DLR - Earth Observation Center - Completed Projects

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Applications and Projects: Completed Projects

Aerosol CCI (7/2010 - 7/2016)

The goal of the ESA project aerosol_cci, a climate change initiative, is to design consistent prototype algorithms for the production of long-term aerosol data sets from several European earth observation sensors. The project starts with an in depth analysis and comparison of the retrieval results for several existing algorithms. Based on this analysis, elements of community algorithms and harmonized retrieval are then developed. Topics of investigation are the different assumptions and approaches for modeling optical aerosol properties, how to deal with surface reflectance and its anisotropy, cloud masking, and the use of auxiliary data sets.

AGRO-DE (BMEL, 07/2016 - 07/2020)

Implementation of a Cluster Providing Up-to-Date Remote Sensing Products for Agriculture:
Die Landwirtschaft ist in Deutschland mit Abstand der größte Flächennutzer mit ca. 52 % der Gesamtfläche des Landes. Mit AGRO-DE wird ein offener Zugang zu landwirtschafts-bezogenen Informationsprodukten geschaffen, die Forschungseinrichtungen, Bundes- und Landesbehörden sowie Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NGO) bei ihrer Arbeit unterstützen sollen, da methodisch einheitlich hergestellte Datensätze für Deutschland breitstehen werden. Darüber hinaus sollen diese Technologien auch den Einsatz von Precision Farming Technologien stimulieren und somit u.a. klein-strukturierte Betriebe und Betriebe mit ökologischem Landbau ansprechen.

	Alpen-DAZ (08/2014 – 09/2017) Ausweitung des UFS-Datenanalysezentrums (UFS-DAZ) auf andere alpine Observatorien / Einrichtungen mit dem Ziel der Schaffung eines „Virtuellen Alpenobservatoriums“
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	AquaMar (04/2010 - 04/2013) Marine Water Quality Services (AquaMar) is a research and development project which began in 2010 and is part of the EU’s 7th Framework Program for Research and Technological Development. It has the goal of improving existing products specifically for Europe’s coastal waters, as well as developing new ones.
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ASAPTERRA (11/2014 – 12/2016)

The project “Advancing SAR and optical methods for rapid mapping” (ASAPTERRA) has the principal objective of further developing rapid mapping techniques for three types of natural hazards – floods, landslides and fires – using active as well as passive information sources. The resulting algorithms will be evaluated in real case applications during rapid mapping activities.

BOSS4GMES (- 2009)

Within BOSS4GMES (Building Operational Sustainable Services for GMES; B4G for short) three fast track services (Land Monitoring, Maritime Information, Emergency Response) serve as a test case to support the operational provision of GMES services from 2008 onwards. B4G prepares the technical, managerial and contractual baselines of these services in the transition to an operational phase and introduces GMES users to these services.

	CATCH-MEKONG (03/2017 – 10/2018) The CATCH-MEKONG project is a joint geoscientific project that aims to answer open questions and uncertainties regarding the most important environmental problems in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta - saltwater intrusion, land use change, bank/coastal stability, sea level rise - against the background of changed conditions in the upper reaches.
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CAWa - Regional Research Network “Water in Central Asia” (2008 - 2017)

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.

DLR - Chico (2008)

Since 2003 the interdisciplinary earth science project of the “Sino-German Coal Fire Research Initiative” has been supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in China and by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in Germany. It focuses on developing innovative methods to detect, analyze, and monitor coal fires in different provinces of the People’s Republic of China.

CLIMB (2010-2013)

According to current climate projections, Mediterranean countries are at high risk for an even pronounced susceptibility to changes in the hydrological budget and extremes. The strategy of CLIMB - Climate Induced Changes on the Hydrology of Mediterranean Basins - is aiming to employ and integrate advanced field monitoring techniques, remote sensing analyses and retrievals, climate models auditing and integrated hydrologic modeling and socioeconomic factor assessment in a new conceptual framework to significantly reduce existing uncertainties in climate change impact analysis.

COASTMAP (03/2016 – 03/2019)

CoastMap beschäftigt sich mit der Entwicklung von fernerkundungsbasierten Methoden zur Unterstützung von Anlandeoperationen. Dazu sollen vor allem Hyperspektraldaten und LiDAR-Daten eingesetzt werden. Zielparameter sind die Ermittlung der Tiefe von Küstengewässern, die Gewinnung einer im Übergang Land- See nahtlosen Topographie sowie die Bestimmung und Bewertung der Bodenbedeckung (Vegetation, Böden, Gesteine) im Hinblick auf ihre Befahrbarkeit.

