2004

December 31, 2004

ZKI satellite mapping supports international humanitarian relief teams in Southeast Asia

Together with its partners, DLR is creating base maps and up-to-date mapping of the regions affected by the tsunami wave in Southeast Asia. The maps, which are based on current and archive images, are made available to the Federal Foreign Office, the German Red Cross, the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief and other organizations via the Internet. The maps help aid workers to find their way on site and during search and rescue missions. DLR's German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) specializes in the rapid provision of satellite maps in the event of a crisis and has already produced maps for natural disasters and humanitarian aid operations on several occasions in the past.

December 21, 2004

CORINE Land Cover 2000: New data on land use published

To what extent is the land used by humans in Europe changing? What pressures are people and the environment exposed to as a result of the way land is used? The collection of land use data from satellite images is an important tool for answering these and other questions. Satellite data on land use in Europe was analyzed for the first time around 1990. Current data is now available. They are based on satellite images taken around the year 2000 and clearly show the changes that have taken place in Europe and Germany during these ten years.

December 16, 2004

IMF and ZKI monitor a refugee camp in Chad in cooperation with the UNHCR

Due to Civil War, thousands of people escape the Darfur region in Sudan and seek shelter in the state of Chad, where many refugee camps have been established. Not all of them are permanently supervised by international organizations. UNHCR, the High Commissioner for Refugees asked for a subsequent satellite data acquisition to be able to monitor the change in size and amount of tents of the refugee camp Mille by change detection methods.

December 2, 2004

DFD-ZKI contributed to national exercise on crisis management of major disasters (LUEKEX)

The German federal (Bund) and regional (Laender) governments trained the cross national management of major disasters. Main focus of contribution of the crisis reaction team of DFD was the project management in the context of the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters. (LÜKEX)

November 17, 2004

European premiere: DLR receives high-resolution images from India's most advanced environmental satellite IRS-P6 / Resourcesat-1

The German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) of the DLR in Neustrelitz, together with its partner Euromap, has for the first time received data from the most modern Indian satellite IRS-P6 / Resourcesat-1 for environmental observation and processed it into images. Until now, this possibility only existed in Shadnagar near Hyderabad in India. Now, DLR in Neustrelitz is making it possible to receive data throughout Europe.

October, 28, 2004

First TerraSAR-X Science Team Meeting

On November 15, 2004, the first TerraSAR-X Science Team Meeting took place at the DLR research center in Oberpfaffenhofen.

October 25, 2004

DLR and UNOOSA held a joint workshop in Munich on the use of space technologies for disaster management

From October 18-22, the United Nations International Workshop on the Use of Space Technologies for Disaster Management was successfully held in Munich. Around 165 participants from over 50 different countries took part in the workshop, which featured 71 different presentations on the topic of space technologies and disaster management.

October 22, 2004

Open day at DLR on 24.10.2004

DLR is opening its doors to the interested public on October 24, 2004. In the Applied Remote Sensing Cluster you will have the opportunity to find out about the latest developments in the field of earth observation. An interesting program has been prepared especially for this day by the staff of the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) and the Institute of Remote Sensing Technology (IMF).

October 1, 2004

DFD wins prize from the National Science Foundation of the USA

DFD's visualization group is one of the 11 winners of the "International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge". The competition is organized annually by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the journal Science. An independent jury of science journalists and graphics experts evaluated the entries according to expressiveness, innovation and technical realization. In addition to five main prizes, six "Honorable Mentions" were awarded. DFD's six-minute stereoscopic production "The Elbe Flood" received Honorable Mentions in the "non-interactive media" category. The successful entries are presented in the September issue of the journal Science, as well as under the following links.

September 29, 2004

German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) wins ESA tender

Together with its partners Werum AG, Lüneburg and Datamat S.p.A., Rome, DFD in Oberpfaffenhofen took part in the European Space Agency ESA's open tender "FEOMI" and was awarded the contract. FEOMI stands for "Facilities Evolution into an Open Multimission Infrastructure". The project is led by ESA-ESRIN in Frascati near Rome and aims to standardize and, if necessary, replace the existing but non-standardized infrastructure for the various satellite reception systems for earth observation. The project was launched on September 9 in Frascati.

