, said Rempe, is determining the thickness of weathered bedrock, which can hold most of the water on hillsides, especially during California's dry summers. Their model proposes that the thickness of weathered bedrock under hillslopes is controlled from the bottom up, as opposed to the current view that water from above drives weathering of the bedrock.
"By understanding how water is routed within hillslopes, we can improve predictions of how vegetation and stream flow will respond to climate and land use changes," she said. "But a critical input to hydrologic and climate models is the thickness of soil and weathered bedrock. This model provides, for the first time, a simple theory based on groundwater drainage to predict this thickness across landscapes."

NASA-CNES Proceed on Surface Water and Ocean Mission

Washington DC (SPX) May 06, 2014

SWOT will be able to measure the ocean's surface with 10 times the resolution of current technologies. This will allow scientists to study small-scale features that are key components of how heat and carbon are exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere.

NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) have agreed to jointly build, launch and operate a spacecraft to conduct the first-ever global survey of Earth's surface water and to map ocean surface height with unprecedented detail.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall signed an agreement Friday at NASA Headquarters in Washington to move from feasibility studies to implementation of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. The two agencies began initial joint studies on the mission in 2009 and plan to complete preliminary design activities in 2016, with launch planned in 2020.
"With this mission, NASA builds on a legacy of Earth science research and our strong relationship with CNES to develop new ways to observe and understand our changing climate and water resources," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "The knowledge we'll gain from SWOT will help decision makers better analyze, anticipate and act to influence events that will affect us and future generations."
SWOT is one of the NASA missions recommended in the National Research Council's 2007 decadal survey of Earth science priorities. The satellite will survey 90 percent of the globe, studying Earth's lakes, rivers, reservoirs and ocean to aid in freshwater management around the world and improve ocean circulation models and weather and climate predictions.

Kazakhstan's First Earth Observation Satellite to Orbit

Evry, France (SPX) May 06, 2014

File image.

Arianespace is on track for a record launch performance in 2014 following Tuesday night's Vega mission from the Spaceport in French Guiana, which successfully orbited a pioneering Earth observation satellite for the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Lifting off from the SLV launch site at 10:35:15 p.m. local time - which was the planned precise moment of launch - Vega was put through its paces to loft DZZ-HR, renamed "KazEOSat-1" after reaching Sun-synchronous orbit, during a flight lasting 55 minutes.
As an 800-kg.-class Earth observation spacecraft, KazEOSat-1 is to provide the Republic of Kazakhstan with a complete range of civil applications - including monitoring of natural and agricultural resources, provision of mapping data, and support for rescue operations in the event of a natural disaster.
In post-launch comments from the mission control center, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stephane Israel congratulated the Kazakh space agency KazCosmos on tonight's success, and applauded the work of Airbus Defence and Space - Arianespace's customer for this flight, and the prime contractor for KazEOSat-1.
"I am impressed by the way this program has been controlled from the very beginning and how Airbus delivered on its promises, whether technical or programmatic, especially regarding schedule, which is impressive," he added.
Francois Auque, Executive Vice President - Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space, called tonight's mission a "perfect launch," and recognized Arianespace's "outstanding job" in delivering the satellite payload. "As I am prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, I know all the challenges of being a service provider, and I know all the skills involved," he stated. "I really want to thank the wonderful team of Arianespace in delivering this splendid launch."

An Economic Value of Remote-Sensing Information—Application to Agricultural Production and Maintaining Groundwater Quality

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1796

By William M. Forney , Ronald P. Raunikar, Richard L. Bernknopf, and Shruti K. Mishra

Abstract

Does remote-sensing information provide economic benefits to society, and can a value be assigned to those benefits? Can resource management and policy decisions be better informed by coupling past and present Earth observations with groundwater nitrate measurements? Using an integrated assessment approach, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) applied an established conceptual framework to answer these questions, as well as to estimate the value of information (VOI) for remote-sensing imagery. The approach uses moderate-resolution land-imagery (MRLI) data from the Landsat and Advanced Wide Field Sensor satellites that has been classified by the National Agricultural Statistics Service into the Cropland Data Layer (CDL). Within the constraint of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s public health threshold for potable groundwater resources, the USGS modeled the relation between a population of the CDL’s land uses and dynamic nitrate (NO₃^-) contamination of aquifers in a case study region in northeastern Iowa.

