From Preparation to Response: Coastal Decision Support during the Caribbean Hurricane Season 2010 with RADARSAT-2

EarthzineArticles, Disaster Management Theme, Earth Observation, Original, Sections, Themed Articles

A Flow Chart of relation between climate change and glacier length.

Illustration of a regional RADARSAT-2 Fine mode change detection image map of the Spanish Town area of Jamaica.This article outlines on-going activities involving Canadian RADARSAT as well as other EO satellite data acquisitions to-date over selected Caribbean sites in British Virgin Islands (BVI), Grenada, Jamaica and St. Lucia that are engaged in coastal disaster management and emergency response. It highlights some image maps and information products that were produced as part of several trials during the 2010 hurricane season. From this trial phase, the participants expect constructive feedback and further improvements, particularly with regard to operational usefulness of detailed EO satellite data.

Geospatial Applications in Agriculture and Global Food Security: An NGA and USDA Project Success

EarthzineAgriculture, Articles, Earth Observation, Original, Sections, Technology

Cropped image of a map of Slovenia

Image of multi-temporal change over Iraq.The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency GeoINT Online Communities (NGA) website is focused on Global Food Security and allows online, on-demand discovery of and access to geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) content, services, expertise, and support. It evolved from a food shortage crisis in Iraq during the 2007‰ÛÒ08 growing season, and the partnership between NGA and the United States Department of Agriculture detected an impending drought early enough for Iraqi government officials to avert a famine.

Keeping an Eye on Volcanic Ash

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Meteosat-9 image of the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption under Eyjafjallajoekull Glacier in Iceland.ESA and EUMETSAT recently organised a workshop in Frascati, Italy (May 2010) for more than 50 experts on volcanic ash from around the world to take stock of what has been learned about ash cloud detection, monitoring and prediction, and identify future opportunities. The workshop was convened following the recent ash clouds from Iceland’s EyjafjÌ_lla volcano that grounded hundreds of flights across Europe causing travel chaos and costing the European airline industry billions of Euros.

Airborne Radar to Study Quake Faults in Haiti

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Cropped satellite image of HispaniolaNASA’s Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar, aboard a modified NASA Gulfstream III aircraft, will study geologic processes in Hispaniola following the Haiti earthquake. NASA’s flights will help scientists better assess the geophysical processes associated with earthquakes along large faults and better understand the risks, said Paul Lundgren of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the principal investigator for the Hispaniola overflights.

GEO establishes Haiti supersite

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Image of full GEO logoThe Group on Earth Observations GEO established a supersite in response to the fatal Haiti earthquake from January 12 (http://supersites.unavco.org/haiti.php). Satellite data from different sensors and various derivates are collected and provided on this website including SAR data, topography data, visible and infrared imagery, GPS data, surface deformation and seismic data. This effort has been made possible by the contribution of national space agencies and data providers worldwide such as NASA, ESA, JAXA, DLR, USGS and others.