September 6, 2004

SATUM study: Satellite data for environmental protection

What are the advantages of using satellite remote sensing data (SFE data) compared to conventional methods of environmental monitoring? This question was answered in the SATUM study commissioned by the Federal Ministry for the Environment together with the Federal Environment Agency at the German Aerospace Centre. The application potential was analysed for a total of 13 task complexes. The study comes to the conclusion that the use of SFE data for environmental policy purposes can supplement and in some cases replace conventional methods. It recommends setting up and operating a joint data pool for SFE data at federal and state level.

September 1, 2004

Basic mapping of the region around Al Fashir and Al Junaynah in Darfur/Sudan

Due to the ongoing refugee problem and the onset of the rainy season in western Sudan, there is an urgent need for up-to-date and detailed map material for the humanitarian aid organizations working on the ground. After consultation with UN-OCHA, the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and the German Red Cross (DRK), the crisis regions around Al Fashir and Al Junaynah were mapped first.

August 31, 2004

HGF research network "Integrated Earth Observation System" launches doctoral program

The Helmholtz Centers AWI together with GKSS, DLR and GFZ have brought together important research topics in the Helmholtz research fields "Earth and Environment" and "Space and Transport" in the research network "Integrated Earth Observation System" (in short "Helmholtz EOS"). In three research topics, "Ice and Ocean", "Catastrophe Management" and "Land Surface Processes", dynamic processes on the Earth's surface are analyzed and modeled. This makes it possible to identify the state of and developments in the Earth system and predict processes that have a critical impact on human society. Young scientists from natural science disciplines can apply for positions in the recently launched doctoral program. Coordinator Dr. Wolfgang Mett Sea Level Change Megacities and Natural Disasters - Concept for Crisis Information and Disaster Mitigation Carbon Cycle Agricultural Ecosystem Helmholtz EOS Helmholtz EOS Leaflet.

August 25, 2004

HyMap quicklook pictures of the HyEurope campaign 2004

The hyperspectral campaign "HyEurope 2004" was carried out jointly by DLR and HyVista Corp. from mid-May to mid-August in nine European countries. The flights took place in the following countries: Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Wales. The HyMap scene of the area around Rio Tinto in Spain was recorded shortly after the forest fires. Using hyperspectral data, it is possible to map the extent of the destruction, with the dark areas representing the burnt vegetation.

August 10, 2004

Radiation data for solar energy systems

As part of the ESA market development project ENVISOLAR (Environmental Information for Solar Energy Industries), methods for the creation and operational use of information on solar radiation are being developed under the leadership of DFD. The determination of the expected solar radiation (so-called global and direct radiation) as a function of the average atmospheric condition (clouds, aerosols, trace gases) and the existing infrastructure at planned locations enables the efficient planning and monitoring of solar energy plants.

August 8, 2004

Base mapping of Dhaka region/Bangladesh

At the request of the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), an overview mapping of the region around Dhaka/Bangladesh was carried out at the beginning of August 2004. The background to this was a jointly planned relief operation by THW and the United Nations (UNOCHA) in Bangladesh to treat drinking water following the flood damage of the previous weeks.

July 28, 2004

Mapping forest fires in the south of Portugal (Algarve region)

The major forest fires in Spain and Portugal in July 2004 were recorded and analysed by DFD's "Centre for Satellite-based Crisis Information" in the form of a detailed map of the affected areas in the Monchique region based on Ikonos data. In addition, MODIS data was analysed in order to obtain an overview of the current fire situation on the entire Iberian Peninsula.

June 28, 2004

High-tech for animal welfare - DLR wildlife rescuers save 6000 fawns from death by mowing in Austria

Farmers and hunters in Austria who use the deer rescuer developed at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen report encouraging figures. Since 1999, they have been keeping statistics on how many fawns are saved during spring mowing thanks to the devices. The number of animals brought to safety has increased significantly from year to year. This year alone, it was around 2500. To date, more than 6000 fawns have been saved from death by mowing in Austria alone.

