EIS: A Unique Hyperspectral Pathfinder Mission Combining the Compact ELOIS Instrument and the InnoSat Smallsat Platform

The EIS mission is a new IOD/IOV mission under the “Horizon 2020” program of the European Union. It combines the innovative ELOIS hyperspectral instrument with the flight-proven InnoSat platform to form a hyperspectral imaging mission offering excellent value for money. OHB Sweden is responsible for the platform, payload integration, system level AIT and for the ground segment incl. operations, while AMOS is delivering the instrument and will validate the data. The target orbit is a LEO SSO orbit at 630 km and the lifetime is 5 years. The platform is enhanced with very high pointing performance and stability and an X-band link for the high data-rate required by the payload. ELOIS is a state-of-the-art instrument featuring several innovative optical, mechanical, and electrical designs. The instrument provides very high radiometric and SNR performances over a broad VIS-SWIR spectral range and within a very low SWaP. This makes it an excellent instrument for affordable cutting-edge smallsat imaging constellations. The mission will be controlled from the OHB Sweden Mission Control Center in Kista, Sweden. The combination of the InnoSat platform and the ELOIS instrument will be a powerful demonstrator for future hyperspectral missions addressing a wide range of applications

Site determination for a long marine outlet, application to the Tangier coastal zone (Morocco)

Action de recherche PX Envisa

Development and use of a 4D GIS to support the conservation of the Calakmul site (Mexico, World Heritage Programme),

peer reviewe

Satellite data for local investigation in coastal zones: case study for Tangier area (Morrocco)

Recent operative satellite multispectral sensors like MERIS, MODIS with more traditional AVHRR and SeaWiFS and high resolution ASTER and ASAR give an unique opportunity for investigation of the marine processes with spatial scale from few hundred meters and temporal variability from few hours. In addition to this, QuikScat wind data helps to better understand an eventual forcing variation. One of the most important processes in coastal area is water (and probable pollutants) transport and mixing. Optical and thermal properties of the water or surface roughness peculiarities can be used as tracers or markers on subsequent images for the estimation of the currents structure and pollution displacement in ocean upper layer. Such kind of investigation is subject to significant interest near the ports and cities surroundings due to strong anthropogenic impact. Processes for the Tangier bay area were investigated by the means of the above-mentioned satellite data coupled with CTD and ADCP field measurements (August 2003). This analysis shown the strong influence of the mesoscale processes like eddies and wind driven upwelling on the currents patterns in the coastal zone. On the basis of the ASTER and ASAR data we estimated typical pollutions pathways. MODIS (Aqua and Terra ) and MERIS data were used for investigation of the variations of the water optical properties on time scale from few hours. This scale is important according to the typical 12 hours tidal motions in Tangier bay area Mutual analyses shown that mixing on Camarinal sill play a significant role in exchange processes in Tangier bay . AVHRR SST data set were analyzed together with QuikScat wind data. This analysis shown that Westward winds caused coastal upwelling phenomena with temperature difference up to 10° C. Quikscat spatial wind variability was also compared with NCEP wind data in nearest point --6W, 36N. Animations for different seasons, on the basis of subsequent thermal AVHRR images, highlighted the variability of regional dynamics. In addition, SeaWiFS time series images were processed, analyzed and compared with MODIS and MERIS data. Multispectral and multisensors approach for Tangier coastal areas study shown high efficiency at that scale, and can obviously be used for other regions

Information Management Systems for Cultural Heritage and Conservation of World Heritage Sites. The Silk Roads Case Study

This paper discusses the application of Information Management Systems (IMS) in cultural heritage. IMS offer a set of tools for understanding, inventorying and documenting national, regional and World Heritage properties.  Information Management Systems can assist State Parties, stakeholders and heritage site managers involved in cultural heritage management and conservation by easily mining, sharing and exchanging information from multiple sources based on international standards. Moreover, they aim to record, manage, visualize, analyze and disseminate heritage information. In close collaboration with five Central Asian countries, namely, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan; a Belgian consortium headed by the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (RLICC), K.U.Leuven is developing the Silk Roads Cultural Heritage Resource Information System (CHRIS). This Web-based Information Management System supports the preparation of the Central Asia Silk Roads serial and transnational nominations on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The project has been set up thanks to the financial support of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and in collaboration with UNESCO World Heritage Centre in conjunction with the People’s Republic of China and the Japanese Funds-in-Trust UNESCO project. It provides a holistic approach for the recording, documenta tion, protection and monitoring tasks as part of the management of these potential World Heritage Properties. The Silk Roads CHRIS is easily accessible to the general user, presented in a bilingual English and Russian frame and interoperable, i.e. open for other applications to connect to. In this way, all information for the nomination dossiers is easily verified regarding consistency and quality and ready for managing, periodic reporting and monitoring processes in the respect to the property listed. Fina lly, this study provides a general framework to establish the effectiveness and limits of the use of information systems for serial transnational nominations of World Heritage Properties and to demonstrate the potentials of an improved heritage documentation system