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Argentinian CONAE becomes UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office Tue Oct 2 2012The Argentina National Space Activities Commission (CONAE) became UN-SPIDER's most recent Regional Support Office (RSO). CONAE and UNOOSA signed a cooperation agreement to establish the Regional Support Office in 2012. CONAE has been promoting the use of space-based information within Argentina and in Latin America for a variety of purposes and has been supporting UN-SPIDER in activities...
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CATHALAC: Subsequent Analysis on Lake Azuei Flooding Tue Oct 2 2012UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office CATHALAC published a subsequent analysis on the flooding of Lake Azuei in Haiti. On 19 September 2012, CATHALAC had already provided an analysis of floodings caused by lakes Azuei in Haiti and Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic. The most recent analysis of Lake Azuei, based on Landsat-7 imagery captured on September 16, 2012, shows how the Lake has expanded by...
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SUPARCO publishes Report on Rapid Crop Damage Assessment Tue Oct 2 2012UN-SPIDER's Regional Support Office in Pakistan - SUPARCO - published a report on Rapid Crop Damage Assessment in Pakistan for 2011. The publication was produced in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It is the third of its kind, two previous reports focused on rapid crop damage assessment in 2010. Pakistan experienced devastating floods during 2010...
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International Charter: Read the September 2012 Newsletter Tue Oct 2 2012The September issue of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" Newsletter is now available on the Charter's website. This issue features articles on the introduction of Universal Access, the Charter's latest member EUMETSAT, five years of TerraSAR-X and SPOT 5: 10 years and still going strong. The International Charter aims at providing a unified system of space data...
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UNOOSA: Brochure on UN Programme on Space Applications Mon Oct 1 2012The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs released a brochure on the United Nations Programme on Space Applications. The Programme on Space Applications (PSA), since its creation in 1971, has made substantial progress in furthering knowledge and experience of space applications around the world. Provision of country capacity-building, education, research and development support and...
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International Charter activated twice for Floods in Africa Mon Oct 1 2012The International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" was activated twice last week to provide space data for floods in South Sudan and Nigeria. On 24 September 2012, the mechanism was activated for South Sudan by UNITAR/UNOSAT on behalf of WFP. Floods which had began in June have been affecting the Upper Nile state in South Sudan. So far, the flooding has displaced over three thousand...
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IGAC: Remote Sensing Techniques to analyse Landslide Susceptibility Mon Oct 1 2012UN-SPIDER's Regional Support Office in Colombia, the Agustin Codazzi Geographic Institute (IGAC), is currently researching the application of Remote Sensing techniques and digital image processing to support the generation of geomorphological information and the location and mapping of critical areas for landslides in Colombia. The project looks at Digital Elevation Models, stereo models,...
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Ukraine supports Cameroon Floods with Sich-2 data Mon Oct 1 2012The UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office in Ukraine (Space Research Institute NASU-NSAU) supported the relief efforts following the September floods in Cameroon by providing flood maps. In September 2012, the northern part of Cameroon was hit by severe floods. Subsequently, the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” was activated to acquire satellite images over affected...
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Indra and ESA accomplished the determination of definitions Fri Sep 28 2012Indra agreed with the European Space Agency (ESA) the definition of the requirements for the system that will manage the Spanish satellite Ingenio. The technological company leads the development, implementation and start-up of the ground segment for the future Spanish ground-based optical observation satellite, which will be ready to enter into service in 2015. With this important milestone,...
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Satellite data supports mapping of ground deformation Thu Sep 27 2012Archived radar data from the Envisat mission are playing an important role in mapping landslides in Switzerland. The mission’s vast archives continue to prove useful for mapping ground deformation. Landslides are a natural hazard of special relevance in Alpine regions. Earth-observing satellites – specifically those equipped with radars – can help scientists to map and monitor...
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NASA satellites capture effects of US drought Wed Sep 26 2012A deep and persistent drought struck vast portions of the continental United States in 2012. Though there has been some relief in the late summer, a pair of satellites operated by NASA shows that the drought lingers in the underground water supplies that are often tapped for drinking water and farming. The maps combine data from the twin satellites of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment...
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Satellites trace sea level change Tue Sep 25 2012A major reassessment of 18 years of satellite observations has provided a new, more detailed view of sea-level change around the world. Incorporating the data from a number of spacecraft, the study re-affirms that ocean waters globally are rising by just over 3mm/yr. Measuring ocean surface shape from satellites has a relatively short history. Routine observations began with Europe's ERS-1...
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Flood map of Pakistan via Charter released Tue Sep 25 2012On 18 September 2012, the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters was activated for floods in Pakistan. Torrential rain, which began on 5 September, had caused flash floods in Pakistan leaving an estimated one million people homeless. A flood map of Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh Provinces in Pakistan (as of 14 Sep 2012) acquired via this activation is now available. This map illustrates...
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China launched two Beidou satellites Mon Sep 24 2012China launched two more satellites for its Beidou (Compass) global navigation and positioning network on Wednesday, 19 September 2012. The satellites, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, were lifted into space by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and have entered the scheduled orbit. This is the second successful launch for China this year of...
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New technology for maintenance and de-orbiting of satellites Fri Sep 21 2012Astrium is preparing a new technology mission for the maintenance and disposal of satellites. At the ILA Berlin Air Show, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) Space Administration announced that Astrium (Friedrichshafen) will be prime contractor for the definition phase of the DEOS (German orbital servicing mission) project. The DEOS project will for the first time demonstrate technologies for the...
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UN Report stresses Importance of Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction Fri Sep 21 2012On 20 September 2012, the United Nations Secretariat published the "2012 MDG Gap Task Force Report". The report stresses the importance of accessibility of new technologies for disaster risk reduction: "Affordable access to new technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation and disaster risk management have also become pressing priorities. (...) The risk of natural...
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Arctic sea ice hits smallest extent in satellite era Fri Sep 21 2012Satellite data reveal how the new record low Arctic sea ice extent, from Sept. 16, 2012, compares to the average minimum extent over the past 30 years(in yellow) . Sea ice extent maps are derived from data captured by the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer aboard NASA's Nimbus-7 satellite and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager on multiple satellites from the Defense Meteorological...
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United Nations Symposium on Space Weather Data Analysis is opened in Graz Thu Sep 20 2012The United Nations is holding a Symposium on Data Analysis and Image Processing for Space Applications and Sustainable Development: Space Weather in Graz, Austria, from 18 to 21 September 2012. This is the first event in a new series of annual symposia that will address the use of space-derived data analysis and image processing tools in support of sustainable development. Organized by the United...
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International Charter activated for Floods in Pakistan Thu Sep 20 2012On 18 September 2012, the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters was activated for floods in Pakistan. Torrential rain, which began on 5 September, had caused flash floods in Pakistan leaving an estimated one million people homeless. Over 100 people have been reported killed in the floods, and many homes and properties have been inundated. Agriculture has also suffered due to the flood...
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International Charter strengthens its contribution to disaster management worldwide Wed Sep 19 2012Building on a decade of success in making satellite data available to users for disaster response, the International Charter is now opening its doors even wider. To do this, the Charter Members have adopted the principle of Universal Access: Any national disaster management authority will be able to submit requests to the Charter for emergency response. Proper procedures will have to be followed...
