News
Outreach and Training overseas
Outreach and Training overseas, March 13, 2024
The Department of Geography and Planning, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, Canada, invited Ioannis Manakos as a Guest Lecturer to present Advanced Remote Sensing applications; in particular, the "Copernicus Assisted Lake Water Quality Emergency Monitoring Service". You are invited to take part and attend either at the Agriculture Building 1E69 (main floor) or via Zoom on the 13 March 2024 (10:30 - 11:15am GMT-6).
Artificial Intelligence and Earth Observation for hop yield management
Artificial Intelligence in Hop Farming - Greek Scientists Visit Hop farms in Weikenhausen, March 01, 2024
Article in the Pfaffenhofener Kurier (translated from German, as appeared in the regional newspaper in Bavaria, Germany, on March 13 2024).
Schweitenkirchen - Recently, international guests visited the hop farm of Stefan Linseisen in Weikenhausen. The two Greek scientists, Anastasios Delopoulos and Ioannis Manakos, accepted the invitation from Hubert Linseisen, an agricultural consultant from Geroldshausen, to visit the Hallertau region and Weihenstephan. According to the announcement, Delopoulos works at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, while Manakos is at the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), also in Thessaloniki. Manakos obtained his PhD in remote sensing in Weihenstephan and has visited the Hallertau region several times. Together with colleagues and Hubert Linseisen, the scientists presented an article on satellite image analysis and the use of artificial intelligence for hop farming operations at a conference on agricultural informatics in Stuttgart. A special highlight of the subsequent trip was the visit to Stefan Linseisen's hop farm in Weikenhausen, located in the municipality of Schweitenkirchen. Satellite images for the hop gardens with the Herkules, Perle, and Tradition varieties were evaluated for over three years. Assessments show a high potential to provide important information for hop production. On-site visits included touring the hop gardens and the hop farm in Weikenhausen. Additionally, the hop research center in Huell, the German Hop Museum in Wolnzach, and scientific institutions in Weihenstephan were visited.
An additional relevant reference to our work and visit is placed at the 'Bayerisches Landwirtschaftliches Wochenblatt' on 12.04.2024. The title is 'KI soll im Hopfenbau helfen' (engl. : AI should help in hop growing).
EOS UAV services
EOS UAV services, December 08, 2023
EOS Team has developed the capacity of its personnel and hardware with three cutting-edge Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to facilitate its activities in environmental monitoring: đ DJI Mini 3 Pro with 4K camera; đ Anafi AI Parrot with 48Mpx camera and advanced obstacle avoidance, precise navigation, and increased operational range; đ GEO690 with the Micansense RedEdge-P multispectral camera, which enables detailed and accurate data collection for environmental applications.
Complementary of the shelf UAV image analysis software is acquired, i.e. the đ„ïž Pix4DFields Software. Moreover, own software modules are being developed to support research and application targets. Georeferenced mosaics can be generated, where upon environmental changes and trends may be monitored in tandem with timely equivalent cross-scale satellite and/ or in-situ data.
Why Choose EOS Team's Drones for Environmental Monitoring?
- Cutting-edge technology tailored for environmental applications
- Evidence-based monitoring in diverse ecosystems
- Eco-friendly data collection
- In-depth data analysis for tailor-made solutions
- Experienced and specialized personnel
CORDIS showcases WQeMS project results
CORDIS showcases WQeMS project results, November 20, 2023
The results of the Research and Innovation Action (RIA) project Water Quality emergency Monitoring Service (WQeMS) are now accessible on the CORDIS EU website. CORDIS belongs to the Research and Innovation community platform of the European Commission and complements the Funding and Tender Opportunities website.
WQeMS project results are available in six languages: German (DE), English (EN), Spanish (ES), French (FR), Italian (IT), and Polish (PL) to ensure that project research reaches a global audience. Explore the in-depth analyses, innovative methodologies, and practical solutions developed by the WQeMS team. Navigate the CORDIS website to access detailed reports, training courses, and the interactive WQeMS platform.
NextLand project at the European Researchersâ Night in Thessaloniki - Greece
NextLand project at the European Researchersâ Night in Thessaloniki - Greece, September 29, 2023
The NextLand H2020 project, an alliance of Earth observation providers, presented its groundbreaking technology for land management geoservices at the European Researchersâ Night in Thessaloniki (Greece) on September 29, 2023.
WQeMS project at the European Researchersâ Night in Thessaloniki - Greece
WQeMS project at the European Researchersâ Night in Thessaloniki - Greece, September 29, 2023
Results of the WQeMS project were presented at the European Researchersâ Night in Thessaloniki (Greece) on September 29, 2023. WQeMS captured attention for its mission to revolutionize water quality and environmental monitoring, demonstrating its groundbreaking results to an eager audience of local residents, students, and fellow researchers.