	CODE-DE (BMWi, 07/2016 - 06/2019) Mit der Copernicus Data and Exploitation Platform – Deutschland (CODE-DE) baut das EOC den nationalen Copernicus Zugang für die Daten aller Sentinel-Satelliten auf.
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	Corine Land Cover (2001 - 2016) 2001 - 2016 CORINE Land Cover (CLC) is the most prominent database concerning land cover and land use and their dynamics on the European, but also on National and regional levels. It was produced the first time for the reference year 1990, followed by updates for the years 2000, 2006 and 2012.
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DeCOVER 2 (2009 - 2011)

DeCover delivers geoinformation services to generate and update geo-related status and planning information concerning land cover. Toward this end, this joint project develops innovative and cost effective methodologies making use of earth observation and various other data sources to generate land cover information. The aim of DeCover is to support governmental agencies and offices in their need for land cover information. The consortia has 11 partners in Germany and is managed by the EFTAS Fernerkundung Technologietransfer GmbH. DFD is associated partner in the project and supports developments in the areas of nature protection and SAR geocoding. Project Schedule:
Phase I: January 2006 - June 2008
Phase II: 2009 - 2011

Dykes under Pressure - Technical and ecological vulnerability and resilience of dyke landscapes (11/2014 - 10/2017)

11/2014 - 10/2017
Within the project “Dykes under Pressure“, methods for analyzing the data of the Sentinel-1/2 and national satellite missions (TerraSAR-X, RapidEye) will be developed, enabling optimized and synergetic use of these systems to monitor technical and ecological vulnerability and resilience of dyke landscapes.

DELIGHT (2012 - 2016)

2012-2016
With the help of the DELIGHT environmental information system, quantitative parameters for China’s Yellow River delta can be visualised and analysed to facilitate decision making related to the delta’s land use programme. It provides access to data on coastal erosion and land reclamation, the expansion of aquaculture, changes in agricultural acreage, urbanisation processes, locations of point and area sources of water pollution, as well as key indicators of offshore current conditions and seawater sediment and algal loads. The system was developed by the German-Chinese DELIGHT consortium, which was coordinated and led by DFD. Based on local analyses of requirements, it has been transferred to the Dongying administrative district.

DeMarine Security (02/2008 - 01/2011)

02/2008 - 01/2011
DeMarine Security is one of Germany’s national GMES interface projects. DeMarine Security focuses on the development of satellite based services and demonstrations to improve the surveillance of the maritime environment and specifically to improve the security of ship routes and ship based transport. EOC contributes to this project its expertise in SAR data and its near-real-time data acquisition capabilities in Neustrelitz.

DeMarine Environment (02/2008 - 01/2011)

DeMarine is a German interface project financed by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and complementing other European projects with similar maritime concerns. The focus is on representing German interests in GMES and developing an appropriate national infrastructure toward this end. The project has two parts, which are in turn further subdivided into several subprojects addressing various issues.
DLR heads the DeMarine subproject “Coastal Water Quality” to develop improved methods and products for the North and Baltic Seas for incorporation in a new generation of data processors.

DeMarine Safety (02/2008 - 01/2011)

DeMarine is a German interface project financed by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and complementing other European projects with similar maritime concerns. The focus is on representing German interests in GMES and developing an appropriate national infrastructure toward this end. The project has two parts, which are in turn further subdivided into several subprojects addressing various issues.
DLR heads the DeMarine subproject PaRol, which is concerned with investigating dangerous, unstable ship conditions caused by wind and waves. By providing a component related to ship detection using satellites, DLR also participates in the ShipDetec subproject led by OHB Bremen.

DeSecure DeSecure (2007 - 2010)

The DeSecure project was initiated by the DLR Space Agency. Its aim is to support satellite based crisis information for users in the German government. The entire production cycle (from data reception, pre-processing and information extraction to data delivery) is being analyzed and improved. Another focus is the integration of German mission data such as from TerraSAR-X and RapidEye in this production cycle. Beyond the generation of satellite-based crisis information the use of RapidEye data in science is being supported.

DITAC (01/2012 - 11/2014)

The EU FP7 project „Disaster Training Curriculum – DITAC“ aims to develop a holistic and highly structured curriculum for first responders and strategic crisis managers dealing with national and international disasters. We will develop a standardized, comprehensive and efficient EU-wide approach to crises and disasters to feature the added value by EU coordinated actions in the field of crisis response. The Curriculum will improve the preparedness and availability of trained personnel by providing a common language, common objectives and common tools leading to better results in the protection and assistance of people confronted with large-scale crises.

DNICast (10/2013 - 9/2017)

The efficient operation of concentrating solar technologies requires reliable forecasts of the incident irradiance. DNIcast will focus on nowcasting strategies by using sky cameras, satellites for cloud and aerosol monitoring and nowcasting, and numerical weather prediction schemes. DFD will contribute its forecasting experience and enhance its methods to the nowcasting range of the upcoming hour.

