Banner displaying bold text "EarthConsole 2024 Wrapped", set against a dark blue background featuring images related to Earth Observation.

EarthConsole® Wrapped 2024

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As we say goodbye to 2024, we at Progressive Systems are reflecting on another year for EarthConsole®, our cloud-based platform supporting the development, testing and hosting of processors provided by the scientific community.

From new processors to advancing key research projects, here are the highlights that shaped our journey this year:

New processors integrated into the platform

This year, we’ve enhanced the EarthConsole® platform with processors that make satellite data more accessible and usable for scientists, researchers, and innovators across diverse applications—all free of charge. Here are the latest additions:

1. Earth Surface Deformation with P-SBAS for Sentinel-1 On-Demand Service

The P-SBAS (Parallel Small BAseline Subset) for Sentinel-1 on demand service, developed in collaboration with IREA-CNR, enables users to compute displacement time series and mean deformation velocity maps with centimeter to sub-centimeter accuracy. It is a valuable resource for monitoring natural and anthropogenic ground displacement, due to:

  • Volcanic activity
  • Earthquakes
  • Landslides
  • Construction of large infrastructures etc.

Designed for both experts and newcomers to satellite interferometric analysis, the intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) simplifies the selection of data, the time period, and processing parameters, allowing users to tailor these choices autonomously to suit their research requirements.

Like most of our services, the P-SBAS for Sentinel-1 on-demand service can be accessed free of charge.

If you intend to use this service as part of a research, educational, or pre-commercial project, you are eligible to apply for sponsorship to the European Space Agency’s Network of Resources (ESA NoR) initiative. ESA NoR provides a unique opportunity to cover the costs of trying out cloud services for Earth Observation data exploitation, including EarthConsole® .

If ESA approves your sponsorship request, you’ll receive a voucher covering six months of subscription and up to 500 processing hours for the P-SBAS for Sentinel-1 service.

Start by requesting the service here, and we will guide you throughout the whole sponsorship request process.

2. Sea level dynamics with ALES for ERS-2 and ENVISAT Data

ALES (Adaptive Leading Edge Subwaveform retracker) for ERS-2 and ENVISAT developed by Marcello Passaro of the German Geodetic Research Institute, has been integrated into the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab. This initiative, hosted on EarthConsole®, is part of the European Space Agency’s efforts to maximize the value of data from Earth Observation missions that are no longer active in space.

ALES addresses the challenges of measuring sea levels, offering both enhanced accuracy in coastal regions and retained precision in open ocean measurements.

Researchers can batch-process ERS-2 and ENVISAT data spanning a time period that goes from 1995 to 2012, making it a critical resource for understanding sea-level rise and coastal dynamics over time.

Subscribe to the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab and complete the form under “Request the service you need” in the Lab, to get 100 free processing hours for ALES for ERS-2 and ENVISAT, subject to ESA approval.

3. Data preparation made easy with the ARD Processor for ENVISAT MERIS FR Data

We introduced the Analysis Ready Data (ARD) processor for the bulk processing of ENVISAT MERIS Full Resolution (FR) data, developed by us at Progressive Systems and also available via the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab. It is designed to generate Analysis Ready Data from MERIS, an instrument onboard ENVISAT satellite that collected data about ocean colour, atmosphere and land surface between 2002 and 2012.

It enables data preparation for various applications, including:

  • Multi-temporal analysis
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) models
  • Vegetation, water quality, and land use studies.

This processor automates data access and preparation, by downloading MERIS data directly from ESA dissemination service, then creates a subset based on the region of interest. The subset is collocated per pixel with respect to a master image (raster or re-projected onto a Coordinate Reference System).

Also in this case, subscribe to the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab and complete the form under “Request the service you need” in the Lab, to get 100 free processing hours for the ARD for ENVISAT MERIS FR processor, subject to ESA approval.

Advancing Polar Research with the OCRE CryoSSARinSAM+ project

This year we concluded our support for the CryoSSARinSAM+ project, a collaboration with the Denmark Technical University (DTU) under the OCRE initiative, kicked off in 2023.

