EARSeL Newsletter, Issue 94 - June 2013

EARSeL Newsletter

June 2013 ‐ Number 94

June 2013 No. 94

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EARSeL Newsletter

June 2013 ‐ Number 94

The Newsletter is a forum for the exchange of news and views amongst the members of the Association. The opinions expressed in the Newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors, the EARSeL Bureau or other members of the Association.

Articles published in the Newsletter may be reproduced as long as the source of the article is acknowledged.

Front Cover – Matera, Italy, the Symposium and Workshops’ venue for the 33rd EARSeL Symposium.

Credits: Idéfix Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cittadimatera1.jpg, Landsat TM, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission

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EARSeL Newsletter

Contents

ISSN 0257‐0521 Bulletin of the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories http://www.earsel.org June 2013 – Number 94

EARSeL Newsletter Editors Konstantinos Perakis Athanasios Moysiadis Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Greece perakis@uth.gr moysiadis@uth.gr Phone: +30 24210 74465 Fax: +30 24210 74371

Anna Jarocińska Department of Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing (WURSEL), University of Warsaw, Poland ajarocinska@uw.edu.pl

Editorial Assistance EARSeL Secretariat Gesine Böttcher Nienburger Strasse 1 30167 Hannover, Germany Fax: +49 511 7622483 secretariat@earsel.org

Published by: Department of Planning and Regional Development University of Thessaly, 38334, Volos, Greece

Printed by: Form Innovation Shahed Hirtenweg 8 30163 Hannover, Germany

Subscription Rates Members receive the Newsletter as part of the annual membership fee. For non‐members, the annual rates (four issues) are as follows: Within Europe Outside Europe Personal subscription from members

80€ 88€ 30€

EARSeL Annual Membership Fee Individual observer Laboratory/Company with fewer than 10 researchers Laboratory/Company with 10 or more members

330€ 330€ 500€

Editorial .......................................................5 News from EARSeL .......................................6 New EARSeL Members................................ 6 National Reports ..........................................6 Remote Sensing Activities, Bulgaria, 2012.. 6 Remote Sensing Activities, Croatia, 2012 . 16 Remote Sensing Activities , the Netherlands, 2012 .......................................................... 21 News from Other Organisations ................. 33 Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences ........ 33 GEO Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services related activities ....................................... 35 Report on the 35th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE), Beijing, China......... 40 EARSeL eProceedings ................................. 42 New Publications in Vol. 12(1), 2013........ 42 Book Releases ............................................ 43 Forthcoming EARSeL Conferences .............. 44 9th EARSeL Workshop on Forest Fires...... 44 Other Conferences ..................................... 46 Summer Schools and Advanced Courses..... 48

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EARSeL Bureau

EARSeL Newsletter Editors

Chairman: Dr. Ioannis Manakos Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Information Technologies Institute 6th km Xarilaou ‐ Thermi Thessaloniki, 57001, Greece Phone: + 30 2311 257 760 ioannis.manakos@earsel.org, imanakos@iti.gr Vice‐Chairman: Lena Halounova, Ph.D. Department of Mapping and Cartography Czech Technical University in Prague 166 29 Prague 6, Czech Republic Phone: +420 22435 4952 lena.halounova@earsel.org Secretary General: Rosa Lasaponara, Ph.D. Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis (IMAA‐CNR) 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ), Italy Phone: +39 0971 427214 lasaponara@imaa.cnr.it Treasurer: Dr. Samantha Lavender Pixalytics Ltd Tamar Science Park, 1 Davy Road, Derriford, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 8BX, UK Phone: +44 1752 764407 slavender@pixalytics.com International Relations: Dr. Mario Hernandez UNESCO 1 Rue Miollis 75732 Paris cedex 15, France Phone: +33 1 45 68 4052 Email: m.hernandez@unesco.org

Prof. Konstantinos Perakis, Mr. Athanasios Moysiadis Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, 38334, Volos, Greece Phone: +30 24210 74465 perakis@uth.gr moysiadis@uth.gr

Honorary Bureau Members Prof. Preben Gudmandsen Danish National Space Center Technical University of Denmark 2800 Lyngby, Denmark Phone: +45 45 25 37 88 prebeng@space.dtu.dk Prof. Gottfried Konecny Institut für Photogrammetrie und Geoinformation Leibniz Universität Hannover 30167 Hannover, Germany Phone: +49 511 7622487 konecny@ipi.uni‐hannover.de 4

Dr. Anna Jarocińska Department of Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing (WURSEL), University of Warsaw, 00‐927 Warsaw, Poland ajarocinska@uw.edu.pl

Springer Series on Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing Editor Dr. André Marçal Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade do Porto D.M.A., Rua do Campo Alegre, 687 4169‐007 Porto, Portugal Phone: +351 220 100 873 andre.marcal@earsel.org

EARSeL eProceedings Editor Dr. Rainer Reuter Institute of Physics University of Oldenburg 26111 Oldenburg, Germany Phone: +49 441 798 3522 rainer.reuter@earsel.org

Webmaster Dr. Rainer Reuter Institute of Physics University of Oldenburg 26111 Oldenburg, Germany Phone: +49 441 798 3522 rainer.reuter@earsel.org

EARSeL Secretariat Mrs Gesine Böttcher 30167 Hannover, Germany Fax: +49 511 7622483 secretariat@earsel.org

EARSeL Newsletter

June 2013 ‐ Number 94

Editorial

Dear members,

The 9th EARSeL Workshop of the SIG “Forest Fires”, entitled “Quantifying the environmental impact of forest fires” that will take place on 15 ‐ 17 October 2013, at Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire, UK is under preparation and this issue includes some important updates on this very special EARSeL event.

Other updates from EARSeL include a new EARSeL membership and our members’ national reports for the year 2012 by Bulgaria, Croatia and the Netherlands, with a wealth of information of their last year activities on earth observation.

The “News from Other Organisations” section includes very interesting articles and reports, starting with a report on China’s important institution in geospatial information field, the “Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), Chinese Academy of Sciences” as well as an article on the Group on Earth Observations/GEO Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services related activities. Feedback on one of the most important remote sensing events, the 35th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE), that took place in Beijing, China last April, is also given in this section.

EARSeL’s Journal, the “EARSeL eProceedings” provides to the readers two more interesting scientific papers. You are invited to publish your research activities and share them with the research community via this EARSeL publication. Last but not least, new book releases, a list of conferences, training courses and summer schools to attend in the near future closes this summer issue.

We will be pleased to hear your comments and suggestions on this issue. Moreover, you are more than welcome to contribute with a science article or a report for the forthcoming issues.

Enjoy reading this June issue!

The Editors

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News from EARSeL New EARSeL Members We want to extend a warm welcome to the new member who has registered with EARSeL. We are looking forward to its active participation and contribution to the EARSeL activities, and in collaboration with other members, in this long‐established network of scientific research laboratories.

MGGP Aero, http://www.mggpaero.com Slowackiego 33‐37, 33‐100 Tarnow Poland

EARSeL Representative: Dr. Łukasz Sławik lslawik@mggpaero.com

National Reports Remote Sensing Activities in Bulgaria, 2012 This report is based on information provided by Georgi Jelev, Eugenia Roumenina, Iva Ivanova, Lachezar Filchev, Petar Dimitrov, Roumen Nedkov, Vanya Naydenova, and Violeta Slabakova.

The Bulgarian EARSeL members are represented by two EARSeL groups at two of the institutes at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). They are namely: the Space Research and Technology Institute (SRTI‐BAS) and the Fridtjof Nansen Institute of Oceanology (IO‐BAS). These groups have been EARSeL members since 2009, when the two groups, consisting mainly from young scientists, applied to and were accepted to EARSeL. The EARSeL group at the SRTI‐BAS consists of 10 researchers: 7 from the Remote Sensing and GIS (RS&GIS) department and 3 from the Aerospace Information (AI) department. Present report was presented before Dr. I Manakos ‐ the EARSeL Chairman ‐ during a meeting with the Bulgarian EARSeL members (1).

During the reported period the EARSeL members from the RS&GIS department have carried out research in:  Updating the thematically distributed satellite and sub‐satellite database for the aerospace test sites on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria (BAS‐TS) (2).  Implementing the PROAGROBURO project (3 i ) within the framework of the PROBA‐V Preparatory Programme chaired by the PROBA‐V International Users Committee (IUC). The main objective of the Project was to assess the quality of the PROBA‐V mission as a continuity mission to VEGETATION 1 & 2 by comparison and validation of SPOT VEGETATION and PROBA‐V simulated data (SD) for assessing crop status on chosen test areas on the territory of Bulgaria and Romania, Fig. 1 (1). As a result of implementing the project methodology, the following has been achieved: 1) developing methodological requirements; 2) composing a geodatabase with integrated satellite and in situ biophysical and biometric

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reference data; 3) conducting sub‐satellite experiments; 4) developing empirical models describing the relationships between crop data obtained from simulated PROBA‐V data (courtesy VITO) and in situ reference data; 5) composing land use/land cover (LU/LC) maps based on unsupervised and supervised image classification of SPOT VEGETATION and PROBA‐V images; 6) determination of crop status based on the NDVI, NDWI and LAI indexes from SPOT VEGETATION data and PROBA‐V SD. The project partners were: the SRTI‐BAS, the Romanian National Meteorological Administration (RNMA), and the National Institute of Me‐ teorology and Hydrology at the BAS (NIMH‐BAS). As a result it was found that PROBA‐V mission will provide better results in LU/LC classifications of agricultural environments compared to SPOT VEGETATION. The significant correlations of PROBA‐V SD, vegetation indices (VIs), and biophysical products with ground‐measured biophysical and biometrical parameters provide to improve the monitoring of winter crops with additional products from PROBA‐V. The main findings and deliverables of the project were presented and published in a series of conference proceedings and peer‐reviewed journals (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10).

a

b

Figure 1: (a) Location of the two test areas in the PROAGROBURO project and (b) simulated PROBA‐V image of the Zhiten test area with vector layer showing the test field boundaries.

 The first Bulgarian capital – the medieval town of Pliska is one of the most significant archaeological sites in Bulgaria. Non‐destructive remote sensing and GIS methods were combined with technologies for archaeological terrain surveys and modelling of the – Pliska and the National Historical and Archaeological Reserve Kabiyuk, together with a team from the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum – BAS (11, 12, 13). The ongoing work within a project proved that the integrated application of remote sensing and ground‐based data are very useful in preventing turning regions into endangered archaeological structures areas (14).  It was found that the narrow‐band VIs from EO‐1/Hyperion, field spectroscopy data measured with ASD HH FS granted by ASD Goetz Instrument Support Programme 2011, the broad band VIs from very high spatial resolution (VHR) multispectral satellite data from QuickBird, as well as the pigment content (chlorophyll‐a, chlorophyll–b, and carotene) can be used for detection and assessment of abiotic stress in coniferous landscapes (15). A Ph.D. dissertation was defended in the beginning of 2012 (16).  In 2011‐2012 the feasibility of estimation and mapping coniferous forest attributes in the Rila Mountain by SPOT, ASTER, and QuickBird images was studied (17, 18, 19). Regression models for 13 attributes were developed and validated based on SPOT 5 spectral data and QuickBird texture data. Maps of attributes such as dominant tree height, dominant diameter, volume and aboveground biomass (AGB) were created, Fig. 2. One PhD Thesis was defended in 2012 (20).

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Figure 2: Map of coniferous forests AGB (t/ha) composed using SPOT 5 image and GIS (20).

 Due to the momentum gained by the wildfires on the Vitosha Mountain, several investigations were carried out to assess the scale and the impact of the wildfire on the coniferous forests of the Bistrishko Branishte UNESCO MAB biosphere reserve, Fig. 3 (21, 22, 23). For the purpose, LU/LC maps were prepared for the state before and after the wild fire using satellite images from Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+, Fig. 3 (a) (24). The areas of the fire scars determined through visual interpretation of the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) and the Relative differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (RdNBR) images were about 70 ha (Bistrishko Branishte biosphere reserve) (23).

(a)

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(b)

Figure 3: (a) LU/LC maps of the Bistrishko Branishte MAB biosphere reserve for 2007 and 2012 ( ii ) and (b) dNBR and RdNBR images of two fire scars in the Vitosha Mountain from 2012 (23).

 Geohazard mapping of the East Rhodope Mountain aerospace test site was made.

The transformed input raster datasets from the 15 thematic layers were resampled to cell size of 30×30 m. By using Spatial Analyst Tools in ArcGIS, the Fuzzy Logic approach and expert knowledge ‐ membership functions for each of the 15 factor layers were applied.

Fuzzy Overlay from Spatial Analyst Tools was used for the factor analysis. The separate layers were combined using Fuzzy Sum approach, which is one of the specific approaches to define the interdependence between factors in the Fuzzy Overlay analysis. As a result, a map with degrees of potential geological hazard regions was prepared, Fig. 4 (25).

Figure 4: Map of the potential geologic hazard of the East Rhodope aerospace test site.

During the reported period the EARSeL members from the AI department have carried out investigations in the following research areas:  A geodatabase containing a DEM (20 m) of the Makocevska (a tributary of the Lesnovska river) and the Biserska river basins in South Bulgaria, has been generated based on satellite data along with precise cut‐through profiles based on differential GPS measurements, Fig. 5 (b). Based on the results obtained, the borders of the flood zones of the rivers have been described for fixed values of the water level (26).  In 2012, the satellite information efficiency and data quality specifications for a small satellite mission for ecological applications were investigated (27).

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 The results of continuing research on the floating lakes in the Danube delta have been published (28).  The ecological modelling of the forest ecosystems in Bulgaria using satellite data and GIS was presented at an ESA symposium (29, 30).  The group members from the Aerospace Information Department are also performing a regular monitoring of land‐use for the municipality of Kardzhali (31).  The department performs scientific investigations in WEB‐based information systems for aerospace applications by creating and studying of structures, methods, and technologies for building a WEB‐based automated information systems for environmental monitoring (URL: http://zmeiovo.space.bas.bg).