Dragon-3: East Asian Monsoon & Air Quality (2012 - 2016)

2012 - 2016
Dragon 3 is a cooperative program between ESA and MOST with the objective to promote the exploitation of ESA and Chinese EO data. This shall foster Sino-European collaborations in support of science and application developments. It succeeds the meanwhile accomplished programs Dragon 1 (2003-2008) and Dragon 2 (2008-2012). Among its wide portfolio of themes the topic ‘East Asian Monsoon and Air Quality’ is of particular concern for MF-ATP.

	e-DRIFT (ESA, 2018 - 2019) Expand Demand, Disaster RIsk Financing and Transfer
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ECoLaSS (H2020, 01/2017 – 12/2019)

>Das Projekt „Evolution of Copernicus Land Services based on Sentinel data” (ECoLaSS) hat die Verbesserung existierender sowie die Entwicklung neuer Copernicus Land Monitoring Dienste zum Ziel. Die überarbeiteten bzw. neuen Produkte - etwa für die Landwirtschaft - sollen der EU und relevanten Entscheidungsträgern in Form von Prototypen zur operationellen Integration ab 2020 vorgeschlagen werden. Eine Kernkomponente bei ECoLaSS ist die Auswertung von Sentinel-Massendaten und die Überbrückung der damit verbundenen Herausforderungen bezüglich Rechner-Infrastruktur und effektiver Algorithmen und Verarbeitungsprozeduren zur Datenauswertung und Produkterstellung.

EO4HumEn+ (5/2016 - 4/2018)

The number of forcibly uprooted people rises every year. Humanitarian action as one part of the response to this situation relies on targeted, up-to date and reliable information to handle this challenge. Within precursor activities and a close collaboration with Doctors without Borders (MSF), Z_GIS has started developing Earth-observation (EO) based solutions for the humanitarian sector. The aim of the project EO4HumEn+ is to implement more automated routines to exploit the data stream of e.g. the Sentinel mission, improving the capabilities of EO methods to provide realistic population estimations also in urban areas as well as extend the established service portfolio to the diversifying needs of the humanitarian community, cooperating with a wide range of NGOs including ICRC, the Austrian Red Cross, SOS Children’s Villages, MSF and Groundwater Relief.

	EO4SD Urban (ESA, 2016-2018) Service Cluster for Urban Development Using Earth Observation
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EO4SOSCV (01/2016 – 03/2017)

01/2016 – 03/2017
Ethiopia-Harar SOS Children's Village
More than 1.5 million children and their families in over 130 countries around the world are currently receiving support from the humanitarian relief organisation SOS Children's Villages International. The Department of Geo-Risks and Civil Security at DLR is supporting the organisation to employ Earth Observation technology in developing a comprehensive emergency and disaster management concept. The study focused on disaster preparedness and early warning; emergency mapping; and humanitarian technologies as a whole. Pre-operational Emergency Mapping Services, as well as automated services for satellite based fire and flood information, were developed and tested.

EGSIEM (2015 - 2018)

The project EGSIEM (European Gravity Service for Improved Emergency Management), which is funded by the Horizon2020 Framework Program for Research and Innovation of the European Union, aims at using gravity field analysis for forecasting and mapping of hydrological extremes like large-scale draughts and flood events. Observations of the redistribution of environmental mass in the Earth system (hydrology, ice, ocean and atmosphere) are not part of the inventory of EO data products to date, although they constitute a new and unique remote sensing opportunity.

ENDORSE (1/2011 - 12/2013)

ENDORSE is involved in the user-driven creation of so-called ‘downstream services’ for the renewable energies sector of the European Union’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Programme. Based on the GMES services for land, atmosphere and security, specific applications will be developed together with users from the fields of solar energy, wind energy, distributed power networks, bioenergy and daylighting for buildings.

EO-Miners (02/2010 - 10/2013)

02/2010 - 10/2013
“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.

SO2-Monitoring and Volcano Surveillance (EVOSS, SACS and SMASH) (2010 - 2013)

2010 - 2013
Volcanic eruptions not only seriously endanger local populations; they can also be a more or less long-term hazard for air traffic. Ash clouds released by volcanic eruptions can damage airplane engines. Aircraft operators are accordingly greatly interested in receiving timely information about volcanic eruptions so that flight paths can be modified as necessary.

FIDUCEO (03/2015 – 08/2019)

Das Horizon2020-Projekt FIDUCEO (Fidelity and Uncertainty in Climate data records from Earth Observations) entwickelte Standards für die Quantifizierung von Unsicherheiten in satellitenbasierten Erdbeobachtungsdaten und demonstriert diese an ausgewählten Beispielen. Das DFD führte ein Anwendungsbeispiel zum Aerosolretrieval (Aerosol optische Dicke) aus AVHRR-Daten durch.

G-MOSAIC (2009 - 2011)

The G-MOSAIC (GMES Services for Management of Operations, Situation Awareness and Intelligence for regional Crisis) project focuses on identifying and developing with the help of reference users products, methodologies and pilot services which provide information gathered from space for EU foreign policy makers. Services will be established which facilitate decision making based on satellite data.