WQeMS: Copernicus evolution services become handy for monitoring megastormsâ impact
WQeMS: Copernicus evolution services become handy for monitoring megastormsâ impact, September 10, 2023
EOS team demonstrates high efficiency in registering flood extent between two dates in time. In support of accurate monitoring and mitigation of the aftermath of the tremendous destruction, caused by the âmegastormâ Daniel in Greece, Sentinel-2 spaceborne multispectral imagery was acquired prior the event on August 21 2023, and after the end of the precipitation events on September 10 2023 to map the prevailing inundation regime in the area. The WQeMS Land-Water Transition Zone Change Detection Service registered a substantial flood covering approximately 550 square kilometres in Thessaly region. Further analysis of the data is ongoing to better understand the flood's impact.
DigiRYZi Kick-off Meeting
DigiRYZi Kick-off Meeting, July 11, 2023
The DigiRYZi Kick-off Meeting was held in Sindos, Thessaloniki on 11 July 2023. The project aims to create a guide for agricultural practices that will ensure the protection of biodiversity and the preservation of the ecosystem in the region of Axios Delta. Simultaneously, it will contribute to the promotion of local products by establishing an Environmental Product Declaration Certification, focusing on rice cultivation in the Central Macedonia region, specifically in Sindos.
DIGICOTTON Kick-off Meeting
DIGICOTTON Kick-off Meeting, July 06, 2023
The DIGICOTTON Kick-off Meeting was held in Chrysoupoli, Kavala on 06 July 2023. Within the scope of the project, a guide to agricultural practices and a management system will be developed, focusing on cotton cultivation and will be accessible through a mobile application available on smartphones/tablets for cotton growers. Cotton farmers will be able to monitor and manage their cultivation more effectively, ensuring economic viability and environmental protection.
WQeMS participated in the first webinar of the Water Europe Human Capital Working Group: Train and Develop yourself
WQeMS participated in the first webinar of the Water Europe Human Capital Working Group: Train and Develop yourself, June 28, 2023
The webinar showcased the powerful WQeMS platform, providing valuable insights and an online demonstration with hands-on experience. Moreover, the value of the WQeMS online capacity-building courses was demonstrated, along with the material and suggested training pathways per user and case.
Nextland canopy height service presented to SCERIN colleagues
Nextland canopy height service presented to SCERIN colleagues, June 26-29, 2023
ÎEXTLAND and its services were presented at the SCERIN-10 Workshop on Earth System Observations and 10th Anniversary in Brno, Czechia, on 26th-29th June 2023. Focus was given on the new service developed by CERTH and AUTH about the estimation of canopy height from Sentinel-2 images: âCanopy height estimation from Sentinel-2 time series images using machine learningâ. Details about the workflow and the method were demonstrated. Vivid discussion arose with the audience showing its interest for the service, asking for clarifications about its applicability in various areas and possible limitations.
WQeMS participated at the SCERIN-10 Workshop
WQeMS participated at the SCERIN-10 Workshop on Earth System Observations and 10th Anniversary in Brno, Czech Republic, June 26-29, 2023
Ioannis Manakos delivered an insightful oral presentation titled "WQeMS: A Copernicus assisted water quality monitoring service in support of the water utilities for drinking water production".
Eleftherios Katsikis also delivered an insightful presentation titled: âWater emergent and floating aquatic vegetation mapping using Earth Observation data: An example at the Dniester Delta in Ukraineâ.
AQUACYCLE Project demonstrates Online Irrigation Suggestion Tool at Final Conference
AQUACYCLE Project demonstrates Online Irrigation Suggestion Tool at Final Conference, June 23, 2023
The online Irrigation Suggestion Tool, developed as part of the ENI CBC Med funded AQUACYCLE project, is ready for use. This innovative tool is designed to assist stakeholders in creating optimal action plans for the reuse of treated wastewater, furthering the project's mission of sustainable water management. The tool leverages advanced WebGIS technology, offering a user-friendly interface that empowers users to make informed decisions regarding irrigation strategies.
To showcase this remarkable achievement and other project outcomes, the AQUACYCLE Final Conference is scheduled to take place from June 23rd to 24th, 2023. The conference will provide a platform for experts, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore outcomes of the project in support of their understanding and use of advanced IT and APOC (Anaerobic digestion and Photocatalytic Oxidation of the outflow from Constructed wetlands) technologies for supporting efficient water allocation, reduced waste, and increased agricultural productivity.
WQeMS H2020 project showcases service lines and products at the Water Innovation Europe 2023
WQeMS H2020 project showcases service lines and products at the Water Innovation Europe 2023, June 20, 2023
WQeMS H2020 project will participate as an exhibitor at the Water Innovation Europe 2023 event. This prestigious gathering of industry leaders and innovators will provide a platform for the project to showcase its groundbreaking research and solutions.
As an exhibitor, WQeMS project will have a dedicated booth where attendees can learn more about our research results, cutting-edge technologies, and data-driven approaches. We invite you to visit our booth at Water Innovation Europe 2023 and join us in shaping the future of sustainable water management.
WQeMS H2020 project has also been chosen as a selected candidate for the prestigious Global Water Challenges Award!
Îoannis Manakos presented WQeMS at the GEO organized Open Data/Open Knowledge Workshop in Geneva
Îoannis Manakos presented WQeMS at the GEO organized Open Data/Open Knowledge Workshop in Geneva, June 16, 2023
The Workshop served as an exceptional platform for international collaboration and knowledge exchange, bringing together experts, researchers, and organizations committed to advance the field of IT support in EO data analysis and open distribution to stakeholders.