(a)

(b) Figure 5: (a) WEB‐based ecological monitoring of Zmeiovo region (b) precize cut‐through DEM profiles of Biserska river basin (26).

In the beginning of 2010, 10 scientists (2 associate professors, 2 PhDs, and 6 PhD students) from IO‐BAS became EARSeL members with group membership. In 2011‐2012, the EARSeL group members from the IO‐BAS worked on a couple of projects dealing with RS, namely:

BulArgo ­ a Bulgarian research infrastructure as a component of the Euro ARGO network The purpose of the project is to develop a new national marine research infrastructure for in situ observation in the Black Sea based on autonomous profiling floats. This represents the Bulgarian contribution to the EuroArgo network, which is a part of the Global Argo programme. BulArgo is a project funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund (NSF) and the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Science (MEYS). The project partners are: the IO‐BAS; the Department of Meteorology and Geophysics at the St. Kliment Ohrdiski University of Sofia; the NIMH‐BAS. Under the BulArgo program, three Argo floats were deployed in the Black Sea in the Bulgarian EEZ during the cruise of the Akademik research vessel (R/V) on 17‐19 March 2011. Each float measured temperature and salinity between the surface and a pre‐determined depth (1500 m) at intervals of 5 days. As a result of this study, an interesting variation of the Black Sea halocline depth in the salinity data gathered from Argo float 6900804 (Emona) was found. The trajectory of the float is shown in Figure 6 (a) and the data in the 200 m thick layer are shown in Figure 6 (b). Correlation between sea water salinity and Jason’s altimetry data can be noticed as well, Fig. 6 (c) (32).

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Figure 6: (a) Trajectory and (b) Salinity [°C] measured by float 6900804 for the period March 2011 – July 2012, (c) Altimetry data from Jason 2 (1 February 2012).

Development of prototype of geo­information system for Remote Sensing monitoring on the sea water ecological status in the Bulgarian and Ukrainian Black Sea port areas The project is funded by the Bulgarian NSF and the MEYS. The effective starting date of the project is 25.11.2012. The project’s objectives are: 1) Analysis on the contemporary ecological status of Bulgarian and Ukrainian sea port water areas and water ways; 2) Elaboration of scientific and technical basis and methods using satellite images to identify Bulgarian and Ukrainian water areas with high technology‐induced and man‐induced pollution rate; 3) Development of satellite image interpretation methods for pollution tracing in water areas, forecasting, trends and change rates of their ecological status, mapping of the environmentally vulnerable coastal areas; 4) Development of GIS prototype for Remote Sensing monitoring of port water areas and water ways in the Bulgarian and Ukrainian parts of the Black Sea for the following sources of technology‐induced pollutions: 1) Transport facilities (ships); 2) Infrastructure cargo and passenger transport servicing facilities (ports and port industrial infrastructures and dockyards).

Bio­Optical Characterization of the Black Sea for Remote Sensing Applications (NATO SfP Project No 982678) The project, within the framework of the environmental security research topic, aims to implement a tool to support remote sensing applications for operational environmental monitoring and climate studies in the Black Sea. The NATO project partners are the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS); the Middle East Technical University, Erdemli, Turkey; IO‐BAS, Varna, Bulgaria; the Marine Hydrophysical Institute (MHI), Sevastopol, Ukraine; the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology Moscow, Russia; the Grigore Antipa National Institute for Marine Research Development, Constanta, Romania; the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC), Ispra, Italy (33).

In 2011 and 2012, four scientific cruises ware carried out in the Western and Central Black Sea on board the Bulgarian R/V Akademik and the Romanian R/V Mare Nigrum. During the oceanographic campaign of 2011, measurements at 112 measurement stations were carried out, and during the bio‐optical cruise in September 2012, measurements at 107 measurement stations were carried out, Fig. 7. The objective of the bio‐optical oceanographic cruise was to perform state‐of‐the‐art meas‐ urements, including comprehensive apparent and inherent optical properties of the Western Black Sea seawater, in addition to the concentration of optically significant constituents, Table 1.

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(a)

(b)

Figure 7: Working area and location of the measurement stations of: (a) the 2011 bio‐optical cruise and (b) the 2012 bio‐optical cruise.

The in situ data was used to develop regional bio‐optical algorithms and models for the determination of optically significant seawater constituents in the form of concentration or inherent optical properties based on remote sensing reflectance. The first level of modelling relies on the development of statistical relationships. The newly developed algorithms and models for Satellite Ocean color products generation and delivery will be implemented in the JRC operational processing chain for satellite ocean color data (namely MODIS‐AQUA imagery). Products like chlorophyll concentration, total suspended matter concentration, coloured dissolved organic matter absorption coefficient and diffuse attenuation coefficient, will be made available as daily, ten‐day and monthly composites through the JRC web interface.

Table 1: Apparent and inherent optical properties of the Western Black Sea seawater and the measurement instruments.

Acknowledgements The EARSeL group members at the SRTI‐BAS and the IO‐BAS are obliged to the EARSeL Newsletter Editors for their devoted work to make this report available to the EARSeL Newsletter readers. The report was compiled with the kind consent of the PIs of the presented projects.

References 1. Filchev L, 2012. The 8th scientific conference with international participation "space ecology safety" – SES. EARSeL Newsletter, 92: 29‐31. http://www.earsel.org/Newsletters/EARSeL‐Newsletter‐Issue‐92.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

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2. Roumenina E, A Gikov, H Lukarski, V Naydenova, G Sotirov, G Jelev, L Filchev, L Kraleva, S Fotev, M Cherven‐ yashka, P Dimitrov, V Kazandzhiev & N Valkov, 2008. Establishment of a scientific‐information complex for aerospace test sites on the territory of the republic of Bulgaria. In: Proceedings of the 4th Scientific Conference with International Participation ‘Space, Ecology, Nanotechnology, Safety’ (SENS) 2008, (SRI‐BAS, Varna), 108‐ 113 http://www.space.bas.bg/SENS2008/3‐GIS.pdf.

3. Testing PROBA‐V and VEGETATION data for agricultural applications in Bulgaria and Romania (PROAGROBURO). Contract Ref. Nr CB/XX/16. between the SRTI‐BAS and the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO), under the PROBA‐V Preparatory Programme. Principal Investigator (PI): Prof. Dr. E. Roumen‐ ina.

4. Roumenina E, L Filchev, P Dimitrov, G Jelev, V Kazandjiev, V Georgieva & D Joleva, 2011. Monitoring of Winter Wheat of the Enola Variety on the Lozenets Reference Area Using Satellite and Ground‐Based Data.

Field Crops Studies, Cereals Breeding, 2: 221‐232 http://dai‐gt.org/fcs/bg/pdf/fulltext_VII_2_2.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

5. Roumenina E, V Kazandjiev & G Stancalie (Eds.), 2012. Methodological Requirements for Testing PROBA‐V and VEGETATION data for agricultural applications in Bulgaria and Romania, (Prof. Marin Drinov Academic Publishing House), 148 pp. (In Eng. and Bulg.) http://www.baspress.com/pic/mp3/bMETHODOLOGICAL%20REQUIREMENTS%20Eng‐Bg.pdf accessed: 26/04/2013).

(last

date

6. Roumenina E, L Filchev, G Jelev, P Dimitrov, H Lukarski, V Kazandjiev & V Georgiev, 2012. Determination of Wheat Crop Status after Winter Using Simulated Proba‐V and Ground‐Based Data. In: Proceedings of 7th Scien‐ tific Conference with International Participation ‘Space, Ecology, Safety’ (SES) 2011, (SRTI‐BAS, Sofia), 197‐207 http://www.space.bas.bg/SES2011/R‐1.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

7. Craciunescu V, G Stancalie, E Roumenina, V Kazandjiev, G Jelev, L Filchev, E Savin & S Catana, 2012.

Interactive Web‐Mapping System for Satellite Based Agricultural Applications in Bulgaria and Romania. In: Pro‐ ceedings of 4th International Conference on Cartography and GIS, Vol. 1, edited by Bandrova T, M Konecny & G Zhelezov (Bulgarian Cartographic Association, Albena), 429‐439.

8. Roumenina E, L Filchev, V Vassilev, P Dimitrov, G Jelev, G Stancalie, E Savin & D Mihailescu, 2012.

Comparative analysis of crop maps for chosen test areas on the territory of Bulgaria and Romania using simu‐ lated PROBA‐V and SPOT Vegetation data. EARSeL eProceedings, 11(2), 155‐160 http://www.eproceedings.org/static/vol11_2/11_2_roumenina1.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

9. Roumenina E, L Filchev, V Vassilev, P Dimitrov, G Jelev, G Stancalie, E Savin & D Mihailescu, 2013.

Comparative analysis of land‐use/land‐cover maps for chosen test areas on the territory of Bulgaria and Romania using simulated PROBA‐V and SPOT Vegetation data. In: 32nd EARSeL Symposium Proceedings “Advances in Geosciences”, 1st EARSeL Workshop on Temporal Analysis of Satellite Images, edited by Perakis K & A Moysiadis (EARSeL, Mykonos), 430‐435 http://www.earsel.org/symposia/2012‐symposium‐ Mykonos/Proceedings/14‐02_EARSeL‐Symposium‐2012.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

10. Roumenina E, V Kazandjiev, P Dimitrov, L Filchev, V Vassilev, G Jelev, V Georgieva & H Lukarski, 2013.

Validation of LAI and assessment of winter wheat status using spectral data and vegetation indices from SPOT VEGETATION and simulated PROBA‐V images. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 34(8): 2888‐2904. DOI: 10.1080/01431161.2012.755276 (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

11. Stamenov St, V Naydenova & A Aladjov, 2012. GIS‐based concept for conservation of the archaeological site of Pliska. In: Proceedings of the 1st European SCGIS conference “Best practices: Application of GIS technologies for conservation of natural and cultural heritage sites”, (SRTI‐BAS, Sofia), 63‐71 http://proc.scgis.scgisbg.org/S2‐3_Stamenov.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

12. Stamenov St, 2012. Modern land cover and land use of the outer town of the medieval Bulgarian capital Pliska using satellite images with high spatial resolution. In: Proceedings of 7th Scientific Conference with international participation ‘Space, Ecology and Safety’ (SES) 2011, (SRTI‐BAS, Sofia), 236‐240 http://www.space.bas.bg/SES2011/R‐6.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

13. Stamenov St & A Aladjov, 2012. Application of geographic information system for survey of the archaeological site Pliska. In: Proceedings of 3rd National Conference on Archaeology, History and Cultural Tourism: Journey to Bulgaria „Bulgaria in the World Cultural Heritage”, (National Archaeological Institute and Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Shumen). (in print).

14. Development of primary geodatabase and GIS of the Outer town of the Medieval Bulgarian capital Pliska.

Contract No.453/ 11.06.2010 between the NAIM‐BAS and SRTI‐BAS, 2010‐2013.

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15. Filchev L & E Roumenina, 2012. Detection and assessment of abiotic stress of coniferous landscapes caused by uranium mining (using multitemporal high resolution Landsat data). Geography, Environment, Sustainability, 5(1): 52‐67 http://int.rgo.ru/wp‐content/uploads/2012/03/GES_01_2012.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

16. Filchev L, 2012. Model for detection of stress situations in coniferous landscapes with the use of multispectral and hyperspectral satellite data, PhD Thesis, (SRTI‐BAS), 163 pp.

17. Dimitrov P & E Roumenina, 2012. Studying the relationship between some attributes of coniferous forests and spectral data from the ASTER satellite sensor. Aerospace Research in Bulgaria, 24: 116‐128.

18. Dimitrov P, 2012. Using of multispectral satellite images for estimation and mapping of coniferous forest aboveground tree biomass. Problems of geography, 1‐2: 90‐104.

19. Dimitrov P, 2012. Mapping of coniferous forests’ structural attributes in Rila Mountain, Bulgaria by satellite data. In: Proceedings of 1st European SCGIS Conference with International Participation “Best practices: Application of GIS technologies for conservation of natural and cultural heritage sites” (SCGIS‐Bulgaria, Sofia), 44‐52 http://proc.scgis.scgisbg.org/S1‐7_Dimitrov.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

20. Dimitrov P, 2012. Estimation and mapping of structural attributes of coniferous forests by multispectral satellite images. PhD Thesis, Space Research and Technology Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 103 pp.

21. Filchev L, 2012. An Assessment of European Spruce Bark Beetle Infestation Using WorldView‐2 Satellite Data. In: Proceedings of 1st European SCGIS Conference with International Participation ‘Best practices: Application of GIS technologies for conservation of natural and cultural heritage sites’, (SCGIS‐Bulgaria, Sofia), 9‐16 http://proc.scgis.scgisbg.org/S1‐2_Filchev.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

22. Filchev L, 2012. Land‐use/land‐cover change detection of Bistrishko Branishte biosphere reserve using high‐resolution satellite data. In: CD Proceedings of 22nd International Symposium on Modern Technologies, Education and Professional Practice in Geodesy and Related Fields, (Union of Surveyors and Land Managers in Bulgaria, Sofia), Nо 35.

23. Gikov A & P Dimitrov, 2013. Application of medium resolution satellite images for assessment of damages caused by the wildfires in Vitosha Mountain in 2012. In: Proceedings of the 8th Scientific Conference with International Participation ‘Space, Ecology, Safety’ (SES 2012), edited by (SRTI‐BAS, Sofia) (in Bulgarian) (In print).

24. Filchev L, L Feilong & M Panayotov, 2013. An assessment of land‐use/land‐cover change of Bistrishko bran‐ ishte biosphere reserve using Landsat data. In: Proceedings of 35th International Symposium on Remote Sens‐ ing of Environment "Earth Observation and Global Environmental Change ‐ 50 Years of Remote Sensing: Pro‐ gress and Prospects" (ISRSE 35), (RADI‐CAS, Beijing). (in print).

