Presentation slide about satellite altimetry research, featuring the title ‘ALES Evolves: Enhanced Output using FDR4ALT-Compatible Data for Altimetry Research.’ The slide includes a dark blue scientific design and an aerial view of a rocky coastline and turquoise sea, representing Earth observation, coastal monitoring, and remote sensing technologies.

ALES Evolves: Enhanced Output using FDR4ALT-Compatible Data for Altimetry Research

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We are pleased to announce a significant upgrade to the ALES (Adaptive Leading Edge Subwaveform) services for ENVISAT and ERS-2 missions. Developed by Marcello Passaro from the Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut (DGFI) of the Technical University of Munich, this release brings an optimized output product designed to streamline research workflows.

This enhancement adds to a previous update that introduced compatibility with the ESA FDR4ALT (Fundamental Data Records for Altimetry) datasets. Together, these improvements provide a strong combined benefit for the scientific community working on altimetry projects.

What’s new

The focus of this release is the optimization of the ALES output product.

We know that managing large datasets can be a burden, so the new ALES version for ERS-2 and ENVISAT now integrates all relevant parameters from the input products directly into the final ALES output file1.

This means you no longer need to download or store bulky input datasets. Everything you need for your analysis is contained within the result file, making your data handling much lighter and faster.

Adding to existing FDR4ALT compatibility

This update leverages the previously introduced compatibility with FDR4ALT-generated datasets. The ESA FDR4ALT project was specifically designed to reprocess historical observations and bring them to a superior performance level for long-term time series.

This provides two main benefits for long-term oceanographic studies:

  • Enhanced Data Reliability: the combination of ALES retracking with FDR4ALT’s improved instrumental corrections ensures higher standards of data quality for coastal and open-ocean applications.
  • Multi-Decadal Continuity: this update facilitates the creation of high-quality time series spanning from 1995 (ERS-2) through 2012 (ENVISAT), which is essential for detecting climate trends and sea-level variations over decades.

The ALES Methodology: why it matters for Coastal Research

If you are new to the ALES processor2, it is important to understand why it has become widely used within the altimetry community.

Standard altimetry products often provide degraded performance as the satellite approaches the coastline. This is primarily due to land interference “polluting” the radar echo (waveform), which results in significant noise or data gaps.

ALES addresses these limitations through two specific innovations:

  • Subwaveform Retracking: unlike traditional retrackers that analyze the full radar echo, ALES focuses exclusively on the leading edge. By isolating a selected portion of the waveform containing the leading edge of the signal, the algorithm ignores the noisy “tail” caused by land interference or the glare caused by extremely calm water, retrieving valid sea-level measurements in areas where standard retrackers typically fail.
  • Adaptive Windowing: the algorithm dynamically adjusts its analysis window based on the significant wave height (SWH). This adaptive approach ensures high-precision measurements across varying sea states, maintaining consistency from the open ocean to within a few kilometers of the shoreline.

How to access the services for free

The ALES for ERS-2 and ENVISAT services are hosted within the ESA Heritage Missions Virtual Lab (HMVL) on EarthConsole®. The HMVL is an ESA initiative dedicated to the valorization of data from missions which are no longer operational in space.

You can choose the mode that best fits your workflow:

  • On-demand Processing: full control of your runs and its parameters through an intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI).
  • Bulk Processing: let EarthConsole® operators handle large-scale data processing based on your specific requirements.

Access to the processing services is provided through the following steps:

Additional processing time (up to another 100 hours) can be requested subject to ESA approval. For large-scale processing requirements exceeding 200 hours, support may be available through the ESA Network of Resources (NoR) sponsorship.

For further clarification or support, please contact us info@earthconsole.eu. We would be happy to help.

1 It is important to note that in its current version, ALES for ENVISAT FDR4ALT does not implement a variable tracking gate as according to the section 6.2.8 of the FDR4ALT User Guide and therefore may show offsets in a small fraction of data for cycles 14,15 and 20.

2 References: Passaro, M., et al. (2014). ALES: A multi-mission adaptive subwaveform retracker for coastal altimetry. Remote Sensing of Environment. Read the paper here. 