	GMOSAIC The pre-operational security service of GMES is currently provided through the FP7 project G-MOSAIC and the FP6 project LIMES. These two projects, which combine Earth observation technologies with communication and positioning technologies, address security-relevant domains.
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G-NEXT (01/2013 - 06/2015)

The Copernicus (former GMES) FP 7 project G-NEXT builds on the work performed in precursor GMES security and emergency projects like G-MOSAIC, LIMES and SAFER. It aims at providing geospatial products for supporting users of the GMES Security domain in managing situations of complex crises caused by man-made or natural disasters. Such support to the crisis management ranges from pre-crisis or prevention (contingency plans, reference mapping), to the phase soon after the event (event mapping, crisis area mapping, critical assets), and finally to the post event phase (damage assessment and monitoring mode) in general.

G-SEXTANT (01/2013-12/2014)

G-SEXTANT is an FP 7 project within the Copernicus (formerly GMES) framework. The goal is to develop a portfolio of earth observation products and services which first of all meet the needs of the European External Action Service for geospatial information. The focus is on developing options for pre-operational services in defined contexts (such as humanitarian aid, or natural resources in conflict regions), adapting products to meet user requirements, and developing a standardized product portfolio.

Geoland (01/2004 - 04/2007)

01/2004 - 04/2007
Geoland was a project in the 6th framework research program, financed as an integrated project running from 2004 to 2006. The aim of the Geoland consortia (56 partners from industry, research and user organizations) was the development and demonstration of reliable and cost effective geoinformation services to support the implementation of European, international and national directives and laws protecting the environment. Geoland focused on environment related issues such as monitoring land use and vegetation, water quality, nature protection, the Kyoto process, and food security. Geloand encompasses 9 subprojects, 3 regional and 3 global observatories, all of which are supported by a basic geoinformation service and an operational scenario. DFD was a partner in the “Observatory for Nature Protection,” supporting users with geoinformation services at regional and local levels in the performance of their monitoring and reporting duties, e.g. for the FFH directive.

Geoland 2 (01/2009 - 02/2013)

01/2009 - 02/2013
Geoland2, a project which is part of the EU Seventh Framework Program, is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the European Space Agency ESA. The goal is to lay the groundwork for the routine operation of the GMES Land Monitoring Core Services at local, continental and global levels by developing Core Mapping Services (CMS) and Core Information Services (CIS). As part of the Land Monitoring focus, the Core Mapping Services will provide basic geoinformation on land use and land cover as well as their seasonal and annual variations.

	GIONET (01/2011 - 12/2014) GIONET (GMES Initial Operations - Network for Earth Observation Research Training) will create a European Centre of Excellence in the training of early stage researchers in the Earth Observation to provide skilled personnel for the emerging GMES land monitoring services during the GMES Initial Operations period (2011-2013) and beyond.
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GITEWS (2005 - 2011)

2005-2011
The German concept for establishing a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean makes use of various types of measuring instruments (sensors). In about 90% of all cases a tsunami is caused by an earthquake; other causes are volcanic eruptions and slope collapse. The goal is to obtain the earliest possible indication of a tsunami and its extent by evaluating the measured values of various parameters.

GMOSS - Global Monitoring for Security and Stability (03/2004 - 03/2008)

As a network of excellence, GMOSS (Global Monitoring for Security and Stability) supported research and technology for civil security in the framework of GMES. The aim of GMOSS was to integrate European research and development in earth observation in this context. GMOSS has enlarged the basis of knowledge and expertise, thus enabling Europe to use its capacities for efficient monitoring in support of civil security and humanitarian aid.

GRAZE (10/2018 – 03/2019)

The biodiversity of the South Caucasus is of global importance, but the huge variety of species and the proper functioning of the ecosystems are under threat. Especially the grassland areas of Azerbaijan are under heavy anthropogenic pressure, including unsustainable management practices, overgrazing, land use conversion to crop land, infrastructure projects, and climate change. The objectives of the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan and of the GIZ IBiS (Integrated Biodiversity Management, South Caucasus) program are therefore to put a hold on further degradation of grasslands, to conserve and sustainably use winter and summer pastures and hay meadows, and to increase the productivity of those areas.

GSE Forest Monitoring (10/2005 - 10/2008)

GSE Forest Monitoring (GSE FM), which focuses on monitoring wooded areas, is an international consortium led by the Gesellschaft für Angewandte Fernerkundung (GAF AG). In this context, DFD provides a service for the Schleswig-Holstein State Office of Nature and the Environment. Based on satellite data from the Indian IRS-P6 and the French Spot-5 satellites, forest classification is being carried out for all of Schleswig-Holstein. In addition, changes in wooded areas between 1990 and 2005 are recorded. For a selected county, forest type and natural age classes are also being mapped with the help of high spatial resolution IKONOS satellite data. In 2009 the project was renewed for three years.