25. Jelev G, 2012. Fuzzy logic based method for assessment of geological hazards in the Eastern Rhodope mountains. In: Proceedings of 8th Scientific Conference with International Participation ‘Space, Ecology, Safety’ (SES 2012), (SRTI‐BAS, Sofia). (in print).

26. Ivanova I, R Nedkov, N Stankova, M Zaharinova, M Dimitrova, S Nikolova & K Radeva, 2013. Flood analysis on the territory of Bisser based on satellite and GPS data of February 2012 using GIS. In: Proceedings of 8th Scientific Conference with International Participation ‘Space, Ecology, Safety’ (SES 2012), (SRTI‐BAS, Sofia). (in print).

27. Nedkov R,. 2012. Assessment of information efficiency and data quality from microsatellite for the need of ecological monitoring. Aerospace research in Bulgaria, 4: 146–150.

28. Ivanova I & R Nedkov, 2012. Estimation оf the Dynamics of the Lumina Lake Floating Reed Islands in the Territory of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, Using Aerospace and GPS Data for the Period 1972–2009.

Ecological engineering and environment protection (EEEP), 2: 21‐26.

29. Lyubenova M, N Georgieva, V Lyubenova, R Nedkov, I Ivanova & E Ivanova, 2012. Ecological Space Modelling as a Pattern of Forest Vegetation Investigation (Example with Belasitsa Mt., Bulgaria), Comptes rendus de l’Academie bulgare des Sciences, 65(4): 483‐490 http://www.proceedings.bas.bg (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

30. Lubenova M, R Nedkov, A Chlkalanov, I Ivanova, N Georgieva & V Lubenova, 2012. Ecological Space Modeling of Forest Ecosystems and Their Dynamics in Three Mountains of Bulgaria. In: 2nd TERRABITES Symposium, (ESA‐ESRIN, Frascati‐Rome), 38 http://www.terrabites.net/fileadmin/user_upload/terrabites/PDFs/2012/2012.02.6‐ 8/Program_and_abstract.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

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31. Nedkov R, I Ivanova, D Panayotova, M Dimitrova & M Zaharinova, 2013. Ecomonitoring investigation of land cover of the municipality of Kardzhali using aerospace and GPS data. Ecological Engineering and Environment Protection (EEEP) (in print).

32. Palazov A, V Slabakova, E Peneva, V Marinova, A Stefanov, M Milanova & G Korchev, 2012. BulArgo Activities in the Black Sea. In: Proceedings of the International Jubilee Congress “50th Anniversary Technical University of Varna”, edited by Farhi O & H Skulev (TU‐Varna, Varna), 110‐115.

33. Bio‐Optical Characterization of the Black Sea for Remote Sensing Applications (NATO SfP Project Number 982678, Project sheet. http://www.nato.int/science/studies_and_projects/nato_funded/pdf/BioOptical%20Characterization%20of%2 0the%20Black%20Sea%20for%20Remote%20Sensing%20Applications%20982678_.pdf (last date accessed: 26/04/2013).

Chief Asst. Lachezar Filchev, PhD SRTI‐BAS lachezarf@space.bas.bg http://www.space.bas.bg

Appendix – EARSeL group members at SRTI­BAS and IO­BAS Space Research and Technology Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (SRTI‐BAS), Acad. Georgi Bonchev Str., bl. 1, P.O. Box 799, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria (URL: http://www.space.bas.bg)

RS&GIS Department (URL: http://www.rse‐sri.com) Prof. Eugenia Roumenina, PhD; roumenina@space.bas.bg Chief Assistant Georgi Jelev; gjelev@space.bas.bg Chief Asst. Lachezar Filchev, PhD; lachzarhf@space.bas.bg Chief Asst. Petar Dimitrov, PhD; petar.dimitrov@space.bas.bg Asst. Stefan Stamenov, PhD student; stamenov@space.bas.bg Assoc. Prof. Vanya Naydenova, PhD; vnaydenova@space.bas.bg Asst. Vassil Vassilev, PhD student; vassilev_vas@yahoo.com AI Department (URL: http://www.space.bas.bg/asic/en/index.html) Prof. Roumen Nedkov, PhD; rnedkov@space.bas.bg Chief Asst. Iva Ivanova, PhD student; ivaivanova@space.bas.bg Nataliya Stankova, PhD student; natalia_hs@space.bas.bg Fridtjof Nansen Institute of Oceanology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IO‐BAS), 40, First of May Str., Asparuhovo quarter, P.O. Box 152, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria (URL: www.io‐bas.bg) Coastal Dynamics Department (URL: http://coastaldyn.io‐bas.bg/en‐us/home.aspx) Chief Asst. Natalia Andreeva; n.andreeva@io‐bas.bg Assoc. Prof. Nikolay Valchev, PhD; valchev@io‐bas.bg Chief Assistant Petya Eftimova; eftimova@io‐bas.bg Marine Geology and Archaeology Department (URL: http://www.io‐bas.bg) Assoc. Prof. Valentina Doncheva, PhD; valentinadonceheva@gmail.com Ocean Technologies Department (URL: http://www.io‐bas.bg) Chief Asst. Violeta Slabakova; v.slabakova@io‐bas.bg Chief Asst. Veselka Marinova; marinova@io‐bas.bg

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Remote Sensing Activities in Croatia, 2012 Scientific Council for Remote Sensing of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Section for Photography, General Interpretation and GIS (Reports by: Dubravko Gajski, Andrija Krtalić, Ivan Landek and Jonatan Pleško) According to the plan of developing digital orthophoto maps for the purposes of updating the ARKOD (the terrain use registry), 52 percent of the Croatian territory was photographed in the following regions: the Dubrovnik‐Neretva County, the Istria County, the Karlovac County, the Lika‐Senj County, the Primorje‐Gorski kotar County, the Sisak‐Moslavina County, the Split‐Dalmatia County, the Šibenik‐Knin County, the Zadar County, the Bjelovar‐Bilogora County, the Zagreb County, and the City of Zagreb.

At the Faculty of Geodesy of the University of Zagreb in 2012, the following curricular activities related to remote sensing were held: compulsory programmes Remote Sensing (undergraduate studies, 5th term) and Advanced Remote Sensing (graduate studies, 2nd term), and facultative programmes Applied Remote Sensing (graduate studies, 1st term) and Remote Sensing – PROJECT (graduate studies, 2nd term). Remote sensing research carried out at the Faculty of Geodesy of the University of Zagreb are related to the FP7 project Toolbox Implementation for Removal of Anti‐personnel Mines, Submunitions and UXO (TIRAMISU), which commenced on 1st January 2012 and should last (provided the research results prove worthy of a follow‐up) until the end of 2015. The project‐related research aims at improving (technically and methodologically) the present operative Advanced Decision Support System, in order to assist humanitarian demining experts in making decisions regarding defining the mine suspected area. The Faculty of Geodesy of the University of Zagreb and the Croatian Mine Action Centre – Testing and Training Centre (with the latter, the co‐owner of the said System, the Agreement on Technical Cooperation was signed) are two partners in the consortium of a total of 24 partners from 11 European countries.

The Chair for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing of the Faculty of Geodesy participated in the 22nd International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) Congress, which was held 25th August – 1st September 2012 in Melbourne, Australia, with a paper Increase of readability and accuracy of 3D models using fusion of Close Range Photogrammetry and Laser Scanning, authored by M. Gašparović and I. Malarić. A brief report by M. Gašparović may be found on http://fodi.geof.hr/images/e‐knjiznica/izvjesca/izvjesceisprs2012.pdf. A new Order on Air Imaging was passed (procedures for acquiring approval for photographing have been harmonised with European norms).

The Geology and Geophysics Section (Report by: Ivan Hećimović) The members used remote sensing methods respecting thereby the set organisational, financial and market rules. At the Croatian Geological Survey, the application of remote sensing methods was focused on the implementation of the programme The Geological Map of the Republic of Croatia, which encompasses eight scientific projects. These are: the Basic Geological Map of the Republic of Croatia in scale 1:50.000 as the largest project; the Basic Hydrogeological Map of the Republic of Croatia; the Basic Engineers' Geological Map of the Republic of Croatia; the Basic Geochemical Map of the Republic of Croatia; the Geothermal Map of the Republic of Croatia; the Structural‐ Geomorphologic Map of the Republic of Croatia; and the Tectonic Map of the Republic of Croatia.

The Ministry of Science, Education and Sports financed all the projects. The remote sensing methods application is further articulated through the bilateral Japanese‐Croatian project Risk Identification and Land‐use Planning for Disaster Mitigation of Landslides and Floods in Croatia, which focuses on

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the identification of the landslide sites, the composing of the landslide register, and the developing of the landslide risk map for the greater Zagreb area.

The member INA‐SD Research and production of oil and gas (earlier: INA‐Naftaplin) used remote sensing methods, inter alia, for developing a 3D model of the Hrastilnica‐2 oil well. Apart from that, satellite images for developing 3D models of a part of the Dinarides were acquired.

Section for Vegetation, Forestry and Agriculture (Reports by: Renata Pernar and Ante Seletković) In 2012 research dealing with inspecting the possibility of applying multi‐spectral and hyper‐spectral imaging in detecting mistletoe on fir‐trees was carried out. Research objective was to develop an efficient and an as reliable as possible mistletoe‐detecting method, which would enable examining the correlation between the emergence of mistletoe and the damaging of fir‐trees, and monitoring the health condition of fir‐trees. With this aim in mind, hyper‐spectral scanner imaging in the area covering the forest management Gospić, the forestry Otočac, and the unit Crno jezero‐Markovića rudine was performed. The multi‐spectral imaging confirmed the possibility of defining the health condition of fir‐trees. The research results do not considerably differ from the results acquired by usual fieldwork methods for assessing the level of forest damage. The most significant result of the presented method was successful detection of mistletoe on hyper‐spectral images, whereby the SAM classification (spectral angle mapping) for 5° proved as the best classification method. The first spec‐ tral signatures – endmembers – for fir and mistletoe were defined; they now make a part of the spec‐ tral library database. Taking the gained results into consideration, a quick and economic application of multi‐spectral and hyper‐spectral imaging has proved necessary not only for the purposes of forest protection, but also for the needs of other scientific disciplines.

According to the plan for the year 2012, research aimed at inspecting the possibility of applying digital aerial photogrammetric images in various spatial resolutions for the purposes of forest inventory was carried out. The data acquired by classic terrestrial methods of forest inventory and the data acquired by photogrammetric methods were compared and analysed for the area under examination. To this aim, field measuring, aerial imaging, photogrammetric measuring, subsequent control field measuring, as well as statistic processing and analysis of the results were performed.

In isolated sections, a systematic sample of exemplary surfaces equalling to approximately 2 % of the total section surface were positioned. Exemplary surfaces had the shape of a circle with radius of either 8 or 12 m, depending on the stand density. On exemplary surfaces, chest diameters of all trees were measured, as well as were the heights of a defined number of trees, on the basis of which the height curves for all tree species were developed. Furthermore, qualitative stand/section description per cadastral plot was carried out. In the examined area, multi‐spectral (RGB and NIR) aerial photogrammetric imaging supported by GPS/IMU technology was conducted. Infrared and colour digital aerial photogrammetric images in spatial resolution of 10 and 30 cm are a result of aerial imaging. On the basis of digital aerial images, for the needs of the examined area, the digital relief model (DRM), the digital height model (DHM) and the digital orthophoto were developed in the digital photogrammetric station. On the basis of digital images in spatial resolution of 10 cm, DOF1 (pixel 10 cm, scale 1:1000) was developed; whilst on the basis of digital images in spatial resolution of 30 cm, DOF5 (pixel 50 cm, scale 1:5000) was developed. Stratum delineation (stand isolation) was carried out in the stereo‐model, on the digital photogrammetric working station Racurs Photomod. In thus delineated strata in digital photographs, a net of systematic samples identical to the field sample of exemplary surfaces was positioned. The photogrammetric measuring of specified tree and stand elements, was carried out in the stereo‐model. On photogrammetric surfaces, tree heights, the width of tree crown, number of trees, and tree species were measured and evaluated. DRM and DHM were used for tree height evaluation. Based on the already known and the newly established correlations, tree chest diameters and other important parameters were defined in order to be compared to the terrestrially measured values. Regression models of the evaluation of chest

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diameters of major tree species including the diameter of tree crown and tree height as independent variables were prepared. Considering the results of the regression analysis, as well as the graphic and analytic testing of every individual model, it might be concluded that the prepared regression models could be used for evaluating tree chest diameter using the method of photogrammetric imaging. The comparison of the results of economic division confirmed that there existed no statistically significant differences; this was further confirmed and justified by stand isolation carried out through the photointerpretation of aerial images. By measuring the structural stand elements using various methods, no statistically significant differences were found in connection with photogrammetrically evaluated tree heights, tree basal areas, and volume at section levels.

The health condition of the trees in the City of Zagreb area was determined by applying remote sens‐ ing methods. To this purpose, imaging aiming at developing satellite images of high spatial resolution – WorldView 2 (0.46–0.52 m panchromatic or 1.84–2.08 m multi‐spectral) was ordered. The satellite images of such a high spatial resolution enabled the interpretation of the damage of the major tree species in the Park Forests of the City of Zagreb, and the development of the theme maps of spatial damage distribution. In order to conduct the assessment of the health condition of two diagonal trees closest to the centre of the raster, out of the delivered satellite image, a digital infrared colour orthophoto of the area under examination and a systematic sample of the net of points 25 x 25 m were developed. Based on the results of the interpretation of satellite images, damage indicators were calculated (damaged; medium damaged; damage index; mean damaged of considerably dam‐ aged trees) for individual tree species, for all interpreted species together and in total for the entire imaged area.

The Oceanography Section (Report by: Mira Morović) Since the projects by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports were prolonged, we have continued to work within several years‐long scientific projects that are supposed to be concluded in 2013.