During this event WQeMS showcased its contribution to the GEOSS Portal, amplifying the accessibility and availability of WQeMS water quality monitoring services. Moreover, WQeMS discussed its position in relation with open data structures towards enhancing the accessibility and availability of water quality information; facilitating the seamless exchange of information across platforms, promoting interoperability and streamlining workflows.
WQeMS Project contributes to the development of Tarkka+ latest version
WQeMS Project contributes to the development of Tarkka+ latest version, June 08, 2023
The WQeMS project has participated in the development of the latest version of Tarkka+. Tarkka+ is a free and open service operated by SYKE (Finnish Environment Institute) and it is used to publish various EO based materials together with in situ, GIS and model data. The 1st version of the service was published in June 2017 and it has been continuously updated in various projects since then. As part of its role, WQeMS has focused on providing quality-controlled data from the pilot area of Pien-Saimaa, located adjacent to the city of Lappeenranta.
Highlighting the significance of the development work, an information and publication event about Tarkka+ was recently held on June 8 for the Finnish regional environmental authorities, working at the ELY centres. These authorities utilize the information provided by Tarkka+ for vital tasks such as algal bloom monitoring, directive reporting, and other environmental monitoring purposes. During the event, the WQeMS project's role within the broader development framework was presented.
The WQeMS project has been presented at the WATERVERSE projectâs stakeholdersâ workshop in Limassol, Cyprus
The WQeMS project has been presented at the WATERVERSE projectâs stakeholdersâ workshop in Limassol, Cyprus, June 02, 2023
The WQeMS project has been presented in the workshop organized by the Water Board of Limassol in Cyprus, in the framework of the WATERVERSE project. The event was dedicated to the water data spaces, and offered an excellent platform for the local stakeholers to discuss the importance of the data interoperability in modern water systems' operation. The capabilities and the potential of WQeMS as a powerful integrated tool in the utilities' decision support systems, were showcased by our partner, PHOEBE Research and Innovation Ltd (PHOEBE). Specifically, leveraging the expertise and insights gained from WQeMS, PHOEBE highlighted the significance of incorporating remote sensing based water quality monitoring and management into broader data spaces, enabling more informed decision-making processes.
WQeMS and NextLand Poster presentations at SVC Summit 2023 in Portugal
WQeMS and NextLand Poster presentations at SVC Summit 2023 in Portugal, May 25, 2023
The SVC Summit 2023 held in NOVA SBE, Carcavelos, Portugal witnessed the presentation of two posters by the WQeMS and NextLand projects. As part of the renowned event, the posters showcased the pioneering research and technological advancements in water quality and forest management.
EOS team at the annual EOTiST meeting
EOS team at the annual EOTiST meeting, May 18, 2023
The EOTiST annual meeting took place in Warsaw on May 16-18, 2023. The meeting sessions included among others:
- On site training for new EU proposals submission
- Workshop about "Time series in service of ecosystem monitoring"
- Information Day about "Training for scientific career planning"
- Business Day in relation with the transfer or research results to the market
MDPI Special Issue "Sentinel Analysis Ready Data (Sentinel ARD)"
MDPI Special Issue "Sentinel Analysis Ready Data (Sentinel ARD)", May 18, 2023
The MDPI Special Issue "Sentinel Analysis Ready Data (Sentinel ARD)" is completed and open to the public. Ioannis Manakos, being guest co-editor, wishes to thank authors for their contributions and his co-editors for the collaboration. This special issue belongs to the section "Satellite Missions for Earth and Planetary Exploration" and is consequently aiming to cover the most recent advances in Analysis Ready Data (ARD) developments and implementations for Sentinel data, to support community consensus on Sentinel ARD.
EOS Team participation at CERTH's Open Day Event
EOS Team participation at CERTH's Open Day Event, May 12, 2023
EOS team actively participated in the highly anticipated Open Day event organized by the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH). The event, held on May 12, 2023, welcomed visitors of all ages to explore the cutting-edge activities and research projects undertaken by numerous research teams from the Informatics and Technology Institute. During the event, the EOS team showcased its main activities and research projects to the attendees and successfully bridged the gap between complex concepts and everyday life, making its work accessible and engaging for visitors of all backgrounds.
Medwaycap First Newsletter
Medwaycap First Newsletter, May 03, 2023
MEDWAYCAP project responds to the challenges of climate change impact on water resources through the promotion of best practices on treated wastewater reuse as non-conventional water resource (NCWR) thus strongly contributing to local water shortage mitigation.
Best Paper Award for EOS team members
Best Paper Award for EOS team members, April 27, 2023
The conference paper "Identification of Emergent and Floating Aquatic Vegetation Using an Unsupervised Thresholding Approach: A Case Study of the Dniester Delta in Ukraine" by I. Manakos, E. Katsikis, S. Medinets, Y. Gazyetov, L. Alagialoglou and V. Medinets, led by EOS team members, has been awarded the best paper award during the 9th International Conference on Geographical Information Systems Theory, Applications and Management.