GSE Land (10/2005 - 09/2008)

GSE Land Information Service is a European consortium led by Infoterra GmbH Deutschland. It unites the three ESA GSE projects SAGE, GMES Urban Services (GUS) and CoastWatch (land portion) from the first GSE phase and offers a joint product portfolio comprised of mapping and geoinformation services. GSE Land supports the GMES priorities "Land Cover Change in Europe" and "Environmental Stress in Europe."
Together with other European partners, DFD has submitted an Extension Proposal entitled GSE-Nature (Nature Protection Services). The plan is to provide satellite-assisted services to support the EU Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora) and nature conservation for the Schleswig-Holstein State Office of Nature and the Environment and the Brandenburg State Environmental Office.
Duration: October 2005 – September 2007
Sponsored by the European Space Agency

	GUF@EPFL (EPFL, 2015 - 2016) Assessing the Suitability of DLR’s Global Urban Footprint Data for Evaluating Typologies of Urbanization Patterns and Global Scaling Invariant Urbanization Processes 0,3 PJ

	GUF@WorldBank (WBG, 2015-2016) Validation and Enhancement of Global Urban Footprint Data Set for World Bank Group. 0,8 PJ

Hochaufgelöste Landkartierung für Energie (01/2016 – 12/2018)

Die Erschließung erneuerbarer Energien gehört zu den wichtigsten Herausforderungen des 21. Jahrhunderts. Von zentraler Bedeutung sind die Bewertung von Flächenpotenzialen, die Bestimmung geeigneter Standorte, die Beachtung von Umgebungsparametern, die Abwägung von Nutzungsinteressen sowie die Erfassung von Trends und Auswirkungen auf die Landschaftsgestaltung. Zur Erhebung solcher Daten hat sich die Satellitenfernerkundung in den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten zu einem erfolgreichen Werkzeug entwickelt.

IKEBANA (02/2019 – 10/2020)

One of the largest drivers for deforestation is the transformation of forest into agricultural areas. By 2030, deforestation shall be eliminated from the delivery chains of agricultural resources according to the New York Forest Declaration by the UN (2014). One proposed measure is to minimize the loss of natural forests by expansion of agriculture land into already degraded areas.

	JOSEFINA (2016 – 2019) Joint Bavarian Slovenian Endeavor for Innovative Air Quality Analysis Ziel ist die erstmalige Erstellung einer flächendeckenden Feinstaubkartierung für Bayern aus historischen und neuen Satellitendaten verschiedener Missionen von 1999 bis heute.
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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.

	KliSAW (01/2015 – 12/2019) Klimarelevanz von atmosphärischen Spurengasen, Aerosolen und Wolken: Auf dem Weg zu EarthCARE und MERLIN
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LIMES (12/2006-05/2010)

The purpose of the LIMES (Land/Sea Integrated Monitoring for European Security) project is to specify and develop prototype information services based on satellite technologies in support of security management at European and global levels. DLR coordinates the “Humanitarian Aid and Reconstruction” cluster and participates in the development of innovative earth observation technologies.

LinKER (12/2009 - 12/2012)

LinkER, a Service Contract financed by the EC, is the Preparatory Action intended to support the operational use of GMES Emergency Response Service products across the whole European Union. This goal is being reached through customized tools installed within each national/EC user community, represented by its own National User Focal Point (FP) as well as the EC Focal points in the DG ENV (Civil Protection), DG RELEX (Delegations) and DG ECHO (humanitarian aid). All Focal Points will have direct access to GMES Emergency Response Service products and will be supported to easily integrate them into the respective operational workflows of each Participating State. Both technical and procedural developments will be supported by adequate training and exercises.

MACC-II (11/2011 - 08/2014)

Within Europe’s family of GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) projects, MACC-II (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate, phase 2) deals with the atmosphere. DLR is in charge of the MACC solar radiation service and the interface to MACC-II users. Furthermore, DLR contributes satellite-based information on stratospheric ozone chemistry, tropospheric trace gases and aerosols.

MARCOAST (11/2005 - 11/2008)

11/2005 - 11/2008
Marine & Coastal Environmental Information Services
As part of MarCoast, routine services to monitor the maritime environment in all European waters are being provided. The consortium includes some 40 partners and is led by Alcatel Alenia Space of France. Users are the European Commission (specifically the European Environmental Agency EEA) and various institutions in all European coastal countries. The purpose of the service is to support the monitoring of maritime environmental conventions such as OSPAR and HELCOM.
Services cover the following main areas: oil pollution detection, monitoring and drift forecasting; monitoring and assessing water quality; and detecting and predicting the spreading of algal blooms.
German participants other than DLR are Brockmann Consult and the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH)
• Marcoast Newsletter
• DLR Project Website

MARISS

11/2005 - 9/2006
European Maritime Security Services
MARISS has the goal of planning and preparing to establish within GMES consistent and sustainable European maritime safety services. Relevant requirements of European and local users are met, and earth observation data, coastal and satellite AIS (Automated Identification System) signals and in-situ data are integrated to provide monitoring functions for European coasts and seas. Services also include watching for illegal trade, fishing, and immigration (boat people) in the waters of the European Union. The MARISS project was extended in 2008/09 to include a “bridging” phase. For this phase DFD contributed its real-time capabilities for data reception and processing in Neustrelitz, and IMF its in-house developed processors for automated ship detection. From 2010 MARISS continued for three additional years with significant participation by the Earth Observation Center (EOC).

