ESA News<br />http://www.esa.int<br /><br />19 July 2004<br /><br />Director José Achache unveils new Observing the Earth website<br /><br />What is the use of Earth Observation? Quite a lot is the short reply; the full <br />list gets longer all the time. For the complete answer, visit ESA's new <br />Observing the Earth Portal, redesigned to highlight the growing number of <br />applications of this unique technique, and featuring a mass of information on <br />the full scope of ESA remote sensing activities.<br /><br />To mark its launch, ESA Earth Observation Director José Achache explains the <br />thinking the new Portal has been designed around, and shares his views on the <br />past, present and future of Earth Observation.<br /><br />How has the concept of Earth Observation developed over the years?<br /><br />"Probably one of the most significant achievements of the space age has been the <br />re-evaluation of planet Earth. When the exploration of space started in the <br />1960s, space was regarded solely as the means of leaving the Earth to <br />investigate the ends of the universe.<br /><br />"Since then, a remarkable change in perspective has taken place. The process of <br />space exploration served to underline the unique value and fragility of the <br />Earth environment. And today, space has come back to Earth in a very practical <br />way: the data returned from satellites turns out to have qualities that <br />classical ground-based observation techniques simply cannot match.<br /><br />"Measurements from space are global, continuous, objective and precise. This <br />rich source of information gives us the ability to perceive our planet in many <br />new and varied ways, and this is an ability that can be put to a wide variety of <br />potential uses.<br /><br />"Maximising its take-up has been a priority of the Earth Observation Directorate <br />in recent years, with a strategy of fostering the development of new <br />applications and services based on user needs."<br /><br />Does this strategy involve reaching out beyond purely scientific users?<br /><br />"Very much so, and the new Earth Observation Portal is an important part of <br />this. The biggest single block to the wider take-up of satellite data is lack of <br />familiarity with it.<br /><br />"The Portal has been designed to inform people in a clear way not just about <br />individual missions but about Earth Observation as a whole: how it is a tool to <br />improve scientific understanding of our planet, but at the same time helping to <br />secure our environment, and also increasingly enabling value-added services to <br />benefit our economy.<br /><br />"In fact, the Portal is directly based around this set of themes: space to <br />understand, to secure and to benefit.<br /><br />Each of these themes features within them a number of introductory background <br />articles and highlighted examples, as well as links to related ESA resources."<br /><br />How does Earth Observation help to better understand our planet?<br /><br />"Satellites can monitor the state of our world in all sorts of exact ways. They <br />can map land cover and biomass health, identify millimetre-scale buckling in the <br />Earth's crust, measure sea surface temperature to a few tenths of a degree, plot <br />any increases in average sea level or decreases in ice sheet thickness, chart <br />the chemical composition of the atmosphere down to a few molecules per million, <br />and identify microscopic aerosols drifting in the air.<br /><br />"Accurately characterising these various interrelated components of the Earth <br />system improves our knowledge of its current state, but also our potential to <br />predict its future evolution.<br /><br />"There was a time when the Earth sciences were concentrated on the past, <br />modelling how various geomorphic phenomena gave rise to the world, its <br />landscapes and climate. Now the field is coming to be attached to the future <br />tense, as it responds to new needs concerning the forecasting of climate change, <br />the evolution of the global environment and the incidence of natural disasters.<br /><br />"Nowadays the knowledge of the laws of physics enables increasingly <br />sophisticated numerical models of the Earth system that allow scientists to <br />extrapolate its future state. The more closely these models match observed <br />reality the more confident we can be in their predictions. By assimilating data <br />from satellites these models are being established as reliable forecasting tools."<br /><br />What role can satellites play in securing our environment?<br /><br />"This same detailed wide-area perspective that aids science is a tool for more <br />effective stewardship of our environment and better protection of our citizens <br />from natural hazards. Effective governmental decision-making requires the <br />acquisition of accurate up-to-date information, and Earth Observation makes <br />possible the gathering of high-quality intelligence on a global scale.<br /><br />"The most high-profile example is ESA's joint endeavour with the European Union <br />called Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). The aim of GMES is <br />to set up information-gathering infrastructures and services for governments, <br />administrations and municipal authorities. Its remit includes the forecasting <br />and managements of natural risks, management of resources, monitoring and <br />implementing major international environmental agreements, the management of <br />wetlands and rural areas, and the conservation of biodiversity and national <br />heritage.