Ioannis Manakos at the GISTAM 2023
Ioannis Manakos at the GISTAM 2023, April 27, 2023
Ioannis Manakos participated in the GISTAM 2023 and presented the "Identification of Emergent and Floating Aquatic Vegetation Using an Unsupervised Thresholding Approach: A Case Study of the Dniester Delta in Ukraine" at the session "Spatio-Temporal Data Acquisition".
Ioannis Manakos at the e-shape Final General Assembly
Ioannis Manakos at the e-shape Final General Assembly, April 25, 2023
Ioannis Manakos participated in the e-shape Final General Assembly and presented the "Harnessing the power of communication: Testimonial from mySpace pilot", especially about "Inundation mapping in service of habitat change monitoring", at the session e-shape objective O5: "Increase uptake by raising awareness on the solutions developed through tailored and well targeted communication, dissemination and outreach activities".
WQeMS Local Meeting
WQeMS Local Meeting, April 06, 2023
WQeMS meeting in Cyprus with local stakeholders at the offices of the Water Development Department of Nicosia.
WQeMS Local Meeting
WQeMS Local Meeting, April 06, 2023
WQeMS meeting in Cyprus with local stakeholders at the offices of the Water Board of Limassol.
WQeMS General Assembly meeting
WQeMS General Assembly meeting, April 04, 2023
The Hybrid meeting was organised in parallel to the RSCy2023 Conference on April 4th 2023. Location: Cyprus, Ayia Napa.
WQeMS at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment
WQeMS at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment, April 04, 2023
G. Scarpino, M. Matera, G. Milis, P. Bauer, I. Manakos, 2023. The WQeMS platform for inland surface water bodies' monitoring: serving user communities and supporting experts' analyses, 04, April.
WQeMS at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment
WQeMS at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment, April 04, 2023
G. Milis, A. Nicolaou, M. Matera, I. Serral, K. Sampsa, A. Kita, A. Bozas, K. Vlachos, I. Manakos, 2023. Capacity building for professionals towards the application of remote sensing in the monitoring of inland water sources, 04, April.
WQeMS at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment
WQeMS at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment, April 04, 2023
I.Serral, J. MasĂł, I. Manakos, M. Matera, M. Basile, N. JuliĂ , 2023. Harmonized and fair lake water quality datasets for a better policy decision making, 04, April.
WQeMS at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment
WQeMS at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment, April 04, 2023
I.Manakos, A. Kita, S. Papadopoulou, I. Lioumpas, M. Katsiapi, E. Katsikis, L. Alagialoglou, A. Christodoulou, 2023. Land water transition zone mapping challenges in dynamically changing environments, 04, April.
e-shape at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment
e-shape at the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing & Geoinformation of Environment, April 04, 2023
On the 4th of April, 2023 our e-shape partner Ioannis Manakos (CERTH) presented in the Ninth International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of Environment in Cyprus, Ayia Napa an invited keynote speech entitled âInundation mapping in service of land cover evidence-based change monitoringâ.
Capacity Building with WQeMS: a series of training modules and learning pathways
Capacity Building with WQeMS: a series of training modules and learning pathways, March 21, 2023
The training platform of WQeMS is launched. It can be used by stakeholders for effective training and capacity building to enhance understanding about projects services, outputs and solutions. A set of five training pathways have been identified about the ways the training can be offered, through scenarios, planning of pilots, as well as assessment options and feedback collection mechanisms to record the training results. The complete WQeMS Curriculum (training modules and programme) is provided in https://training.wqems.eu/ and can be used by experts/trainers beyond the project lifetime for the implementation of the defined training pathways.
The EOS team at the Water Market Europe event!
Production of the Water We Drink supported by WQeMS: A Copernicus Assisted Water Quality Monitoring Service, March 21, 2023
WQeMS provides an operational Water Quality Emergency Monitoring Service to the water utilities industry in relation with the quality of the âwater we drinkâ. Exploiting Sentinel data (and in cases Very High Resolution data), it provides quality monitoring of open surface water reservoirs valorized for the delivery of drinking water at a fine spatial resolution. It focuses on slow and fast developing phenomena by offering Continuous Monitoring for a specified area; Alert Notifications in case some water quality parameter thresholds values are exceeded and in case water related issues are detected through social media; and On-demand Mapping with one-off geospatial maps of a selected area at a requested date. Service components comprise of Harmful Algal Bloom detection, Water Quality Features Changes monitoring, Extreme events detection and Land Water transition zone mapping; accompanied by horizontally offered auxiliary tools, such as crowdsourcing dashboard and capacity building. The platform, the services, the products and the user interface are presented, while exploitation opportunities are discussed.
The WQeMS - ONDA catalogue Demo has been published on ONDA marketplace
The WQeMS - ONDA catalogue Demo has been published on ONDA marketplace, February 09, 2023
The âWater Quality emergency Monitoring Serviceâ (WQeMS) platform is almost ready to be launched. It is the outcome of the European H2020 WQeMS Project, whose activities will be completed by the end of June 2023.
The WQeMS platform has been developed on ONDA cloud machines, and exploits the ONDA DIAS infrastructure for accessing Copernicus products, as well as other DIAS used in some already service elements, which have been adapted to the WQeMS platform.
