ESA Observing the Earth

Washed up: Sargassum blankets beaches

Over the last month, massive quantities of the Sargassum seaweed have been washing up on the shores of Mexico, Florida in the US and some Caribbean islands, creating a serious environmental problem and causing havoc for the tourist industry. ESA has been tracking this slimy infestation from space.

Washed up: Sargassum blankets beaches

Over the last month, massive quantities of the Sargassum seaweed have been washing up on the shores of Mexico, Florida in the US and some Caribbean islands, creating a serious environmental problem and causing havoc for the tourist industry. ESA has been tracking this slimy infestation.

Siberian wildfires

Lake Balaton

Earth from Space

Too hot to handle

Expanding our knowledge of Arctic Ocean bathymetry

Our knowledge of the depth and shape of the Arctic Ocean floor – its bathymetry – is insufficient. Owing to year-round sea-ice coverage and the cost of research in this remote region, much of the Arctic Ocean’s bathymetry has remained a mystery, until now.

Second laser boosts Aeolus power

ESA’s Aeolus satellite, which carries the world’s first space Doppler wind lidar, has been delivering high-quality global measurements of Earth’s wind since it was launched almost a year ago. However, part of the instrument, the laser transmitter, has been slowly losing energy. As a result, ESA decided to switch over to the instrument’s second laser – and the mission is now back on top form.

Monitoring Earth’s skin heat for crops and climate

A bright red twin-engined aircraft, equipped with ultra-high-resolution thermal imaging technology has been scouring the agricultural heartlands of Europe this summer. It was no search and rescue exercise, but an initial step towards building a proposed new satellite system capable of recording the temperature of Earth’s skin in intricate detail.

Palm oil plantations

Earth from Space

Replay: Earth Explorer 9

Apollo 11 launch pad

Earth Explorer 9

Earth Explorer 9

Mount Fuji

Earth from Space

Using satellite information to help rebuild after a disaster

ESA and the Asian Development Bank have joined forces to help the Indonesian government use satellite information to guide the redevelopment following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the provincial capital of Palu and surroundings last year.

Modelling tides in the Arctic Ocean

We are all aware of the ebb and flow of the tide every day, but understanding tidal flow is important for a range of maritime activities and environmental monitoring, such as search and rescue operations, shipping routes and coastal erosion. The Arctic Ocean tides are particularly difficult to understand, but a new tidal model produced using ESA satellite data may shed some light on what is happening in this remote area.

What’s happening to Greenland’s ice?

Heatwave conditions catapulted Greenland into an early Arctic summer in June, prompting widespread melting across its icesheet surface, according to researchers at the Danish Meteorological Institute.

Irminger Sea ice swirl

Earth from Space

Rare lava lake

Join ɸ-week

German wildfire

Surviving the shaker brings better weather forecasting a step closer

With the first in the next generation of Meteosat satellites due to be launched in a couple of years, an important milestone has been passed, further paving the way for better weather forecasts – something on which we all rely.

Gulf of Taranto

Earth from Space

The heat is on

The heat is on

Fire red lines

Brunt on the brink

Raikoke spits ash

Lena River Delta

Earth from Space

Connecting the dots: nitrogen dioxide over Siberian pipelines

New maps that use information from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite reveal emissions of nitrogen dioxide along a Siberian natural gas pipeline that connects the Urengoy gas field – the second-largest gas field in the world – with Europe.

Desert greenery

East Bali

Earth from Space

Mapping our global human footprint

The number of people flocking to cities in search of employment and better prospects is growing at an unprecedented rate. By 2050, the global population is estimated to reach nine billion, 70% of which will be living in urban areas. The World Settlement Footprint 2015 (WSF-2015) is the first map, using mass collections of radar and optical satellite imagery, to provide a global overview of the world’s human settlements.

SMOS joins forces with top weather forecasting system

As of yesterday, 11 June 2019, measurements from ESA’s SMOS mission are being fully integrated into ECMWF’s forecasting system, allowing for a more accurate description of water content in soil.

Antarctic glaciers named after satellites

Dramatic changes in the shape of the Antarctic ice sheet have become emblematic of the climate crisis. And, in deference to the critical role that satellites play in measuring and monitoring Antarctic glaciology, seven areas of fast-flowing ice on the Antarctic Peninsula have been named after Earth observation satellites.