The project delivered a single, open-access altimetry dataset for Cryosat-2, a mission aimed at monitoring precise changes in the thickness of the polar ice sheets and floating sea ice.

The dataset spans the Polar regions and includes:

  • Winter months from October 2010 to December 2020
  • From 2021 to September 2024.

You can access this resource in the Altimetry Virtual Lab repository, by requesting a free membership here.

Growing our Virtual Labs

This year, the virtual labs hosted on EarthConsole® continued to grow, with the Altimetry Virtual Lab reaching approximately 140 members, and the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab expanding to 50 members. These growing communities brought together scientific users engaged in diverse Earth science research projects.

The virtual labs offer customizable processing services and support to meet the specific needs of these users. They also provide collaborative tools for sharing scientific knowledge, data, and resources—encouraging an open science approach.

Joining these communities is simple and free:

If you’re interested in designing a virtual lab for your own scientific community, contact us at info@earthconsole.eu to explore how we can help.

Supporting Earth Science Projects through ESA’s Network of Resources

In 2024, we supported around 20 projects under the ESA Network of Resources (NoR) initiative. Through ESA-issued vouchers, scientific users with research, educational, or pre-commercial projects were able to use our processing services at no cost.

In addition, EarthConsole® has been reaffirmed as a service provider for the 2023-2028 period, ensuring we can continue offering free access to our platform for the next several years.

Looking Ahead

As we step into 2025, our mission remains clear: to empower the scientific community working with Earth Observation data with innovative tools, seamless data access and tailored support.

A big thank you to our users, partners and collaborators, for being part of our 2024. We look forward to achieving even greater milestones together in the coming year.

We wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Time series of four MERIS L2 images acquired over northern Italy from August 2002 to July 2003. The subsets are collocated and refer to the band 13 TOA reflectance.

Reducing Time Spent on Preparing Earth Observation Data: ARD for ENVISAT MERIS FR now on EarthConsole®

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Preparing Earth Observation data for processing can be a time-consuming and complex task, requiring technical expertise or access to an in-house processing infrastructure which may not always be readily available. This is where Analysis Ready Data (ARD) becomes increasingly valuable, above all for non-EO experts. ARD simplifies the process by providing pre-processed, georeferenced and harmonized datasets that are ready for immediate use. By eliminating the need for complex data preparation, ARD ensures consistency and comparability across time and space, allowing scientific users to move quickly to deriving insights for their research.

Introducing ARD for ENVISAT MERIS FR on EarthConsole®

To facilitate the scientific community’s use of Earth Observation data, EarthConsole® now offers a new processor designed to generate Analysis Ready Data (ARD) from MERIS, an instrument onboard ENVISAT satellite that collected data about ocean colour, atmosphere and land surface between 2002 and 2012.

Developed by us at Progressive Systems, the company behind the EarthConsole® platform, the ARD for ENVISAT MERIS FR processor automates the process of accessing and preparing this data. It downloads the needed MERIS data directly from ESA dissemination service, then creates a subset based on the region of interest.

The subset is collocated per pixel with respect to a master image (raster or re-projected onto a Coordinate Reference System).

Time series of four MERIS L2 images acquired over northern Italy from August 2002 to July 2003. The subsets are collocated and refer to the band 13 TOA reflectance.

All of this is done using EarthConsole® parallel processing environment, which optimizes data access by leveraging the co-location of computing resources with the data archives.

This processor is critical for tasks like tracking changes over time (multi-temporal analysis) or artificial intelligence applications, where each image needs to be georeferenced and comparable at the pixel level. Thematically, this tool can be applied to a wide range of research areas, ranging from vegetation to water quality and land use studies.

The value of this tool increases even further when its outputs are combined with data from active Earth Observation missions, enabling even more comprehensive analysis on long-term environmental trends.

Practical Applications

The ARD for ENVISAT MERIS FR tool is already being used in important research projects, like the ESA River Discharge Climate Change Initiative. This project focuses on studying rivers worldwide and how their flow patterns are changing over time due to climate change.