Field measurements were carried out within the existing and a few new projects dealing with the monitoring of the Adriatic. Many oceanographic data were collected within the framework of field research – spectral optic data among them. The cooperation between the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries and the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service continued within the framework of the inter‐institutional virtual laboratory (ViLab). Mutual participation in the HYMEX project has so far been postponed, but we took part in the international HYMEX workshop held in Primošten in May. We also took part in the PORSEC conference in Kochin. In the Proceedings of the Pan Ocean Remote Sensing Conference 2012, among other papers, the following ones were published: M. Morović, B. Grbec, Ž. Kovač and F. Matić, Ocean color variability of the Adriatic Sea. Ž. Kovač, M. Morović and F. Matić, Space and time structure of the Adriatic Sea color satellite data.

Spatial Planning and Environmental Protection Section (Reports by: Ivan Landek and Jonatan Pleško) On 2nd March 2012 at the National Hall in Zagreb, the State Geodetic Administration presented the monograph entitled The Topographic Maps in the Territory of Croatia (a historical review of topographic maps). The new Geoportal – a survey of spatial data was presented. Every citizen of the Republic of Croatia has been enabled to search and review the data according to the type and name of spatial unit, cadastral office, branch‐office, cadastral municipality and plot. In this manner, the digital orthophoto map (scale 1:5000), aerially photographed in 2011 (developed in 2012 for the purposes of the Act on the Legalisation of Buildings in the Coordination System HTRS96/TM), has also

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been made available to citizens of the Republic of Croatia, the cadastral offices and the administrative bodies.

The State Geodetic Administration and the Ministry of Construction and Spatial Planning have drawn up a draft plan of normative activities for 2013, foreseen by the Act on State Survey and Real Estate Cadastre.

At the State Geodetic Administration, the topological data processing related to photogrammetric mapping (for the Basic topographic databases) was concluded for the entire Croatian territory; the prototype of the new TK25 (new design) was developed; 21 TK25 maps were issued in a circulation of 2,100 copies (formatted map with a new title page and a new sheet division); the Product specifications for the Croatian basic map (HOK), version 1.0 and the Product specifications for digital orthophoto maps, version 1.2 were drafted.

The Hydrometeorology Section (Reports by: Nataša Strelec Mahović and Bojan Lipovšćak) Satellite meteorology During 2012, the working group of the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service took active part in the operation of the consortium of EUMeTrain, an international scientific and development project, in which Croatia has been participating since 2004. The project consortium encompasses, apart from the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service, meteorological services from Austria, Germany, Finland and Portugal. The project included drafting computer‐learning material for interpreting satellite images and their linking to other meteorological data; and organising on‐line training and seminars in satellite meteorology and satellite data application. In 2012, the working group of the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service wrote a new chapter for SATMANU – manual in synoptic satellite meteorology to the topic Overshooting convective cloud tops. It further participated in organising three on‐line seminars dealing with: cyclones in the Mediterranean; satellite data application in climatology (Climate SAF); and using data from polar satellites. Moreover, it held three Weather Briefings – analyses of current weather conditions using satellite products via Internet. All product‐related material, including lectures held in on‐line seminars, is available on the Internet in the format adjusted for interactive learning (http://eumetrain.org). In the capacity of the delegates of the Republic of Croatia, representatives of the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service took part in the meetings of EUMETSAT delegate bodies. The meetings addressed current issues regarding the maintenance of geostationary and polar satellites in the orbit, and technical and financial plans related to launching new satellites. The representatives of the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service, Dr. Sc. Nataša Strelec Mahović and Petra Mikuš, participated in the EUMETSAT annual satellite conference held in Sopot, Poland in September.

Radar meteorology During 2012, the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service took active part in the work of the EUMETNET project OPERA, the objective of which is the standardisation, collection and exchange of meteorological radar data. Within the project, a database on meteorological radars used in project member countries was opened. Throughout the year, every 15 minutes, from the radar stations Bilogora and Osijek, repeated radar meteorological measurements were conducted operatively and the data thereof sent for international exchange. Thanks to modernised machinery and program equipment at the radar station Osijek, its operation has been elevated to the Bilogora station level; this enabled the development and application of the composite images of two radars, available from http://vrijeme.hr/aktpod.php?id=kradar&param=stat. Radar measuring related to hailstorm protection in the north‐western part of Croatia was conducted in the period from May to September, 2012. The parameters of convective (Cumulonimbus) clouds were measured on eight meteorological radar stations (Puntijarka, Varaždin, Trema, Stružec, Gorice, Bilogora, Osijek and Gradište). The S wave radars were used, and the measurements were carried out when necessary and when Cb clouds appeared. The results were published in the documents issued by the Croatian Meteorological 19

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and Hydrological Service. Dr. Sc. Bojan Lipovšćak and Zvonko Komerički participated in the work of the European Radar Conference.

Lightning measurements The LINET system lightning data were used in everyday forecast‐related work and in the scientific research on convective phenomena. Hence, in 2012, the lightning data were compared to the occurrence of overshooting convective CB‐cloud tops in order to define the characteristics of lightning in such situations. P. Mikuš and N. Strelec Mahović made the preliminary research results public at the EUMETSAT conference in the form of poster entitled Characteristics of lightning activity in deep convective cloud with the overshooting tops. The lightning data were further used in the research aimed at estimating the accuracy of linking the satellite atmospheric instability indices to the convection development represented by the lightning data. Z. Bahorić published the research results in his graduation thesis. The follow‐up of both researches is underway.

Published scientific papers: P. Mikuš, N. Strelec Mahović, Satellite‐based overshooting top detection methods and an analysis of correlated weather conditions, Atmos. res., 2012, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2012.09.001.

P. Mikuš, M. Telišman Prtenjak, N. Strelec Mahović, Analysis of the convective activity and its synoptic background over Croatia. Atmos. res., 2012, 104/105, 139‐153.

J. Šepić, I. Vilibić, N. Strelec Mahović, Northern Adriatic meteorological tsunamis: observations, link to the atmosphere and predictability, Journal of Geophysical Research, 2012, 117, C02002‐1‐C02002‐ 18.

Z. Bahorić, Statistic link between the satellite indices of instability and the occurrence of lightning for the wider Croatian area, final paper – graduate/integral studies, 2012.

The Archaeology and Historic Heritage Section (Report by: Bartul Šiljeg) The analysis of web search engines and online surveys (ARKOD, Geoportal, Google Earth) continued with the aim of analysing the known archaeological localities and discovering new ones. B. Šiljeg and H. Kalafatić photographed the Slavonian area between Čepin and Đakovo using a series of oblique images, which resulted in discovering new localities. V. Glavaš performed the photographing of the Velebit area; while on Hvar, the Field of Starigrad and the entire island are regularly imaged. Within the scope of ERASMUS, an intensive programme entitled Ditecur (Digital technologies in cultural landscape research) was held in Zagreb 30 January – 12 February 2012, where B. Šiljeg lectured on Aerial archaeology in Croatia. Two Croatian experts took active part in the International aerial archaeology conference AARG 2012 held 13–15 September in Budapest. V. Glavaš held a lecture entitled Troubles with Everything: Flying over Velebit, while B. Šiljeg presented the poster Slavonian circles.

Council Chairman

Croatian EARSeL Representative

Prof. Marinko Oluić Prof. Marijan Herak geo‐sat@zg.t‐com.hr

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Remote Sensing Activities in the Netherlands, 2012 Earth Study and Observation Introduction The Netherlands has the following member laboratories: 1. Rijkswaterstaat Data en ICT Dienst (DiD) Department of Geo‐information and ICT 2. Netherlands Institute for Sea Research 3. Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) 4. National Aerospace Laboratory 5. Centre for Geo‐Information Wageningen UR 6. University of Twente, Faculty of Geo‐Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) 7. Department of Physical Geography Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences 8. TerraImaging B.V.

For full contact details, please consult the EARSeL directory of members. The UT‐ITC is for long Netherlands representative in the EARSeL Council for which Freek van der Meer acts as representative. As Netherlands council member I have invited all the Dutch members and the Netherlands Space Organisation (NSO) to contribute to this report. Below are contributions received from the members listing remote sensing activities in their organisations during 2012 with in part an outlook to activities foreseen in 2013.

University of Twente, Faculty of Geo­Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) Representative: Prof. Freek van der Meer

At the International Institute for Geo‐Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), 240 staff including 15 professors devote their efforts to developing knowledge of geo‐information management. By means of education, research and project services, we contribute to capacity building in developing countries and emerging economies. In doing so, considerable attention is paid to the development and application of geographical information systems (GIS) for solving problems.

Such problems can range from determining the risks of landslides, mapping forest fires, planning urban infrastructure, implementing land administration systems, monitoring food and water security, to designing a good wildlife management system or detecting environmental pollution.

Mission The mission of ITC is twofold. At the heart lies education and research in geo‐information sciences.

But ITC is also committed to alleviating the shortage of skilled middle managers in developing countries with the ultimate aim of building sustainable capacity in the battle against poverty. ITC derives its sui‐generis status largely from this 'ODA' (Official Development Assistance) remit.

Education The ODA remit of ITC is reflected in the (entirely English‐taught) educational programmes and its target group: international students with hands‐on experience who already have a Bachelor's degree or equivalent. ITC students are, on average, ten years older than the rest of the student body at UT. They also live in their own accommodation in the centre of Enschede. The core of the educational curriculum consists of accredited MSc and PhD degrees. The institute also runs an (accredited) Master's programme in higher professional education, along with postgraduate diploma programmes and short courses. There is no Bachelor's programme at present because the traditional target group 21

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is mid‐career professionals. Other important educational ventures ‐ offshoots of the ODA remit ‐ are the Joint Education Programmes with international partners.

Research Education and research are closely intertwined at ITC. From 1 January 2010 the research will not be managed and coordinated by a research institute ‐ as is customary at UT ‐ but by the faculty dean who has, to all intents and purposes, the same powers as a director of a UT research institute. But in no way will ITC be an odd‐man‐out. The new rector, Professor Tom Veldkamp, certainly expects that integration with UT will raise the standard of research at his faculty even further. As UT staff members, the professors will be accorded independent rights to confer doctorates. In 2012 a total of 22 researchers received their doctorate degree from UT‐ITC. As an example below are activity overviews for two departments of UT‐ITC namely the earth observation science department and the earth systems analysis department: The department of earth observation science at ITC has a long record of knowledge and knowledge exchange in the domain of remote sensing. The focus is in the remote sensing domain at present on multispectral images, radar images, and lidar imagery. As the latter is mainly airborne or terrestrial, the below summarizes some of the recent achievements in satellite remote sensing. To a small degree the department also addresses hyperspectral images. Key issues are at this stage the following:  Superresolution mapping (SRM). With SRM efforts are successfully done to be able to identify within pixel information. On the basis of classification and segmentation techniques class proportions within pixels can be defined. To some degree it allows to develop and apply subpixel mapping.  Object based segmentation and classification techniques are being applied successfully and at an increasing range of applications. Important questions in our research are issues of spa‐ tial data quality of the identified objects. Fuzzy and random set techniques are used for that purpose.  Multitemporal remote sensing has been applied to various studies. Critical aspects such as correspondence of flight lines, matching of resolution and changes between the seasons are taking into account.  Spatial interpolation of missing values. Serious work is done to fill the gaps in images.

Starting with the obvious, small gaps, currently techniques are developed and applied to interpolate larger patches of missing data.  Use of remote sensing imagery in deterministic models. The combination of satellite images with field data and deterministic models has made recently a good step forward, where Bayesian networks have been applied successfully in the difficult modeling of GPP and LAI.  Spatial data quality issues are interesting an intriguing in the domain of remote sensing.

Starting with the MAUP, currently attention is shifting towards the IFOV, registration precision and the effects of distortions at the earth surface and the atmosphere on derived products.

In terms of applications, a wide range of topics is addressed. Particular attention has been given to identifying trees in the city, to LAI and related Biomass determination, whereas at present steps are made towards hydrological modeling.

The Department of Earth systems analysis has recently launched a new research programme: 4D‐EARTH. Earth scientists at the Department of Earth Systems Analysis (ESA) strive at providing reliable earth science information that is used to understand and model earth dynamic processes in all three dimensions and variation over time. The research aims to find answers to sustainability and economic development issues: depletion of mineral resources and environmental effects of exploitation, geothermal energy, and mitigation of natural disasters caused by processes in and on the earth surface. The departmental research is embedded in a programme called 4D‐EARTH

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supported by two chairs: Sustainable Energy and Georesources (Prof van der Meer) and Natural Hazards and Disaster Risk Management (Prof Jetten).

Dealing with such issues and problem areas requires that adequate spatial and temporal information on earth systems and processes is available and accessible. A good understanding of the earth systems and processes, their dynamics in time and space, and their influence on society is necessary.

We combine this understanding with state of the art know‐how in remote sensing and GIS technologies, including spatio‐temporal process modeling, predictive modeling and geostatistics, object oriented remote sensing and contextual filtering, hyperspectral remote sensing, airborne and spaceborne geophysics and geochemistry.

ITC in 2012 organized and hosted (in its building in Enschede) the following conferences/workshops:  Workshop Cost‐move Space‐Time cube (EU), 11‐12 June 2012,30 participants, organizer Menno‐Jan Kraak  SENSE Summer school, 18‐22 June 2012, 100 participants, organizers Paul van Dijk  5th International Workshop on Catchment Hydrological Modelling and Data Assimilation (CAHMDA‐V), 9 ‐ 13 July 2012, 150 participants, organizer Bob Su  World Cycling Research Forum (WOCREF 2012), 13‐14 September 2012, 70 participants, organizer, Martin van Maarseveen  VCWI‐KI Sino‐Dutch Forum, 21 September,150 participants, organizer Bob Su  ITC‐ESA GOCE Solid Earth Workshop, 16‐17 October 2012,70 participants, organizer Mark van der Meijde

Centre for Geo­Information, Wageningen University & Alterra Representative: Dr. Jan Clevers Report written by Dr. Jan Clevers (WU) and Dr. Sander Mücher (Alterra)

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The Centre for Geo‐Information (CGI) is a joint undertaking of the laboratory of Geo‐Information Science and Remote Sensing (http://www.geo‐informatie.nl) of Wageningen University and the department of Geo‐Information (http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/Expertise‐Services/Research‐ Institutes/alterra/About‐Alterra/Teams‐Alterra/Earth‐observation.htm) of Alterra. The Centre for Geo‐Information comprises two full chairs: Geo‐Information Science with special emphasis on GIS, Prof. dr. ir. A.K. (Arnold) Bregt, and Geo‐Information Science with special emphasis on Remote Sensing, Prof. dr. M. (Martin) Herold. In addition, one chair is affiliated with the Centre, namely the former remote sensing chair holder Prof. Dr. Michael Schaepman, who is now at the University of Zurich. The Centre focuses on education, fundamental research and applied research within the Geo‐Information domain.