Space Veteran Landsat 7 Marks 15 Years of Observing Earth

Thursday, May 1st 2014

By Jon Campbell

Summary: Launched on April 15, 1999, the Landsat 7 satellite has now been observing Earth from outer space for 15 years. The Landsat program is a decades-long NASA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) partnership that has provided a continuous, unbiased record of change across the earth land surface since 1972.
Launched on April 15, 1999, the Landsat 7 satellite has now been observing Earth from outer space for 15 years. The Landsat program is a decades-long NASA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) partnership that has provided a continuous, unbiased record of change across the earth land surface since 1972.
As illustrated in this collection of Landsat 7 images, Landsat 7 provides a worldwide audience with objective views, both current and historical, of events and trends across the global landscape. Landsat data can be used to detect and monitor urban growth, forestry practices, the extent of floods, wildfire burn acreage, major natural or human-caused disasters, and many other important changes in land-surface conditions.





The boundary between Yellowstone National Park (right) and Targhee National Forest (left) is clearly seen in this Landsat 7 image. Clearcuts are evident on the left (west) side of the boundary. Landsat 7; July 13, 1999.
Landsat 7’s remarkable longevity has been vital to the majority of Landsat data users who require frequent imaging of specific areas for land and resource management. For example, water resource managers in western U.S. states need Landsat’s unique combination of thermal and vegetation condition readings at field scale to estimate water use more efficiently for crop irrigation ­— typically the major source of water consumption in these arid regions

DigitalGlobe Reports First Quarter 2014 Results

Friday, May 2nd 2014

DigitalGlobe | Longmont, CO

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Revenue of $156.5 Million Up 23% Net Income of $0.4 Million Up $61 Million Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 43% Up 1500 Basis Points

DigitalGlobe, Inc. (NYSE: DGI), a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution earth observation and advanced geospatial solutions, today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.
First quarter 2014 revenue was $156.5 million, a 23% increase compared with the same period last year. Net income for the first quarter was $0.4 million, with net loss available to common shareholders of $(0.6) million, or a loss of $(0.01) per diluted share. In the first quarter 2013, the company reported a net loss of $(60.6) million, with a net loss available to common shareholders of $(61.2), or a loss of $(0.96) per diluted shares.
First quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $67.9 million with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 43%. This compares with Adjusted EBITDA of $35.9 million in first quarter 2013, with an associated margin of 28%. Adjusted EBITDA excludes the impact of restructuring, integration and other costs.
First quarter 2013 results exclude GeoEye financial results for the month of January as a result of timing of the close of the acquisition.
"We delivered a good start to 2014," said Jeffrey R. Tarr, CEO. "We drove double-digit top-line growth and strong EBITDA margin expansion primarily from our U.S. and international government businesses and continued success with our integration efforts. We also made progress on a number of important growth initiatives that will extend our industry leadership in resolution, accuracy and revisit, and add unique capabilities that we believe will drive sustained growth toward the end of this year, in 2015 and beyond. In the quarter, we also scaled our Tomnod crowdsourcing platform -- enabling more than 8 million volunteers to aid government customers in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370."
Recent Business Highlights

Food security increased by new scientific model in agricultural production

Washington DC (SPX) May 07, 2014

A geospatial crop model interface was designed and implemented for simulating the potential production of potato across the Eastern Seaboard Region.

Farmers are used to optimizing crop production on their own lands. They do soil tests to choose the right amount of fertilizers to apply, and they sometimes plant row crops on some fields while keeping others in pasture.
But is it possible to optimize production across a much bigger area-say, the whole East Coast of the United States? That's the question a team of USDA-ARS scientists in Beltsville, MD, has begun to tackle by developing a sophisticated new modeling tool.
Known as the Geospatial Agricultural Management and Crop Assessment Framework (GAMCAF), the tool brings together crop models that estimate plant growth and crop yield at scales as fine as 30 meters (90 feet), with spatial sources of information on soils, water, land use, and other factors. Crop models aren't normally designed to work automatically with spatial data, explains Jonathan Resop, who led the platform's development as a USDA-ARS postdoc. Now, the new interface-published in the Jan.-Feb. 2014 issue of Agronomy Journal-allows exactly that.
"This way, we can make much larger predictions [of yields] across the entire regional scale," Resop says. But, he adds, "The real power of this framework is that it lets you look at different scenarios of land use change, water, and climate change." For example, what will happen to production if more farmland is lost to development, or if average growing season temperatures rise substantially in coming decades?

