When it comes to climate change, the land surfaces are where the vast majority of impacts happen. The task of monitoring those across the globe is formidable and must necessarily rely on satellites – at a significant cost: the measurements are only indirect and require comprehensive physical understanding. ESA’s Carbon Cluster projects LCC and TCCAS …
Drought poses a severe threat to global water and food security, risking numerous food production systems (FAO, 2011), leading to economic risks and financial hardships in both developed and developing economies (Aghakouchak et al., 2015; Fleming‐Muñoz et al., 2023). Agriculture, utilizing 70% of freshwater globally, faces significant challenges in water-scarce regions, especially during periods of …
In mountainous regions such as the Alps, snow cover plays a crucial role in the hydrological cycle. Precipitation in these areas in winter, particularly above 1,000 metres altitude, remains stored as a snowpack until the spring melt season, when water is released back into rivers and reservoirs. This seasonal water reserve is critical for water …
The African Research Fellows join ESA through the Earth Observation for African Framework for Research, Innovation, Communities and Applications Initiative (EO AFRICA), a program dedicated to advancing sustainable Earth Observation (EO) and space technology across Africa in collaboration with the African Union Commission. Through this unique opportunity, fellows are equipped to tackle Africa’s pressing food …
This post contains educational material from the 13th Advanced Training Course on Land Remote Sensing that was held in Innsbruck, Austria, from the 16th September – 20th September 2024. The lectures can also be found on YouTube by clicking here. Access specific videos (click on ), presentation slides (click on ), and exercise data (click …
Floods rank among the most destructive natural disasters, causing significant harm to human health, the environment, cultural heritage, and economies. In Europe alone, floods have led to approximately 4,000 fatalities and $274 billion in economic losses over the past 50 years, with even more severe impacts in developing countries. As climate change accelerates the frequency …
Background ESA is pleased to announce the organization of the 2024 EO for Africa Symposium in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC), African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE), the European Commission (EC), the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The …
A few months ago, East Africa faced the consequences of weeks of heavy rains and subsequent flooding, attributed in part to the El Niño weather phenomenon, impacting Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Somalia. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the flooding has devastated communities, with over 750,000 …
Paul joined University of Twente in October 2022 as a researcher. His background is in hydrology (Utrecht University), and he specialized in radar remote sensing of vegetation and soil during his PhD at Delft University of Technology. This thesis focused on sub-daily dynamics in agricultural fields, combining ground-based experiments and electromagnetic modelling. At the University …
Background Following on from the 15, 20 and 25 “Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry” Symposia (respectively in 2006, 2012, and 2018), all deemed very successful milestones by the participants and the readership of the Proceedings, we have now reached the 30-year anniversary of precise altimetry. To mark this occasion the European Space Agency, in …
