DLR - Earth Observation Center - Projects: Land Surface

You are here: Home:Applications and projects:Projects: Land Surface

Applications and Projects: Land Surface

The surface of our planet undergoes constant change. From exogenic and endogenic geological processes to global climate fluctuations to regional and local human interventions, processes are continually occurring on the surface of the earth which lead to significant changes in the character and usefulness of particular land segments. Examples are erosion, bushfires, desertification, large-scale ground clearance and urban sprawl. These changes can be identified and analyzed with the help of remote sensing methodologies. The results are used to develop information products, automated data processing chains, and resource management systems.

DELIGHT

As one of three among over 90 submitted proposals for China alone in the CLIENT ("International Partnerships for Sustainable Technologies and Services for Climate Protection and the Environment") framework programme, the DELIGHT project (“Delta Information System for Geoenvironmental and Human Habitat Transition”) convinced the reviewers and was accepted for funding. The project is to be financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF, and coordinated by EOC. The transformation of the Yellow River delta is the research focus. This delta region contains not only China’s second-largest oilfield and mushrooming cities, but also fragile coastal ecosystems and several nature reserves. Geoinformation from space, which can facilitate finding a balance between economic development and the conservation of natural resources, is thus a key project component. Over 20 German and Chinese partner institutions are contributing to DELIGHT.

KAZUZ

KAZUZ (Remote-sensing-based Technologies and Models for Sustainable Water- and Land-use Concepts in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) is a preparatory project supported by the international office of the German Ministry of Education and Research. The project goal is to establish an interdisciplinary and international team of Kazakh, Uzbek and German scientists and to develop for a test region an innovative project idea for a possible major research initiative. The focus is on feasibility studies relating to remote-sensing-based applications and to modeling the evolution of ecosystems in the area of Lake Balkhash.

WASCAL

With climate change being one of the most severe challenges to rural Africa in the 21st century, West Africa is facing an urgent need to develop effective adaptation and mitigation measures. WASCAL (West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use) is a large-scale research-focused program (funded by BMBF) designed to help tackle this challenge and thereby enhance the resilience of human and environmental systems to climate change and increased variability. It does so by strengthening the research infrastructure and capacity in West Africa related to climate change and by pooling the expertise of ten West African countries and Germany.

WISDOM

The interdisciplinary WISDOM project, financed by BMBF, is concerned with the Mekong delta region in southern Vietnam and, in the future, with certain aspects of the Mekong drainage basin, which includes six countries. WISDOM stands for “Water-related Information System for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong Delta.” The project goal is to establish an adaptable information system for the Mekong delta which can contributes to planning and decision making related to sustainable land management, integrated water resource management (IWRM) and accommodating to climate change.

CAWa

The interdisciplinary CAWa project, financed by the Federal Foreign Office, is concerned with Central Asia, which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. CAWa stands for “Water in Central Asia.” The project goal is to provide cross-border information on water availability and use. Toward this end, CAWa makes use of satellite remote sensing, hydrological and climate models, and communications technology, and integrates all project data and results in a standardized form in an information system. This new type of information is intended to support Central Asian scientists and decision makers in deriving future scenarios and strategies for sustainable water management.

EnerGEO

As part of the EU Seventh Framework Program, the EnerGEO project was established to devise a strategy for estimating the effect on the environment and various ecosystems of tapping and using energy resources. This assessment will be based on models and remote sensing data. The strategy is to be demonstrated in pilot projects involving a variety of energy sources, including fossil fuels, biomass, solar energy and wind power.

EO-Miners

“Earth Observation for Monitoring and Observing Environmental and Societal Impacts of Mineral Resources Exploration and Exploitation” (EO-MINERS) is a medium-scale focused research project funded by the EU Seventh Framework Program. It aims at integrating new and existing earth observation tools to further best practice in mining activities and to reduce the mining-related environmental and societal footprint. Interaction between the mineral extractive industry and society is to be improved in the direction of sustainable development and acceptability.

Corine Land Cover

The Europe-wide CORINE Land Cover (CLC) project is designed to provide standardized data on European ground cover. Ground cover and land use were mapped throughout Europe from satellite data on a scale of 1:100,000. The first uniform classification (CLC1990) was based on 44 land use categories, of which 37 are relevant for Germany. Updating for the years 2000 and 2006 is being carried out by DFD for Germany on behalf of the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA). The data can be ordered from DFD.

Department: Land Surface

Projekt WISDOM (0.18 MB)

Projekt CAWa (0.11 MB)

Projekt EnerGEO (0.06 MB)

Project EO Miners (0.24 MB)