Concerning education the centre is in particular focused on the Master programme Geo‐Information Science (http://www.mgi.wur.nl/UK). Besides the MSc Geo‐Information Science, we also participate in the part‐time MSc in Geographical Information Management and Applications (GIMA) (http://www.msc‐gima.nl). PhD research is mainly affiliated with the C.T. de Wit Graduate School of Production Ecology & Resource Conservation (PE&RC) (http://www.pe‐rc.nl).

Research within the Laboratory of Geo‐Information Science and Remote Sensing (GRS) has been fed from a steadily growth of the geo‐information market for science, services and policy. Although this market initially was driven by separately evolving strategies in separate segments, nowadays geo‐information science has become a multidisciplinary and collaborative scientific environment.

This trend is reflected in the activities of the GRS‐group of Wageningen University that includes about 40 researchers. Research always has a fundamental character, but with a clear link to the Wageningen application fields. Research activities include spatial data infrastructures, spatial data modelling, geo‐visualization, quantitative remote sensing, and national, European and global scale land mapping and monitoring. Staff is working in collaboration with various national and international research institutions and organizations, including the government and private sectors to provide research in geo‐information science in order to support policy development and the design and management of rural areas at various scale levels.

Main fields of research activities within GRS: Remote Sensing Science This field deals with quantitative, physical and statistical based retrieval of land surface parameters relevant for multiple monitoring applications and earth system modelling and with improved in‐situ data analysis for the next generation remote sensing data and products.

Spatial Data Infrastructure & Sensors This field of research focuses on two major connected themes: spatial data infrastructures and geosensor networks.

Integrated Land Monitoring This field deals with the human impact on the Earth’s surface in terms of biodiversity, climate and social‐economic processes.

Society, Space and Decision This field of research focuses on two major themes. The first theme is a physically and statistically oriented theme "spatial analysis". The other theme aims at society oriented research within the theme "Geo‐Information (GI) and society".

Global context & societal benefits of Earth Observation This field deals with solutions for policy needs and the increasing role of earth observation in monitoring, reporting and verification. Moreover, it deals with harmonization and validation for large‐area land cover assessments.

Notable activities:

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 PhD graduation Rogier de Jong, “Analysis of vegetation‐activity trends in a global land degradation framework” (http://edepot.wur.nl/210966).  PhD graduation Marion Obbink, “Functional classification of spatially heterogeneous environments: the Land Cover Mosaic approach in remote sensing” (http://edepot.wur.nl/176596)  Global Observation for Forest Cover and Land Dynamics (GOFC/GOLD) is a coordinated international effort working to provide ongoing space‐based and in‐situ observations of the land surface for the sustainable management of terrestrial resources and to obtain an accurate, reliable, quantitative understanding of the terrestrial carbon budget. The ESA GOFC‐GOLD Land Cover Project Office (GOFC‐GOLD LC PO) is hosted by Wageningen University in the Netherlands (http://www.gofcgold.wur.nl)  WU Terrestrial Laser Scanning Research: The scientific community has and will witness a significant increase in the availability of different global satellite derived biophysical data sets. However, the use of such data is currently not supported by accurate in‐situ biophysical measurements in both a research and operational context for the monitoring of forest and land dynamics. Terrestrial LiDAR is a ground‐based remote sensing technique that can retrieve the 3D vegetation structure in high detail (http://www.lidar.wur.nl).  WU Laboratory Goniometer System is available for performing multi‐angular measurements under controlled illumination conditions. A commercially available robotic arm enables the acquisition of a large number of measurements over the full hemisphere within a short time span. In addition, the set‐up enables assessment of anisotropic reflectance and emittance behaviour of soils, leaves and small canopies. Mounting a spectrometer enables acquisition of either hemispherical measurements or measurements in the horizontal plane. Mounting a thermal camera allows directional observations of the thermal emittance. The speed and flexibility of the system offer a large added value to the existing pool of laboratory goniome‐ ters.  WU Unmanned Airborne Remote Sensing Facility has been established since autumn 2012.

The facility includes a multicopter and fixed wing platform and several high‐resolution cameras and a hyperspectral sensor system. The added value of this facility is that compared to for example satellite based remote sensing more dedicated science experiments can be prepared. This includes for example higher frequent image acquisitions in time (e.g., diurnal observations), observations of an object under different observation angels for characterization of BRDF and flexibility in use of camera and sensor types. In this way, laboratory type of set‐ups can be tested in a field situation and effects of up‐scaling can be tested.  WU Time series analysis research: More detailed and long time series of satellite images are available (Landsat, AVHRR, MODIS). Methods to analyse these data sets are urgently needed to better understand impacts of climate change on vegetation and automatically detect and characterize the impact of natural disasters (floods, fires, droughts). We have developed an open‐source toolbox for detecting and characterizing change (http://bfast.r‐forge.r‐ project.org). Detecting disturbances (e.g. deforestation events) in near real‐time is one of the key focuses of current research.

Within the Centre, Alterra has recently formed a new team Earth Observation and Environmental Informatics (co‐ordinated by S. Janssen & C.A. Mücher, http://www.earthobservation.eu). A number of remote sensing activities have been identified which can be regarded as the core expertise of Alterra‐CGI:

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Crop yield monitoring and Food Security. Core objectives here are: 1) the use of RS derived observations for improved crop modeling and crop yield forecasting through data assimilation and recalibration techniques; 2) the direct use of remote sensing derived indicators in crop yield forecasting systems through statistical approaches. Additionally, RS techniques are used for stratification of spatial domains and (qualitative) validation of crop model parameter settings (e.g. sowing dates). A characteristic of the research done in this domain is that there has been an emphasis on near‐realtime application and that analysis techniques and the research approach has been designed with NRT in mind.

Vegetation dynamics. The core objective is to obtain a better spatial identification and characterization of habitats and landscapes using RS derived indicators. Integration of RS derived information with other spatial data sources and in‐situ data plays a crucial role. For example, the improved spatial identification of European habitats (inside and outside protected areas) by habitat modeling with RS indicators provides a better basis for habitat monitoring and design of Pan‐European Ecological Network (PEEN). A better characterization of European landscapes in terms of landscape structural elements derived from RS, next to habitat identification, leads to improved ecological modelling. For example, used as important variables for ecological dispersal and population modelling (e.g. with LARCH model). Concerning time‐series analyses, expertise is well developed on analyses of RS time‐series focuses on techniques for cleaning, filtering and information extraction from time‐series of RS data mainly provided by sensors as like SPOT‐VGT, MODIS and NOAA‐AVHRR. The expertise is applied in several projects such as Ecochange (trends in phenology), China‐drought (land surface temperature and vegetation anomaly detection for drought monitoring), Land degradation in the Sahel, Geoland‐Carbon (validation of global carbon models) and eSOTER (PhD Rogier de Jong). The techniques that have been developed are currently applied to analyses of sowing windows for global crop models, drought monitoring and prediction, and analysis of vegetation dynamic change in relation to climate change (e.g. EU‐FP7 CEOP‐AEGIS).

Drought monitoring. Deriving land surface energy balance components mainly using the optical spectral domain has been a long standing area of research. Surface energy balance models, e.g. SEBI, SEBAL, SEBS, S‐SEBI and a dual‐source model, have been developed by the researchers. Expertise has been developed on the application of the approaches for surface energy balance (as further step evapotranspiration) mapping at different temporal and spatial scales through various projects over the past and currently on‐going (EU‐FP7 CEOP‐AEGIS, AQUASTRESS, etc). Highly specialized radiative transfer models to retrieve both atmospheric variables (atmospheric volumetric water content, aerosol optical depth etc.) and land surface variables (directional fractional cover, land surface temperature, and soil and vegetation component temperatures etc.) using multi‐angular and multi‐ spectral radiometric observations have been developed and evaluated. An image simulation system for the thermal infrared domain has been developed and applied to several ESA projects. The system can be used to simulate the processes of radiative transfer and heat and water exchanges within the canopy and between the land surface and the overlying atmosphere, in turn the bottom of atmosphere (BOA) TIR images. By combining with atmospheric profiles, Top‐Of‐Atmosphere (TOA) TIR images can be generated.

Land monitoring. Considerable expertise has been obtained on land use/cover mapping and monitoring in projects such as LGN, CORINE Landcover, PELCOM and GLC2000. CGI creates and maintains the LGN national land use database (http://www.lgn.nl, now version 6 is already available) and CORINE land cover database for the Netherlands (1990, 2000, 2006) which gives a strategic advantage for many projects. This knowledge is also used and combined in more advanced (and partially derived) products such as the European Landscape Classification (LANMAP, http://www.alterra.wur.nl/UK/research/Specialisation+Geo‐Information/Projects/lanmap2).

Notable activities:

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 Octocopter Altura AT8 has been acquired together with multispectral TETRACAM for direct acquisition of imagery over specific terrains. Processing chain is being set‐up is collaboration with Wageningen University. Hyperspectral camera will be acquired by WU in 2013.

Figure 1. Recently acquired 3D imagery with Octocopter over Dutch BIOSOS test site showing recent deforestation.

 Co‐ordination EU‐FP7 project MOCCCASIN (till 2014). The MOCCCASIN project targets the development of a monitoring system for estimating planted area, growth and yield of winter‐ wheat in the Tula region in Russia. It aims to achieve this through satellite mapping of winter‐ wheat fields and agro‐meteorological modelling combined with satellite estimates of crop biophysical variables.  EU‐FP7 BIOSOS: “BIOdiversity Multi‐Source Monitoring System: from Space TO Species” (till 2014). BIO_SOS is a pilot project for effective and timely multi‐annual monitoring of NATURA 2000 sites and their surrounding in support to management decisions in sample areas in Europe and Brazil and for the reporting on status and trends according to National and EU obligations. The aim of BIO_SOS is two‐fold: 1) the development and validation of a prototype multi‐modular system to provide a reliable long term biodiversity monitoring service at high to very high‐spatial resolution; 2) to embed monitoring information (changes) in innovative ecological (environmental) modelling for Natura 2000 site management.  Preparations have been started for CORINE land cover 2012 for the Netherlands  Preparations have been started for version 7 of the National Land Use Database ‐ LGN7, see also www.lgn.nl.  EU‐FP7 project HELM: Harmonised European Land Monitoring. The overall objective of HELM is to initiate a move that will make European land monitoring more productive by increasing the alignment of national and subnational level land monitoring endeavours and enabling their integration to a coherent European LULC data set.  EU‐FP7 project AGRICAB (till 2014). AGRICAB aims to enhance agriculture and forestry planning and management processes in Africa through strengthened Earth Observation (EO) Capacity and better exploitation of satellite data available through GEONETCast. The project contributes to a sustained EO data provision and a continued exploitation and access to satellite data available through GEONETCast and ITC. Twinning partnerships between African and European institutes improves integration of Earth observation in predictive models for management purposes. Alterra works together with DRSRS (Kenya), CSE (Senegal), and INAM (Mozambique) for what concerns monitoring and yield forecasting of food crops. Through the African specialized institutes, CGIAR/ILRI and its partners ASARECA, FANRPAN and FARA a link is established between the research efforts and the policy. The obtained results are broadcasted to member states of OSS (Tunisia), RCMRD (Kenya) and AGRHYMET (Niger).

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 EU‐FP7 project E‐AGRI (till 2014). The E‐AGRI project aims to support the uptake of European ICT research results by setting up an advanced crop monitoring service in two developing economies, Morocco and China. The activities of capacity building will be carried out in the third developing country, Kenya, to raise the interest of local stakeholders on European agricultural practices and to pave the way for an eventual technological transfer in the future.  MARSOP3, service contract from JRC. The main goal of the MARSOP3‐project is to monitor weather and crop conditions during the current growing season and to estimate final crop yields for Europe and other continents by harvest time. To facilitate the monitoring and estimation, tools ranging from remote sensing techniques to agro‐meteorological models (CGMS, FAO‐WSI) are applied. Immediate users of the projections are the European Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development and the EuropeAid Office.

The MARS project also has links with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and national research organisations, such as in China. More information can be obtained through the URL: www.marsop.info  QUICKS, service contract from EEA. A policy support system allowing decision makers to play with choices as they do in their day‐to‐day work. The modelling system offers a ‘quick scan’ method to evaluate within a short period of time integrated issues. QUICKS is a modular modelling environment supporting indicator‐ and ecosystem service quantification at various spatial‐ and temporal scales by relating reasoning rules to each other and to spatial data.

QUICKS is a generic modeling environment and has been applied in the fields of landscape, ecology, nature, agriculture, hydrology, integrated studies and is currently being applied for the green economy and green infrastructure. We use QUICKS both for the expert’s desktop as well as in participatory planning and modelling  GYGA yield Gap Atlas. Contract with Bill Gates Foundation. This project will provide the first easily accessible, transparent, reproducible, and agronomic accurate web‐based platform to estimate exploitable gaps in yield and water productivity for the world’s major food crops, enabling policy‐makers and funders to identify regions with the greatest potential to sustainably increase global food supply. The Atlas and all underpinning data will be available on the websites of the University of Nebraska Water for Food Institute and the Wageningen University, as a resource for scientists, policy makers and others worldwide. Thus, the project directly aligns with Gates Foundation’s Global Development strategies related to “Agricultural Development” and “Policy and Advocacy.” This alignment is a result of an emphasis on analyzing data to improve decision‐making and research prioritization; building web‐based platforms that compile and disseminate data; encouraging greater investment and involvement in agricultural development; and capacity‐building efforts in Sub‐Saharan African and South Asia.

