The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Republic of Korea are working together on a global satellite constellation of three space-based instruments that could track global pollution on an hourly basis. These air quality satellites will measure pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols in order to enhance our understanding of air quality and air pollution. To date, air quality satellites have collected... read more
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A recent study, published in the Water Resource Research journal, presents a new method for a spatially realistic national flood risk assessment.
Researchers expanded an existing statistical model, based on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) river flow data, to simulate a thousand years of potential flood events. By calculating the damage for each event in dollars, they were able to estimate the probability of the United States suffering particular annual flood damages.
Traditional risk flood analysis models assume that the impacts on the entire flood-affected... read more
In June 2019, NOAA upgraded its flagship weather model, the Global Forecast System (GFS), with a new dynamic core, called Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere Dynamical Core (FV3). This upgrade of the GFS will enhance global numerical weather forecasting and better forecast precipitation, heavy rainfall and weather types at both regional and global level. Besides, the FV3-based GFS revealed improvements in predicting the track and intensity of tropical cyclones compared to the older GFS.
Combining the superior dynamics of global climate modeling with the everyday reliability and speed of operational numerical weather forecasting, the latest weather model upgrade makes the new... read more
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has recently released a new website, SpaceforUS, which intends to highlight how NASA has used its Earth observation data to better the living conditions of people in all 50 states of the United States of America.
SpaceforUS includes contains a total of 56 stories that illustrate NASA’s science and the impact it has had across the country. The aim is to showcase the power of Earth observation... read more
Earthquakes are a major concern in increasingly populated regions, however their prediction is a difficult task. Researchers have recently made progress in the use of complex simulation and modeling techniques to better forecast the occurrences of earthquakes.
In a recent study, researchers used Gradient Boosted Regression Trees, a machine learning technique for regression and classification problems that incorporates training data, to better determine spatiotemporally complex loading histories within subduction zones. The researchers simulated tens of earthquakes using a small‐scale experimental replica of a subduction zone and show that machine learning predicts well the timing and size of laboratory... read more
The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), a grant-funding mechanism managed by the World Bank, has released a new report that analyzes how machine learning (ML) can be applied in disaster risk management (DRM) projects. The publication provides a concise, demystifying reference that readers - from project... read more
While several studies have already highlighted how global warming and its consequences are predicted to increase the frequency and magnitude of geohazards such as landslides, the relation between ongoing climate shifts and landslide behaviour is still difficult to assess, especially due to uncertainties in both models. In a new research paper, researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and collaborating institutions have now documented the transition of a stable, slow-moving landslide into catastrophic collapse for the first time.
Their observations lasted eight years and took place on the California Coast Ranges, which, due to their... read more
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) has recently released a new report on “Building Resilient Communities Through Geospatial Intelligence”. The report highlights the importance of raising awareness about the value of space-based information for early warning systems and risk and disaster management. Moreover, it suggests the need for a better definition of GEOINT within the framework of... read more
Delta State University became the 23rd member of the network of UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices (RSO) on 1 October. As an RSO, Delta State University will communicate and coordinate with UN-SPIDER on a regular basis, engage in outreach and capacity-building efforts, and contribute to the programme’s technical advisory support activities.
Through its Geospatial Information Technologies Centre (GIT), Delta State University provides in-depth education about the theory, ethics, and practice of GIT that encompasses the use of geographic information systems, remote sensing, global positioning systems (GPS),... read more
The Argentina National Space Activities Commission (CONAE) launched a new Earth observation satellite that will support disaster management efforts. SAOCOM 1A is the first of a constellation of two... read more
Regional Support Offices mentioned:
The International Charter Space and Major Disasters has been activated for an earthquake and eruption of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, USA on Monday.
The volcano erupted on 4 May alongside a 6.9 magnitude earthquake, spraying lava up to 70 metres and causing the evacuation of 2000 individuals, in addition to the destruction of several buildings. Dangerous levels of toxic sulfur dioxide from the lava flows also present a... read more
275 people were rescued within the United States of America and its surrounding waters in 2017 with the help of satellites operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Of the 275 rescues, 186 were in water, 15 were from aviation incidents and 74 were on land using personal locator beacons (PLBs).
The COSPAS-SARSAT system
NOAA satellites are part of COSPAS-SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking) – an international satellite system for search and rescue. The system which uses a network of international spacecraft to detect and locate distress signals quickly from... read more
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R), recently launched by NASA, is the first in a sequence of highly advanced geostationary weather satellite to serve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The main goal of this satellite is to generate precise data to be used to create and isue opportune and precise watches, forecasts, and warnings.
After the checkout and validation of its six new instruments, the new satellite will be operational in approximately a... read more
On the 1 September 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration caught this image of Hurricane Hermine reaching Florida.
The storm reached Florida coasts on the 2 of September with winds up to 120 kilometers announced the National Hurricane Center.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) captured a space image of sediments on 17 August 2016 in Lake Pontchartrain, located in the state of Louisiana, United-States.
Due to the heavy rainfall which affected Louisiana in August 2016, most of the... read more
On the 16th of August 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) detected smoke and warm surfaces affecting San Bernardino, California.
On the 17... read more
On the 16th of July 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) caught smoke images from space which are related to a fire on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The red spot on the picture show where the MODIS system detected unusual high temperatures.
The fire was still... read more
On the 22nd of July 2016 a fire occurred in southern California, United States. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) acquired some images of the phenomenon during and after the burn.
On July 25th the fire burned more than 33,100 acres displacing people from more than 10,... read more
A wildfire called Erskine started on 23 June 2016 in California due to an unknown cause. It burnt 18,368 hectares of forest and 250 structures in the southwest of the United-States, causing the death of two people.
The space-based images have been captured by the Suomi NPP satellite of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Thanks to the day-night... read more
A destructive wildfire burned through Canada’s Northern Alberta region, destroying neighborhoods in Fort McMurray and displacing nearly 90,000 people. The fire began on the 1st of May and the exact cause is still unknown. High temperatures and strong winds pushed it north-east two days later. Despite the work of more than 500 firefighters, by the 8th of May the fire had burnt 1,610 square kilometers of forest. By the 24th, the fire was still not extinguished but it had not grown either.
Thanks to the images captured by Landsat 8 – an Earth Observation satellite of the... read more
The Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography (ARGO) is an international collaboration effort that has been established to collect temperature and salinity... read more
In 2008, Landsat Earth observation images became available to all users free of charge. Since then, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) portal has provided roughly 30 million Landsat Earth observation images for users to download. Within the next years, downloads of satellite imagery are expected to increase further.
Landsat imagery is useful in different fields such as environmental monitoring,... read more
The Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, one of the facilities of the Unites States Geological Survey (USGS) of the United States, was established in the early 1970s as the center to manage remotely sensed data, to develop ground systems for satellite missions and to conduct research on the potential applications of such remotely sensed data. Through such efforts, the EROS Center contributes to the global understanding of how changes in... read more
