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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.