Workshops/conferences hosted in 2012:  Workshop “Step‐wise approaches for national forest monitoring and REDD+ MRV capacity development”, 3‐5 September, 2012, Wageningen, Netherlands  The “REDD+SCIENCE+GOVERNANCE” symposium, 10‐13 April, 2012, Wageningen, Netherlands  Workshop “Sensing a Changing World 2”, 9‐11 May 2012, Wageningen, Netherlands

Upcoming events in 2013:  GOFC‐GOLD Symposium, 15‐19 April 2013, Wageningen, Netherlands (http://www.gofcgold.wur.nl)

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Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Representative: Prof. Steven M. de Jong Report written by: Steven M. de Jong, Edwin H. Husanadjaja, Niko Wanders & Elisabeth A. Addink

Introduction The Faculty of Geosciences of Utrecht University in The Netherlands is a successful research and educational organisation (www.geo.uu.nl). The Faculty has four departments: Physical Geography, Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Planning and Innovation & Environmental Sciences. The faculty has 5 bachelor programs, 16 master programs and a total of 2300 students. The remote sensing, GIS and geostatistical research and educational activities are mainly housed in the Department of Physical Geography. In the past year we continued our research work on applied remote sensing for soil moisture and groundwater monitoring using microwave remote sensing, plague surveillance using optical earth observation and imaging spectrometry activities for mapping vegetation and soil properties. Below we present some examples of new projects and ongoing research projects.

1. PhD project: Use of soil‐moisture remote sensing products to assess groundwater Dr Edwin H. Sutanudjaja obtained on December 14th, 2012 his doctorate title of Utrecht University on this project. In this study the possibilities of using spaceborne remote sensing for large‐scale groundwater modeling are explored in the context of a soil moisture product called European Remote Sensing Soil Water Index (ERS SWI) representing the upper profile soil moisture. As a test‐bed, we used the Rhine‐Meuse basin, covering ±200000 km2 and having abundant in‐situ groundwater head observations. The thesis explores the potential of using SWI in an empirical transfer function‐noise (TFN) model and in a physically‐based model PCR‐GLOBWB‐MOD. First it is shown that there is correlation between groundwater head and SWI dynamics, which is apparent mostly for shallow groundwater areas. For deep groundwater areas, the correlation may become apparent if delay time is considered. Given such correlation, head predictions based on SWI should be feasible. Hence, we performed two exercises in which SWI time series were used as TFN model input. For the first exercise ‐ focusing on temporal forecasting, the parameters were calibrated based on head measurements in the period 1995‐2000. Then, the forecasts were validated in the period 2004‐2007. In the second exercise ‐ aiming for spatio‐temporal prediction, model parameters were predicted by using a digital elevation map. Using these estimated parameters, spatio‐temporal head prediction was created. Both exercises show that observed head dynamics can be well simulated, especially for shallow groundwater where its fluctuations correlate to soil moisture dynamics.

In this study we also introduce a physically‐based and coupled groundwater‐land surface model PCR‐ GLOBWB‐MOD (1 km resolution), built by using only global datasets. We started building it by modi‐ fying PCR‐GLOBWB land surface model and then performing its daily simulation to estimate groundwater recharge and river discharge. Subsequently, a MODFLOW groundwater model was created and forced by the recharge and water levels calculated by the land surface model. Results are promising despite the fact that an offline coupling procedure was still used (i.e. both models were sequentially simulated). The model can reproduce the observed discharge and groundwater head reasonably well.

We also introduce the online‐coupled version of PCR‐GLOBWB‐MOD including a two‐way feedback between surface water and groundwater dynamics and between groundwater and upper soil stores, enabling groundwater to sustain upper soil moisture states and fulfil evaporation demand (during dry conditions). For this online coupled model, we explored the possibility of using SWI to calibrate it by performing more than three thousand runs with various parameter sets and evaluating their results against discharge, SWI and head data. From these runs, we conclude that SWI can be used for calibrating upper soil saturated conductivity, affecting groundwater recharge. However, it is difficult

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to calibrate the model by using SWI only. Discharge data should be included to resolve equifinality problems of fitting soil moisture dynamics and to constrain aquifer transmissivities and runoff‐ infiltration partitioning. Moreover, head measurements are important to capture finer resolution heterogeneity, which cannot be captured by current resolution of spaceborne soil moisture products (50 km).

Further Reading:  Sutanudjaja E.H., 2012, The use of soil‐moisture products for large‐scale groundwater modelling and assessment. Utrecht Studies in Earth Sciences series 025 (USES 025).

PhD thesis, 185pp.  Sutanudjaja E.H., S.M. de Jong, M.F.P. Bierkens & F.C van Geer, Using ERS spaceborne microwave soil moisture observations to predict groundwater heads in space and time.

Remote Sensing of Environment, under review.  Sutanudjaja E.H., L.P.H. van Beek, S.M. de Jong, M.F.P. Bierkens & F.C van Geer, 2011, Large scale groundwater modeling using globally available datasets: a test for the Rhine‐Meuse basin. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 8(2) 2255‐2608.

2. PhD project: Improving near real‐time flood forecasting using multi‐sensor soil moisture assess‐ ment In collaboration with the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy we investigate the possibilities of re‐ mote sensing to assist and improve flood forecasting. Niko Wanders is the PhD candidate working on this project funded by NWO/SRON‐GO and the European Commission. Flooding is a major environ‐ mental problem in various parts of the world. The European Commission is developing an early warn‐ ing system referred to as EFAS: European Flood Forecasting System. EFAS combines near real‐time meteorological and river flow observations, ensemble weather forecasts, land cover maps, soil in‐ formation and topographical information in the LISFLOOD model. The EFAS‐LISFLOOD modelling sys‐ tem produces for any location along the main European rivers discharge forecasts and soil moisture for 10 days. One of the weaker points in the EFAS‐EDO approach is the lack of reliable information on the surface soil moisture dynamics. Initial soil moisture is an important variable because it deter‐ mines how much water can be stored in the soil before runoff starts. Currently, soil moisture status is computed using a water balance approach with data from meteorological stations as input. However, such soil moisture estimates suffer from model uncertainty transferred to errors in flood forecasts.

Consequently, if additional remotely sensed soil moisture data were used to improve estimates of soil moisture status, flood forecasts are expected to improve. The objective of this study is to im‐ prove the LISFLOOD soil moisture module by using SMOS, ASCAT and AMSR‐E derived daily soil mois‐ ture maps. Remote sensing is used here to improve model input, to improve model parameterisation through model calibration and to improve state estimation through data assimilation. Figure 1 shows some first results showing the correlation and errors of satellite‐measured top soil moisture contents and ground‐based soil moisture measurements of the REMEDHUS datasets in Spain.

The correlation values are highest in the South‐Western part of Spain for all three satellite products and lowest in the North‐Eastern locations for SMOS and ASCAT. AMSR‐E shows low R values in the Northwest and high R values in the South and interior of Spain. Error values are lowest in Northern and central Spain with some high to very high values for AMSR‐E and SMOS in the North‐Western locations due to the proximity of the sea in combination with increased vegetation and topography Further Reading:  Wanders N., D. Karssenberg, M.F.P. Bierkens, R.M. Parinussa, R.A.M. de Jeu, J.C. van Dam, S.M. de Jong, 2012, Observation uncertainty of satellite soil moisture products determined with physically‐based modeling. Remote Sensing of Environment 127, pp.341‐356.

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Figure 1 Correlation (top) and satellite standard error (bottom) for the three satellite soil moisture products for the period January 2010–June 2011 over Spain. Meteorological stations are indicated by crosses.

3. Collaboration UU and EC‐JRC The Faculty of Geosciences of Utrecht University and the EC Joint Research Centre already work to‐ gether for over 20 years. Last year the collaboration reached a new phase by the professor appoint‐ ment of Dr APJ de Roo at Utrecht University. De Roo is and will remain Action Leader of the Weather Driven Natural Hazards activity on floods at JRC but will additionally be involved in research and teaching at the UU. De Roo is appointment on the chair ‘Hazards and Impact’. De Roo held his inau‐ gural speech on August 31st, 2012 titled ‘Water: potential hazard or economic essence’. An important part of the collaborative research will be how remote sensing can be used to monitor and model natural hazards and to mitigate negative consequences of natural hazards for society.

4. Special Issue Elsevier JAG of the GEOBIA2010 Conference In 2010 Utrecht University, Ghent University and ITC organised the third GEOBIA conference ‘Geographic Object‐Based Image Analysis’ from June 29th until July 2nd after the previous meetings in Calgary and Salzburg. GEOBIA2012 took place in Rio de Janeiro and GEOBIA 2014 will be located in Greece. In January of 2012 a special issue of the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (JAG) based on the conference papers and presentation in Ghent was published.

Nine papers are published presenting new ideas for algorithms, methods and GEOBIA applications in urban, land cover and vegetation studies.

Three papers are presented within the theme methods for land cover and vegetation mapping:  Thoonen et al. present a new procedure for detailed land cover mapping (24 classes) of heath land areas and compares object‐based approaches with Markov Random Fields. The last method proves to be superior over the other for the fine‐scale land cover patches in this study area.  Lizarazo introduces the concept of fuzzy segmentation of images as an alternative for discrete land cover classification and change analysis. The method is illustrated by an example of land‐cover mapping (impervious areas) using Landsat TM images of 1990 and 2000 acquired over a study area in Maryland, USA. The use of the fuzzy approach increased the accuracy of impervious area mapping.  Chen et al. present a novel method for forest parameter estimation (canopy height, aboveground biomass and stand volume) by integrating QuickBird imagery with transects of airborne LIDAR data and by applying image segmentation at the individual tree crown level

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The next three papers present novel approaches for urban‐related studies.  Doxani et al. monitor urban changes in Thessaloniki in Greece using multi‐temporal QuickBird and IKONOS imagery. The novel method first applies morphological filtering embedded in an object‐based classification scheme and next uses multivariate alteration detection to identify changes at the individual building and roof level with high precision.  Stow et al. investigate the histograms of different urban and land cover objects after segmentation and next, apply a histogram curve matching method to compare and classify various urban areas visible in a Quickbird image of the city of Accra in Ghana. Results show that image object histograms can have distinct different shapes and properties for urban classes and that they are useful for classifying urban areas.  Ardila‐Lopez et al. present a study to identify individual trees in QuickBird images acquired over two cities in the Netherlands. A framework comprising seven approaches of object‐based analysis is introduced e.g. to mask out grassland, to identify trees along roads or trees in groups. Although the proposed method comprises still a lot of manual work, the approach seems promising for mapping individual tree crowns in complex urban areas.

The next three papers introduce new algorithms or methods for GEOBIA.  Laliberte et al. worked on an important issue in object‐based image analysis i.e. feature selection (spectral bands, object spatial properties, contextual and textural properties) for vegetation mapping at fine resolution using very high spatial resolution (6 cm) airborne imagery. Three feature selection methods are compared and evaluated. Classification Tree Analysis proved best for their application and study area.  Muad and Foody present a super‐resolution mapping approach to extract objects i.e. lakes from multi‐temporal Landsat ETM+ and MODIS images of a study area in Quebec, Canada.

Two super resolution mapping methods were evaluated, the Hopfield neural network ap‐ proach and a new multi‐temporal halftoning technique. The new method appeared superior in identifying lakes and characterizing their shape. Although this super‐resolution mapping is a bit far from the conventional approach of object‐based mapping, we believe the proposed method integrates the spatial domain in image analysis in a very interesting way.  Zabala et al. present an interesting study on the effect of eight different levels of image com‐ pression on the information loss of segmentation‐based image classification results. The im‐ portance of such study is obvious since the data volumes collected by remote sensing sen‐ sors are enormous. Their main conclusion is that compression levels of 40:1 or higher lead to unacceptable loss of information.

The nine full papers and introduction to the topic are available in:  Addink E.A., F.M.B. Van Coillie & S.M. de Jong, 2012, From Pixels to Geographic Objects in Remote Sensing Image Analysis. International Journal for Applied Earth Observation and Geo‐information 15, 1‐6 (Special issue GEOBIA 2010 Ghent).

Freek van der Meer University of Twente, Faculty ITC f.d.vandermeer@utwente.nl

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News from Other Organisations Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), Chinese Academy of Sciences

The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), founded in 2012, is a comprehensive research organization for promoting the development of cutting‐edge scientific research and meeting national strategic demands in the fields of remote sensing, Earth Observation and Digital Earth. RADI was established as a major initiative through consolidating two CAS institutes: the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications and the Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth.

RADI has 9 laboratories or research centers at national or CAS level, 2 national key infrastructures for spaceborne and airborne Earth Observation (hosted China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station and CAS Airborne Remote Sensing Center) , and 4 international S & T platforms supported by UNESCO or ICSU. In terms of human resources, RADI has a team of about 700 researchers or engineers, including 96 professors and 173 associate professors. With one postdoctoral program and six doctoral and master’s programs, it currently has more than 500 graduate students.

RADI has become China’s important institution in the geospatial information field, with competence in various key areas, including spaceborne‐airborne‐ground remote sensing data acquisition and processing, basic research in remote sensing and geospatial information science, Digital Earth science platform and information analysis on global environment and resources. RADI also has a competent research team covering a broad spectrum of academic disciplines, and S&T international collaboration. The competence enjoyed by RADI is the very foundation on which we build and develop our institute.

Strategic Positioning Exploring leading technologies in Earth Observation, geospatial information science, and the mechanisms for acquiring and disseminating remote sensing information; Constructing and operating major Earth observation infrastructures and the spaceborne‐airborne‐ground Earth observation technology system; Enhancing its capacity for providing spatial information on natural resources and the environment at regional and global scale creating a Digital Earth scientific platform; thereby creating a comprehensive, world‐class research institute.

