Spectral Reflectance Newsletter #94
Weekly newsletter on Earth Observation
Level-2 News
Carbon Mapper Spots First Methane Plumes From Tanager-1 [link]
"The first data from Planet’s hyperspectral Tanager-1 spacecraft has revealed plumes of invisible, climate-altering gas, the non-profit that financed its development said.
Carbon Mapper is developing a global methane monitoring service to track a major contributor to climate change. By spotting leaks and sharing the data, the organization hopes regulators and businesses will be able to work together to reduce emissions, and researchers can better understand how methane affects the planet."
EarthDaily Acquires Descartes Labs [link]
"EarthDaily Analytics has acquired geospatial intelligence firm Descartes Labs, the company announced Tuesday. EarthDaily Analytics said the acquisition was attractive because of how Descartes Labs products apply geospatial data to solve challenges. Both companies are owned by private equity firm Antarctica Capital. The PE firm formed EarthDaily Analytics in 2021 after buying assets from UrtheCast. Then, Antarctica Capital then acquired a controlling interest in Descartes Labs in 2022.
This acquisition comes as EarthDaily Analytics, based in Canada, prepares to launch a new satellite constellation in 2025 to collect imagery across a broad spectral range."
OroraTech Raises $27M to Further Wildfire-Detection Constellation [link]
"German wildfire-detection startup OroraTech raised 25 million euros ($27 million) in a Series B funding round to build out its predictive AI capabilities and orbital sensor network.
The company plans to use the funds to expand its footprint in North America and the Asia Pacific region, key markets for wildfire management, along with enhancements in its technology to improve its wildfire detection."
Future of Copernicus Expansion Missions secured [link]
"The Copernicus Sentinel Expansion Missions are a major leap forward in Europe’s Earth observation capabilities. With the United Kingdom’s re-entry to the EU’s Copernicus programme, funding has been confirmed to complete the development of all six Copernicus Sentinel Expansion Missions, as discussed this week during the International Astronautical Congress taking place in Milan, Italy."
International Astronautical Congress
Moving ahead with Italy’s constellation of Earth observation satellites [link]
"During the 75th International Astronautical Congress taking place in Milan, Italy, ESA signed the extension of contracts with Argotec and Thales Alenia Space Italia (TASI) for the production of the second batch of IRIDE satellites – a future Earth observation constellation designed to monitor environmental changes and support critical services in Italy.
The contracts were signed by Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA, Giampiero di Paolo, CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia, and David Avino, founder and CEO of Argotec.
Argotec will deliver 15 satellites, while TASI will contribute six NIMBUS Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites, with the combined value of the two contracts exceeding €140 million."
Contract secures build for ESA’s Harmony mission [link]
"ESA has awarded a contract valued at over €280 million to OHB in Germany to build ESA’s two Harmony Earth Explorer satellites.
This innovative research mission will provide valuable new data on various Earth processes, from shifts in the shape of the land surface caused by earthquakes and volcanic activity to insights into glacier movement. Additionally, it will enhance our understanding of the interactions between the upper ocean and lower atmosphere, all of which will contribute to a deeper comprehension of Earth's dynamic systems."
EarthCARE synergy reveals power of clouds and aerosols [link]
"Unveiled at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, these new results clearly highlight how EarthCARE's instruments can take different measurements of clouds and aerosols at the same time. These synergistic measurements promise to yield crucial insights into Earth’s delicate energy balance."
Developer's Orbit
5 Ways to Use Pansharpening on Satellite Imagery [link]
Follow this article for an introduction to pansharpening and how it improves satellite imagery for better clarity and analysis. The post covers the origins of pansharpening, how it works and showcases real-world examples of its use.
scikit-eo: A Python package for Remote Sensing Data Analysis [link]
"The new Python package scikit-eo is now part of the TorchGeo alternatives (https://lnkd.in/gTPa5qFP) as a geospatial machine learning library.
See tutorials over how to use scikit-eo [link]"
Snapshots
Earth from Space: Hardap Dam, Namibia [link]
"Hardap is a hot and arid region, where groundwater is difficult to obtain. Its name reflects the importance of the Hardap Dam, Namibia’s second largest dam, visible in blue in the centre of the image. The various blue hues denote the presence of sediment in the water.
With a surface area of 25 sq km, the dam supplies electricity and water to the whole area and the reservoir is home to numerous examples of Namibia’s wildlife.
The dam controls the flow of the Fish River, which can be seen snaking its way across the image."
TROPICS Monitors Milton [link]
"TROPICS monitored Hurricane Milton throughout its lifecycle. This data visualization shows Milton rapidly intensify into a Category 5 hurricane, slightly weaken, and then regain its strength. And although it weakened before hitting the western Florida coast, it still made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane."