MARISS (2008-2011)

European Maritime Security Services MARISS is a project financed by ESA for the purpose of establishing consistent and sustainable European maritime safety services to monitor marine borders and shipping. It was developed to meet relevant requirements of European and local users and integrates both earth observation and in-situ data to provide monitoring functions for European coasts and seas. Services also include watching for illegal trade, fishing, and immigration (boat people) in the waters of the European Union.

MOSAIK (BMBF, 06/2016 – 05/2019)

Das Ziel von Mosaik ( Model-based city planning and application in climate change) ist die Entwicklung eines innovativen Stadt-klimamodells (PACE), welches in der Lage sein soll, das Stadtmikro-klima in Großstädten mit einer räumlichen Auflösung von weniger als 10m zu simulieren. Das Modell wird als benutzerfreundliches Werkzeug entwickelt, welches von Anwendern in der Stadtplanung eingesetzt werden kann.

	MOVE (07/2016 – 06/2019) Das anhaltende Bevölkerungswachstum führt zu einer kontinuierlich fortschreitenden Expansion und Verdichtung von Siedlungsräumen. Diese Entwicklung kann eine Bedrohung für die Fauna darstellen, da wichtige Habitate innerhalb der Siedlungsräume verloren gehen und angrenzende Naturräume eine zunehmende anthropogene Überformung erfahren.
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MyOcean (01/2009-04/2012)

MyOcean aims at defining and setting up a concerted and integrated pan-European capacity for ocean monitoring and forecasting.
MyOcean is the next step toward the operational GMES marine service after many marine-related projects funded by European institutions such as POLAR VIEW, ECOOP, MARCOAST, MERSEA, ...
DLR is supporting German entities involved in MyOcean thru its participation in National Projects such as DeMarine

NADINE (2005 - 2009)

2005 - 2009
The destructive power of extreme natural events is causing more and more material damage and loss of life. As the number of natural disasters increases globally, coordinated disaster management becomes more important. During recent years, several research centers within the Helmholtz Association have gained extensive expertise in the field of disaster management. Linked via the Natural Disaster Networking Platform (NaDiNe), this expertise will be provided to a larger number of users beyond the realm of science institutions.

NextGEOSS (11/2016 – 11/2020 )

Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) which can potentially be derived using Earth Observation (Remote Sensing-enabled EBVs – RS-EBVs) have been selected, prioritized and specified by SKIDMORE et al., 2015 and PETTORELLI et al., 2016. Within these RS-EBVs, the fractional vegetation cover, especially when split into the classes of vital photosynthetically active vegetation (PV), dry or dead non-photosynthetically active vegetation (NPV) and bare soil (BS), directly provides valuable information regarding Ecosystem Structure (land cover, distribution of vegetation patches and fragmentation), also contributing to the Ecosystem Function (above-ground biomass) and other EBVs.

obsAIRve Your Business (2014 – 2015)

Laut einer Studie der Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) sterben allein in Europa ca. 600.000 Personen pro Jahr frühzeitig an den Folgen von schlechter Luftqualität. Viele Städte in Deutschland versuchen schon seit Jahren, die EU-Grenzwerte mit neuen und innovativen Mitteln einzuhalten. Die obsAIRveYourBusiness App präsentiert auf intelligente und leicht verständliche Weise Informationen über die Luftqualität in der Region Augsburg.

OPUS-GMES (11/2012 - 10/2017)

Ziel des Forschungs- und Entwicklungsvorhabens OPUS-GMES ist die Unterstützung von Aktivitäten zur Vorbereitung und Etablierung eines Copernicus Zentrums in Deutschland. Dieses Zentrum soll einen nationalen Zugang zu Satellitendaten des europäischen Sentinel-Programms gewährleisten, Prozessierungs- und Archivierungsfunktionen bereitstellen sowie nationale und europäische Funktionen zur Versorgung von Nutzern mit Daten, Produkten und Services übernehmen.

OrPHEuS (2013 - 2016)

Orpheus (Optimizing Hybrid Energy Grids for Smart Cities) elaborates a hybrid energy network control system for smart cities. Implementing cooperative local grid and inter-grid control strategies in two cities (Ulm, Germany and Skelleftea, Sweden) by enabling simultaneous optimization of the multiple energy grids including thermal, gas and power grids. DFD contributes as energy meteorologists to the project by analyzing the test sites in Ulm (Germany) and Skelleftea (Sweden) and by using our Demmin measurement site for sub-pixel/-grid variability quantification.

	PARLU (2012 - 2016) PARLU aims to foster a balance among human activities and the use of the forest by incorporating a REDD + program.
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	PASODOBLE (07/2016 – 06/2019) PASODOBLE - The GMES Downstream Service Project for Air Quality - develops local and regional air quality services to provide information for the public, people at risk, tourism, sports and health authorities. PASODOBLE also provides information and consultancy services in support of political decision-making by local and regional authorities.
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The Polycentricity of German Metropolitan Areas - developing and testing a remote-sensing-based procedure to measure morphologic polycentricity (...)

