The ILIAD consortium is composed of 56 International Partners from 18 countries, featuring expertise from across marine science, R&D, environmental research, data science, geospatial technologies, project management, and communications sectors. The General Assembly therefore represented an important opportunity to bring together the different perspectives and undertakings of the project to understand the progress and chart the next steps.

The pilots, as central to the project, were also a strong focus of the General Assembly, with 24 pilots invited to present their solution and its current state of development. The pilots showed a high level of advancement with their digital twins, with many demonstrating their capabilities through examples of modelling or use cases. In particular, many focused on their incorporation of citizen science within the digital twin, such as an app for reporting jellyfish sightings feeding into a jellyfish swarm forecasting model, helping to support local authorities and utilities located along the coastline. Notably, the emphasis was also on showcasing sustainable business models and robust end-user engagement strategies, crucial for commercial viability beyond the project’s conclusion in 2025.

Among the pilots showcased included a Digital Twin of the Ocean designed specifically for addressing oil spills in the Cretan Sea. This innovative digital twin integrates advanced high-resolution forecasting services, data from Sentinel 1 satellites under the EU Copernicus program, real-time in-situ observations, AIS data retrieved from vessel transponders, and various other pertinent data sources, combined with sophisticated machine learning models. Collaboratively led by FORTH and MEEO, the demonstration highlighted the impressive predictive capabilities of their digital twin in foreseeing and projecting oil spill incidents. By enabling near-real-time tracking and modelling of such spills, the digital twin empowers responders with accurate visualisations and actionable insights regarding the developments, significantly enhancing the precision and effectiveness of mitigation strategies.

Each pilot focus on a particular maritime aspect or activity, with different pilots developing digital twins on: Wind, Tidal, and Wave Energies, Plastic Pollution Monitoring, Oil Spills, Meteorology & Oceanography, Coastal Sediment Transport, Aquaculture, Fisheries, Ballast Water Monitoring, Jellyfish Swarm Forecasting, Harbour Safety, and Insurance. What makes ILIAD unique is the focus on interoperability, with the project founded on a federated system-of-systems approach to digital twins enabling simultaneous exploitation of large volumes of different types of data and sources. This means that the pilots are in fact just the foundation of an evolving ecosystem of innovative virtual representations of the sea to be hosted on the upcoming ILIAD Marketplace.

Eurisy participates in ILIAD through its communication and policy impact activities. These ensure that stakeholders are made aware of the possibilities and benefits of the digital twins and create understanding of the support ILIAD brings to various maritime and sustainability policies, such as the EU’s Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, Eurisy supports the organisation and promotion of webinars, the creation of the ILIAD Academy to provide training on ILAID technologies, develops policy briefs and recommendations, and measures policy impacts.

The post ILIAD Meets to Discuss Pilot Progress in Barcelona appeared first on Eurisy.

Space applications can transform the maritime domains, by providing data and information that will foster a sustainable blue economy, and help protecting the ocean and preserving its resources. CNES wants to be at the forefront of the creation of a global “Sea & Space” strategy that federates public and private stakeholders to put science at the service of society.

The 4^th episode of the Eurisy Members’ Corner series was animated by Ariel Fucks, heading the maritime strategy of the Connect by CNES programme.

Mr Fucks virtually participated from Lisbon, on the last day of the UN Ocean Conference, this year dedicated to the theme “Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions.”

Following the directions of the French government, CNES works with public and private actors to implement innovation strategies in some key sectors of the national economy. These include the monitoring and protection of the environment, the promotion of smart mobility and of a sustainable agriculture, and the strengthening of maritime activities that preserve the natural environment, among others.

To reach out to organisations outside the space sector, CNES has launched the Connect-by-CNES programme, which aims to open up the potential of space technologies and solutions to the entire national economy.

Targeted stakeholders represent a varied ecosystem, including ministries, public administrations at the national, regional and local levels, start-ups and SMEs, large industrial groups, research centres, innovation hubs, and civil society organisations.