Lake Valencia

Earth from Space

MetOp Second Generation

Snow hits Australia

RACE

Rapid action on coronavirus and EO

Access latest information on the impacts of COVID-19

RACE

RACE

Access latest information on COVID-19 impacts

RACE

RACE

Access latest information on the impacts of COVID-19

Space App Camp

El Salvador

Earth from Space

Snow grain size – it matters

Most of us probably wouldn’t think of describing snow in terms of its grain size. However, grain size is fundamental to the amount of sunlight that snow reflects back into space – its albedo. With both snow and albedo part of the climate system, scientists are applying a novel analytical theory to Copernicus Sentinel-3 data and shedding new light on Greenland’s changing albedo.

TRUTHS: a new potential ESA Earth Watch mission

With ESA’s Space19+ Ministerial Council meeting set for November, a new satellite mission called TRUTHS will be added to the list of missions to be financed in the Earth Observation Earth Watch programme.

Western Pakistan

Earth from Space

Open Days

Vega to take Spain’s SEOSAT–Ingenio into orbit

ESA and Arianespace have signed a contract that secure the SEOSAT–Ingenio Earth observation satellite’s ride into orbit next year on a Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Living Planet highlights

Back to the future

Satellites yield insight into not so permanent permafrost

Ice is without doubt one of the first casualties of climate change, but the effects of our warming world are not only limited to ice melting on Earth’s surface. Ground that has been frozen for thousands of years is also thawing, adding to the climate crisis and causing immediate problems for local communities.

Po Valley

Earth from Space

A quarter of glacier ice in West Antarctica is now unstable

By combining 25 years of ESA satellite data, scientists have discovered that warming ocean waters have caused the ice to thin so rapidly that 24% of the glacier ice in West Antarctica is now affected.

Take a deep breath

The air we breathe

Air pollution is a global environmental health problem, especially for those living in urban areas. Not only does it negatively impact our ecosystems, it considerably affects our health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 8 million premature deaths per year are linked to air pollution, more than double of previous estimates.

Where science meets art

World Space Alliance kicks off

While scientists and data users continue to discuss the latest findings about our changing world and the space technologies that are needed to learn more, this week’s Living Planet Symposium has also been the forum to forge and strengthen alliances. And, today sees the start of a two-year pilot for the ESA–SAP World Space Alliance.

Monitoring Earth’s shifting land

The monitoring of land subsidence is of vital importance for low-lying countries, but also areas which are prone to peculiar ground instability.

3D Earth in the making

A thorough understanding of the ‘solid Earth’ system is essential for deciphering the links between processes occurring deep inside Earth and those occurring nearer the surface that lead to seismic activity such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the rise of mountains and the location of underground natural resources. Thanks to gravity and magnetic data from satellites along with seismology, scientists are on the way to modelling inner Earth in 3D.

Water cycle wrapped

As our climate changes, the availability of freshwater is a growing issue for many people around the world. Understanding the water cycle and how the climate and human usage is causing shifts in natural cycling processes is vital to safeguarding supplies. While numerous satellites measure individual components of the water cycle, it has never been described as a whole over a particular region – until now.

The global thaw

Tug-of-war drives magnetic north sprint

As far as we know, Earth’s magnetic north has always wandered, but it has recently gained new momentum and is making a dash towards Siberia at a pace not seen before. While this has some practical implications, scientists believe that this sprint is being caused by tussling magnetic blobs deep below our feet.

Mapping salty waters

The length and precision with which climate scientists can track the salinity, or saltiness, of the oceans is set to improve dramatically according to researchers working as part of ESA’s Climate Change Initiative.

New potential for tracking severe storms

Even just within the last couple of months, Cyclones Fani, Idai and Kenneth have brought devastation to millions. With the frequency and severity of extreme weather like this expected to increase against the backdrop of climate change, it is more important than ever to forecast and track events accurately. And, an ESA satellite is helping with the task in hand.