The evolution of polycentric metropolitan areas is one of the most incisive structural changes of the past 30 years. The current decentralized structure of metropolitan areas in western industrialized countries is described as a complex, network of centres and subcentres organized according to a functional division of labour. To what extent this transformation process from monocentric to polycentric settlement structures in German metropolitan regions has progressed has only begun to be systematically researched.

	PROMOTE (1999 - ) PROtocol MOniToring for the GMES Service Element: Atmosphere The international PROMOTE consortium offers end users (public authorities and the public) targeted information products on the state of the atmosphere. The topics air quality, solar ultraviolet radiation, stratospheric ozone and greenhouse gases are covered.
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PROTECTS PROTECTS (2011 - 2014)

In 2005, the establishment of core elements of a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean with emphasis on Indonesia started within the framework of the GITEWS (German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System) project. In this project, an early warning system was designed under the lead management of GFZ and a consortium of German research institutions (AWI, DLR, GVW, GEOMAR, KDM, BGR, UNU-EHS and GIZ). The system was handed over to Indonesia on 29 March, 2011. The structure of the system follows a so-called end-to-end approach, considering the whole warning chain from the detection of a natural disaster via decision support and warning dissemination, up to training and education of the local population as well as disaster preparedness.

ResGrow (2013 - 2014)

ResGrow deals with the expansion of the use for EO based information services for renewable energies (solar, wind, wave/tide, biomass, hydro). We investigate the use of cloud physical parameter statistics from geostationary satellites (MSG) and the APOLLO retrieval scheme for a more sophisticated solar energy site characterization. Additionally, a review of biomass information usage potentials is foreseen.

	RESPOND (2006 - 2009) RESPOND is one of twelve ESA GMES Service Elements concerned with the routine exploitation of earth observation technology. It addresses the topic of humanitarian aid and has the goal of establishing an open European service partnership for basic map products, crisis analysis and disaster monitoring.
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	SAFER (01/2009 - 2012) The EU SAFER project (Strategies and Actions for Flood Emergency Risk Management) is designed to convert the existing satellite-based emergency mapping system into a routinely operating service (ERCS - Emergency Response Core Service).
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	Sen4Rus (ERA-Net RUS Plus, 2016 – 2019) Exploiting Sentinels for Supporting Urban Planning Applications at City and Regional Levels in Russia
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Stadtklima im Wandel - 3DO(06/2021 – 05/2019)

06/2016 – 05/2019
Ziel ist die Entwicklung eines innovativen Stadtklimamodells, das in der Lage sein soll, für Städte der Größe von Stuttgart bis Berlin mikroskalige atmosphärische Prozesse auf Gebäudeebene aufzulösen, d.h. mit Gitterweiten von weniger als 10 m zu arbeiten. Damit können fachübergreifende Analysen durchgeführt und Maßnahmen zur Sicherung und Verbesserung des Stadtklimas oder der Luftreinhaltung geplant werden.

	RISK-EOS (11/1999 - ) 11/1999- RISK-EOS is a GMES Service Element designed to provide disaster-relevant information on European fires and floods. A number of service providers support all phases of disaster management: prevention, early warning, the immediate disaster, and postcrisis assessment.
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SAMUM (2004 - 2010)

The Sahara is a huge reservoir for the introduction of dust into the atmosphere, which can be carried as far as the Americas in air currents. In the SAMUM (Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment) project, the optical effects of mineral dust will be investigated in detail. A team of eight national institutes will take in-situ aerial as well as remote sensing measurements and combine them with models to derive information on the spatial distribution and transport of these dust layers as well as their physical and chemical composition.

	SAR4Urban (2015 – 2017) Implementation of a novel service for delineating maps past and current extent of urban areas by means of ERS/ASAR archive and/or Sentinel-1 data.
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SAR-HQ (03/2007 - 07/2010)

The purpose of SAR-HQ is to develop methodologies specifically designed for mapping floods and assessing damage by studying and improving the usefulness of high resolution X-band radar data. Since floods are usually accompanied by widespread cloud cover, SAR remote sensing platforms, which operate independently of the weather situation, are particularly suitable for rapidly and cost effectively obtaining information on flooded areas at reliable repetition intervals.

SASSCAL (2012 - 2018)

2012 - 2018
SASSCAL (Southern Africa Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land-use) is a joint initiative of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Germany, responding to the challenges of global change and is foreseen as the regional driver for innovation and knowledge exchange to enhance adaptive land use and sustainable economic development in Southern Africa under global change conditions.

