Integration of LIDAR and IFSAR for mapping

LiDAR and IfSAR data is now widely used for a number of applications, particularly those needing a digital elevation model. The data is often complementary to other data such as aerial imagery and high resolution satellite data. This paper will review the current data sources and the products and then look at the ways in which the data can be integrated for particular applications. The main platforms for LiDAR are either helicopter or fixed wing aircraft, often operating at low altitudes, a digital camera is frequently included on the platform, there is an interest in using other sensors such as 3 line cameras of hyperspectral scanners. IfSAR is used from satellite platforms, or from aircraft, the latter are more compatible with LiDAR for integration. The paper will examine the advantages and disadvantages of LiDAR and IfSAR for DEM generation and discuss the issues which still need to be dealt with. Examples of applications will be given and particularly those involving the integration of different types of data. Examples will be given from various sources and future trends examined

Remote Sensing for Natural or Man-made Disasters and Environmental Changes

Disasters can cause drastic environmental changes. A large amount of spatial data is required for managing the disasters and to assess their environmental impacts. Earth observation data offers independent coverage of wide areas for a broad spectrum of crisis situations. It provides information over large areas in near-real-time interval and supplementary at short-time and long-time intervals. Therefore, remote sensing can support disaster management in various applications. In order to demonstrate not only the efficiency but also the limitations of remote sensing technologies for disaster management, a number of case studies are presented, including applications for flooding in Germany 2013, earthquake in Nepal 2015, forest fires in Russia 2015, and searching for the Malaysian aircraft 2014. The discussed aspects comprise data access, information extraction and analysis, management of data and its integration with other data sources, product design, and organisational aspects

Reputation-based secyrity for heterogtneous structurally complex systems

In this paper we present the service-oriented infrastructure within the Wide Area Grid (WAG) project that was carried out within the Working Group on Information Systems and Services of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). The study focuses on enabling trust for this infrastructure using certificates and reputation-based model.В даній роботі розглянуто сервіс-орієнтовану інфраструктуру обробки супутникових даних, яка розроблена в межах міжнародного проекту Wide Area Grid (WAG) робочої групи WGISS комітету супутникових спостережень CEOS. Розглянуто питання забезпечення довіри в таких структурно-складних системах, зокрема на основі сертифікатів та репутації

Applications of Satellite Earth Observations section - NEODAAS: Providing satellite data for efficient research

The NERC Earth Observation Data Acquisition and Analysis Service (NEODAAS) provides a central point of Earth Observation (EO) satellite data access and expertise for UK researchers. The service is tailored to individual users’ requirements to ensure that researchers can focus effort on their science, rather than struggling with correct use of unfamiliar satellite data

Satellite monitoring of harmful algal blooms (HABs) to protect the aquaculture industry

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) can cause sudden and considerable losses to fish farms, for example 500,000 salmon during one bloom in Shetland, and also present a threat to human health. Early warning allows the industry to take protective measures. PML's satellite monitoring of HABs is now funded by the Scottish aquaculture industry. The service involves processing EO ocean colour data from NASA and ESA in near-real time, and applying novel techniques for discriminating certain harmful blooms from harmless algae. Within the AQUA-USERS project we are extending this capability to further HAB species within several European countries

INTEROPERABILITY ISSUES OF EARTH OBSERVATION \ud GRID SYSTEMS\ud

Interoperability Issues of Earth Observation Grid Systems. A. Shelestov, S. Skakun, M. Korbakov. In this paper we review issues of Earth observation Grid systems integration. We describe different approaches for the solution of problems of certificate trust, data transfer, geospatial data access, task management, etc. As an example, we describe InterGrid system for environmental and natural disaster monitoring that integrates several regional and national Grid systems.\ud Интеграция Grid-систем исследования Земли. Шелестов А.Ю., Скакун С.В., Корбаков М.Б. В работе рассматриваются вопросы интеграции Grid-систем исследования Земли. Приведены возможные подходы к решению задач, возникающих при интеграции: обмен сертификатами, обмен данными, доступ к геопространственным данным, выполнение заданий и т.д. В качестве примера использования описанных решений описана InterGrid-система, которая объединяет несколько региональных и национальных Grid-систем и направлена на решения задач экологического мониторинга и мониторинга природных чрезвычайных ситуаций.\u