Kazakhstan’s KazEOSat-1 EO satellite enters orbit

Published Date : 01 May 2014

French Guiana: After three delays and postponement Arianespace successfully launched the third Vega launcher from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), orbiting the KazEOSat-1 (DZZ-HR) satellite for the government of Kazakhstan on April 29.
KazEOSat-1 (DZZ-HR) is a high-resolution optical observation satellite that weighed 830 kg at launch. It will provide Kazakhstan with a wide range of civilian applications, including monitoring of natural and agricultural resources, mapping data and support for search & rescue operations during natural disasters. The KazEOSat-1 (DZZ-HR) satellite was built by Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, and offers a design life of 7.25 years. It is the 108th payload built by Airbus Defence and Space (or predecessors) to be launched by Arianespace.
KazEOSat-1 (DZZ-HR) is the 51st satellite with an Earth observation payload to be launched by Arianespace. Vega is designed to launch small satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) or Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). Following this third Vega launch, Arianespace now has a backlog of 10 satellites to be launched, half of them commercial launches in export markets for government agencies. Arianespace had signed a tripartite agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA), and ELV, the industrial prime contractor for Vega, on November 20, 2013. The agreement provides for the procurement of 10 additional launchers, in addition to the three already under production as part of ESA's VERTA (VEga Research and Technology Accompaniment) program, thus covering identified launch requirements until 2019.
Source: geospatialworld.net & Arianespace

UNITAR-UNOSAT releases report on global maritime piracy: A Geospatial Analysis 1995-2013

Published Date : 04 April 2014

Switzerland: The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), through its Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT), has released a global report on maritime Global Maritime Piracy: A Geospatial Analysis 1995-2013.

Following a five year engagement by UNITAR to conduct applied research and geospatial analysis on piracy activities, this report constitutes the first global geospatial analysis on the issue. What started with identifying captured ships delivering humanitarian assistance and other goods using satellite imagery later expanded to regional geospatial analyses for the western Indian Ocean. The current report assesses piracy at the global level. This research includes detailed geo-spatial analyses, while relating findings to complementary factors, including references to specific examples illustrating the complexity of the piracy issue.

INSPIRE: Towards a Participatory Digital Earth

Max Craglia Digital Earth and Reference Data Unit European Commission Joint Research Centre massimo.craglia@jrc.ec.europa.eu

An infrastructure built on those of 28 different countries in 24 languages by a truly democratic process, INSPIRE is a role model not only in relation to the developments of SDI but more generally to the formulation of public policy at the European level. Find out how INSPIRE is facilitating consensus-based policy and is developing and maintaining a network of stakeholders. By Max Craglia For people who are not so familiar with the concept of an SDI, it is easier to think of it as an extension of a desk-top GIS. Whilst in a ‘normal’ GIS, most of the data we use for analysis is our own, or collected by the agency we work for, an SDI is an Internet-based platform to make it easier for us to search and find data that may be relevant for our work and that may be collected, stored or published by other organisations, and often other countries. For this reason, SDIs are often termed as children of the Internet, without which they would not exist. SDIs are the response to an increased recognition that the environmental and social phenomena we are called to understand and govern are very complex, and that no single organisation has the know-how and the data to do the job alone. Hence, we need to share knowledge and data across multiple organisations in both public and private sectors, and SDIs support this effort. INSPIRE: Why and how? INSPIRE is a legal act (Directive 2007/2/EC) of the Council and the European Parliament setting up an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe based on infrastructures for spatial information established and operated by the 28 sovereign Member States of the European Union. All the spatial data that is part of INSPIRE comes via the organisations responsible in the Member States and this EU-wide SDI is developed in a decentralised way, building on the SDIs and related activities established and maintained by the Member States. The prime purpose of INSPIRE is to support environmental policy, and overcome barriers affecting the availability and accessibility of relevant data. These barriers include: inconsistencies in spatial data collection; lack or incomplete documentation of available spatial data; lack of compatibility among spatial datasets that cannot, therefore, be combined with others; incompatible SDI initiatives in the Member States that often function only in isolation; cultural, institutional, financial and legal barriers preventing or delaying the sharing of existing spatial data. The key elements of the INSPIRE Directive to overcome these barriers include: Metadata to describe existing information resources so that they can be more easily found and accessed; Harmonisation of key spatial data themes needed to support environmental policies in the Union; Agreements on network services and technologies to allow discovery, view, download of information resources, and access to related services; Policy agreements on sharing and access, including licensing and charging; Coordination and monitoring mechanisms.