Using this tool, 25,000 satellite images were processed, focusing on 45 specific locations around the world. The tool automatically prepared smaller, targeted datasets (about 72,000 in total) for these locations. These prepared datasets were then ingested in a machine learning model developed by the project team. To learn more, you can read our EarthConsole® Story on tracking and predicting changes in river systems with ENVISAT data.

Getting started with ARD for ENVISAT MERIS FR on EarthConsole® (FREE ACCESS):

This tool is available for free bulk processing via the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab hosted on EarthConsole®, a European Space Agency’s initiative aimed at valorising the use of data from Earth Observation missions which are no longer active in space. To request the service:

      1. Log in to www.earthconsole.eu.
      2. Request a free membership to the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab www.earthconsole.eu/groups/heritage-missions.
      3. Click on the card ‘Request the service you need’ and submit the service request using the dedicated form within the Lab.
      4. Wait for approval; it may take a few days as we process your request with ESA.
      5. Once approved, you’ll receive 100 free processing hours, which can be renewed for another 100 hours pending ESA approval.

For any questions, we will be happy to help at info@earthconsole.eu.

Image of sea near the coastline

Coastal and Open Ocean Altimetry Data: How ALES unlocks insights from 1995 to today on EarthConsole®

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In the world of satellite altimetry, precision is key. For years, satellites have revolutionized how we measure sea levels, monitor ocean currents, and track environmental changes.

But there’s been one tricky area for researchers: coastal regions.

Historically, satellite altimeters have struggled to provide reliable data near coastlines.

That’s where ALES — the Adaptive Leading Edge Subwaveform retracker — available on EarthConsole® comes in, offering a new way to make accurate altimetry measurements.

What is ALES and why should you care?

ALES is a subwaveform retracking algorithm developed by Marcello Passaro from the German Geodetic Research Institute of the Technical University of Munich, to overcome the challenges altimeters face when measuring sea levels close to the coast.

ALES improves the accuracy of satellite data near coastlines, all while maintaining high accuracy in open ocean measurements, making it a relevant tool for scientists, oceanographers, and anyone tracking sea level rise or coastal changes.

How Does ALES Work?

To understand how ALES functions, let’s start with how satellite radar altimetry works.

Satellites send out radar signals that bounce off earth surface and catch the echoes as they bounce back. The time it takes for these signals to return helps calculate the distance to the surface, allowing us to determine for example sea level. While this process is straightforward in open waters, it becomes complicated near the coast due to interference from land or other reflective objects like for example ship traffic.

ALES works by looking at the signals the satellite gets back and focusing on a specific part of each signal – the leading edge. From this section, ALES makes a rough estimate of how tall the waves are. This information is important because knowing the wave height helps improve the accuracy of the data.

Once ALES has the wave height estimate, it can choose the best part of the wave signal to analyze. By narrowing its focus, ALES can avoid interference from other factors, such as reflections from land or ships. This targeted analysis helps to eliminate noise and enhances the quality of the data, resulting in more precise measurements of sea level.

ALES on EarthConsole®

You can now access an extensive time series of altimetry data spanning from 1995 to today, thanks to the addition of the bulk processing option for ALES for Envisat and ERS-2 data (both missions no longer operational in space) via the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab on EarthConsole®.

This addition complements the existing ALES+ SAR service for Sentinel-3 and CryoSat-2, which was already available for both bulk and on-demand processing via the Altimetry Virtual Lab on EarthConsole®.

This will provide you with a clearer understanding of how coastal zones and open ocean conditions have evolved over the last three decades.

Getting started with ALES for ENVISAT or ALES for ERS-2 (FREE ACCESS):

  1. Log in to www.earthconsole.eu.
  2. Request a free membership to the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab www.earthconsole.eu/groups/heritage-missions.
  3. Click on the card ‘Request the service you need’ and submit the service request using the dedicated form within the Lab.
  4. Wait for approval; it may take a few days as we process your request with ESA.
  5. Once approved, you’ll receive 100 free processing hours, which can be renewed for another 100 hours pending ESA approval.