Shaped by ice

Jakobshavn Isbrae Glacier bucks the trend

Our planet works in mysterious ways. We are all used to hearing about the world’s ice being the first casualty of climate change and, indeed, it is declining fast. However, recent findings show that one glacier is not conforming to the norm – it’s actually been flowing more slowly and getting thicker.

Joining forces on Earth science to benefit society

With human activity leaving its indelible mark on the landscape and affecting the climate, our natural world is changing faster than at any other time in history. Science is fundamental to understanding environmental change so that these huge challenges can be tackled. To ensure a more efficient approach on Earth-system science and to bring direct benefits to society, ESA and the European Commission are working to join forces.

Spotlight on the pulse of our planet

Satellites deliver crucial information to help solve what is our biggest global problem: climate change. As well as taking the pulse of our planet, satellite data are used in a myriad of daily applications, and are also used increasingly in business. It’s no surprise then that over 4 000 people have flocked to Milan to hear the latest scientific findings on Earth’s natural processes and global change, and to learn about the wealth of new opportunities that Earth observation has to offer.

Surpassing expectations

Living Planet replay

Living Planet replay

Living Planet

Milan

Earth from Space

Living Planet live

Space for climate

Art and climate

Swarm helps explain Earth’s magnetic jerks

Our protective magnetic field is always restless, but every now and then something weird happens – it jerks. Although scientists have known about these rapid shifts for some 40 years, the reason why they occur has remained a frustrating mystery, until now.

Space mission testing

Queensland floods

Earth from Space

Earth from Space

Graffiti exhibition to showcase role of climate from space

Street art and climate science will combine at ESA’s Living Planet Symposium to highlight the major role that satellites play in helping to understand our Earth.

Easter Island

Earth from Space

Call for media

Getting ready to chart sea level

Records show that, on average, global sea level rose by 3.2 mm a year between 1993 and 2018, but hidden within this average is the fact that the rate of rise has been accelerating over the last few years. Taking measurements of the height of the sea surface is essential to monitoring this worrying trend – and the Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission is on the way to being ready to do just this.

English Channel

Earth from Space

Glaciers lose nine trillion tonnes of ice in half a century

When we think of climate change, one of the first things to come to mind is melting polar ice. However, ice loss isn’t just restricted to the polar regions. According to research published today, glaciers around the world have lost well over 9000 gigatonnes (nine trillion tonnes) of ice since 1961, raising sea level by 27 mm.

Breathe easier

Aeolus well on the way to improving forecasts

Assessing the accuracy of data being returned by completely new technology in space is a challenging task. But this is exactly what engineers and scientists have been dedicating their time to over the last months so that measurements of the world’s winds being gathered by Aeolus can be fed confidently into weather forecast models.

Preserving heritage data at ESA

Why is archiving and curating heritage satellite data so fundamentally important? How can heritage data from old satellites be used to compare with current findings?

Earth from Space

Egyptian crop circles

Preserving data

Copernicus Masters 2019 submissions open

The Copernicus Masters 2019 competition is now open for submissions. This international competition awards prizes to innovative solutions, developments and ideas for business and society  that use Copernicus data.

The Bosphorus

Earth from Space

Receding waters

Satellites key to addressing water scarcity

Today is World Water Day, but with millions of people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe struggling to cope in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, the notion of water shortages may not be at the forefront of our minds right now. Even so, floods, like we see here, lead to real problems accessing clean water. Whether the problem is inundation or water scarcity, satellites can help monitor this precious resource.

Lake Chad

Earth from Space

Water for life

Bangkok’s green lung

Land-cover dynamics unveiled

Billions of image pixels recorded by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission have been used to generate a high-resolution map of land-cover dynamics across Earth’s landmasses. This map also depicts the month of the peak of vegetation and gives new insight into land productivity.

Land-cover dynamics unveiled

Billions of image pixels recorded by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission have been used to generate a high-resolution map of land-cover dynamics across Earth’s landmasses. This map also depicts the month of the peak of vegetation and gives new insight into land productivity.

Grande oil spill

Copernicus Sentinel-1 maps floods in wake of Idai

As millions of people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe struggle to cope with the aftermath of what could be the southern hemisphere’s worst storm, Copernicus Sentinel-1 is one of the satellite missions being used to map flooded areas to help relief efforts.