At the international level, CNES collaborates on programmes aimed at enhancing the use of space applications with a number of organisations, including European institutions, other national governments (such as the USA, Singapore, India, and Australia), and international organisations.

The Space Climate Observatory is an international initiative proposed by France in 2019 to support the emergence of operational tools for climate monitoring, mitigation and adaptation, addressed to decision-makers and the wide public. CNES is the entity in charge of implementing the SCO in France and of inspiring the implementation of similar models in other countries.

The SCO France is managed by a committee made up of 22 French public entities operating in the field of climate action, including the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity.

To use scientific advancements to monitor and protect the seas and the ocean, CNES has a strategy based on four pillars: smart routing, maritime surveillance, port management, and ecosystem surveillance.

Smart routing is today flourishing, with a lot of efforts being put into the development of next generation automated navigation systems. These not only rely on satellite navigation for positioning, but also on satellite remote sensing for data on sea currents, weather, and winds, to allow sailors to choose the routes that will require the least amount of energy.

Watch the video by Eurisy and CNES on the use of Copernicus data made by a French SME to reduce the carbon footprint of ships:

Maritime surveillance is profiting from scientific advancements to better monitor protected areas and fight illegal fishing, which represents a major threat to biodiversity and to the economic sustainability of fishery. Images from satellites and data collected through in-situ observations (geolocated thanks to satellite navigation) provide a big amount of reliable information on the status of our seas and environments. Coastal authorities rely on satellite navigation to monitor illegal fishery, while new apps are being created that use data from satellite imagery to know where to fish and satellite navigation signals to track the position of fishermen at sea.

Port management concerns the monitoring of vessels’ movements, for which satellite navigation systems are already widely used, and the monitoring of pollution.

Interactions between the environment and human activities can also be assessed and monitored by using satellite data. As an example, satellites provide data useful to capture and monitor environmental parameters within and around ports, which can be particularly useful during port infrastructure works.

Watch the video realised by Eurisy and CNES on the use of Copernicus data during the enlargement works in the harbour of Port-la-Nouvelle, in southern France:

CNES has a continuous dialogue with public and private organisations in the maritime domains on ways to foster the development and use of services based on satellite data and signals.

Collaboration with external entities is key for CNES to decide on its strategic orientations, to understand the needs of public and private organisations operating in the maritime sector that could benefit from satellite-based data and signals, and to create common endeavours for the development of services more and more adapted to the operational needs of those working in sectors linked to the seas and the oceans.

The Copernicus Earth observation programme plays a major role in enabling such collaborations, providing a huge amount of free and open data that we can use to monitor the oceans.

Mercator Ocean, the entity currently in charge of implementing the Copernicus Marine Monitoring Service has recently become international, to better serve the needs of the EC for data providing and data processing, also in view of the implementation of the digital twin of the ocean, a scientific tool that is really meant to meet concrete needs of actors operating in the maritime domains.

In this context, Eurisy participates to the consortium implementing the Iliad project (Integrated digital framework for comprehensive maritime data and information services), that aims to establish an interoperable, data-intensive, and cost-effective Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO).

Freshly returned from the Euromaritime congress held in Marseille on 28-30 June, where Eurisy and CNES coorganised a roundtable on space solutions for a sustainable Blue Economy, Alessandra Vernile, from the Eurisy secretariat, confirmed the clear interest of the French space community to activate scientific discoveries to the profit of the maritime sector, and of the great interest of the maritime community towards satellite applications tracking ships and containers.

Several examples of how satellite data can sustain the blue economy while contributing to safeguarding the oceans can be found in the new edition of the Eurisy periodical publication Satellites Going Local dedicated to the maritime domains.