What makes ALES stand out is its adaptability and versatility.

Whether it’s applied to older satellite missions like ERS-2 and Envisat, or the latest missions like CryoSat-2 and Sentinel-3, ALES is applicable to waveforms from different altimeters. This flexibility enables to extend the time series and ensures that we can analyze both historical and current satellite data to better understand sea level changes over time.

If you’re interested in finding out whether ALES is suitable for your research, feel free to contact us at info@earthconsole.eu.

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EarthConsole® Stories: GPU-powered SAR back-projection fully focused processor for enhanced S6 altimetry data processing

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EarthConsole® Stories are experiences about how we helped universities, research centres or service developers to leverage Earth Observation data to extract valuable insights for their research, educational or pre-commercial projects.

The Project

In the frame of the Sentinel-6 Poseidon-4 Ground Processor Prototype project, a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) back-projection fully focused processor for Sentinel-6 (S6) was developed which processes all the chains starting from the altimeter source packets up to the Level 1B.

This processor had a major limitation: its run-time performance was too slow to be used for operational purposes. To address this, the research team decided to employ a dual strategy: optimizing the algorithm and leveraging the computational power of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).

They successfully developed this improved processor in November 2023, which was a big step forward for the project.

Initial tests showed very promising results, showing that the processor running on GPUs has a run-time performance improvement of over 50 times with respect to the one running on CPUs. In the final phase of the project, the need arose to thoroughly test both the scientific accuracy and the run-time performance of the processor. This required a dedicated machine with specific configurations, a need which was met by EarthConsole®.

The Need

The main need was to find a robust and efficient processing environment to fully utilize the processor’s potential. The team required a high-performance computing solution to finalize the software and run tests using Sentinel-6 data. Following this phase, the intention was to perform a full 10-day cycle of S6 data with multiple configurations optimized for various surface types to verify how well the processor worked across various conditions. Finally, the generated data had to be analysed and assessed in comparison with existing operational data.

Why EarthConsole®

The decision to resort to EarthConsole® was driven by its ability to meet our computational needs, offering GPU-equipped virtual machines essential to test our processor’s optimized performance. These virtual machines with GPUs are not yet available within the European Space Agency’s (ESA) existing infrastructure. This enabled us to achieve improvements in run-time performance and scientific accuracy for our SAR back-projection processor

Marco Fornari, Ground Segment Engineer at RHEA for ESA – European Space Agency 

 

The Impact

The impact of this project extends far beyond the immediate improvements in processing efficiency for Sentinel-6.

The knowledge acquired with this project will have significant implications for future missions as well, such as CRISTAL and Sentinel-3 Next Generation Topography (S3NG-T), where similar processing capabilities will be essential.

Marco Fornari, Ground Segment Engineer at RHEA for ESA – European Space Agency 

 

This project has been supported via the ESA Network of Resources initiative.

 

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EarthConsole® Stories: Tracking and predicting changes in river systems with ENVISAT data

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EarthConsole® Stories are experiences about how we helped universities, research centres or service developers to leverage Earth Observation data to extract valuable insights for their research, educational or pre-commercial projects.

The Project

The ESA River Discharge Climate Change Initiative aims to generate long-term climate data records—spanning at least 20 years—of river discharge for selected river basins and key locations within their networks. This will be achieved using satellite remote sensing observations, including altimetry and multispectral images, along with ancillary data. This data is essential for understanding the flow and behaviour of rivers in specific regions and at critical points along their courses. The goal is to develop a robust analytical tool capable of tracking and predicting changes in river systems resulting from climate change.

The Need

The research team, tasked with managing ENVISAT MERIS data spanning 2002 to 2012 from multiple global sites, required an efficient platform for handling this extensive dataset. They found the ideal solution in the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab, an ESA initiative hosted on EarthConsole®. This platform provides specialized processing services for data from discontinued Earth Observation missions like ENVISAT.