June 17, 2004

DLR and Werum sign cooperation agreement

DLR and Werum Software & Systems have agreed to jointly market the "Data Information and Management System (DIMS)" developed by DFD for Earth observation data internationally. Today, both partners signed a cooperation agreement for technology transfer. In the picture from left to right: Prof. Stefan Dech, Director of DFD, Dr. Hans Windauer, CEO of Werum Software & Systems AG and Dr. Rolf Fischer, Head of DLR Technology Marketing.

June 14, 2004

MOS retires after more than 8 years

At an altitude of around 820 kilometers, the Modular Optoelectronic Scanner MOS has circumnavigated the earth for over eight years and provided valuable information for understanding the oceans. The picture shows the last image taken by MOS - a true color composite of the overflight over the northern Adriatic and central Italy on May 19, 2004 at 10:15 a.m. local time.

May 10, 2004

Receipt of data from the SEVIRI instrument on METEOSAT Second Generation (MSG)

Since January 2004, DFD has been receiving data from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on board the geostationary METEOSAT 8. METEOSAT 8 is the first satellite of the second generation (MSG) whose SEVIRI instrument provides data with a higher temporal and spatial resolution in 12 spectral channels compared to the first generation. This data can be analyzed at DFD using the APOLLO software package with regard to cloud cover and cloud parameters.

May 9, 2004

Explosion disaster near Novobogdanovka/Ukraine

DLR's German Remote Sensing Data Center (Oberpfaffenhofen), in partnership with the company European Space Imaging (Munich), captured a high-resolution satellite image of the affected area on May 8. The image shows that the munitions depot was completely destroyed. Further destruction, e.g. in the surrounding villages, could not be detected in the satellite image. The image was made available to the aid organizations on site by DLR within a few hours of being taken.

April 30, 2004

The new EU member states from space

The new EU member states also make a good impression when viewed from space. In this cloud-free satellite image of Europe, the new member states are highlighted.

March 23, 2004

Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI)

With the worldwide increase in natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies and civil danger situations, the need for real-time situation information is growing. For this reason, the DLR Applied Remote Sensing Cluster (CAF) has created a "Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information" (ZKI), which deals with the acquisition, analysis and provision of satellite data and the creation of information products on natural disasters, for humanitarian aid activities and in the context of civil security.

March 16, 2004

MIPAS NRT Data Service

This new service of the WDC-RSAT provides information on the daily availability and global coverage of MIPAS measurements in near real-time. In addition, the volume mixing ratios of ozone as a function of latitude and altitude as well as the ozone profiles are available for each orbit. Global chemical analyses through the assimilation of MIPAS measurements will soon be available online.

March 08, 2004

Water vapor column concentration

Since January 2004, DLR has been providing temperature and humidity profiles and measurements of the water vapor column concentration in the atmosphere in the WDC-RSAT. This information is operationally derived daily from NOAA-ATOVS measurements for the European area. In addition, the data of the last 5 days can be retrieved.

March 4, 2004

Quicklook images of Europe taken by the MERIS sensor

Quicklook images of Europe taken by the MERIS sensor on ENVISAT are now available at WDC-RSAT. In addition to the current overflight, earlier scenes are also available in an archive.

February 21-23, 2004

Sahara dust colors the sky over southern Germany red

At the weekend, a cold front extending far to the south caused sandstorms in Algeria and Tunisia. This extreme weather situation led to a strong current from the southwest and a hurricane-like foehn wind with wind speeds of up to 246 km/h. Saharan dust was whirled up and transported over southern Germany. The dust particles turned the sky orange-red. The images from the NOAA and TERRA satellites clearly show the gigantic dust plumes on the western flank of the mighty cloud band. In large regions, the view of the dust clouds from above is blocked by the overlying cloud cover.

January 15, 2004

DLR supports disaster management in the crisis region of BAM, southern Iran

On the day of the earthquake on December 26, 2003, DFD's crisis information team began support measures for rapid emergency mapping of the earthquake area. In cooperation with Space Imaging, a high-resolution satellite image was taken on December 27. Only a few hours after receiving the image, damage mapping was provided to UN, EU and various national aid organizations, such as the THW and the DRK, etc. Once again, DLR's Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information was able to provide the aid workers on the ground with a valuable basis for planning.