If you are in Paris, you might be interested in attending the 1ʳᵉ edition of the “Assises du NewSpace”, taking place on July 7 and 8 at Station F. The event has the dual objective of establishing a state of the art of the NewSpace market in France, and of drawing together growth prospects to structure and consolidate a French NewSpace, in view of promoting it internationally within five years.

To know more about the activities of CNES visit: https://cnes.fr/en

The presentation of the webinar is available here: Presentation-ConnectbyCNES eurisy

Stay tuned for the next webinar of the Eurisy Members’ Corner that will be hosted by the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) on the 16th of September 2022 between 11:00 AM and 12:00 AM CET.

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January 2022 – the European Union (EU) has granted the ILIAD Consortium €17 million to develop and launch a Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO) that will provide highly accurate predictions of future developments at global seas.

The ILIAD Project, which is comprised of 56 partners from 18 different countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has been awarded the funding as part of the EU the €1 billion European Green Deal.

ILIAD will develop virtual models designed to accurately reflect changes and processes accruing at the ocean. ILIAD will commercialise an interoperable, data-intensive, and cost-effective model, capitalising the explosion of new data provided by many different earth sources, modern computing infrastructure  including Internet of Things, social networking, Big Data, cloud computing and more.

The ILIAD consortium, which has received funding through the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, will combine high-resolution modelling with real-time sensing of ocean parameters, advanced algorithms for forecasting of spatio-temporal events and pattern recognition. The virtual representations will consist of several real-time to near-real-time digital replicas of the ocean.

ILIAD will also create a marketplace to distribute apps, plug-ins, interfaces, raw data, citizen science data, synthesised information and value-added services in combination with the ILIAD DTO.

The project partners include industrial companies, end users, academic institutions, research and technology developers and private firms.

“The development of innovative methods in open frameworks and platforms is needed to enable meaningful and informative model evaluations and comparisons for many large Earth science applications from weather to climate,” said Bente Lilja Bye, CEO of BLB and the Scientific Manager of ILIAD.  “The ambitious ILIAD project aims to build on the assets resulting from two decades of investments in policies and infrastructures for the blue economy to contribute towards a sustainable ocean economy.”

“Our aim is to assemble as broad and diverse as possible user community of existing and new users, who will use the project’s innovative technological solutions to address future challenges,” said Prof. Georgios Sylaios from the Democritus University of Thrace, who is the Operational Manager of ILIAD.

“By combining a large amount of diverse data in a semantically rich, and a data agnostic approach that allows simultaneous communication with real-world systems and models, we will enable researchers to develop what-if scenarios and analyse the impact of measures to prevent and adapt to climate change.”

About ILIAD

ILIAD is an EU-funded project which aims to develop and launch virtual models of the ocean that will provide highly accurate predictions of future developments at global seas.

ILIAD develops representations designed to accurately reflect changes and processes accruing at the ocean. ILIAD will commercialise an interoperable, data-intensive, and cost-effective model, capitalising the explosion of new data provided by many different earth sources, modern computing infrastructure including Internet of Things, social networking, Big Data, cloud computing and more.

For more information https://ocean-twin.eu/

Find ILIAD on social media: Twitter, Facebook

Coordinator

Kostantinos Thivaios, INTRASOFT International

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Floating plastic debris represents today the most abundant marine litter. The consequences deriving from the high concentration of disposable plastic in the ocean are heavily affecting multiple subsectors of the blue economy, such as aquaculture, fisheries, tourism, navigation, etc.