Practical School with WQeMS for Professionnals
Practical School with WQeMS for Professionnals, December 16, 2022
A Practical School with WQeMS for Professionnals was held on December 2022 aiming to provide a guided hands-on tour for the demonstration of the Water Quality Emergency Monitoring Service (WQeMS) Platform. It was intended to serve water utilitiesâ industry leveraging on the Copernicus products and services. After the success of the 1st Practical School for professionals, a second one is planned for February 2023.
PONTOS Final Video
PONTOS Final Video, December 13, 2022
The PONTOS Final Video released on YouTube platform. The video aims to inform the public about the PONTOS project activities, the partners and the pilot sites. It is available in English version and translated in Armenian, Georgian, Greek, Ukranian languages.
The WQeMS project presented two posters in the EuroGEO workshop
The WQeMS project presented two posters in the EuroGEO workshop, December 07-09, 2022
- âA Copernicus evolution service component towards monitoring of the open surface water reservoirs for the production of the Water We Drinkâ - Ioannis Manakos (CERTH)
- âClosing the gap in Water Quality datasets for Copernicus Services. The WQeMS solution for harmonized and FAIR productâ- Ivette Serral (CREAF)
Oral presentation at the EuroGEO workshop
Oral presentation at the EuroGEO workshop, December 08, 2022
Ioannis Manakos (CERTH) presented the "WQeMS: a Copernicus assisted monitoring platform for the water we drink in Athens" to the Parallel Sessions: Pathways to sustainable development through use cases in the Athens metropolis.
The WQeMS project was represented in the Ecosystems and Biodiversity Action Group
The WQeMS project was represented in the Ecosystems and Biodiversity Action Group, December 07, 2022
The discussion took place as a parallel session of the EuroGEO workshop on 7th December. Its Goal was to discuss common activities onecosystems and biodiversity, using remote sensing and field observations, blending models and data,thinking of Digital Twins, addressing geospherebiosphere interactions, the interplay of geodiversity and biodiversity, biotic and abiotic ecosystem services, land surface and coastal processes, and cross-scale interactions. With the possible goal of supporting/restarting the activities of GEO ECO. Ioannis Manakos (CERTH) presented the âCopernicus assisted mapping for seasonal inundation monitoringâ.
WQeMS in the Copernicus Academy Monthly Videoconference
WQeMS in Copernicus Academy Monthly Videoconference, December 07, 2022
WQeMS presented âThe WQeMS project, a Copernicus assisted monitoring platform for the water we drinkâ, and demonstrated the functionality of the WQeMS service platform in detail. Presentation by Marco Matera (ENG).
2nd WQeMS General Assembly Meeting
2nd WQeMS General Assembly Meeting, November 29 - December 2, 2022
Young researchers & technical meeting. SERCO welcomed its Partners & the Advisory Board Members of WQeMS for the second hybrid meeting!
Grow your gains with the NEXTLAND online store
Grow your gains with the NEXTLAND online store, November, 2022
NextLand offers a large variety of high-quality satellite-based earth observation services from leading European service providers.
NextLand will offer these services via a brand new online store which will be released in November 2022.
Join our webinars and be the first to discover the NextLand online store to easily access single or bundled EO services for agriculture and forestry.
- Release of the NextLand online store, 8 and 15 November 2022
- How to connect to support agricultural and forestry management, 22 and 29 November 2022
WQeMS in the SnapEarth's Final Conference
WQeMS in the SnapEarth's Final Conference, November 28, 2022
WQeMS contributed with an oral presentation "Observing potentially harmful algal blooms on waterbodies from space". - Presenter: Philipp Bauer, Data Analyst & Commercial Lead, (EOMAP).
WebGIS Irrigation Decision Support Tool
WebGIS Irrigation Decision Support Tool, November 17, 2022
CERTH team developed The âWebGIS Irrigation Decision Support Toolâ, an on-line GIS based tool allowing end-users (i.e., local authorities, stakeholders, decision- and policy-makers etc.) to apply custom filtering criteria related to irrigation, to a stack of raster data layers and produce a binary .tif layer containing the area that satisfies those criteria. The final output can be accessed through http://web-gis-irrigation.iti.gr/ and serves three pilot areas in Spain, Tunisia and Lebanon. This is an output of the activities within AQUACYCLE ENI CBC MED project.
EOTiST: Earth Observation Training in Science and Technology
EOTiST: Earth Observation Training in Science and Technology, 07-10 November, 2022
CERTH participated in multiple events that took place in the framework of EOTiST in Warsaw from 07-10 November 2022. These were:
- the annual meeting and General Assembly of the project;
- Information Day I, wherein hands on practice was provided about the analysis of i) analysis of vegetation dynamics based on climate drivers (droughts), ii) inundation mapping, and iii) wildland fires modelling;
- Information Day II, wherein i) EuroGEO and Copernicus with the Hackathons' experience were presented, ii) existing EU startup accelerator programs were discussed (e.g. within the Green Deal EIC and various ESA, JRC, Bank tenders), and iii) CBK PAN' mentees guidance were provided on the way to find funding for their research goals and career (e.g. Marie SkĆodowska-Curie funding Actions, ERC grants);
- Exploratory Visit IIb for the assessment of the progress achieved, the needs emerged, planing ahead, and the engagement of the CBK PAN in new EU calls for funding;
- and numerous mentoring (research lines) meetings with colleagues from CBK PAN and the consortium.