<br /><br />"ESA has commenced with the five-year GMES Services Element (GSE) comprising <br />operational services integrating space and ground-based observations. Many of <br />these services have evolved from existing pilot projects -- also detailed in the <br />new Portal -- dealing with activities such as international treaty <br />implementation and supporting civil protection agencies.<br /><br />To give one current example of how Earth Observation is helping to secure people <br />and the environment, ESA has been a founding member of the international Charter <br />on Space and Major Disasters, committing world space agencies to supply <br />satellite data to civil protection groups responding to natural or man-made <br />disasters. In less than four years the Charter has been activated more than 50 <br />times."<br /><br />And how does Earth Observation benefit our economy?<br /><br />"The single clearest practical benefit from Earth Observation is the improved <br />accuracy of weather forecasting made possible by meteorological satellites like <br />ESA's Meteosat series – in this instance every single citizen is a daily <br />consumer of satellite data, and it has brought huge benefits to agriculture and <br />industry.<br /><br />"Beyond this now self-sustaining aspect of Earth Observation, we have been <br />working hard to develop other applications for commercial activities. There has <br />been a long history of attempting to commercialise Earth Observation during the <br />last 20 years, but with an early emphasis on direct selling of satellite imagery <br />rather than value-adding services.<br /><br />"The example of weather forecasting shows how this initial strategy was flawed <br />-- the ordinary person watching the weather on television is not interested in <br />the satellite image alone but the analysis and forecast derived from that image.<br /><br />"Our emphasis now is on tailoring Earth Observation-based information products <br />and services for specialised market segments, and doing this by fostering links <br />between the Earth Observation industry and new user groups. The result has been <br />the start of specific services serving such activities as oil and gas <br />exploration, forest management, agricultural -- most notably rice -- <br />forecasting, and ship navigation through sea ice and bad weather.<br /><br />"More broadly, Earth Observation can also underpin our future economic <br />development by ensuring it occurs in a sustainable way, with natural resources <br />being exploited at a replaceable rate. The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable <br />Development in Johannesburg made clear the role space-based systems could play <br />in helping to manage growth so that finite resources such as agricultural land <br />and clean water are not diminished.<br /><br />"Detailed information on all this work is available at the new Earth Observation <br />Portal. I hope people will visit it so they can judge the importance of these <br />activities for themselves."<br /><br />Director Achache, thank you very much.<br /><br />Related Link<br /><br />* Observing the Earth Portal<br /> http://www.esa.int/esaEO/index.html<br /><br />IMAGE CAPTIONS:<br /><br />[Image 1:<br />]http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM92WU4QWD_index_1.html]<br />Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) returns data on land <br />cover as well as ocean colour. MERIS surface imagery has been mapped onto to the <br />land area of this globe, from the white of Arctic snows to the bleached-out <br />yellow of the Sahara.<br /><br />Credits: ESA 2004<br /><br />[Image 2:<br />]http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM92WU4QWD_index_1.html#subhead1]<br />José Achache, Director of Earth Observation at ESA.<br /><br />Credits: ESA<br /><br />[Image 3:<br />]http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM92WU4QWD_index_1.html#subhead2]<br />Envisat's Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) continuously monitors <br />sea surface temperature to an accuracy of a few tenths of a degree. This is a <br />false-colour representation of AATSR results over the Atlantic, with blue <br />correspondng to coldest waters and red the warmest.<br /><br />Credits: ESA 2004<br /><br />[Image 4:<br />]http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM92WU4QWD_index_1.html#subhead4]<br />Envisat's ASAR image acquired 17 November 2002 shows a double-headed oil spill <br />originating from the stricken Prestige tanker, Prestige, lying 100 km off the <br />Spanish coast.<br /><br />Credits: ESA<br /><br />[Image 5:<br />]http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM92WU4QWD_index_1.html#subhead5]<br />This satellite-derived image shows local slope face direction, overlaid with the <br />Frascati Denominazione d'Origine Controllata, outlined in black. The 'hottest' <br />reddish colours face the most south, and therefore get more Sun exposure, while <br />'cooler' colours face towards the north. Such information could be imported into <br />the proposed Bacchus geographical information system tool to permit vinegrowers <br />to estimate optimal sites to cultivate particular grape species.