Turtle eating a plastic bag. Plastic Bags are often confused with jelly fishes. Credits: Canva

UNESCO estimates that by 2050 there will be more plastics than fishes in the oceans. Each year, more than eight million tons of plastic trash are poured into the oceans, which means that 253 kilos of plastics are discharged every second in the oceans. [2]

Plastics have been detected on shorelines, in particular nearby touristic or densely populated areas. Most marine plastic originates from the land- and is caused by human activities (industries, illegal dumping, tourism, etc.). Other plastics originate from the sea itself, e.g. from fishing industries, aquaculture and nautical activities. [3]

Impacts of plastic pollution at sea are visible on the marine ecosystem, threatening marine species. Indeed, plastic debris is often swallowed by marine species causing severe injuries and deaths, also putting human health and food safety and quality at risk. Many species die or have chronic injuries, especially marine birds, turtles and whales. In particular, most sea species often confuse small plastic debris for food, ingesting them and enabling the proliferation of harmful toxic substances. In addition to this, floating plastic debris carries bacteria or other invasive marine organisms that can damage ecosystems, altering the marine food equilibrium. [4]

Coastal areas represent one of the main sources of plastic pollution at sea, especially river mouths where about 75% of plastic trash tends to accumulate. Indeed, where fresh and saltwater meet, waste accumulation lines tend to create naturally. Detecting and removing such debris is of paramount importance to reduce the negative impacts of plastics on the marine ecosystem.

Space technology and data to tackle plastic pollution at sea

Satellite technology and solutions, combined with in-situ measurements and ocean models, can play a role in monitoring plastic litter, providing information on its abundance, concentration and movements at sea.[1]

Space technology to monitor plastic marine litter. Credits: European Space Agency

The I Clean My Sea App: Technology and collective efforts to protect our seas and oceans

I Clean My Sea is a French start-up based in Nouvelle Aquitaine. It has been founded in 2019 by Aymeric Jouon, oceanographer and founder of the company Hydro-cote.

Building on the experience of its founder, I Clean My Sea develop debris collection services that support decision-makers in the fight against marine pollution. At the same time, the company aimed at building an engaged user community active in the fight against marine plastic pollution, a global challenge that asks for the involvement of citizens, professionals in the marine and maritime domains, as well as local administrations.

I Clean My Sea provides services to detect, collect and recycle floating plastics in coastal areas. The start-up has benefitted from an incubation grant from the Communauté d’agglomération du Pays Basque, and currently is a laureate of the European Space Agency (ESA) Business Incubation Centre (BIC) Sud France programme to encourage satellite technology transfer in the maritime domain.

To boost citizens’ involvement in the identification and removal of plastic debris, in July 2020 I Clean My Sea launched a crowdsourcing namesake app. The app allows people around the globe to detect floating marine debris and to photograph and geolocate them. The aim is to facilitate the collection of waste at sea using crowdsourcing information and new technologies.

The app is downloadable on every mobile and portable device, available on the Apple and Android app stores, and free to use. Once identified a plasticdump, the user can take a picture and geo-localise it thanks to the satellite navigation system embedded in the mobile and portable devices.

To collect the dump, the company, with the support of the Region Nouvelle Aquitaine, deployed a collector boat in 2020. Collector boats are conceived by the Race for Water Foundation, and specifically designed to collect floating waste in river estuaries, shorelines, and marine waters.

The sailors involved in the collection process also have access to the drift forecast derived from the physical model elaborated  by the Copernicus Marine and Analysis and Forecast Service, which provides a weekly 3D hydrodynamic forecast of the ocean  currents combining satellite data and in-situ observations.Once a picture is taken by the app user, the sailors aboard the  Collectors receive the location of the dump and the forecast of its trajectory in real time. The initial prototype of the app included a drift trajectory map built by Hydro-Cote. To implement the hydrodynamic process, I Clean My Sea started to rely on Copernicus services and products.

Thanks to this information, sailors get access to dump trajectories and collect the debris.

The collected plastics are then recycled by specialised firms to produce an I Clean My Sea branded product “100% marine sourced” for sustainable usage.

The app, as a participative tool, aims at helping sea actors and local coastal authorities in being more effective in collecting plastic debris. It can also help to identify the most polluted areas to support decision-making processes aimed at protecting the marine environment.

By the end of 2020, the app has been downloaded by 500 users and about 3.5 tons of floating debris have been collected. Currently, the I Clean My Sea App waste collection ship is mainly active on the Basque Coastline and the Adar estuary, but in the near future it will operate on a broader geographic area.