Anticipated Breakthrough Progress  Developing a spaceborne‐airborne‐ground‐based Earth Observation system Building a multi‐station satellite receiving system covering the entire Chinese territory and even the whole world, a high‐performance airborne remote sensing system, and a system for ground‐based remote sensing experiments; Making breakthroughs in key technologies such as global high‐speed acquisition of remote sensing satellite data, airborne multi‐payload integration, quasi‐real‐time processing of mass data, web‐based high‐speed data transmission and service; Developing an information processing platform for comprehensive applications, payload experiments, and validation.  Establishing a global spatial information system on resources and the environment Carrying out studies in key technologies of earth observation information processing, including mechanisms for acquiring and distributing geospatial information and retrieving key parameters of earth observing objects, data assimilation and data‐intensive computing, web‐based organization of multi‐source heterogeneous mass data, computing integration of spatio‐temporal process in earth

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science, multi‐dimensional presentation and multi‐user collaboration for Earth system analyses; Building up a system to safeguard national space information; Developing a system to guarantee the national space information, providing national decision‐makers with quasi‐real‐time information for the environment, resources and emergency response at the global level, constructing a platform for Digital Earth science and advancing geospatial information science.  Devising an advanced simulation system for Earth Observation Probing into fundamentals of Earth observation in all‐band, multi‐platform, multi‐scale spatio‐ temporal, multi‐polar, and multi‐angle analyses; Exploring mechanisms of remote sensing to address key factors of the Earth’s system, including land, oceans, and the atmosphere, and demonstration of remote sensing mechanism; Developing a standardized production and validation system for satellite information products, simulating remote sensing data and information products, integrating Earth observation and relevant information communication technologies, and setting up an advanced a simulation system for Earth observation.

Major Research Directions to Be Fostered     

Space data‐intensive science and big data technology; Mechanisms and methods of spaceborne and airborne intelligent Earth Observation; Space information simulation of Earth system processes; Comparative studies of global environmental between the earth and other planets and, Geospatial information science.

The RADI Headquarters

Contact No.9 Dengzhuang South Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100094, China Tel: +86‐10‐82178008 Fax: +86‐10‐82178009 Email: office@radi.ac.cn Website: www.radi.ac.cn

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Prof. Dr. Changlin WANG Director, International Academic Division Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences wcl@ceode.ac.cn

EARSeL Newsletter

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GEO Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services related activities

By Georgios Sarantakos (GEO Secretariat)

Introduction Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are committed to updating their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and to review and assess the information they have to assess progress against the 20 Aichi Targets of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011‐2020. Many countries, however, do not yet have sufficient capacity for gathering and making systematic use of biodiversity‐relevant observations and applying analytical tools to use these observations to detect biodiversity change. This can limit their ability to design, implement and review the effectiveness of interventions aimed to counteract biodiversity loss, and, therefore, limit their ability to reach the 20 targets for 2020.

Furthermore, even for the countries that have the tools and capacities, there is not always interoperability among the national biodiversity monitoring products and coordination among the in‐country capacity building activities. Therefore, the global and/or regional impact on the biodiversity status of these ongoing national and sub‐national biodiversity activities is difficult to be accurately assessed. This prevents the policy makers and the experts from identifying and analyzing the global biodiversity and ecosystem services knowledge and capacity gaps, assessing for instance the progress towards the achievement of the 2015 Aichi Targets. The development of global and regional thematic or integrated tools is required for the measurement of the regional and global status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services in a cost and time efficient way. However, these activities lack sufficient financial support in order to be effective.

For this purpose, the GEO Secretariat in consultation with the CBD Secretariat prepared a report that aims at addressing this issue, by presenting an overview of the ongoing or due to be developed by 2015 GEO biodiversity and ecosystems services related projects. 1 Background information In order to address the lack of global, regional and national biodiversity and ecosystem services monitoring issues mentioned above, the Intergovernmental Organization Group on Earth Observations (GEO), in close collaboration with the CBD Secretariat, has initiated an effort to better meet the needs of Parties to the CBD. This effort mobilizes the entire GEO community in the production and dissemination of biodiversity and ecosystem‐related products, tools and services and the development of capacity building activities. The concept note of this initiative was presented at the eleventh Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 11) as an information document 2 .

Under the umbrella of GEO experts from different communities, focused on environmental management and human well‐being, join forces in order to address national, regional and global monitoring challenges of their sectors and tackle cross‐cutting issues. At this effort, the GEO Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) is playing a leading role, with significant contribution though from other GEO biodiversity‐related communities, working on the ecosystem management, forest carbon and crops monitoring, water and ocean health issues amongst else, that represent both the remote sensing and the in‐situ data communities.

1 2

For additional information please contact: Georgios Sarantakos (gsarantakos@geosec.org) (GEO Secretariat) http://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/cop/cop‐11/information/cop‐11‐inf‐49‐en.pdf

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Structure of the report For the preparation of this report, the GEO Secretariat, in close collaboration with the CBD Secretariat, called the entire GEO community for biodiversity‐ and ecosystem‐services related products, tools and services. As a result, the GEO Secretariat received and compiled inputs from 50 Group Leaders from the GEO Biodiversity, Global Land Cover and Ecosystem communities expressed in 19 thematic or region‐specific projects related to capacity building activities and/or development of datasets, tools, products and services have been received. In additional, the GEO Secretariat compiles a list of other biodiversity and ecosystem services‐related programmes of the work plan from the GEO Ocean, Water, Forest and Agriculture task. The CBD Secretariat has contributed with inputs on the kind of information that this report should include in order to assess the benefits of the activities included for Convention’s Parties and the requirements of the funding mechanisms.

The GEO biodiversity and ecosystem services activities and programmes compiled are presented in a summary table (below). There is a clear distinction between the projects (sent by the GEO community) and the programmes (compiled by the GEO Secretariat).

Each of these products and activities serves for the monitoring of global or regional marine (dark blue), freshwater (light blue), or terrestrial (green) species and ecosystems, or all of them (gray).

Also, each of these projects is developed and implemented under one or more components of the GEO Biodiversity Initiative, in order to ensure interoperability among the systems and avoid duplications. Therefore, the activities under this effort are organized in four groups as follows: 1. Observation and information datasets, and products This component aims at supporting countries to assess and fulfill their specific national needs for biodiversity observations and information, to address both national and international commitments.

This component will facilitate the sustained provision of observations, but will also include, as needed, some or all of the chain of observation gathering, data coordination, product generation, and analysis. Priority will be given to identified, agreed‐upon needs, such as those reflected in treaty decisions, especially those of the CBD, and the systems and tools to fulfill them cost‐effectively.

2. Capacity Building on observation approaches, database development, analysis and reporting, and harmonization protocols This component includes both the regional and national activities for the building of in‐country ca‐ pacity required for the development of national biodiversity observation and monitoring systems and the use of the observations, information and products available from the activities in Component 1.

Capacity building includes both institutions and people and covers all parts of the system, from data collection to processing, analysis, and use. The priority is under‐serviced areas, topics and domains, which are often in the biodiversity‐rich but information‐poor tropics.

3. Observation System Research and Development activities This component aims at supporting the coordination of research activities related to improving the observation system (this is not simply basic scientific research) and the identification and filling of gaps.

4. Data access and sharing, outreach and communication This component connects the GEO Biodiversity Initiative with technical partners on one end and us‐ ers on the other. It may include a) development of a web platform (portal) connected to the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI), b) development of communication and outreach materials.

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Outcome and Next step As a result of this effort, this report currently includes global marine, terrestrial and freshwater ac‐ tivities, regional activities such as in ASEAN, Artic, Asia‐Pacific, Europe, Africa, Amazon, Third Pole, and hot biodiversity spots such as Protected Areas, World reserves, Tropical Forest and Wetlands.

The next step of this effort is, in collaboration with the CBD Secretariat, to undertake a gap analysis based on the reports of the Parties to the CBD and identify their needs that are not covered by these activities. In the meantime, this is a living report that keep updated with more activities of the GEO community.

Scale/Applicability:

Type/GEO biodiversity initiative component:

National (China, Japan and two African countries System (tbd))/Global (Wet‐ (prototype) land) / C1, C4

Name:

Aichi Targets ad‐ dressed:

Due to be delivered by:

Estimate cost:

Global Wetlands Observation Sys‐ tem (GWOS) Regional Proto‐ type

1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19 and 20

2015

$ 430,000

Fine‐scaled as‐ sessment and Product monitoring of (Online biodiversity rep‐ interactive resentation Global (Protected Map) / C3, within terrestrial Areas) C4 protected areas

11

2015/2016

$4,500,000

2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 15 and 17

2015

N/A

Multinational (a natural and a cul‐ tural site in each region of Asia, Africa and Latin America)/ Global (all the World heri‐ tage sites, World biosphere reserves and Global geoparks)

Capacity building activities on the use of space technologies for Capacity building + developing coun‐ tries in Asia and products/ C2, C3, C4 Africa

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Assessment of biodiversity, eco‐ system processes and ecosystem Data and services in se‐ Regional (selected models / lected mountain high‐altitude areas) C1, C3 areas

12

2015

$ 2,700,000

Change in global area of old growth (sub‐) tropical forests Product using indicator Regional ((sub‐) (Map) / C1, species and earth C3 tropical forests) observation

5, 7, 12 and 14

2014

$ 130,000

Use of biological information in planning, installa‐ tion of field infra‐ structure, data management and Capacity availability, and Building / surveys of target C2, C4 taxa

1, 2, 11, 18 and 19

2016

$ 1,028,000

Capacity building for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and other coun‐ tries interested to adopt the inter‐ Regional (ASEAN Capacity operable data‐ member Building / base structures states)/Global C2, C4 and encode data.

1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11 and 12

2015

$ 493,000

Integrated Pan‐ Arctic biodiversity monitoring – the Circumpolar Bio‐ Product and diversity Monitor‐ (Arctic Services / ing Program (Arc‐ C1, C4 tic BON)

5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14

2015

$ 4,800,000

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15

2015 (first stage of im‐ plementa‐ tion)

$ 5,000,000

Regional (Amazo‐ nia)/Global

Regional States)

Regional (30 coun‐ Species monitor‐ tries in Latin Amer‐ ing in globally ica, Sub‐saharan Capacity underrepresented Africa, and South‐ building / regions (“gap east Asia (tbd)) C2, C4 regions”)

Global

Product (Online interactive Map) / C3, C4

Status of global marine species distributions and diversity

6, 9, 11 and 12

2015

$4,000,000

Global

Product (Online interactive

Status of global terrestrial species distributions and

12

2015/2016

$3,500,000

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June 2013 ‐ Number 94

Map) / C3, diversity C4

Global

Products and Ser‐ vices/ C1, C3

30 m resolution global land cover and land use data for 2015, 2010, 2000 and 1990

5, 7, and 11

2016

$5,000,000

Global

Products/ C1, C3

Multi‐Temporal Global Land Cover Map Products

1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 15, and 19

2014

$500,000

Improved data‐ sets for biodiver‐ sity and ecosys‐ C1, tem services monitoring

1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 15, 17, 18, and 19

2015

$340,000

A Toolkit for Visualization and Crowdsourcing of Biodiversity Data‐ sets

1, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 14

2015

$ 550,000 – 780,000

Automated geo‐ spatial informa‐ tion generation by landscape Regional (Europe) / Products photographs Global and services (Auto‐GiG)

5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 19

2016

$ 2,656,780

Global

Product (Data layers and Maps) / C1, C3

Development of data layer, maps and classification of marine ecosys‐ tems of the world

5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14 and 15

2015

$ 240,000

Global

Capacity Building and Global Environ‐ Data/ C1, mental Stratifica‐ tion C2, C3

5, 7, 9, 14, and 15

2015

$ 520,000

General Habitat Category moni‐ toring and ex‐ change system

5, 7, 9, 14 and 15

2015

$ 520,000

Global

Global/National Sub‐national

Data/ C3

Product ‐ (toolkit)/ C1, C4

Regional (parts of Capacity Africa, Australia, building/ Europe)/Global C1, C2, C3

Other biodiversity and ecosystem related activities (programmes) of the GEO 2012‐2015 Work Plan Capacity building and Global (agriculture Tools/ C1‐ areas) C4

Supporting sus‐ tainable agricul‐ ture and combat‐ ing desertification

7, 13 and 14

2015

‐

Improving water‐ resource man‐ Capacity agement through building and better under‐ Tools/ C1‐ standing of the C4 water cycle

4, 5, 8 and 14

2015

‐

Global Initiative Capacity Global (tropical building and for Tropical For‐ forest area) Tools/ C1‐ est Monitoring

7 and 14

2015

‐

Global (water)

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C4

Global area)

Capacity building and Coastal vulner‐ (coastal Tools/ C1‐ ability assessment C4 and management

5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14 and 15

2015

‐

For more details, please contact:

Georgios Sarantakos Group on Earth Observations Secretariat

7 bis, avenue de la Paix, CP 2300 CH‐1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Tel: + 41 22 730 84 31 Fax: + 41 22 730 85 20 email: gsarantakos@geosec.org http://www.earthobservations.org

Report on the 35th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE), Beijing, China

The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), a new major institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) created through the merger of the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications and the Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth, hosted the 35th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE35) in Beijing from 22 to 26 of April. Attracting more than 1000 people from 56 countries and regions, the symposium, under the theme “Earth Observation and Global Environmental Change”, had 1,249 abstracts, 429 full papers, and 376 posters submitted from scientists from all over the world. As the first symposium in the ISRSE series being held in China, this symposium reviewed the developing progress of remote sensing technology and gave an outlook on its future to address global sustainable development.

