Geo-correction of high-resolution imagery using fast template matching on a GPU in emergency mapping contexts

The increasing availability of satellite imagery acquired from existing and new sensors allow a wide variety of new applications that depend on the use of diverse spectral and spatial resolution data sets. One of the pre-conditions for the use of hybrid image data sets is a consistent geo-correction capacity. We demonstrate how a novel fast template matching approach implemented on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) allows us to accurately and rapidly geo-correct imagery in an automated way. The key difference with existing geo-correction approaches, which do not use a GPU, is the possibility to match large source image segments (8192 by 8192 pixels) with relatively large templates (512 by 512 pixels). Our approach is sufficiently robust to allow for the use of various reference data sources. The need for accelerated processing is relevant in our application context, which relates to mapping activities in the European Copernicus emergency management service. Our new method is demonstrated over an area North-West of Valencia (Spain) for a large forest fire event in July 2012. We use DEIMOS-1 and RapidEye imagery for the delineation of burnt fire scar extent. Automated geo-correction of each full resolution image sets takes approximately 1 minute. The reference templates are taken from the TerraColor data set and the Spanish national ortho-imagery data base, through the use of dedicate web map services (WMS). Geo-correction results are compared to the vector sets derived in the related Copernicus emergency service activation request.JRC.G.2-Global security and crisis managemen

Copernicus-EMS mapping guidelines and best practice

This document contains the mapping guidelines for Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS) mapping production. It summarizes the JRC experience developed in the frame of Copernicus with respect to the challenging task of providing maps in support of the disaster risk management cycle. The main focus is on the rush mode mapping service, however the guidelines are applicable to the non-rush service as well. The document approaches the map per part component: title, cartographic information, overview maps, legend, and map frame, etc. Some specific and innovative elements are introduced, e.g. the summary table and the standard use of vector files. Particular attention is devoted to the consistency across the components that constitute the product. The structure and the schematic organization of the guidelines allow considering this document as a kind of practical handbook.JRC.G.2-Global security and crisis managemen

Validation Protocol for Emergency Response Geo-information Products

Europe is making a significant effort to develop (geo)information services for crisis management as part of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security GMES) programme. Recognising the importance of coordinated European response to crises and the potential contribution of GMES, the Commission launched a number of preparatory activities in coordination with relevant stakeholders for the establishment of an Emergency Response GMES Core Service (ERCS). GMES Emergency Response Services will rely on information provided by advanced technical and operational capabilities making full use of space earth observation and supporting their integration with other sources of data and information. Data and information generated by these services can be used to enhance emergency preparedness and early reaction to foreseeable or imminent crises and disasters. From a technical point of view, the use of geo-information for emergency response poses significant challenges for spatial data collection, data management, information extraction and communication. The need for an independent formal assessment of crisis products to provide operational services with homogeneous and reliable standards has recently become recognized as an integral component of service development. Validation is intended to help end-users decide how much to trust geo-information products (maps, spatial dataset). The focus, in this document, is on geo-information products, in particular those derived from Earth Observation data. Validation principles have been implemented into a protocol, as a tool to check whether the products meet standards and user needs. The validation principles, methods, rules and guidelines provided in this document aim to give a structure that guarantees an overall documented and continuous quality of ERCS products.JRC.DG.G.2-Global security and crisis managemen

Discussion document on the introduction of monitoring to substitute OTSC - Supporting non-paper DS/CDP/2017/03 revising R2017/809

This discussion document builds upon the non-paper DS/CDP/2017/03 to introduce the possibility for substituting the OTSC by a system of monitoring for checking the fulfilment of land use/ land cover related CAP requirements. It describes the main concepts and components that need to be considered and developed for substituting the sampled on the spot checks of aid applications with a monitoring system on all of the applications. The goal is simplification and reduction of the burden of controls and especially for what concerns number of field visits. Such substitution requires a shift in thinking, procedures as well as technology and these are topics elaborated in some detail. An annex provides illustrations, examples, field cases and elaborations of the key topics. This document constitutes the Commission’s interpretation of common standards.JRC.D.5-Food Securit

Technical guidance on the decision to go for substitution of OTSC by monitoring

This document describes the main pre-requisites and conditions that have to be met by a given EU Member States in order to implement on operational basis the CAP monitoring as a substitute of the OTS Controls. It further provides guidance on how the MS Administrations could check the fulfilment of these pre-conditions and how to interpret the outcomes of these checks. The two main pre-conditions for implementing monitoring are: (1) the conformity of specific elements of the Integrated Administrative and Control System (LPIS, GSAA, cross-checks) to ensure the correctness of the “area component” of the farmer declarations; and (2) suitability of the agricultural landscape of the region subject to monitoring, in terms of land management structure and cropping/agronomic practices First component is largely verified through the annual LPIS Quality Assessment, while the second relies on analysis of the crop/land use recognition using machine learning and EO data provided by Copernicus Sentinels This document constitutes the Commission’s (draft) proposal of common practices and includes comments from: DG AGRI D3, DG AGRI H3, DK, BE-FL, MT, ES.JRC.D.5-Food Securit