The Collector boat. Credits: ICleanMySea

Furthermore, in the next two years, I Clean My Sea will develop an algorithm in collaboration with ESA.  Relying on satellite imagery, the algorithm will allow for the identification of the accumulation of floating debris at seas. At the same time, starting from 2022, the company intends to look for more solutions to valorise floating debris and support the financial effort needed to collect plastics at sea.

For more information please visit the I Clean My Sea site.

Help us keep our oceans clean, download the app and stay connected!

[1] Tuba Guven, Leveraging space technologies to monitor plastic pollution in oceans, UNOOSA Space4Water Portal, March 12^th 2019. https://www.space4water.org/news/leveraging-space-technologies-monitor-plastic-pollution-oceans

[1] International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Marine Plastics. https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/marine-plastics

[2] UNESCO/IOC, Marine Pollution. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/ioc-oceans/focus-areas/rio-20-ocean/blueprint-for-the-future-we-want/marine-pollution/

[3] International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in ibid.

[4] Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS), Copernicus Marine and Plastic Pollution. https://marine.copernicus.eu/services/plastic-pollution/impacts-marine-plastic-pollution

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Around 75% of the European external trade transits through European ports. According to the EU Blue Economy Report 2020, in 2018 the established sectors of the EU Blue Economy[1] directly employed about 5 million people and generated around €750 billion in turnover and €218 billion in gross value added.

The cooperation between the space and maritime sector dates back to more than 30 years ago. Satellite data historically provided relevant near-real-time information on weather conditions to improve maritime safety or facilitated communication at sea. Today, thanks to the most recent technological developments, a wide range of activities are starting to rely more on satellite data and services: from meteorology and communications to aquaculture, fisheries, disaster management, and safety and security.

The Blue World Task Force

Over the years, ESA has enlarged its portfolio of collaborative programmes. A holistic approach has been implemented through its Regional Initiatives where relevant space systems and data are bundled together to provide the best possible service or to tackle challenges either at regional level or for a specific community or topic.

The Blue World Task Force (BWTF) covers the principal maritime geographic areas in Europe, from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, passing through the North Sea, the High North and the Black Sea and it has been officially kicked-off in October 2019 as part of this initiatives. A brief concept note providing additional details on the BTWF is available here.

The objective of the newly established task force is to support the definition of future ESA programmes addressing the interests of the Member States. To map how space is used today, to identify existing technological gaps and to collect needs, challenges and opportunities of maritime users’ communities the BWTF launched at the beginning of February a stakeholders’ available online for a month.

A large number of maritime operators from fishing communities to ship owners, port authorities, coastguards, insurance companies, economic and research centres dealing with the blue economy, or involved in studies on the preservation and exploitation of ocean biodiversity, are invited to take this questionnaire available here:

“The challenges of the Blue World” webinar series

To complement the consultation online and to stimulate the dialogue between the space and maritime communities, ESA joined forces with Eurisy to organise “The challenges of the blue world” webinar series.

The series will discuss the existing challenges maritime stakeholders face and how satellite-based solutions respond to their emerging needs. Each webinar will gather around a virtual table local authority, NGOs, research centres, and industrial clusters from space and maritime domains.

Three webinars will be organised during the month of February 2021 addressing three main topics:

• Marine Resources Exploitation. The first webinar will take place Thursday February 18th and will focus on three identified subsectors: aquaculture, fishery and illegal fishing;

Marine resources are threatened by a series of stressors, among which climate change, overexploitation of the natural resources and illegal fishing. Such effects can negatively impact on the sustainable exploitation of the marine living and non-living resources. An example is the over and aggressing fishing. The FAO recently warned that more than a third of the fish stocks are being overfished. The overfishing phenomena reduces fish stocks at a rate that the species cannot replenish leading to lower fish populations and reduced future production.