In 1962, “Remote Sensing” was named at the first ISRSE in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In its 50 years of development, Earth observation has advanced significantly, and remote sensing has become a mature science and technology for observing the Earth and for monitoring global environmental change. Over the period of five days, the ISRSE35 brought together stakeholders from academia, research, and industry, and put forward possible solutions that can benefit our Earth. In the opening ceremony, Prof. Guo Huadong, Director‐General of RADI, gave a keynote presentation of “China’s Earth Observation in the Global Context”. Barbara Ryan, Director of the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) contributed a keynote on the topic of “GEO building a Global Earth Observation System of Systems”. In the following days, eighteen invited keynote speakers gave their talks in five plenary sessions, and 346 selected papers were presented for oral presentations at 63 parallel sessions focusing on 15 topics of the symposium. In addition, a panel discussion on “Remote Sensing and Global Environmental Change” was held in the morning of 23 April, and an exhibition on Remote Sensing Technology with 34 exhibitors from geospatial industries, institutions and international organizations was convened throughout the symposium period.

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The ISRSE35 focused on applications and theories that make Earth Observation a crucial element in the study of phenomena related to global environmental change. Remote sensing technologies have long been indispensable tools in numerous fields of environmental science, and its role today is significant in the still‐nascent, interdisciplinary linkage of Earth system science. With increased accessibility to interactive maps and virtual data, along with the development of spatially‐aware devices and sensors, Earth observation is experiencing a rebirth with unprecedented potential for innovation and discovery.

This symposium was co‐organized by the International Center for Remote Sensing of Environment, the International Society for Digital Earth, the Group on Earth Observation, the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, and Chinese Academy of Sciences. EARSeL in collaboration with the ISRSE35 Secretariat promoted this event through its website and was recognized as a Media partner. Dr. Ioannis Manakos attended the symposium and chaired the session on “RS Capacity Building and EO Missions Contributing to GEOSS”.

The opening ceremony of the ISRSE35

Chairman of the opening ceremony

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Exhibition at the ISRSE35

Prof. Dr. Changlin WANG Director, International Academic Division Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences wcl@ceode.ac.cn

EARSeL eProceedings New Publications in Vol. 12(1), 2013 A GIS­based flash flood runoff model using high resolution DEM and meteorological data Evangelia Gioti, Chrisoula Riga, Kleomenis Kalogeropoulos, and Christos Chalkias

Abstract Read full paper online: http://www.eproceedings.org Natural hazards are historically a substantial threat to the progress and development of human communities. Floods hold a dominant position among these specific phenomena due to their frequent occurrence as well as their large spatial spread. Certainly, the aforementioned facts become more visible under the light of the assessment of the dramatic effects brought about by their occur‐ rence. Consequently, the need to deal with the impact of floods on human communities with an ef‐ fective way leads to a systematic involvement of the international scientific community on the sub‐ ject of "Management of Natural Hazards".

The present study describes an attempt to model surface runoff in a typical ungauged basin, which is directly related to catastrophic flood events, by creating a system based on GIS technology. The main object was to construct a direct unit hydrograph for an excess rainfall by estimating the stream flow response at the outlet of a watershed. Specifically, the methodology was based on the creation of a spatial database in GIS environment and on data editing. Moreover, rainfall time‐series data came from Hellenic National Meteorological Service and they were processed in order to calculate flow time and the runoff volume. Apart from the meteorological data, background data such as topography, drainage network, land cover and geological data were also collected. A high resolution DEM was of great importance in order to achieve the final result. The study area is the sub‐basin of Achaia Olympia (Kladeos sub‐basin) in Greece, and the examined event occurred on February 5th, 2012.

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Water constituent retrieval and littoral bottom mapping using hyperspectral APEX imagery and submersed artificial surfaces Sebastian Rößler, Patrick Wolf, Thomas Schneider, Stefan Zimmermann, and Arnulf Melzer

Abstract Read full paper online: http://www.eproceedings.org The analysis of littoral bottom properties such as bathymetry and coverage (i.e. plant identification) often requires knowledge about the composition of relevant optically active water constituents like phytoplankton, suspended particulate matter and coloured dissolved organic matter, which influence the radiative transfer in water due to scattering and/or absorption. These inherent optical properties (IOPs) of the water column can be retrieved in optically deep water (i.e., with no reflectance contri‐ bution of the bottom) by using physically based inversion techniques. In shallow water ‐ which often differs from deep water in the amount of water constituents due to terrestrial input from the shore ‐ a reliable estimation of IOPs requires at least a valid bottom reflectance, which is difficult to measure in water. An accurate estimation of water constituents is essential to the retrieval of bottom reflectance and subsequent identification of invasive aquatic plants, which was the main goal of this project.

In an experimental approach, the application of artificial surfaces for retrieving water constituents as well as bottom depth was tested during the hyperspectral APEX campaign 2011 covering Lake Starnberg in southern Germany. Two silo foils (10 metres wide and 50 metres long) were spread on the littoral bottom covering depths from 0.5 to 16 metres and acting as a very bright (white side of the foil) as well as a very dark (black side of the foil) reflective bottom albedo for the ENVI add‐on BOMBER in terms of water constituents retrieval and bottom depth estimation. Reflectance spectra of the foils are known from laboratory measurements. In situ measurements were performed in water using RAMSES spectrometers and processed using the algorithms implemented in BOMBER as well as the inversion software WASI. The results show best performance for the black sided foil regarding pixel unmixing, water constituent retrieval and depth estimation, which agreed well with the WASI inversion results of the downwelling irradiance, which was used for validation due to lacking bottom influence.

Book Releases Hyperspectral Data Processing: Algorithm Design and Analysis is available from Wiley‐Interscience written by Chein‐I Chang.

The book is a culmination of the research conducted in the Remote Sensing Signal and Image Processing Laboratory (RSSIPL) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

It treats hyperspectral image processing and hyperspectral signal processing as separate subjects in two different categories. Most materials covered in this book can be used in conjunction with the author’s first book, Hyperspectral Imaging: Techniques for Spectral Detection and Classification, without much overlap.

The author includes in the book various aspects of endmember extraction, unsupervised linear spectral mixture analysis, hyperspectral information compression, hyperspectral signal coding and characterization, as well as applications to conceal target detection, multispectral

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imaging, and magnetic resonance imaging.

Hyperspectral Data Processing compiles an algorithm compendium, with MATLAB code in an appendix, to help readers implement many important algorithms developed in this book and write their own code without relying on software packages.

Bistatic SAR Data Processing Algorithms written Xiaolan Qiu, Chibiao Ding and Donghui Hu was published by Wiley.

This book focuses on bistatic Synthetic Aperture Radar signal processing, mainly on imaging aspects. Bistatic SAR is one of the most important trends in SAR development, as the technology renders SAR more flexible and safer when used in military environments. Imaging is one of the most difficult and important aspects of bistatic SAR data processing.

The Authors present the status and trends of SAR development. Focusing on imaging aspects of bistatic SAR signal processing, this book covers resolution analysis, echo generation methods, imaging algorithms, imaging parameter estimation, and motion compensation methods. Topics include bistatic SAR resolution analysis, echo generation methods, imaging algorithms, imaging parameters estimation, and motion compensation methods.

Forthcoming EARSeL Conferences 9th EARSeL Workshop on Forest Fires 'Quantifying the environmental impact of forest fires' 15 ‐ 17 October 2013 Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire, UK

More info

General As we attempt to model the Earth System it is important that the impact of forest fires on the Earth System is fully understood and quantified. These impacts can be on climate, the biosphere, ecosystem functioning, society and livelihood. Fire disturbance has been identified by climate modellers as an Essential Climate Variable. Forest disturbance and the associated carbon flux needs to be measured and reported under the United Nations REDD+ programme. Furthermore, we have been very good at understanding the short term impacts of fire on forests, but less good at understanding the response of vegetation under different fire frequency and severity scenarios.

The workshop will draw out the state of the art research being undertaken to identify and quantify these impacts. All relevant institutions and interested individuals are invited to attend.

Following an extension to the first call for papers, 50 high quality abstracts have been received and are underway within the review process. These contributions cover the following topics:  Characterising the impact of fire severity and fire frequency across vegetation types

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June 2013 ‐ Number 94

Validation methods for burned area mapping Monitoring and modelling vegetation recovery after fire disturbance Scaling from regional to global burned area maps Mapping forest fires for REDD+ MRV Using active fire mapping and fire radiative energy to inform on fire severity and impact

The workshop format will facilitate interactive poster sessions and extended oral presentations that will give each speaker up to 20 minutes to convey their results and at least 5 minutes for questions.

A strong emphasis will be placed on networking, interaction and feedback.

Keynote Speakers Moreover, the following keynote speakers have confirmed their presence at the workshop, to address themes from the observation of fire scars in the landscape to detecting flaming fires and onto fire emission databases.

These are:  Prof. Chris Justice, University of Maryland, USA, who will talk about fire monitoring from the JPSS VIIRS System”  Dr. Guido van der Werf from VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, who will talk on global fire emissions and potential fire‐related climate mitigation options.  Dr. Luigi Boschetti from the University of Idaho, USA, who will talk about his research on global burned area mapping and validation (exact title TBC).  Dr. Gareth Roberts from the University of Southampton, UK, who will present a talk on quantifying wildfire fuel combustion using active fire observations.

Special Issue Opportunity There is also a call for papers at a special issue on the topic of Quantifying the Environmental Impact of Forest Fires with Remote Sensing ‐ Open Access Journal, to give the authors the opportunity of further disseminating their work to a wider community following the peer‐review process.

The deadline for submission is 31 December 2013. More details can be found at: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/special_issues/environmental_impact_of_forest_fires In addition, EARSeL encourages the publishing of the full version of manuscripts to the EARSeL eProceedings.

Social Programme The social programme is also coming together. Recently, the remains of the former King of England ‐ Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) have recently been discovered in a car park in Leicester. Leicester is also famous for the amount of restaurants known as curry houses.

A pre‐conference activity is being scheduled (Sunday night ‐ Monday morning) for those who plan to arrive in Leicester on the Sunday before the workshop begins, then move on at the workshop venue, a secluded 12th century monastery (with Wi‐Fi) in the middle of the English countryside on Monday afternoon, a dinner on Monday evening and the workshop commencing on Tuesday morning.

For more detailed information please visit the Workshop website at: http://www.earsel.org/SIG/FF/9th‐workshop.

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Other Conferences

7‐8 June, 2013: National Conference on Microwaves, Antennas & Remote Sensing.

Dehradun, India.

12‐14 June, 2013: 6th International Conference on Recent Advances in Space Technologies (RAST 2013).

Istanbul, Turkey.

17‐19 June, 2013: 7th International Atmospheric Limb Conference.

Bremen, Germany.

17‐21 June, 2013: 13th Conference on Electromagnetic and Light Scattering.

Lille, France.

25‐28 June, 2013: Workshop on Hyperspectral Image and Signal Processing (WHISPERS).

Gainesville, Florida, USA. 1‐3 July, 2013: Satellite Soil Moisture Validation & Application Workshop.

Frascati, Italy.

2‐5 July, 2013: GI_Forum 2013.

Salzburg, Austria.

4‐5 July, 2013: PROBING VEGETATION Conference: from past to future .

Antwerp, Belgium.

7‐11 July, 2013: 9th European Conference on Precision Agriculture.

Lleida, Spain.

21‐26 July, 2013: IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

Melbourne, Australia.

22‐24 July, 2013: The 4th International Conference on Computing for Geospatial Research and Application.

San Jose, CA, USA.

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12‐16 August, 2013: The Second International Conference on Agro‐Geoinformatics.

Fairfax, VA, USA.

25‐30 August, 2013: 26th International Cartographic Conference.

Dresden, Germany.

EARSeL Newsletter

June 2013 ‐ Number 94

4‐6 September, 2013: Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Annual Conference.

Glasgow, United Kingdom.

9‐10 September, 2013: Workshop on UAV‐based Remote Sensing.

Cologne, Germany.

9‐13 September, 2013: ESA Living Planet Symposium 2013.

Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

12‐14 September, 2013: 14th N‐AERUS Conference.

Enschede, The Netherlands.

16‐20 September, 2013: 2013 EUMETSAT & 19th AMS Satellite Conferences.

Vienna, Austria.

23‐26 September, 2013: 2013 SPIE Remote Sensing Symposium.

Dresden, Germany.

23‐25 September, 2013: Interdisciplinary Conference of Young Earth System Scientists 2013.

KlimaCampus, University of Hamburg, Germany.

20‐24 October, 2013: 34rd Asian Conference on Remote Sensing.

South Kuta, Bali, Indonesia.

22‐24 October, 2013: XV Congreso de la Asociaciσn Espaρola de Teledetecciσn.

Madrid, Spain.

11‐15 November, 2013: First COSPAR Symposium.

Bangkok, Thailand.

12‐13 November, 2013: ISPRS Workshop.

Antalya, Turkey.

13‐16 July, 2014: Second International Conference on Vulnerability and Risk Analysis and Management (ICVRAM2014) & Sixth International Symposium on Uncertainty Modelling and Analysis (ISUMA2014).

Liverpool, United Kingdom.

2‐10 August, 2014: 40th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).

Moscow, Russian Federation.

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Summer Schools and Advanced Courses

3rd Advanced Training Course on Ocean Remote Sensing 23‐27 September 2013, European Space Agency, Ireland Deadline for application: 31 May 2013

Pavia 2013 International Summer School on Data Fusion of Synthetic Aperture Radar Data 16‐20 September 2013, University of Pavia, Italy Deadline for application: 1 June 2013

IGSSE Autumn School of the Institute of Photogrammetry and Cartography 25–27 September 2013, Technische Universität München, Dienten, Austria Deadline for application: 31 July 2013 2013 Microwave Ocean Remote Sensing Training School 30th September ‐ 4th October 2013, MOS Barcelona Expert Centre, Barcelona, Spain Deadline for application: 28 June 2013

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Back Cover – Matera, Italy, the Symposium and Workshops’ venue for the 33rd EARSeL Symposium.

Credits: Valerio Li Vigni Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/670/gallery

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.

i Testing PROBA-V and VEGETATION data for agricultural applications in Bulgaria and Romania (PROAGROBURO). Contract Ref. Nr CB/XX/16. between the SRTI-BAS and the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO), under the PROBA-V Preparatory Programme. Principal Investigator (PI): Prof. Dr. E. Roumenina

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