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New JAXA website provides hourly global measurements of precipitation
Mer Avr 15 2020
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released the JAXA Climate Rainfall Watch website to monitor extreme weather and climate over the world. The website provides hourly global measurements of precipitation as well as forecasts about heavy rainfall and drought in different temporal scales (daily, pentad, weekly, 10-days and monthly). The satellite-based global rainfall maps produce...
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Egypt and France sign space science and technology cooperation agreement
Mar Avr 14 2020
The Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) and France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) have signed a space cooperation agreement. The agreement provides a framework for both countries to collaborate on different topics, including satellite developments, exploration of outer space, space applications, R&T, nanosatellites development and training, and the Space Climate Observatory (SCO)...
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ESA launches COVID-19 custom script contest
Ven Avr 3 2020
The European Space Agency (ESA), in coordination with the European Commission, is launching a special edition of the Custom Script Contest, focused on the support of space assets during the COVID-19 crisis, managed by Euro Data Cube group. The contest is looking for remote sensing experts, machine learning scientists and interested public to make proposals on how satellite data can help with...
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SERVIR produces maps to support efforts against locust outbreak in Eastern Africa
Ven Avr 3 2020
SERVIR, a joint program between NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has partnered with relief organizations and the United Nations, including the Desert Locust Information System of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to produce maps that could explain locust behavior. The maps provide useful information on environmental conditions, such as soil moisture...
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Global satellite constellation to monitor air pollution hourly
Lun Mar 30 2020
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...
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ECMWF starts including Aeolus wind data in daily weather forecasts
Lun Mar 23 2020
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), after months of careful testing, has started to operationally assimilate data from the European Space Agency's Aeolus satellite in its daily weather forecasts. Aeolus measurements have been considered ready for operational use as early as 14 months after the satellite launch, which is unusual for data collected from a new type of...
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Flood mapping at centre of UN-SPIDER training in Tunisia
Mar Mar 10 2020
To support the National Office of Civil Protection (ONPC) of Tunisia and other government agencies in using space-based information for disaster management, UN-SPIDER conducted a three-day training in Tunis from 9 to 11 March. The course highlighted the relevance and usefulness of remote sensing and satellite data as a decision-making tool in risk and disaster management. It focused on the UN-...
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UN-SPIDER conducts Technical Advisory Mission to Tunisia
Jeu Mar 5 2020
At the request of, and in coordination with the National Civil Protection Office of Tunisia, UN-SPIDER is conducting a Technical Advisory Mission to Tunisia from 4 to 6 March 2020 to identify the needs of the country to fully take advantage of space-based information for disaster management. In order to discuss the use of space-based information for risk and disaster management to subsequently...
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UN-SPIDER strengthens capacity for combatting disasters in arid regions using space technologies
Lun Fév 24 2020
UN-SPIDER conducted a training programme on Combatting Disaster in Arid Regions Using Space-Based and Geospatial Technologies from 18 to 20 February 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. The event was the first attempt of broadening UN-SPIDER efforts to include countries in a vast swath of arid regions in Asia and North Africa, and to increase awareness of the need for space technology to combat disasters in...
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Satellite observations support wetlands management
Jeu Fév 20 2020
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) GlobWetland Africa project has produced maps that demonstrate how satellite observations can be used for the effective use and management of wetlands in Africa. The project, created in collaboration with the African Team of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, provides national and international stakeholders with the necessary satellite-based methods and tools...
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Remote sensing data used for dzud early action in Mongolia
Mer Fév 19 2020
The Mongolian National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring (NAMEM) has developed a extreme winter (dzud) risk map for the country using MODIS satellite data, among other resources. The map shows that over 50 per cent of the country are at risk of a severe winter. Following the analysis, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has released...
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Large integrated satellite study reveals Greenland Ice Sheet melting faster
Lun Fév 3 2020
Scientists from 50 scientific institutions, led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) combined 26 independent satellite datasets to show that the Greenland Ice Sheet melt is increasing. The group studied data from 1992 to 2018, taking direct measurements of the continent-sized glacier. The study found that decade averages for ice melt has...
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NASA releases interactive 3D visualization of Australian smoke plumes
Lun Fév 3 2020
When analysing wildfires and their impacts, remote sensing instruments provide frequent, broad coverage at minimal incremental cost and at no risk, compared with traditional in situ monitoring. Over the past 20 years, the research community has developed tools and techniques to capture key aspects of fire behavior and impacts, with data from spaceborne instruments such as the Multiangle Imaging...
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Extreme weather events, major disasters among top five in Global Risks Report 2020
Jeu Jan 16 2020
A new report lists extreme weather events and major natural disasters among the top five risks in terms of likelihood over the next decade. The Global Risks Report 2020, published by the World Economic Forum, is based on a survey of 750 global experts and decision-makers who ranked their concerns in terms of likelihood and impact. Climate action failure, biodiversity loss and human-made...
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CSSTEAP announces 2020/2021 postgraduate programmes
Jeu Jan 16 2020
The Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), which is affiliated to the United Nations, has announced its 2020/2021 postgraduate courses in Remote Sensing and GIS, Satellite Meteorology and Global Climate, and Space and Atmospheric Science.
The Remote Sensing and GIS course will be held from 1 July 2020 to 31 March 2021 at the Indian Institute of Remote...
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Satellite data saves precious minutes and millions of dollars during disasters, NASA study finds
Mar Déc 17 2019
A first of its kind study by researchers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, calculated the Value of Information (VOI) for the near real-time satellite data available during a disaster. The team used MODIS data and QGIS to create water extent maps for a 2011 flood in Thailand. The results allowed researchers to analyze paths from ambulance houses and fire stations to...
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8th African Space Leadership Conference focusses on space science and technology for sustainable development
Jeu Déc 12 2019
As the African space sector is growing rapidly, with Ethiopia being the latest country from the region to launch its first satellite, the number of initiatives to make use of space technologies in sustainable development is increasing. In November 2019, for instance, Egypt launched the African Development Satellite Project at a meeting with heads of space agencies from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya,...
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Regional workshop addresses role of Earth observation in multi-hazard disaster risk assessment and Sendai framework monitoring
Jeu Déc 12 2019
In order for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Member States to be able to incorporate the routine use of space technology-based solutions, there is a need to increase awareness, build national capacity and develop solutions that are customized to their needs. The regional workshop and capacity-building programme on the "Role of Earth Observation in Multi-Hazard Disaster...
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Call for scholarships: Copernicus Master in Digital Earth
Sam Nov 30 2019
Geospatial technologies have the ability to confront global problems in a way never seen before; and the demand for qualified professionals to address these problems grows as well. With this in mind, the European Union’s Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) Programme - in conjunction with the EU’s Copernicus programme - is calling for applications to the Copernicus Master in Digital Earth....
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UN-SPIDER hosts International Charter project manager training in Bonn
Ven Nov 29 2019
The UN-SPIDER Bonn office hosted a training session for Project Managers of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" on the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany, on 5 November 2019. The training was organized by the European Space Agency (ESA) and German Aerospace Center (DLR). It took place prior to the UN-SPIDER Bonn International Conference "Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management in...
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UN-SPIDER training course focuses on ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction
Jeu Nov 28 2019
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction recognises the importance of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR). In the last two decades, Asia has experienced numerous disasters caused by geologic and hydro-meteorological hazards impacting human settlements, both rural and urban. Gradual recognition of Eco-DRR as an efficient risk reduction tool is bringing the development focus...