9 Maps that Explain the World’s Forests

Wednesday, March 19th 2014

By Crystal Davis and Dave Thau

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Summary: By the time we find out about deforestation, it’s usually too late to take action.  
By the time we find out about deforestation, it’s usually too late to take action.
Scientists have been studying forests for centuries, chronicling the vital importance of these ecosystems for human society. But most of us still lack timely and reliable information about where, when, and why forests are disappearing.
This is about to change with the launch of Global Forest Watch, an online forest monitoring system created by the World Resources Institute and more than 40 partners. Global Forest Watch uses cutting-edge technologies to map the world’s forests with satellite imagery, detect changes in tree cover in near-real-time, and make this information freely available to anyone with internet access. At right: Global Forest Watch is an online forest monitoring system created by the World Resources Institute and more than 40 partners. Photo credit: Marco Simola, CIFOR
With Global Forest Watch, everyone from business executives to policymakers to indigenous groups can find out what’s happening in forests around the world—and use this information to take action. Now that we have the ability to peer into forests around the globe, a number of telling stories are beginning to emerge:

1) Global tree cover loss far exceeds tree cover gain.

Data from the University of Maryland and Google shows that the world lost 2.3 million square kilometers of tree cover between 2000 and 2012—the equivalent of losing 50 soccer fields’ worth of forests every minute of every day for the past 13 years! By contrast, only 0.8 million square kilometers have regrown, been planted, or restored during the same period. (Click for larger images.)

When Waters Rise: NASA Improves Flood Safety

by Kasha Patel for Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 25, 2014

Researchers need accurate and timely rainfall information to better understand and model where and when severe floods, frequent landslides and devastating droughts may occur. GPM's global rainfall data will help to better prepare and respond to a wide range of natural disasters. Image courtesy NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. To watch a video on NASA's research please go here. To view before and after NASA images of flood events please go here.

Flooding is the most frequent and widespread weather-related natural disaster, taking a huge toll in lives and property each year. NASA Earth-observing satellites and airborne missions provide vital information to emergency planners, relief organizations and weather forecasters, helping to improve flood monitoring and forecasting, as well as providing a more comprehensive understanding of one of Mother Nature's most damaging hazards.
NASA's Earth-observing satellites provide detailed images of flood-affected areas, which are vital for mapping flood extent. For instance, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites monitor a broad area of our planet, providing visible-light imagery, infrared information and other types of data on a daily basis to scientists and emergency managers.
The Landsat satellites in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey provide even higher-resolution imagery, which can be used to map Earth's land surfaces before and after disasters.
Landsat serves as an essential tool for assessing flood risk and mapping the extent of damage for post-disaster recovery. Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) is an advanced land-imaging mission that includes three advanced land imaging instruments and five revolutionary cross cutting spacecraft technologies.
The United Nations World Food Programme, which delivers food relief to inundated areas, uses NASA Earth science satellite-based flood maps to locate floods and map delivery routes to affected areas. Contractors with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also use Landsat imagery to track urban development, which can affect an area's flood risk.
These maps, which reveal the extent and duration of a flood, also allow for more accurate flood forecasting models. "By mapping floods, we can model where future floods will be," said Bob Brakenridge, director of the Flood Observatory at the University of Colorado, Boulder, which has documented flooding events worldwide over the past 14 years. If an area floods year after year, then scientists can predict the likelihood and severity of flooding in surrounding lands.