A review of the internet of floods : near real-time detection of a flood event and its impact

Worldwide, flood events frequently have a dramatic impact on urban societies. Time is key during a flood event in order to evacuate vulnerable people at risk, minimize the socio-economic, ecologic and cultural impact of the event and restore a society from this hazard as quickly as possible. Therefore, detecting a flood in near real-time and assessing the risks relating to these flood events on the fly is of great importance. Therefore, there is a need to search for the optimal way to collect data in order to detect floods in real time. Internet of Things (IoT) is the ideal method to bring together data of sensing equipment or identifying tools with networking and processing capabilities, allow them to communicate with one another and with other devices and services over the Internet to accomplish the detection of floods in near real-time. The main objective of this paper is to report on the current state of research on the IoT in the domain of flood detection. Current trends in IoT are identified, and academic literature is examined. The integration of IoT would greatly enhance disaster management and, therefore, will be of greater importance into the future

Commercial potential of remote sensing data from the Earth observing system

The purpose was to assess the market potential of remote sensing value-added products from the Earth Observing System (EOS) platform. Sensors on the EOS platform were evaluated to determine which qualities and capabilities could be useful to the commercial user. The approach was to investigate past and future satellite data distribution programs. A questionnaire was developed for use in a telephone survey. Based on the results of the survey of companies that add value to remotely sensed data, conversations with the principal investigators in charge of each EOS sensor, a study of past commercial satellite data ventures, and reading from the commercial remote sensing industry literature, three recommendations were developed: develop a strategic plan for commercialization of EOS data, define a procedure for commercial users within the EOS data stream, and develop an Earth Observations Commercial Applications Program-like demonstration program within NASA using EOS simulated data

Assessment of high resolution SAR imagery for mapping floodplain water bodies: a comparison between Radarsat-2 and TerraSAR-X

Flooding is a world-wide problem that is considered as one of the most devastating natural hazards. New commercially available high spatial resolution Synthetic Aperture RADAR satellite imagery provides new potential for flood mapping. This research provides a quantitative assessment of high spatial resolution RADASAT-2 and TerraSAR-X products for mapping water bodies in order to help validate products that can be used to assist flood disaster management. An area near Dhaka in Bangladesh is used as a test site because of the large number of water bodies of different sizes and its history of frequent flooding associated with annual monsoon rainfall. Sample water bodies were delineated in the field using kinematic differential GPS to train and test automatic methods for water body mapping. SAR sensors products were acquired concurrently with the field visits; imagery were acquired with similar polarization, look direction and incidence angle in an experimental design to evaluate which has best accuracy for mapping flood water extent. A methodology for mapping water areas from non-water areas was developed based on radar backscatter texture analysis. Texture filters, based on Haralick occurrence and co-occurrence measures, were compared and images classified using supervised, unsupervised and contextual classifiers. The evaluation of image products is based on an accuracy assessment of error matrix method using randomly selected ground truth data. An accuracy comparison was performed between classified images of both TerraSAR-X and Radarsat-2 sensors in order to identify any differences in mapping floods. Results were validated using information from field inspections conducted in good conditions in February 2009, and applying a model-assisted difference estimator for estimating flood area to derive Confidence Interval (CI) statistics at the 95% Confidence Level (CL) for the area mapped as water. For Radarsat-2 Ultrafine, TerraSAR-X Stripmap and Spotlight imagery, overall classification accuracy was greater than 93%. Results demonstrate that small water bodies down to areas as small as 150m² can be identified routinely from 3 metre resolution SAR imagery. The results further showed that TerraSAR-X stripmap and spotlight images have better overall accuracy than RADARSAT-2 ultrafine beam modes images. The expected benefits of the research will be to improve the provision of data to assess flood risk and vulnerability, thus assisting in disaster management and post-flood recovery