The Federal Government’s Maritime Coordinator visits EOC 16 December 2014 On 15 December 2014 Mr. Uwe Beckmeyer, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, paid a visit to EOC.
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	Instantly, thanks to lasers 02. Dezember 2014 On 28 November 2014 for the first time satellite images could be transferred in a very few seconds with the help of laser beams from an earth observation satellite to a relay satellite, before being conveyed to earth for reception at EOC in Oberpfaffenhofen.
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	GIZ and DLR intensify their cooperation 20 November 2014 On 10 and 11 November a two-day workshop took place at EOC. Experts from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and DLR met for the purpose of expanding their cooperation on the international level.
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	15 Years of Research on Germany’s Highest Peak 17 November 2014 On 6 November 2014 Bavaria’s minister of the environment, Ulrike Scharf, extended her congratulations in person on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Schneefernerhaus Environmental Research Station (UFS). DFD has been using this unusual research location on the Zugspitze mountain since 2004.
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	European Commission Delegation visits EOC 14 November 2014 Philippe Brunet, a director in the Enterprise and Industry Department and responsible for the European space projects Copernicus and Galileo, visited EOC in Oberpfaffenhofen on November 12, 2014 with a delegation from the European Commission.
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	Observing Agile Octopus 4 November 2014 On 25 October, 130 helpers assisting Germany’s so-called Medical Task force met at a military training area in Lehnin, Brandenburg, to join in the “Agile Octopus 2014” exercise. EOC was there as well.
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	GLOBAL WATERPACK - the Dynamics of Water (Archive 2014) 16 October 2014 Water is essential for life. The rhythm of water governs trade and industry and shapes ecosystems.
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	DFD Colleagues win „Outstanding Paper Award“ 13 October 2014 The scientific article “Understanding the impact of hydropower developments in the context of upstream–downstream relations in the Mekong river basin” has been chosen as the “Outstanding Article” of the year 2013 and has been awarded the "Sustainability Science Best Paper Award".
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	Tag der offenen Tür beim EOC 08. Oktober 2014 Am Sonntag, den 12. Oktober 2014 fand von 10 Uhr bis 17 Uhr der "Tag der offenen Tür" des Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen statt. Über 17.000 Besucher strömten dieses Mal nach Oberpfaffenhofen.
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	The Ozone Hole Will Close 09 October 2014 The latest insights suggest that by the mid-21st century the ozone layer will have regained the thickness it had in the early 1980s. This prediction is based on computer models which simulate physical, dynamic and chemical processes in the atmosphere. The models are being validated with satellite data routinely acquired by EOC.
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	DFD on air at ARD 01 October 2014 Some 1.4 million viewers saw yesterday’s presentation by Sven Plöger in the “Wetter vor 8” programme on ARD. The DLR logo was prominently displayed on the screen. DFD cooperates with TV weather host Sven Plöger, who has a degree in meteorology.
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	Measurements at 36.000 m Altitude 23 September 2014 On September, 7th, a 400.000 m3 helium balloon was launched in Timmins/Canada. On board: The instrument TELIS of the Remote Sensing Institute. The balloon reached an altitude of 36 km during its 19 hour flight. Goal of the flight was the determination of the bromine budget in the stratosphere.
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	Relocating the DFD X-1 Antenna in Neustrelitz 22 September 2014 In an unusual, concerted operation, one of the three DFD X/S-band antennas in Neustrelitz was moved from its previous location to the roof of the new DFD building.
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	Eruption of the Icelandic volcano Bardarbunga 10 September 2014 After increased seismic activity in the past weeks, the Icelandic volcano Bardarbunga (Bárðarbunga) erupted on 1 September 2014. The Bardarbunga volcano is a stratovolcano located under the Vatnajökull glacier in a remote location. EOC is monitoring the emitted trace gases and their distribution in the atmosphere in near-real-time.
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	Important cooperation with German Federal Ministry of the Interior 25 August 2014 Federal Minister of the Interior de Maizière and Chairman of the Executive Board of DLR Prof. Dr. Johann-Dietrich Wörner have met recently to discuss the use of remote sensing data in support of crisis situations, civil protection and police investigations.
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	TanDEM-X sees the rice growing 14 August 2014 Can the height of a rice plant be measured from space? TanDEM-X, a DLR mission designed to generate high accuracy global elevation models, has been shown to be capable of doing just that.
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	Spring came early in 2014 judging by lengthy time series 14 July 2014 That‘s easy to forget, considering the inconsistent and rainy summer that followed. But spring 2014 was unusually warm, and there was more sunshine and less rain than in previous years. This impression is also confirmed by the measurements of the German Weather Service (Deutsche Wetterdienst, DWD).
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New Camera System for Monitoring Traffic from Helicopters 02 July 2014 Researchers at the Remote Sensing Technology Institute (IMF) have successfully used a new real-time camera system for traffic monitoring from a helicopter. High resolution images and video clips are processed within a few seconds on board the helicopter and then transmitted to ground. With such data available, traffic control centres can suitably direct traffic related to major public events or in disaster situations as well as rapidly guide rescue teams to their destinations. The new camera system was installed for the first time on a helicopter, DLR‘s BO 105 research aircraft, as part of the VABENE++ traffic research project.

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Austrian Aeronautics and Space Agency visits EOC 11 June 2014 On 4 June 2014 the head of the Aeronautics and Space Agency of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), Harald Posch; the Austrian Copernicus contact Dr. Thomas Geist; and the initiator of the Earth Observation Data Centre for Water Resources Monitoring (EODC), Prof. Wolfgang Wagner of Vienna University of Technology, paid a visit to DLR’s Earth Observation Center (EOC).