The first webinar of the series will focus on relevant challenges such as how to ensure a sustainable marine food production and aquaculture, and how prevent the illegal fishing in European waters with the contribution of space technology. The technology perspective and solutions will be provided by a selected European cluster that will provide the participants with up-to-date solutions for the challenges identified.

• Secure Transports and Communication. The second webinar is scheduled for Monday, February 22nd and will highlight the main challenges and issues faced by stakeholders in the field of marine communications, autonomous shipping, and logistics, with insights from shipowners;

Maritime transport and logistics constitute a large component of the blue economy. Shipping, maritime safety and security, as well as the broad range of maritime logistic services, are embracing innovative solutions to optimise their work and to collect reliable and timely information of what happens at sea. Technology is accelerating the process of modernisation of the whole sector, but still a series of challenges will be faced in the upcoming years by maritime operators: improved marine communications, logistics, autonomous shipping are under the lens to understand how to optimise their work them without impacting on the environment and marine world.

The second webinar of the series move the focus on three of the main issues faced by the maritime end- users’ communities: the optimisation of the vessels’ communication among them and with other means of transports, and how to ensure the safety of autonomous vessels. In addition to this, this second webinar will bring the audience the experience of shipowners’ confederation and their needs. As in the first webinar, a European cluster will provide the participants with the existing solutions to respond to their everyday challenges.

• Maritime Spatial Planning. The last webinar of the series will be on Thursday 25th February. It will present the experience of end-users involved in the Maritime Spatial Planning process, such as coastal protection, renewable energy, and port development.

Maritime Spatial Planning is necessary to ensure a sustainable management of oceans and seas. In the era of blue growth multiple users need to take informed decision on how to use sustainably marine resources. Multiple actors are involved in the Maritime Spatial Planning process, from energy actors, to environmental entities, development agencies, but also regional policy and decision makers, are called to consider how to minimize the impacts of their activities on the same sea area. The opportunities that technology offers today can help sea and ocean users to define a coordinated and sustainable approach towards the use of marine resources, preserving the marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

The last webinar of the series will present the needs of three of the main industries involved in Maritime Spatial Planning process, to provide the participants with the experience of policy actors involved in the definition of coastal protection policies; how renewable energy relies on satellite data to manage sea resources; and finally, how the port systems are improving and what challenges exist for the operators. Another European technology cluster will provide the stakeholders and the audience with the useful information to consider the adoption of satellite-based solutions for their needs.

The results of the ESA stakeholder consultation will be available in the second quarter of 2021. The outcomes of the webinar series will, instead, be available on the Eurisy website and social media channels. 

[1] Marine Living and Non-Living Resources, Marine Renewable Energy, Port Activities, Shipbuilding and Repair, Marine Transport, and Coastal Tourism.

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Each month we come across new examples of how space and satellite technology can help improve life on Earth. Here are some of our favourites from September.

1. Safety first!

2. Watching out for the elderly

Norwegian StartUp CONTINYOU launched a wearable healthcare device which helps elderly people live autonomously for longer. The device measures and reports critical health data of the wielder, such as heartbeat, skin temperature, blood- and oxygen-saturation. It also detects falling motions and location.  Critical changes in these health parameters, or the detection of falls, can trigger and alert the carers in real time.  The wearer can also trigger the alarm themselves, and chat with the carers about their condition using the device.

The rest of the time, the device can inconspicuously pose as a simple watch. https://continyou.no/en/

 

<spanCalibri’,’sans-serif’; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;”>3. Leo’s Fave!

Global Fishing Watch lets users track nearly 40,000 fishing vessels across the oceans in near real-time. Every citizen can identify and report suspicious behaviour, helping combat illegal fishing and habitat destruction. The map relies on 4.5 years of data on boat mobility from more than 37 billion data observations.