Standard Operating Procedure - Collaborative Spatial Assessment CoSA - Release 1.0

The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is to establish uniform procedures pertaining to the preparation for, the performance of, and the reporting of COllaborative (geo) Spatial Assessment (CoSA). CoSA provides a synoptic, unbiased assessment over the impact area of a disaster, which feeds the two main recovery perspectives of the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA): i) the valuation of damages and losses carried out through the Damage and Loss Assessment (DaLA) methodology; and ii) the identification of human impacts and recovery needs carried out though the Human Recovery Needs Assessment (HRNA). CoSA is distinct from other geospatial and remote sensing based assessments because it i) draws on the collaborative efforts of distributed capacities in remote sensing and geospatial analysis, ii) aims to achieve the highest possible accuracy in line with the requirements of the PDNA and iii) tries to do so under stringent timing constraints set by the PDNA schedule. The current SOP will aid in ensuring credibility, consistency, transparency, accuracy and completeness of the CoSA. It is a living document, however, that will be enriched with new practical experiences and regularly updated to incorporate state-of-the-art procedures and new technical developments.JRC.DG.G.2-Global security and crisis managemen

A population of gamma-ray emitting globular clusters seen with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

Globular clusters with their large populations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are believed to be potential emitters of high-energy gamma-ray emission. Our goal is to constrain the millisecond pulsar populations in globular clusters from analysis of gamma-ray observations. We use 546 days of continuous sky-survey observations obtained with the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to study the gamma-ray emission towards 13 globular clusters. Steady point-like high-energy gamma-ray emission has been significantly detected towards 8 globular clusters. Five of them (47 Tucanae, Omega Cen, NGC 6388, Terzan 5, and M 28) show hard spectral power indices $(0.7 < \Gamma <1.4)$ and clear evidence for an exponential cut-off in the range 1.0-2.6 GeV, which is the characteristic signature of magnetospheric emission from MSPs. Three of them (M 62, NGC 6440 and NGC 6652) also show hard spectral indices $(1.0 < \Gamma < 1.7)$, however the presence of an exponential cut-off can not be unambiguously established. Three of them (Omega Cen, NGC 6388, NGC 6652) have no known radio or X-ray MSPs yet still exhibit MSP spectral properties. From the observed gamma-ray luminosities, we estimate the total number of MSPs that is expected to be present in these globular clusters. We show that our estimates of the MSP population correlate with the stellar encounter rate and we estimate 2600-4700 MSPs in Galactic globular clusters, commensurate with previous estimates. The observation of high-energy gamma-ray emission from a globular cluster thus provides a reliable independent method to assess their millisecond pulsar populations that can be used to make constraints on the original neutron star X-ray binary population, essential for understanding the importance of binary systems in slowing the inevitable core collapse of globular clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Corresponding authors: J. Kn\"odlseder, N. Webb, B. Pancraz

Fermi Large Area Telescope View of the Core of the Radio Galaxy Centaurus A

We present gamma-ray observations with the LAT on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope of the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus~A. The previous EGRET detection is confirmed, and the localization is improved using data from the first 10 months of Fermi science operation. In previous work, we presented the detection of the lobes by the LAT; in this work, we concentrate on the gamma-ray core of Cen~A. Flux levels as seen by the LAT are not significantly different from that found by EGRET, nor is the extremely soft LAT spectrum (\G=2.67\pm0.10_{stat}\pm0.08_{sys} where the photon flux is \Phi\propto E^{-\G}). The LAT core spectrum, extrapolated to higher energies, is marginally consistent with the non-simultaneous HESS spectrum of the source. The LAT observations are complemented by simultaneous observations from Suzaku, the Swift Burst Alert Telescope and X-ray Telescope, and radio observations with the Tracking Active Galactic Nuclei with Austral Milliarcsecond Interferometry (TANAMI) program, along with a variety of non-simultaneous archival data from a variety of instruments and wavelengths to produce a spectral energy distribution (SED). We fit this broadband data set with a single-zone synchrotron/synchrotron self-Compton model, which describes the radio through GeV emission well, but fails to account for the non-simultaneous higher energy TeV emission observed by HESS from 2004-2008. The fit requires a low Doppler factor, in contrast to BL Lacs which generally require larger values to fit their broadband SEDs. This indicates the \g-ray emission originates from a slower region than that from BL Lacs, consistent with previous modeling results from Cen~A. This slower region could be a slower moving layer around a fast spine, or a slower region farther out from the black hole in a decelerating flow.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. 32 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. J. Finke and Y. Fukazawa corresponding author

Establishing Zebrafish as a Novel Exercise Model: Swimming Economy, Swimming-Enhanced Growth and Muscle Growth Marker Gene Expression

Zebrafish has been largely accepted as a vertebrate multidisciplinary model but its usefulness as a model for exercise physiology has been hampered by the scarce knowledge on its swimming economy, optimal swimming speeds and cost of transport. Therefore, we have performed individual and group-wise swimming experiments to quantify swimming economy and to demonstrate the exercise effects on growth in adult zebrafish