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	“NDMC Young Scientist Award 2014” goes to two DFD scientists 27 May 2014 As part of this year’s international NDMC conference (Network for the Detection of Mesospheric Change) held 20-22 May, 2014, two DFD scientists were honoured with the “NDMC Young Scientist Award 2014”. Every two years an international jury awards this prize to two promising young scientists.
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NDMC – at the Border to Outer Space DFD Hosts Symposium 19 May 2014 Some 50 scientists from 10 countries have been invited by DFD to meet in Grainau, at the base of the Zugspitze mountain, from 20 to 22 May to share information about the status of their research and to discuss open questions. The scientists are part of the international “NDMC – Network for the Detection of Mesospheric Change” programme.

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Bavarian Minister Ilse Aigner and MEP Dr. Angelika Niebler visit EOC 16 May 2014 As part of a visit to DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen Bavarian Minister Ilse Aigner and Dr. Angelika Niebler, a member of the European Parliament, had an opportunity to see the DLR Earth Observation Center (EOC). In the EOC Service Lab they were able to tour the Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) and the Reference Platform for Environmental and Disaster Information Systems.

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Competition: Earth Observation Data Applications for Energy and the Environment 22 April 2014 Since 2011 the "Copernicus Masters" competition has been awarding prizes for outstanding ideas, applications and business models for the innovative use of earth observation data for commercial purposes and projects to benefit society at large. Companies, startups, researchers and students can submit their ideas from now until 13 July 2014. In the category "Energy & Environmental Challenge" the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is looking for the best idea for an application in the area of environment and climate. The DLR winner will receive a prize of 5,000 euro.

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Formal Opening of Maritime Safety and Security Lab in Neustrelitz 28 March 2014 Brigitte Zypries, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and Prof. Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Chairman of the DLR Executive Board, officially opened the Maritime Safety and Security Lab at the DLR facilities in Neustrelitz on 27 March 2014. The German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) collaborates here with the DLR Institute of Communication and Navigation (IKN) on safe shipping and protecting oceans and coastal waters. DFD aims to generate customized information products from satellite data in near-real-time. The necessary algorithms are developed by scientists of the Remote Sensing Technology Institute (IMF) working at the Maritime Safety and Security Lab in Bremen.

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EOC Ready for Data Stream from Sentinel Satellites 10 March 2014 The first earth observation satellite of the Sentinel series is still on the ground, but it and its followers will soon be delivering enormous amounts of data. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) will be ready. The ESA Processing and Archiving Centre (PAC) in Oberpfaffenhofen is linked up with the Copernicus Wide Area Network (WAN). This makes possible rapid and reliable high-speed access to the satellite data for the PAC at DLR. The Sentinel satellites complement the space components of Europe’s Copernicus programme – formerly Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES).

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ZKI at CeBIT 10 March 2014 The Center for satellite-based crisis information (ZKI) of the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) is present at the CeBIT exhibition from 10th – 14th of March 2014. ZKI, as part of the booth of the Federal Ministry of Interior (BMI), especially provides insights to the national service ZKI-DE. On Monday the 10th, the first day of the CeBIT exhibition, the Federal Minister of the Interior Dr. Thomas de Maizière visited the ZKI booth on his exhibition walkabout and was informed by DLR CEO Professor Johann-Dietrich Wörner and Director of the German Remote Sensing Data Center Professor Stefan Dech about the recent developments of ZKI.

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Virtual Alpine Observatory: Unique Climate Research Network 07 March 2014 How will the climate evolve? What effects will that have on particular regions? Changes can be monitored especially rapidly and distinctly at high altitudes. In the atmosphere above high mountain regions climate researchers can accordingly find good indicators of global climate change trends. Alpine high-altitude research stations in Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany have now joined in an international network, the "Virtual Alpine Observatory" (VAO).

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	Eruption of the Indonesian volcano Kelut: EOC measures trace gases in near-real-time 17 February 2014 After increased seismic activity in the past few weeks, the volcano Kelut erupted at about 10:50 pm local time on 13 February 2013. EOC was able to record the emitted trace gases and their distribution in near-real-time.
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	German-Norwegian Cooperation in Earth Observation 12 February 2014 DLR’s German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) and the Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) company, Norway, will collaborate even more closely in the future. On 10 February 2014 a corresponding memorandum of understanding was signed in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich.
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Heat with Straw for 13 Years — First Estimate of Global Bioenergy Potential for Straw 4 February 2014 DFD scientists have determined for the first time the global bioenergy potential of straw, which could meet Germany’s heating needs for 13 years. The availability of biomass, particularly in the form of so-far unused waste straw from agricultural acreage, is a central indicator for calculating the net energy yield of renewable energy resources.

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Remote Sensing Peak 15 January 2014 Ten years of planning, ten years of travel, 2.5 years of deep sleep and nine million kilometres still to go before reaching the goal. Cross your fingers on Monday, 20 January at 11:00 a.m.! That’s when four alarm clocks go off at once to wake up Rosetta, eight hundred million kilometres away. One of the most exciting space missions then enters the home stretch. And the EOC role? On behalf of DLR, DFD‘s Science Communication and Visualization unit developed, filmed and animated a short film about the mission – Part 1: “Chasing a Comet”.

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	Help from Space - TerraSAR-X maps pack ice 08 January 2014 For ten days, 74 scientists and tourists were firmly stuck in the Antarctic on board the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy. Strong winds had driven ice floes into a bay and blocked the ship. Near-real-time data from EOC helped those on the spot to evaluate the situation.
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