First Stop: Tofua [link]
"Compared to the low-lying islands of sand and coral that make up most of Tonga’s Ha‘apai island group, Tofua stands out. The tall, cone-shaped volcanic island is difficult to access and comparatively inhospitable.
With few protective fringing reefs around the island, sandy beaches are scarce, and landings by boat require careful navigation to avoid cliffs and craggy volcanic formations along the coasts. Once on land, traveling anywhere is grueling due to dense semi-tropical forests that blanket much of the island’s steep terrain. There is little permanent freshwater, aside from the difficult-to-reach caldera lake at the island’s center. And there’s the looming threat that Lofia—an often steaming volcanic cone to the north of Tofua’s lake—could erupt explosively, much like Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai, its volcanic neighbor to the south, did in 2022."
Climate
The 2024 state of the climate report: Perilous times on planet Earth [link]
The 2024 State of the Climate Report reveals alarming trends, with record-high greenhouse gas emissions pushing the planet toward an irreversible climate crisis. In 2023–2024, global sea surface temperatures and ice extent losses broke records, and extreme weather events escalated dramatically. Human and ecological suffering is increasing, with significant impacts, especially in vulnerable regions. Urgent action is required to phase down fossil fuel consumption and avoid surpassing 2.7°C of warming by 2100.
Key Highlights:
Global sea surface temperatures exceeded 1991–2024 averages by up to 1.5°C.
Fossil fuel consumption rose by 1.5% in 2023, with 40+ gigatons of CO2 emissions.
25 of 35 tracked planetary vital signs are at record extremes.
In 2023, tree cover loss reached 28.3 Mha, with wildfires contributing to 11.9 Mha of loss.
Rising temperatures and shifting patterns—how climate change is impacting European summers [link]
"For those who remember the summer holidays of decades gone by, today's summer days might seem very different. A recent report from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) may confirm what you have been feeling. According to C3S, the summer of 2024 was the warmest on record in Europe, with record heat stress and up to 60% more warm daytimes than average in southeastern regions. Shifting precipitation patterns and changes in river flows further illustrate how dramatically summers have changed over recent decades.
This week's Observer, drawing on C3S data, takes a close look at how the shifting patterns and impacts of climate change are affecting European summers."
Interesting reads
The Roadmap of GeoAI — Part 1 [link]
Follow this first post by Julia Leonardi introducing the field of GeoAI.
OpenET: Balancing Water Supply and Demand in the West [link]
"The OpenET project, a multi-disciplinary, collaborative effort to make satellite-based evapotranspiration (ET) data available to the public.
The OpenET built upon decades of research funded by NASA, USDA and USGS and developed a new platform that can take easily accessible and already available data from satellite programs, like Landsat, and combine it with weather data to calculate the ET for every quarter acre of land."
Upcoming Omdena Project
Standardized Comparison of Urban Green Space Mapping Through Remote Sensing for Frankfurt, Germany [link]
"This project aims to develop and compare different remote sensing techniques for mapping urban green spaces in Frankfurt, Germany. Using high-resolution aerial photographs and satellite imagery, participants will explore unmixing methods, deep learning models like U-nets, and advanced segmentation techniques to detect small patches of greenery.
The project is beginner-friendly and focuses on building geospatial and machine learning skills, while also offering opportunities for advanced collaborators. Participants will gain hands-on experience in image segmentation, geospatial data analysis, and scientific communication."
For more information, reach out to the project coordinator, Dorothea Paulssen, via their LinkedIn profile [link].
Upcoming Courses
Applying Case 2 Regional Coast Colour (C2RCC) Algorithms to EUMETSAT OLCI Products [link]
"This comprehensive two-day online course will focus on the application of Case 2 Regional Coast Colour (C2RCC) algorithms to Copernicus Sentinel-3 OLCI (Ocean and Land Colour Instrument) marine products, provided by EUMETSAT. It will take place on October 24th and 25th 2024, and is designed to cater for users and researchers interested in enhancing their understanding of water quality through ocean colour remote sensing over complex waters."
Call for Abstracts
Living Planet Symposium 2025: time for abstracts [link]
"ESA’s Living Planet Symposium 2025 will take place from 23–27 June 2025 at the Austria Center Vienna, Austria. As this prestigious event approaches, now is the time to submit your abstracts for a chance to present your research on topics related to Earth observation from space, with a special focus on the theme: From Observation to Climate Action and Sustainability for Earth.
The deadline for abstract submissions is 1 December 2024."