EarthConsole Stories banner about Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data and machine learning for ground movement monitoring, featuring a landslide-damaged forest road with cracked and collapsed asphalt.

EarthConsole® Stories: using Copernicus Sentinel-1 data and machine learning to better understand ground movement

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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

Understanding how and why the ground moves is essential for managing natural resources, infrastructure, and environmental risks. This research project, developed at Politecnico di Torino, focuses on improving the detection and interpretation of ground deformation through innovative data analysis methods.

To achieve this, the study uses machine learning techniques to analyse large amounts of data over time, with the objective of automatically identifying patterns and grouping together areas that behave in a similar way.

A key goal is to better understand what drives ground deformation behaviour, with a specific focus on human-induced activities such as water extraction.

By studying these factors across a range of environments, the project seeks to build a completer and more reliable picture of how and why deformation occurs.

This work is part of the first Italian National PhD programme on Sustainable Materials, Processes, and Systems for Energy Transition, established under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The Need

The project required reliable satellite data to monitor subtle ground movements over time. Access to Sentinel-1 C-band radar imagery was essential, as it provides consistent observations regardless of weather or lighting conditions, making it ideal for continuous monitoring.

Another key requirement was the use of DInSAR techniques, which compare satellite images taken at different times to measure how the ground has moved, making it possible to produce consistent and comparable time series to be used as input for the project processing chain.

Why EarthConsole®

EarthConsole® was selected because it provides access to the P-SBAS on-demand service for Sentinel-1, which implements a DInSAR technique developed by CNR-IREA. This service enables efficient processing of Sentinel-1 C-band data, offering the possibility to compute displacement time series and the corresponding mean deformation velocity map with centimeter to sub-centimeter accuracy.

Reflecting on the experience, the project coordinator shares:

The ability to process Sentinel-1 data on demand, without relying on local infrastructure, has enabled us to focus on interpreting results rather than managing complex workflows. The platform allows us to easily generate deformation time series over our areas and periods of interest, aligned with the availability of ancillary data. Its fast processing capabilities and user-friendly interface have been essential for efficiently exploring a range of study cases.

Alberto Manuel Garcia Navarro, PhD Student, Politecnico di Torino – Italy

 

The Impact

This project contributes to advancing how ground movement is monitored and understood, with important benefits for both science and society. By making it easier to detect and interpret deformation patterns, it supports more informed decision-making in areas such as infrastructure management, environmental protection, and energy systems..

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

 

A promotional banner for the 'BeGEO Scientists Webinar' on April 9, 2025, from 15:30 to 17:00 CEST. The webinar focuses on 'InSAR and P-SBAS applications in Earth Sciences' and the 'EarthConsole® platform for assisted processing of large Earth Observation datasets.' The banner has a yellow background with blue text and logos of supporting organizations, including BeGEO Association, EarthConsole®, Progressive Systems, and IREA-CNR.

Join the 3rd BeGEO webinar on InSAR and P-SBAS applications in Earth Sciences

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We’ve teamed up with the BeGEO Association and the Italian Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (IREA-CNR), to bring you the 3rd BeGEO webinar entitled “InSAR and P-SBAS applications in Earth Sciences. The EarthConsole® platform for the assisted processing of large Earth Observation datasets”.

The webinar will be held on April 9, 2025, from 15:30 to 17:00 (CEST).

REGISTER HERE

Why this webinar?

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a powerful technique that allows for the analysis of Earth’s surface motions caused by both natural and anthropogenic processes. However, the processing of large SAR datasets needs large in-house processing resources.

That’s where EarthConsole® steps in.

EarthConsole® is Progressive Systems’ cloud-based platform that helps institutions, researchers, and developers create, test, and host applications and processors, enabling simplified access to Earth Observation data and processing services. By co-locating computing resources with data archives, the platform ensures faster and more efficient data processing.

During the webinar we present an overview of the InSAR theory and show the application of the P-SBAS on-demand service for Sentinel-1 (2016–present) and ENVISAT (2002–2012) hosted on the EarthConsole® platform to produce time-series of incremental ground motions and maps of the average velocities. A particular focus will be given to the study of ground deformation caused by both natural and anthropogenic processes. A demonstration will guide participants through the request and practical use of the service, with a particular emphasis on the graphical user interface (GUI) and processing parameters.