	SatVal-A (10/2007 – 03/2011) Einrichtung einer nationalen Kontaktstelle für die Koordination von Validierungsaktivitäten für satellitenbasierte Messungen in der Atmosphäre (SatVal-A) als Element des Zentrums für Höhen- und Klimaforschung Schneefernerhaus
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	Sd-kama (04/2015 – 03/2018) The „Smart Data for Management of Catastrophes“ project aims to establish an information platform, which enables an up-to-data, targeted, and scalable disaster management. The platform will implement a tailored architecture for integration, processing, and analysis of “big data”.
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SENSUM (01/2013 - 12/2014)

Framework to integrate Space-based and in-situ sensing for dynamic vulnerability and recovery Monitoring:
As millions of people are exposed to significant natural hazards every year, the GMES/Copernicus FP 7 project “SENSUM – Framework to integrate Space-based and in-situ sENSing for dynamic vUlnerability and recovery Monitoring” responds to the urgent need to monitor and map time-dependent hazard and vulnerability. By the combination of space-based and in-situ data collection for test sites in and outside Europe, the project aims to develop a comprehensive approach and methodology for dynamic, multi-resolution monitoring of pre-disaster vulnerability and post-disaster recovery planning and monitoring. Under the lead management of GFZ and a consortium of eight prominent international scientific institutions including the DLR, the project is meant to set a new standard for future mapping of vulnerabilities.

	SULU (2017 - 2019) Within SULU methods are developed and improved to achieve a "climate-smart" land use planning that takes into account not only biodiversity and carbon content, but also hydrological dynamics and greenhouse gas conservation potentials.
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TEP Urban (ESA, 2015-2018)

Settlements and urban areas represent the cores of human activity and development. Besides climate change, urbanization represents one of the most relevant developments related to the human presence on the planet. Both global trends challenge our environmental, societal and economic development. In this context, the availability of and access to accurate, detailed and up-to-date information will impact decision making processes all over the world. The suite of Sentinel Earth Observation (EO) satellites in combination with their free and open access data policy contributes to a spatially and temporally detailed monitoring of the Earth’s surface.

TerraFirma - Pan-European Ground Motion Hazard Information Service (2003 - 2012)

2003 - 2012
TerraFirma is an information service which measures ground and building movement with the help of radar satellite data. Many natural and human-related processes can cause these movements, which range from millimeters to meters. Such movement can, for example, damage important infrastructure or pose a risk of flooding, resulting in high costs. The service is first focusing on measuring ground displacement in European urban areas and in the future will also expand services to include other risk areas like slope collapse and earthquake zones. The Earth Observation Center (EOC) of DFD is a service provider producing data products on this type of movement on a routine basis. IMF contributes to the quality assurance efforts of the TerraFirma consortium and develops and validates new methodologies. The project was extended in 2009 for three years.

TIMELINE (2013 - )

TIMELINE stands for “TIMe Series Processing of Medium Resolution Earth Observation Data assessing Long -Term Dynamics In our Natural Environment”.
The TIMELINE project will generate long and homogenized time series of NOAA and METOP AVHRR data over Europe and North Africa using the historical data archive of DFD-DLR. The time series will be provided to the public using a free and open data policy, covering a wide range of traditional and innovative remote sensing products covering different processing levels. The long time series of about 30 years of daily acquisitions and the implementation of sound operational algorithms and state of the art validation techniques ensure a unique product set that conforms to requirements that rise directly from the scientific community.

	Urbanfluxes (H2020, 2015 – 2018) URBan ANthropogenic heat FLUX from Earth observation Satellites
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VABENE++ (2014 - 2018)

The goal of DLR transport research is to devise approaches for convincing solutions to relevant traffic problems. In order to achieve efficient and focused traffic management for large public events and major catastrophes, a reliable system is to be developed to optimize joint decision-making by public authorities, organizations with security responsibilities, and public transport agencies. In the VABENE project, up-to-date traffic information and forecasts will be used for situation assessment, and decision options will be presented with the help of an integrated management and visualization tool. The required data will be obtained in real time through aerial traffic and infrastructure monitoring with the help of optical and radar instruments.

	Visual Earth Lab (11/2017 – 06/2018) Über 50 000 Besucher jährlich besuchen den ESA Standort Frascati. Die Besuchern, u.A. hochrangige Delegationen der Mitgliedstaaten, Vertreter der Industrie, der Politik und der nationalen und internationalen Raumfahrtagenturen erhielten bislang in dem „Control Room Earth Observation Platforms“ eine Einführung in die ESA-Erdbeobachtungsmissionen.
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WASCAL - West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (2012 - 2016)

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 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 transdisciplinary, BMBF-funded WISDOM project deals with the region of the Mekong Delta in the south of Vietnam, as well as in the future in parts with the entire Mekong catchment area comprising six countries. WISDOM stands for "Water related Information System fort he Sustainable Development of the Mekong Delta".
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WISDOM (2007 - 2013)

2007 - 2013
The WISDOM information system developed at DFD makes it possible to incorporate relevant planning information from a wide range of sources (remote sensing, GIS, and sensor data, digital maps, field maps, reports and documents, statistics, etc.) and retrieve it for specific problem contexts. It provides access to all the project data from the German-Vietnamese WISDOM project and makes an important contribution to developing and establishing an integrated water and land information system for the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.