NASA LCLUC Science Team Meeting & Silver Jubilee Celebration
NASA LCLUC Science Team Meeting & Silver Jubilee Celebration, 18-20 October, 2022
Dr. Ioannis Manakos participated in NASA LCLUC NASA LCLUC Annual Science Team Meeting and Silver Jubilee Celebration (10/18/2022 to 10/20/2022), and gave a presentation about âAn Overview of European Research Directions in Land-Use Scienceâ and a flash talk/ poster about âLand cover and land use products in service of agriculture and ecosystem monitoring EuroGEO showcasesâ.
PONTOS Final Conference
PONTOS Final Conference, 12 October, 2022
The aim of the conference is to summarize the work done by the project partners regionally, the problems addressed and the impact, share the experience with the stakeholders. The Conference brings together all the project partners from four countries as well as the Armenian stakeholders including local and national public authorities, academic and research institutions, NGOs, etc.
WQeMS Young Researchers & Technical Meeting in Helsinki
WQeMS Young Researchers & Technical Meeting in Helsinki, September 27-29, 2022
Within the Young Researchers framework of the Horizon 2020 funded project âWater Quality Emergency Monitoring Serviceâ (WQeMS), a three-days meeting, from 27th to 29th of September 2022, was conducted in Helsinki, Finland coordinated by the Finnish environmental institute Syke. The first day was dedicated to young researchersâ current work. New ideas emerged on the topics related to WQeMS research lines and fruitful discussion conducted between the young scientists, the advisory board members and the members of the consortium who participated in person or remotely. The second day, a field trip to Lappeenranta took place. The first visit was to the Huhtiniemi drinking water purification plant of Lappeenrannan Energia Oy (a company fully owned by the City of Lappeenranta). Afterwards, the participants went aboard a small ship to visit the automated measurement platform located near the water intake of the purification plant. During the last day, on September 29th, a technical meeting was held as well as final comments, further ideas and future steps regarding the research lines were presented.
Water extent mapping for wetland monitoring, e-shape success stories
Water extent mapping for wetland monitoring, e-shape success stories, September 26, 2022
WaterMasks inundation mapping service, developed by CERTH's Earth Observation team, utilizes Sentinel-2 multispectral images for the creation of highly accurate inundation maps.
EOS team at 41st EARSeL Symposium
EOS team at 41st EARSeL Symposium, September 13-16, 2022
The 41st European Association Remote Sensing of Laboratories (EARSeL) Symposium was held in Paphos, Cyprus from 13th to 16th of September 2022. EOS team participated with oral presentations representing two European Horizon 2020 funded projects: âWater Quality Emergency Monitoring Serviceâ (WQeMS) and âNext Generation Land Management services for Agriculture and Forestryâ, (NextLand). The research conducted within WQeMS project for the italian pilot case of Giaretta Lake and Brenta river was presented on Wednesday 14th with the topic âAdaptability of Inundation Mapping in Service of the Water Utilities: the Case of Giaretta Lake and Brenta Riverâ while NextLandÂŽs presentation on Thursday 15th summarized the projectsâ applications on forest and agricultural domain and presented the online store which is expected to be released on November 2022.
A globally relevant change taxonomy and evidence-based change framework for land monitoring
A globally relevant change taxonomy and evidence-based change framework for land monitoring, September 01, 2022
New universal language for land changes could explain ecosystem loss. Aberystwyth University scientists have jointly developed a universal language to describe the changing world, which could help uncover what is causing ecosystem loss and environmental degradation. The Global Change Taxonomy, a project involving researchers from countries including Australia, Italy and Greece in addition to Wales, attempts to unify the different ways of describing land cover change from local areas to globally, and over varying periods of time.
Publication in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing ( Early Access )
Publication in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing ( Early Access ), May 04, 2022
L. Alagialoglou, I. Manakos, M. Heurich, J. Cervenka, A. Delopoulos, A learnable model with calibrated uncertainty quantification for estimating canopy height from spaceborne sequential imagery, 2022, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, DOI: 10.1109/TGRS.2022.3171407
Workshop on âSatellite Applications: From the Black Sea to the North Aegean Seaâ in Greece
Workshop on âSatellite Applications: From the Black Sea to the North Aegean Seaâ in Greece, March 11, 2022
Within the framework of the EU-funded âCopernicus Assisted Environmental Monitoring Across the Black Sea Basin â PONTOSâ project, the Joint Open Workshop âSatellite Applications: From the Black Sea to the North Aegean Seaâ was held on March 11, 2022 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The event was organized by the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) with the overall aim to inform the Public and the Authorities of Central Macedonia about PONTOS contribution in Environmental Remote Monitoring and the benefits from the data provided.