Beyond data access, the team needed to generate Analysis Ready Data (ARD) for the MERIS FR datasets. For this purpose, the EarthConsole® team developed a tool that automatically extracted time series data from approximately 25,000 MERIS FR Level 2 products, targeting specific stations within 45 worldwide sites. This process produced around 72,000 subsets, which were subsequently utilized in the neural network model developed by the team.

Why EarthConsole®

The EarthConsole® G-BOX hosting service via the Heritage Missions Virtual Lab was the research team’s choice for direct access to ENVISAT Meris data.

The service was used to process Analysis Ready Data for large ENVISAT MERIS FR datasets for 45 sites worldwide with our own neural network model. In fact, the processing of the huge number of images from 2002 to 2012 would have been too time consuming to be handled on our local infrastructure. The EarthConsole® hosting service was used to speed up the process and provide a consistent and practical method to process the multi-temporal analyses to be later on compared with the in-situ river discharge

Paolo Filippucci, Researcher at IRPI CNR – Italy

 

The Impact

The ESA River Discharge Climate Change Initiative will greatly benefit the research community and society by using advanced satellite technology to monitor and analyse river ecosystems over time. This project provides crucial data on river flow and behaviour, helping to track and predict changes due to climate change. Researchers, environmentalists, and policymakers will gain valuable insights, enabling better decision-making for sustainable water management and climate resilience.

This project has been supported via the ESA Network of Resources initiative.

 

Banner with this text: the on-demand service P-SBAS for Sentinel-1 is now available on P-SBAS for Sentinel-1 is now available on EarthConsole®

Investigating Earth surface displacement with the on-demand P-SBAS service for Sentinel-1

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Our planet continually undergoes transformations, with natural and human-induced displacement shaping its surface. Comprehending these changes is paramount across various disciplines, from environmental science to disaster preparedness and response.

Fortunately, advancements in satellite technology have provided us with tools to detect and study the Earth’s surface dynamics.

In particular, the Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) technique permits to measure the deformation component along the radar line of sight (LOS) with a very large spatial coverage capability and with accuracy of a fraction of the wavelength relevant to the transmitted microwave signals. This result is achieved by exploiting the phase difference (interferogram) between pairs of complex SAR images, usually referred to as single look complex (SLC), which are acquired by the SAR sensor at different times.

Furthermore, over the last 30 years advanced DInSAR approaches, which allow the retrieval of the temporal evolution of the detected surface deformations by exploiting large multitemporal SAR data sets, have been developed. Among these, the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) technique developed at IREA – CNR (Italian Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment), offers the possibility to compute displacement time series and the corresponding mean deformation velocity map with centimeter to sub-centimeter accuracy.

The SBAS approach has emerged as particularly effective to investigate ground displacements both in natural and anthropogenic hazard contexts, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides and human-induced deformation due to mining activities, fluids exploitation, and large infrastructures construction.

Moreover, in 2014, a parallel version of the SBAS algorithm, referred to as the P-SBAS approach, was developed. This implementation is able to properly exploit distributed computing infrastructures, such as grid and cloud computing (CC) environments.

In this context, the P-SBAS algorithm, specific for the Sentinel-1 data processing, has been released as an on-demand web-based tool by integrating it within the EarthConsole® platform.

The on-demand P-SBAS service for Sentinel-1 represents a collaboration between IREA-CNR and Progressive Systems’ EarthConsole® platform, bridging the gap between advanced satellite monitoring and end-users.

This service empowers users to investigate surface displacement autonomously.

Through the intuitive EarthConsole® interface, users can select the SAR data to be processed over their area of interest, set the input parameters for the processing, and download processing outputs once ready.

How to access the on-demand P-SBAS for Sentinel-1 service

Interested users can request the service by completing all parts of the P-PRO ON DEMAND form on the EarthConsole® webapp.

REQUEST THE SERVICE

The information collected through the form serves as a basis to help you prepare a sponsorship request for the ESA Network of Resources. If approved, the sponsorship covers the cost of using the service for up to 500 processing hours over six months.