Environmental activist Leonardo di Caprio is one of the prominent advocates of the app. http://globalfishingwatch.org/

 

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Norwegian StartUp BikeFinder has built an internally installed tracking device for bicycles. Using GSM and GPS, the device can communicate the bikes location to cloud server. The owner can then access the location of the bike through an app, and forward it directly to the closest policemen in case of theft. The cloud anonymously stores all data on mobility, which can then be used as input to other applications. http://bikefinder.no/

 

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Uruguayan company Chipsafer monitors and alerts the movement of kettle in South America. The device is self-charging, and reports the current geo-position of the kettle to Chipsafer’s servers. The data is then made available for farmers, who can view the real time position of the kettle on their computer or mobile device. Chipsafer also detects anomalies in the movement of the kettle. Farmers are then automatically alerted if the kettle moves outside a given area, or if their movement is suspicious. Chipsafer aims to help increase the productivity of the farmer, and make his work more convenient. http://www.ieetech.com/?q=node/24

 

6. Shipping made easier thanks to satellites

Byrp is an Austrian StartUp company based in Vienna. The company has developed a mobile application to help individuals ship any object to a given location in the cheapest way possible. The user simply takes a photo of the object(s) they want to send, and enter where they want to send it on the map. Byrp then sends a carrier to the sender’s location using satnav with the appropriately sized packaging, and ships it to the desired location at the lowest prize available. Byrp aims to make shipping easier, faster, and cheaper for the user. https://www.shyp.com/

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1. Click on Climate Change
An interactive overview by Carbon Brief, a UK-based website, of the 162 climate satellites currently orbiting our home planet: how many, what they monitor, where and who pays for them.

2. Satellites Vs. Zika

The explosive spread of the Zika virus throughout the Americas has made all headlines this month. In a race against time, scientists are looking for the best ways to control this and future epidemics. What can a satellite do against a mosquito? Click to find out.

3. Individuals detecting deforestation as it happens

Brazil reduced its deforestation rate by 80% since 2004, thanks to satellites . But knowing about deforestation is one, doing something about it on the field, another. The Global Forest Watch website will allow both institutions and individuals to receive real-time deforestation alerts on their areas of interest starting March 2. So that something it done about it on the ground. Read more here.

Interested in keeping an eye on forest in Peru, The Republic of Congo or Kalimantan? You can sign up for the Tree Cover Loss alerts on their website.

4. EO education by the World Bank

As part of their “Satellites in Global Development”, the World Bank launched a new platform to raise awareness on current and upcoming sources of data, processing pipelines and data products. What we loved about this initiative? It’s targeting non-GIS experts and it comes with a glossary of terms…

5. Free fun…

GIS enthusiasts put together their list of top go-to free satellite imagery sources on GISGeography.com. Check it out here and spread the word!

6. Copernicus this Month

The Launch: February was a very busy month for our colleagues at ESA, as the Sentinel-3A satellite lifted off from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia on 16 February. (relive the launch in pictures) The third ESA-developed satellite will add to the Copernicus Environment mission by providing scientists with a continuous stream of data on the Earth’s oceans. With 2/3 of the Earth’s surface being covered by oceans, the mission is vital in helping us to better understand and predict climate change effects on our environment.

The survey: Europe’s Copernicus programme was designed with future user needs and expectations in mind. Half-way through into its full operational status, the EC has launched a new survey to inventory market expectations in relation to the next generation of the Copernicus Space Component.

Take the survey here!

7. My Shake App

What would you do with a 40-second warning that an earthquake is coming? The US Geological Survey and Scientists at the University of California in Berkeley released a test version of Smartphone app that could potentially speed up earthquake alert systems. The App is currently available for Android. An Apple version is to be released shortly. Read more here.

8. Playing guitar in zero gravity

Ever wonder how it’s like to play a guitar in space? Astronaut and former Hubert Curien Award laureate, Chris Hadfield, reveals some of his tips to playing guitar….upside down.

To stay connected with our favourite stories, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIN!

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