Innovative use of space technologies in the energy, environment and environmental monitoring, meteorology, agriculture and forestry sectors Aire Olesk Estonian Trainee in ESA-ESRIN University of Tartu/Tartu Observatory Pärnu

Driving force behind Innovation in Space Technologies The changing Earth - monitoring the progress Not only science, but politics, economy and daily life of citizens profit from satellite data Improved understanding and predictions, ensuring sustainability Global coverage, rapid measurement capability and continuity

Space Technologies and Applications Earth Observation weather forecasting, environmental monitoring, mapping, emergencies Satellite navigation navigation, surveying, search and rescue, precise agriculture Telecommu- nications television, radio, internet, military NanoSats miniaturized satellites for space research (for example ESTCube-1) Integrated Applications

The benefits of space-based (EO)platforms  Global coverage  Frequent revisit and up-to-date information  Large range of swath size (e.g. coverage in a single acquisition) and resolution ranging from less than a metre to km-s  Ability to see through cloud and at night (e.g Synthetic Aperature Radar)  Rapid disaster management (prediction and monitoring, real-time decision-making)  Large store of archived data and continuity of missions allowing long term research into e.g. climate change, biomass etc. Sentinel-1

Innovative use of space technologies in the energy sector DInSAR  Measuring the subsidence at underground mining areas  Measuring the geological stability of oil and gas fields and pipe-lines, of large urban areas and single buildings  Subsidence information for power line poles and bridges Data: TerraSar-X, Tandem-X, Radarsat-2, Sentinel-1, Cosmo-Skymed, SMOS etc  EO satellites also produce 'sunshine maps' to help site solar power plants and bench- mark their operating efficiently'  Hydroenergy prediction (amount of precipitation, water capacity and speed of melting)  Wind speed and storm predictions (wind and solar farms)  Exploration and exploitation of oil and gas

Innovative use of space technologies in the energy sector Mean subsidence/rise of buildings in Tartu (mm per year) Period: Source: ERS-1/-2

Innovative use of space technologies in the environment and environmental monitoring sector GOME-2 is observing the recovery of the ozone layer Atmosphere Cryosat has revealed the loss of ice in Arctic regions Cryosphere SMOS monitors the salinity and amount of water held in the surface layers Ocean Land cover mapping supports management of urban areas and detecting land cover change Land Cover EO satellites help to monitor and assist the destruction caused by tsunamis/eart hquakes Disaster management SAR allows us to see the volcanoes “breath” and detect the ground displacements Tectonics

Helping relief efforts in Japan - map of terrain displacement InSAR- synthetic aperture radar interferometry Possible to detect ground motion down to a few millimetres

Innovative use of space technologies in the environment and environmental monitoring sector Arctic sea-ice thickness based on two months' worth of data from the ESA’s ice mission, CryoSat-2. The first SMOS global map of soil moisture and ocean salinity

Innovative use of space technologies in meteorology sector  Accurate weather prediction and long term global climate change (EUMETSAT)  Short term and long term atmospheric changes on both, local and global scale  Weather warnings (monitor the volcanic eruptions and ash clouds, hurricanes, dust storms)  Satellites monitor the air we breath Storm Ulli, EUMeTrain 2012 The mean density of nitrogen dioxide over Europe between January 2003 and June 2004, as measured by the SCIAMACHY instrument on ESA's Envisat satellite. Source: ESA, University of Heidelberg

Agriculture Food security and precise agriculture - Improve agricultural yield forecasting capabilities (crop health, nutrient deficiency, weather, soil, growth speed) - Steer tractors with centimetre-accuracy to improve farming EU subsidies for farmers - Grassland cutting detection - Conservation of landscapes and biodiversity Vegetation classification and monitoring - Growth stages and indices (e.g Leaf Area Index) - Fire damage mapping Soil fertility - Soil moisture, erosion, irrigation, draught assessment, types of stress

Innovative use of space technologies in forestry sector Forests cover about 30% of Earth's land surface area Global observations Forests absorb, release and store carbon Carbon accounting Storm and forest fires damage estimation, deforestation Change detection Forest height and stem volume estimation Biomass

Innovative use of space technologies in forestry sector Timber value estimation Reforestation validation Selective logging Thinning and clearcut detection Carbon stock for GHG inventories Storm/fire damage estimation Country-wide forest biomass estimates from PALSAR L- band backscatter in 2010, Source: Regio Ltd, ESA Logging detection in Estonia in Source: Regio Ltd, DMCii

Innovative use of space technologies in forestry sector Earth’s Northern Biomass mapped and measured  In higher resolution than ever before (pixel = 1 km on ground)  About ENVISAT images from combined to create the pan-boreal map for 2010  Will be continued by the future Sentinel-1 mission  ESA’s seventh Earth Explorer is a Biomass mission (first P-band SAR mission, plus an experimental “tomographic” phase to provide 3D views of forests)

Copernicus – The European Earth Observation Programme -Copernicus - one of the two largest EU/ESA space programmes (in addition to Galileo) to stimulate innovation in European industry -Collects data from multiple sources: earth observation satellites and in situ sensors such as ground stations, airborne and sea-borne sensors -Copernicus (previously GMES) services address six main thematic areas: Land Monitoring, Marine Monitoring, Atmosphere Monitoring, Emergency Management, Security, Climate Change -Based on the Copernicus services, many other value-added services can be tailored to more specific public or commercial needs. - This will create new business opportunities and has a huge potential for job creation, innovation and growth. -A free and open data policy -Promotes growth and competitiveness in the EU

ESA’s Artes 20 programme Integrated Applications Promotion (IAP) - the development of operational services for a wide range of users through the combination of different systems Cross-fertilisation across disciplines (e.g. impact of Climate on Health, on Energy, on Transport, etc...) Example: Coastal flood warning system for the Baltic Sea (Pärnu City Government and Regio Ltd)

Integrated Applications -Severe floods in January 2005 in Pärnu caused by strong storms and heavy rain -50 MEUR damage according to Estonian government estimations Proposed IAP Solution: –Web application presenting the flood forecast information –Cellular network text service disseminating the flood warning messages –Flood maps presenting the current situation and the evolution of the flooded area based on forecast

Educational and outreach projects –ESTCube-1 is the first Estonian satellite, launched in May 2013 –Built in Estonia by students from Tartu University, Estonian Aviation Academy, Tallinn University of Technology and University of Life Sciences –The main mission of the satellite is to test the electric solar wind sail –It also helps to build Estonian infrastructure for future space projects and to educate space engineers Image by ESTCube-1

Thank you for your attention! Studies are supported by European Social Fund’s Doctoral Studies and Internationalisation Programme DoRa, which is carried out by Foundation Archimedes.