Want more information, or want to talk about your specific use case? Contact us.

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Join the webinar on EarthConsole® organized by the ESA Network of Resources

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The management of Earth Observation data, from their retrieval to processing setup and IT infrastructure management, can be complex.

These tasks may take you significant time and resources that you would most probably prefer to spend on your scientific work.

At EarthConsole®, we understand the challenges you face. That’s why we handle all this complexity so you can focus on what you enjoy the most: your research.

If you want to learn more on the support we provide, join us on the 22nd of May for a FREE webinar hosted by the ESA Network of Resources. You will discover how EarthConsole® can help you to:

  • Develop and prototype new algorithms on our virtual machines with rapid access to EO data.
  • Host your processor to scale up your processing capabilities globally and temporally, empowering you to handle large volumes of data efficiently.
  • Develop a dedicated graphical user interface for your processor to share it with the research community.
  • Run processing campaigns in your area and time of interest using ready-to-use processors provided by renowned research centers and universities. We’ll provide a live demo of the on-demand P-SBAS for Sentinel-1 web tool, developed in collaboration with IREA-CNR, which facilitates SAR data processing via a user-friendly interface, for investigating the Earth surface displacement.

At the end of the session, it will also be presented the process to request an ESA NoR sponsorship to cover the cost for the usage of the services.

Here the details:

Date: May 22nd
Time: from 1p.m. to 2p.m. CEST

REGISTER HERE

We look forward to meeting you online!

 

EGU 2024: training course on the P-SBAS DInSAR web tool for Earth surface deformation

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Earth surface deformation due to phenomena like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, land subsidence due to fluid extraction activities or large infrastructure construction, can be effectively investigated using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors.

Through the SAR Interferometry (InSAR) technique, two radar images of the Earth’s surface are captured from slightly different angles. By comparing these images, detailed three-dimensional maps of the ground can be created, providing valuable insights into its topography.

When these images are taken at different times, employing the Differential SAR Interferometry (DInSAR) technique, it becomes possible to measure changes in the Earth’s surface over time.

One particularly effective method for tracking these changes is the Parallel Small BAseline Subset (P-SBAS) algorithm, developed at IREA-CNR.

During the EGU General Assembly 2024, on April 18th, IREA – CNR will be conducting a training course, organized with our support, on the P-SBAS DInSAR on-demand service integrated on the EarthConsole® platform.

In this training, you will be guided by IREA – CNR team experts on the Interferometric analysis and on the use of this tool to process both Sentinel-1 and ENVISAT SAR images in a fully unsupervised manner, all through the EarthConsole® P-PRO ON DEMAND web interface without the need to download data to your own processing and archiving systems.

You will also be introduced to the ESA Network of Resources (NoR) initiative that may sponsor scientific users to access the P-SBAS DInSAR on EarthConsole® free of charge.

Find more information on the course either online or on this flyer.

The entry into operation of the P-SBAS DInSAR for Sentinel-1 on-demand service represents an important opportunity for researchers studying Earth surface deformation as it complements the already operational P-SBAS DInSAR for ENVISAT on-demand service available through the ESA Heritage Missions Virtual Lab hosted on EarthConsole®.

This will enable researchers to generate time series and get insights into the evolution of Earth surface deformation over the years.

 How to access these services on EarthConsole®:

  • Log in/Register on the EarthConsole® webapp.
  • For P-SBAS DInSAR for Sentinel-1: fill in the P-PRO ON DEMAND form. We will use the information collected through the form to prepare a sponsorship request for the ESA Network of Resources initiative, that we will send you for your review and approval. If authorized by ESA, the NoR sponsorship would cover the cost of using the P-SBAS DInSAR for Sentinel-1 service within a 6-months time frame.
  • For P-SBAS DInSAR for ENVISAT: request a free of charge membership to the ESA Heritage Missions Virtual Lab. Upon authorization from ESA, you will receive 100 processing hours to start using the service.