PONTOS - Joint Open Workshop
PONTOS - Joint Open Workshop, March 11, 2022
The Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), as a partner of the PONTOS project, conducts a Joint Open Workshop on March 11, 2022, at the Mediterranean Palace Hotel in Thessaloniki. The Workshop will be focused on topics related to the Earth Observation with the help of the Copernicus programme through the PONTOS project for the Black Sea and the North Aegean Sea and will be implemented with the participation of Entitiesâ representatives from the local and regional government, public administration, civil society, universities, research centres, media and the society of entrepreneurs.
SnapEarth First International Development Workshop
SnapEarth First International Development Workshop, January 25, 2022
The SnapEarth Consortium would like to invite you to the First International Development Workshop on January 25th (virtual meeting).
SnapEarth (https://snapearth.eu/) is an innovative project financed by the European Commission and run by a consortium consisting of CS GROUP, CERTH, Qwant, IsardSAT, Middle East Technical University (METU) and Absiskey Polska. SnapEarth is a EU H2020-funded project that to facilitate access to Earth Observation data from the general public thanks to EO data labelling and indexation innovations and access from the Qwant search engine. The SnapEarth project aims to bring out new values ââthrough large-scale earth observation data services and to anticipate future priorities by leveraging artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies and tools.
The aim of the workshop is to present preliminary versions of the developed services in the project and receive valuable feedback. We will be delighted if you take part in our First International Development Workshop.
More information, agenda and the registration form can be found in the information button.
MEDWAYCAP project launched
MEDWAYCAP project launched, January 18, 2022
AQUACYCLE, MENAWARA, MEDISS, NAWAMED, PROSIM and MAIATAQA projects launched the new MEDWAYCAP project to jointly supply solutions and methodologies contributing to the water shortage challenges at Mediterranean level.
Partner organizations from Greece, Italy, Egypt, Malta, Tunisia, Palestine and Jordan, and many relevant stakeholders at National level together in Thessaloniki for the launching event of the project.
EarthPress - Earth Observation data and Artificial Intelligence in support of Journalism
EarthPress - Earth Observation data and Artificial Intelligence in support of Journalism, January 14, 2022
Copernicus data are becoming tremendous in volume & quality. Copernicus services are focusing on professional services, like the Emergency Management Service focusing on providing information on major events to the rescue and security forces. In order to increase awareness of the Copernicus services to the EU citizens, there is a need to provide added value data to the Media Industry, rendering them to major demonstrators of the success of Copernicus to the citizens.
In this direction, the impact of the SnapEarth project will be enhanced through services for combinatorial EO data retrieval, data correlation between EO and news information will be developed.
In particular, the EarthPress pilot aims to tackle these issues by delivering value-added products to editors & journalists allowing them to enrich content of their publications & articles. These contents, tailored to specific user needs, will be notably based on EO data (e.g. disaster extent maps, background imagery, aggregated information from social media, blogs & websites, etc.) on a certain topic.
SnapEarth platform promotional video
SnapEarth platform promotional video, January 14, 2022
The SnapEarth platform promotional video is out. SnapEarth is a EU H2020-funded project that aims to facilitate access to Earth Observation data from the general public thanks to EO data labelling and indexation innovations and access from the Qwant search engine. The SnapEarth project aims to bring out new values through large-scale earth observation data services and to anticipate future priorities by leveraging artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies and tools.
SnapEarth users and service providers will benefit in a transparent way from the processing platforms and data collections provided not only by future C -DIAS but also any cloud computing service provider. This cloud brokerage solution provides an efficient, cost-effective environment while also protecting investment in future third parties developing their own services.
PONTOS third newsletter released
PONTOS third newsletter released, December 29, 2021
The third newsletter of the PONTOSâ research project is out! The newsletter is available in five languages - English, Greek, Armenian, Georgian, and Ukrainian.
MEDWAYCAP Kick â off Meeting
MEDWAYCAP Kick â off Meeting, December 17, 2021
The MEDWAYCAP Kick â off Meeting was held at the Mediterranean Palace Hotel of Thessaloniki on 16 â 17 December 2021. MEDWAYCAP âThe MEDiterranean pathWAY for innovation CAPitalisation toward an urban-rural integrated development of non-conventional water resources' is a strategic project in the framework of ENI CBC Sea Basin 2014-2020. It aims to challenge the paradigm in non-conventional water reuse and management in the Mediterranean region through the promotion of sustainable strategies and technological innovations.
ESA - Sentinel Success Stories
ESA - Sentinel Success Stories, December 16, 2021
New dissemination article published in ESA - Sentinel Success Stories on "Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data help create inundation maps". This study has been partially funded and supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Innovation Action program under Grant Agreement No. 820852, e-shape. It is compiled by Michail Sismanis and Ioannis Manakos (Centre for Research and Technology Hellas - CERTH, GR).
PONTOS project on Armenian public TV
PONTOS project on Armenian puplic TV, December 09, 2021
PONTOS project was presented through the Armenian 1st public TV by Aghavni Harutyunyan (project manager). Furthermore, PONTOS Data Cube application and its functionalities was introduced to the viewers.
