'Eyes' in the sky protect lives on Earth

As part of the EU's Copernicus programme, the first Sentinel satellites were launched in April 2014 with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA). Placed in low Earth orbit, they will provide the clearest pictures ever obtained of our planet's land, seas and atmosphere. One of the most innovative uses of Copernicus data will be to mitigate the effects of natural hazards.

In particular, the Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service (EMS) will monitor the effects of natural disasters in Europe and the rest of the world. Within the EU-funded SENSUM project, researchers have developed the software tools to make maps of earthquakes, floods and landslides readily accessible to everyone — from town planners to the general public.

The SENSUM tools integrate data from the Earth observation satellites with ground-based systems, such as omni-directional camera surveys. The combination is expected to lead to more robust estimates of the potential losses. For example, the software identifies which Copernicus observations best show the patterns of extreme rainfall and the infrastructure at risk.

From the beginning, project researchers relied on free and open source software to allow the wide dissemination of maps to disaster management authorities. More importantly, the tools translate observations from Copernicus into information that is easy to interpret even by untrained people. The general public can also view the relevant observations to prepare for and respond to a natural disaster.

As more Sentinel satellites will follow in the coming years, with the last Sentinel scheduled to be placed in orbit around 2030, the Copernicus observational capacity will improve. At the same time, SENSUM's software tools could grow from experimental to fully fledged services that will help authorities quickly direct their emergency resources.