At the end of the webinar the attendants will be acquainted with the InSAR principles, as also with the procedure to request the P-SBAS service and process their own data on EarthConsole®.

What’s on the Agenda?

  • 15:30:16:00 – Dr. Claudio De Luca, Researcher at IREA-CNR: Differential SAR Interferometry: Principles, techniques and applications.
  • 16:00-16:20 – Massimo Orlandi, Engineer on Earth Observation projects (Progressive Systems): P-PRO On-Demand P-SBAS service: Live Demonstration
  • 16:20-16:40 – Maddalena Iesué, Communication and Partnerships Manager (Progressive Systems): How to request free access to the P-PRO On-Demand P-SBAS service and Overview of EarthConsole®
  • 16:40-17:00 – Q&A section

Bonus for attendees

Upon request, we will provide attendees with a one-week free trial, including up to 30 processing hours, to test the P-SBAS for Sentinel-1 on-demand service on EarthConsole®. Instructions for making the request will be shared during the webinar.

See you soon online!

 

This webinar is supported by the ESA Network of Resources Initiative
Image showing a sand dam in Kenya, near terraced farm hills.

EarthConsole® Stories: monitoring sand dams’ impact on water availability with satellite image time-series analysis

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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

Climate change driven by human activity is significantly altering the water cycle at global, regional, and local levels, with these effects expected to intensify in the coming years (Pörtner et al. 2022). In semi-arid regions, prolonged dry periods and high evaporation are already reducing the availability of usable water in river systems, with direct negative consequences for ecosystems and the livelihoods of local communities (Kalele et al. 2021).

Currently, around 1.5 billion people live in semi-arid areas and this number is expected to increase due to shifts in climate zones. To ensure their food security and counteract the impending water shortage, measures are necessary on different spatial and temporal scales. A comparatively simple and cost-effective method is the construction of dams along the flow cross-section of seasonal rivers. These act as natural barriers and within a few years fill up with sediment, in which the water collects and is protected from evaporation and too rapid runoff.

Led by Dr. Andreas Braun from the University of Tübingen, this research project aims to assess the impact of sand dams on water availability in selected African regions. Using time series analysis of satellite images, the study seeks to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate how sand dams influence their surrounding environments.

The Need

To conduct this research, the research team needed advanced Earth Observation (EO) tools capable of analyzing long-term surface changes around sand dams. These dams gradually alter ground levels, leading to positive environmental effects such as for example increased soil moisture, enhanced vegetation growth, and reduced land degradation.

However, conventional EO approaches often struggle to capture changes in seasonal river systems, requiring the use of indirect indicators like vegetation cover and land-use modifications. To overcome this limitation, the team sought a solution that could track changes through closely spaced time series observations.

Why EarthConsole®

EarthConsole® was selected for its access to the P-SBAS (Parallel Small BAseline Subset) on-demand service for Sentinel-1, provided by IREA-CNR. This service implements an advanced InSAR technique enabling the generation of Earth surface deformation time-series and, more generally, interferometric products through an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI allows the user to select SAR data for specific areas and time periods, set processing parameters, and download processing results autonomously.

Reflecting on his experience, Dr. Braun shared:

EarthConsole®’s P-SBAS for Sentinel-1 on demand service has been selected to enrich our research. In addition to Sentinel-2, US Landsat Missions and hyperspectral data such as EnMap, we wanted to explore the potential of Sentinel-1 SAR data to provide new insights into deformations caused by water extraction but also increased storage volume near the identified sand dams.

Dr. Andreas Braun, Academic Researcher, University of Tübingen – Germany

 

The Impact

This research has the potential to transform the use of sand dams as a climate adaptation strategy. It is based on the hypothesis that sand dams have a positive effect on their environment, but that this effect varies depending on the climate zone and landscape. By incorporating satellite-based monitoring, the project aims to showcase how sand dams can effectively mitigate water shortages, helping local communities build resilience against climate change.

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