Even just within the last couple of months, Cyclones Fani, Idai and Kenneth have brought devastation to millions. With the frequency and severity of extreme weather like this expected to increase against the backdrop of climate change, it is more important than ever to forecast and track events accurately. And, an ESA satellite is helping with the task in hand.
Our planet works in mysterious ways. We are all used to hearing about the world’s ice being the first casualty of climate change and, indeed, it is declining fast. However, recent findings show that one glacier is not conforming to the norm – it’s actually been flowing more slowly and getting thicker.
With human activity leaving its indelible mark on the landscape and affecting the climate, our natural world is changing faster than at any other time in history. Science is fundamental to understanding environmental change so that these huge challenges can be tackled. To ensure a more efficient approach on Earth-system science and to bring direct benefits to society, ESA and the European Commission are working to join forces.
Satellites deliver crucial information to help solve what is our biggest global problem: climate change. As well as taking the pulse of our planet, satellite data are used in a myriad of daily applications, and are also used increasingly in business. It’s no surprise then that over 4 000 people have flocked to Milan to hear the latest scientific findings on Earth’s natural processes and global change, and to learn about the wealth of new opportunities that Earth observation has to offer.
Our protective magnetic field is always restless, but every now and then something weird happens – it jerks. Although scientists have known about these rapid shifts for some 40 years, the reason why they occur has remained a frustrating mystery, until now.
Street art and climate science will combine at ESA’s Living Planet Symposium to highlight the major role that satellites play in helping to understand our Earth.
Records show that, on average, global sea level rose by 3.2 mm a year between 1993 and 2018, but hidden within this average is the fact that the rate of rise has been accelerating over the last few years. Taking measurements of the height of the sea surface is essential to monitoring this worrying trend – and the Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission is on the way to being ready to do just this.
When we think of climate change, one of the first things to come to mind is melting polar ice. However, ice loss isn’t just restricted to the polar regions. According to research published today, glaciers around the world have lost well over 9000 gigatonnes (nine trillion tonnes) of ice since 1961, raising sea level by 27 mm.
Assessing the accuracy of data being returned by completely new technology in space is a challenging task. But this is exactly what engineers and scientists have been dedicating their time to over the last months so that measurements of the world’s winds being gathered by Aeolus can be fed confidently into weather forecast models.
Why is archiving and curating heritage satellite data so fundamentally important? How can heritage data from old satellites be used to compare with current findings?
The Copernicus Masters 2019 competition is now open for submissions. This international competition awards prizes to innovative solutions, developments and ideas for business and society that use Copernicus data.
Today is World Water Day, but with millions of people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe struggling to cope in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, the notion of water shortages may not be at the forefront of our minds right now. Even so, floods, like we see here, lead to real problems accessing clean water. Whether the problem is inundation or water scarcity, satellites can help monitor this precious resource.
Billions of image pixels recorded by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission have been used to generate a high-resolution map of land-cover dynamics across Earth’s landmasses. This map also depicts the month of the peak of vegetation and gives new insight into land productivity.
Billions of image pixels recorded by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission have been used to generate a high-resolution map of land-cover dynamics across Earth’s landmasses. This map also depicts the month of the peak of vegetation and gives new insight into land productivity.
As millions of people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe struggle to cope with the aftermath of what could be the southern hemisphere’s worst storm, Copernicus Sentinel-1 is one of the satellite missions being used to map flooded areas to help relief efforts.
Ten years ago, ESA launched one of its most innovative satellites. GOCE spent four years measuring a fundamental force of nature: gravity. This extraordinary mission not only yielded new insights into our gravity field, but led to some amazing discoveries about our planet, from deep below the surface to high up in the atmosphere and beyond. And, this remarkable mission continues to realise new science today.
The Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar mission shows how cracks cutting across Antarctica’s Brunt ice shelf are on course to truncate the shelf and release an iceberg about the size of Greater London – it’s just a matter of time.
New maps that use information from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite reveal nitrogen dioxide emission being released into the atmosphere in cities and towns across the globe.
Satellites observing and measuring our planet deliver a huge amount of data that not only helps understand how our world is changing, but also benefits society by feeding into a myriad of everyday applications. Taking this to the next level, ESA is exploring how even more could be gained from these valuable data by using artificial intelligence (AI).
We all listen to weather forecasts and know they rely on satellite data. What may not be so obvious is that many other aspects of our lives depend on robust satellite data, from growing crops to tackling the major issue of climate change. The socio-economic benefits of Earth observation are huge, and increasing. In Europe, ESA, Eumetsat and the EU work closely together, in long-term partnerships, to make sure these benefits are delivered.
We all listen to weather forecasts and know they rely on satellite data. What may not be so obvious is that many other aspects of our lives depend on robust satellite data, from growing crops to tackling the major issue of climate change. The socio-economic benefits of Earth observation are huge, and increasing. In Europe, ESA, Eumetsat and the EU work closely together, in long-term partnerships, to make sure these benefits are delivered.
The Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission has been used to produce global maps of two atmospheric gases responsible for making our world warmer: methane, which is a particularly potent greenhouse gas, and ozone, which is a greenhouse gas and a pollutant in the lower part of the atmosphere. The maps give insight into where these gases are coming from.
The Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission has been used to produce global maps of two atmospheric gases responsible for making our world warmer: methane, which is a particularly potent greenhouse gas, and ozone, which is a greenhouse gas and a pollutant in the lower part of the atmosphere. The maps give insight into where these gases are coming from.
When Mount Agung in Indonesia erupted in 2017, the search was on to find out why it had stirred. Thanks to information on ground deformation from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, scientists now have more insight into the volcano’s hidden secrets that caused it to reawaken.
When Mount Agung in Indonesia erupted in 2017, the search was on to find out why it had stirred. Thanks to information on ground deformation from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, scientists now have more insight into the volcano’s hidden secrets that caused it to reawaken.
This heart-shaped body of water may look cute for Valentine’s Day but just as love sometimes fades, this emerald sea is withering away.
This heart-shaped body of water may look cute for Valentine’s Day but just as love sometimes fades, this emerald sea is withering away.
Earth observation satellite data are crucial for generating accurate weather predictions. They provide a global picture of the current state of the atmosphere, which is used as the starting point for creating a forecast. But our knowledge of that current state is limited, partly because satellites have so far not been able to collect much information about clouds, which play a key role in the weather. The ESA/JAXA future mission EarthCARE will provide this information to improve our predictions about the future weather and climate.
Earth observation satellite data are crucial for generating accurate weather predictions. They provide a global picture of the current state of the atmosphere, which is used as the starting point for creating a forecast. But our knowledge of that current state is limited, partly because satellites have so far not been able to collect much information about clouds, which play a key role in the weather. The ESA/JAXA future mission EarthCARE will provide this information to improve our predictions about the future weather and climate.
Since it’s Valentine’s Day soon, we’re all feeling romantic and so we bring you this image of a heart-shaped lake in Argentina – and like all love, it’s special.
Since it’s Valentine’s Day soon, we’re all feeling romantic and so we bring you this image of a heart-shaped lake in Argentina – and like all love, it’s special.
Since ESA’s Aeolus satellite was launched in August, engineers and scientists have been carefully checking the information that this pioneering mission is delivering on the world’s winds – and now it’s time for the next phase.
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we will soon be expressing our love to those nearest and dearest – and maybe that can include our beautiful home planet, after all it needs all the love and care it can get.
Since it was first measured in 1831, we have known that the magnetic north is constantly on the move. However, its tendency to slowly roam has stepped up a pace recently – so much so that the World Magnetic Model has had to be updated urgently with the pole’s new location, vital for navigation on smartphones, for example. ESA’s magnetic field Swarm mission has been key for this update.
For some, the concept of ‘science’ may seem difficult or even boring, particularly if it was taught poorly at school. However, with all of us facing the consequences a rapidly changing world, science is fundamental to implementing adaptation and mitigation strategies. Thanks to satellites delivering critical science, we are better placed than ever before to cope with the challenges ahead.
For some, the concept of ‘science’ may seem difficult or even boring, particularly if it was taught poorly at school. However, with all of us facing the consequences of a rapidly changing world, science is fundamental to implementing adaptation and mitigation strategies. Thanks to satellites delivering critical science, we are better placed than ever before to cope with the challenges ahead.
Wildfires can cause devastation and are also to blame for more than a quarter of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. Satellites play a key role in mapping landscape scarred by fire – but the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission has revealed that there are more fires than previously thought.
The date has been set for the Earth observation science community to come together and discuss the merits of the two satellite concepts competing to be ESA’s next Earth Explorer.
An amendment to the current Copernicus Agreement has been signed by the EU and ESA, adding €96 million to ESA’s space component budget for the world’s largest environmental monitoring programme: Copernicus.
ESA’s new Earth observation innovation hub, ɸ-lab, is set to welcome three research fellows from the aerospace industry giant Airbus, to work at the edge of disruptive technologies that monitor Earth’s environment from space.
A new contract seals the deal for Thales Alenia Space to lead the consortium that is building ESA’s photosynthesis mission: FLEX.
Images acquired every six days by the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites are being used to map ground movement across two billion measurement sites in Norway, revealing shifts as small as one millimetre a year.
School classes can come on a journey around the planet, by attending the Open Days of ESA’s Living Planet Symposium in Milan next May – among the world’s largest conferences devoted to satellite Earth observation.
Providing water for drinking, irrigation and power, glaciers in the world’s highest mountains are a lifeline for more than a billion people. As climate change takes a grip and glaciers lose mass, one might think that, lubricated by more meltwater, they flow more quickly. However, satellite images from over the last 30 years show that it isn’t as simple as that.
The jury is still out as to whether climate change will lead to stronger El Niño events, but while representatives from around 200 countries at the COP24 conference are working to breathe life into the 2105 Paris Agreement, there is a 75–80% chance that a fully-fledged event could be with us in the next couple of months.
Using a 25-year record of ESA satellite data, recent research shows that the pace at which Greenland is losing ice is getting faster.
ESA has added nine new projects to its flagship climate initiative as part of ongoing efforts to systematically observe and collect data in support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.