Progress report part 1 - 5It began toward the end of September 2019 in a discussion with Dr. Christine Wesche of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). The idea of using a supply trip by the icebreaker S.A. Agulhas II to the AWI Antarctic station to conduct some research at the same time evolved in a few weeks with the support of DLR, AWI, and not least also my family, into a concrete plan. After the obligatory medical check-up and instruction about environmental protection in the Antarctic we were to head toward South Africa already in mid-January.
4 - 6 February 2020On February 4, the fifth symposium of the Virtual Alpine Observatory (VAO) was opened at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Over the following three days, scientists from France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Finland and ESA discussed the impact of climate change on the Alpine region and comparable mountain regions in Europe.
30 January 2020At Gars O’Higgins in the Antarctic there was good reason to celebrate. The German radar satellite TerraSAR-X orbited the earth for the 70,000th time. Among other places, its data are acquired at the German Gars O’Higgins receiving station that is operated by DLR and the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy and supported year-round by EOC staff.
23 January 2020Michael Schrodi (SPD), a member of the German parliament, visited DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen on 22 January 2020. His interest in climate protection and climate change also brought him to EOC.
20 January 2020Earth observation and artificial intelligence can be used to assist with sustainable development decisions. Some years ago, Earth underwent an epochal change, albeit one that was consciously perceived by only a few of us. For the first time in human history, more people are living in cities than in rural areas. Although this might not seem particularly remarkable at first glance, this change will ultimately affect each and every one of us, whether directly or indirectly – because the future is urban.
20 January 2020Bremen's finance senator, Dietmar Strehl, paid a visit to DLR in Bremen. Scientists at the EOC Maritime Safety and Security Lab informed the senator about the numerous capabilities of radar remote sensing of the oceans.
15 January 2020Aerial remote sensing supplements earth observation from space and contributes to the development of new satellite instruments and analytic methodologies. The cameras in use so far at EOC are now being replaced by new, improved instruments. They are available to all DLR scientists and their cooperating partners via the EOC user-service Optical Airborne Remote Sensing (OpAiRS).