ASU camera creates stunning mosaic of moon's polar region

Tempe AZ (SPX) Mar 25, 2014

LROC northern polar mosaic with three levels of zoom-down into Thales crater. Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.

the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), run by the Arizona State University-based team under professor Mark Robinson, released what very well may be the largest image mosaic available on the web. This map offers a complete picture of the moon's northern polar region in stunning detail.
On December 11, 2011, after two and a half years in a near-circular polar orbit, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) entered an elliptical polar orbit, with the periapsis (point where the LRO is closest to the surface) near the south pole, and the apoapsis (point where LRO is furthest from the surface) near the north pole of the moon.
The increased altitude over the northern hemisphere enables the two narrow angle cameras and the wide angle camera to capture more terrain in each image acquired in the northern hemisphere.
The resulting LROC northern polar mosaic is comprised of 10,581 narrow angle camera images, collected over four years, and covers the latitude range of zero to 60 degrees north.
In the fall of 2010, the LROC team produced its first mosaic of the moon's northern polar region, but it doesn't even compare to this new mosaic, with its 50-times-higher resolution, and over 680 gigapixels of valid image data covering a region of the moon slightly larger than the combined area of Alaska and Texas - at a resolution of 2 meters per pixel.

US's old satellites cannot track Malaysian airplane, as war drones suck funds dry

Moscow (Voice of Russia) Mar 25, 2014

File image.

The US's old satellites cannot track the missing Malaysian airplane as money is being spent on war drones instead. As the world grows obsessed with drone imagery, it comes at the expense of ignoring satellite radar technology. In today's day and age, high-resolution image satellites are capable of snapping very detailed photos of small locations.
However, an imagery solutions manager for the firm Esri believes that old-fashioned radar satellites are superior at finding lost items at sea.
Radar satellites in all actuality do not see the world but instead get a sense of different items the same way a bat does. For bats, they use sonar to hit signals off of prey to figure out their target's location and other surrounding objects. From the technology side, radar satellites take thorough scans of the planet by hitting electromagnetic signals off of the surface of the earth.
It has been noted that officials in the military sector will not publicly disclose what exact instruments they are using to search for the missing plane. However military wise, these model satellites were excellent for looking over huge spaces where clouds covered the surroundings or to locate ghost ships that had turned off their unit. The satellites are also helpful at finding anomalies at sea.
"If there's any oil slick that stands out well because there's these flat dark spots where there are no wave ripples at all. If there's an angular thing, like maybe a wing floating on the surface or some type of debris, that stuff stands out brightly" Kurt Schwoppe, the Esri manager, said, according to a defenseone.com article.
It is the kind of technology that NASA was head of development back in the 1970s. Nowadays, space-centered radar is a sector where other nations are out out-developing the US, at least from a commercial standpoint of view. The big players in the industry are AirBus and RADARSAT (which has Lockheed Martin involved but is managed out of Canada by MacDonald, Dettwiler, and Associates). "From a commercial company standpoint, we have not flown a radar satellite ourselves," Schwoppe admitted.

First Images Available from NASA-JAXA Global Rain and Snowfall Satellite

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 26, 2014

An extra-tropical cyclone seen off the coast of Japan, March 10, 2014, by the GPM Microwave Imager. The colors show the rain rate: red areas indicate heavy rainfall, while yellow and blue indicate less intense rainfall. The upper left blue areas indicate falling snow. For a larger version of this image please go here. For a video on this research and other images please go here.

NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have released the first images captured by their newest Earth-observing satellite, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, which launched into space Feb. 27.
The images show precipitation falling inside a March 10 cyclone over the northwest Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,000 miles east of Japan. The data were collected by the GPM Core Observatory's two instruments: JAXA's Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), which imaged a three-dimensional cross-section of the storm; and, NASA's GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), which observed precipitation across a broad swath.
"It was really exciting to see this high-quality GPM data for the first time," said GPM project scientist Gail Skofronick-Jackson at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "I knew we had entered a new era in measuring precipitation from space. We now can measure global precipitation of all types, from light drizzle to heavy downpours to falling snow."
The satellite's capabilities are apparent in the first images of the cyclone. Cyclones such as the one imaged -- an extra-tropical cyclone -- occur when masses of warm air collide with masses of cold air north or south of the tropics. These storm systems can produce rain, snow, ice, high winds, and other severe weather.
In these first images, the warm front ahead of the cyclone shows a broad area of precipitation -- in this case, rain -- with a narrower band of precipitation associated with the cold front trailing to the southwest. Snow is seen falling in the northern reaches of the storm.
The GMI instrument has 13 channels that measure natural energy radiated by Earth's surface and also by precipitation itself. Liquid raindrops and ice particles affect the microwave energy differently, so each channel is sensitive to a different precipitation type. With the addition of four new channels, the GPM Core Observatory is the first spacecraft designed to detect light rain and snowfall from space.