If you need any clarification, please do not hesitate to get in touch at info@earthconsole.eu.

 

 

OCRE Project by CENTEC: more than a decade of processed CryoSat-2 and Sentinel-3 AB data over coastal zones available on ESA Altimetry Virtual Lab

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We are pleased to share the conclusion of the European Commission OCRE (Open Clouds for Research Environments) [1] financed project led by CENTEC (Centre for Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering) – Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa. With our support here at EarthConsole®, this project aimed at evaluating renewable wave energy resources in the coastal zone, employing advanced high-resolution altimetry products.

CENTEC selected EarthConsole® among the providers of the OCRE Earth Observation catalogue to process data over selected coastal zones and an extensive period of 11 years (from January 2011 to December 2022) for CryoSat-2 data and 7 years (from April 2016 to December 2022) for Sentinel-3 data. The processing was conducted using the ESA-ESRIN SARvatore services for CryoSat-2 and Sentinel-3, which allow users to customise the processing from L1a to L2 data products, and include a list a configurable options such as the one used for this project, the enhanced geophysical retrieval algorithm known as the SAMOSA+ model and retracker.

These services are available for both systematic and on-demand processing via the ESA Altimetry Virtual Lab hosted on EarthConsole®.

The ESA Altimetry Virtual Lab is the virtual space that offers customised services to process Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimetry from CryoSat-2, Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich missions, providing a community space for simplified services access and knowledge-sharing.

The areas of interest processed for this project are delineated in the accompanying figure below. Green areas represent processing with both CryoSat-2 and Sentinel-3 data, yellow areas are exclusively related to CryoSat-2 data, and blue areas represent processing with Sentinel-3 data.

To download the datasets, we invite you to log into the Altimery Virtual Lab and visit its datasets repository. A free of charge subscription to the Lab will be required in case you are not yet a Lab Member.

We remind you that you could also have the chance to get the costs of the ESA Altimetry Virtual Lab services covered, by requesting a voucher to the ESA Network of Resources.

[1] OCRE receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 824079

Picture including a measurement of the water level of a river.

EarthConsole® Stories: Monitoring water level changes in the Yangtze River using FF-SAR data

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EarthConsole® Stories are experiences about how we helped universities, research centres or service developers to leverage Earth Observation data to extract valuable insights for their research, educational or pre-commercial projects.

The Project

This study aims at using Sentinel-6 and Sentinel-3 FFSAR data for monitoring changes in water levels within the Yangtze River during the period of January 2019 to March 2023. A key objective of this study is to assess the precision of these datasets in the context of the Yangtze River, accomplished through comprehensive comparisons with both measured water level data and data sourced from alternative satellite monitoring systems.

In addition, the research extends into the topographical characteristics of the Yangtze River, involving a detailed analysis of waveform patterns and potential factors influencing transit points along the river. Furthermore, the study seeks to uncover the root causes behind the fluctuations in the Yangtze River’s water levels, achieving this by cross-referencing data with climate information.

The Need

The requirement at hand revolved around exploring the correlation between temporal and spatial changes in the Yangtze River’s water levels and climate change. Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-6 FFSAR data stood out for their renowned accuracy in monitoring river water level changes. To facilitate this investigation effectively, EarthConsole® offered the FFSAR (Fully Focused Synthetic Aperture Radar) processor for Sentinel-6 developed by Aresys, enabling to delve into this relationship.

Why EarthConsole®

In particular, the P-PRO (Parallel Processing) service within the ESA Altimetry Virtual Lab hosted on EarthConsole® has been selected to gain access to the FF-SAR processor to process Sentinel-6 L1a data on the Yangtze River Basin.

The EarthConsole® P-PRO service proved to be an ideal fit for our project, as it provided the reliable and readily available FF-SAR processor hosted on the platform. Furthermore, this service allowed us to entrust the processing management to EarthConsole® experts, allowing me to concentrate on my research and easily retrieve the results once they were ready.”

Shanmu Ma, Student at the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences – China

This project has been supported via the ESA Network of Resources initiative.