AQUACYCLE e-training platform
AQUACYCLE e-training platform, December 03, 2021
CERTH/ ITI team (Christos Kalogeropoulos, Rizos-Theodoros Chadoulis, Ioannis Manakos) cooperated closely with the CERTH/ CPERI team (Konstantinos Plakas, Vasileios Chatzis) within AQUACYCLE project and produced the AQUACYCLE e-training platform. The platform is built utilizing Angular functionalities in a responsive design. Latter incorporates tools and technologies, so that everyone can use them (including people with disabilities). Users can interact both with the platform administrators and with other users, get familiarized with the equations, and explore the available bibliography. AQUACYCLE project is implemented in the context of ENI CBC MED program (funded by the European Union), belonging in the thematic area "Environmental protection, climate change adaptation and mitigation", under "Water efficiency".
OBSERVER: The Copernicus Emergency Management Service Week 2021
OBSERVER: The Copernicus Emergency Management Service Week 2021, December 02, 2021
New article published in Copernicus news about the Annual User Workshop of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) week which was conducted the week of 25-29 October, 2021. The Water Quality Emergency Monitoring Service (WQeMS) project is referred as one of the most promising technological innovations discussed by the panel stem from the EUâs Horizon 2020 projects.
WQeMS project at GEO Week 2021
WQeMS project at GEO Week 2021, November 26, 2021
I. Manakos, speaker at the GEO Week 2021 in the session âA water quality emergency monitoring service evolution and the generation of a roadmap for future Copernicus water services: WQeMS meets Water-ForCEâ
This session discussed:
- The evolution of Copernicus Services towards a targeted add-on to the EMS for Water Quality Emergency Monitoring for open surface water reservoirs used for the production of drinking water by the water utilities industry; addressed by the WQeMS RIA H2020 project.
- A Roadmap for future Copernicus water services as being developed by the Water-ForCE H2020 CSA project. It will provide a user driven concept by assessing the needs/opportunities of the current and future capabilities of satellite and in situ sensors, and addressing the disconnects between remote sensing, in situ observations and modelling communities.
SnapEarth project at GEO Week 2021
SnapEarth project at GEO Week 2021, November 23, 2021
A. Drosou speaker at the GEO Week 2021 in the session âFostering Earth Observation (EO) market uptake thanks to natural and holistic access to added value data generated through cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence technologies (SnapEarth)â
This sessionâs scope is to present the SnapEarth EU H2020-funded project that aims to facilitate access to EO data and bring out new values through large-scale EO data services. This session will present the components of the SnapEarth project, conceptually, that:
- provide satellite images based on text queries (integrated with Qwantâs search engine)
- support climate and agricultural monitoring activities
- provide suggestions for deployment of EO applications
Presentation of Diploma Thesis of Afroditi Kita
Presentation of Diploma Thesis of Afroditi Kita, November 12, 2021
The diploma thesis âAtmospheric correction of Sentinel-2 images using deep learning techniquesâ, supervised by Professor Anastasios Delopoulos and Principal Researcher Ioannis Manakos, was presented on November 12th by Ms. Afroditi Kita. It concerns research conducted at the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in cooperation with the Information ΀echnology Institute of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas. Using field data, collected by the members of the Earth Observation Services team, Christos Kalogeropoulos and Argyrios Stergioudis, Convolutional Neural Networks were trained to learn to retrieve the atmospherically corrected surface reflectance from Sentinel-2 data. The thesis and its presentation were of very high quality deserving the unanimous 10/10 of the evaluation committee of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, AUTH.
ESA - Sentinel Success Stories
ESA - Sentinel Success Stories, November 09, 2021
New dissemination article published in ESA - Sentinel Success Stories on "Canopy height estimation from spaceborne imagery using convolutional encoder-decoder". The article is based on Alagialoglou et al. (2021) and compiled by Rizos-Theodoros Chadoulis and Ioannis Manakos (Centre for Research and Technology Hellas - CERTH, GR). Please find also the tweet from ESA here.
Online Workshop
Online Workshop, October 26, 2021
Topic: How Copernicus helps Europe's regions to support biodiversity and environmental protection.
CEMS Week 2021
CEMS Week 2021, October 25, 2021
The Copernicus Emergency Management Service virtual annual workshop will be conducted from 2021-10-25 to 2021-10-29. CEMS Week will feature experts, users and policy makers in a discussion about the future of our service and user community. CERTH presented the WQeMS project the first day of the workshop.
PONTOS' first set of training sessions in Greece
PONTOS' first set of training sessions in Greece, October 14, 2021
The Information Technology Institute of CERTH in cooperation with Democritus University of Thrace organized and conducted the first set of training sessions in the context of the project "Copernicus assisted environmental monitoring across the Black Sea Basin â PONTOS". The main topics were:
- Management and analysis of Earth Observation data
- Coastal erosion assessment, monitoring of the eutrophication in lagoons and the improvement of the water use in agriculture
- The Copernicus Earth Observation program and its services
- ΀he integration and utilization of the Copernicus products by the project PONTOS
WQeMS Online Workshop
WQeMS Online Workshop, September 15, 2021
Topic: Invitation to a brain storming Workshop about the assimilation of Copernicus products and services into the production of drinking water âWater We Drink v1.0â. The Workshop will provide a forum for stakeholders to exchange experiences, best practices and ideas related to production, distribution and use of drinking water. It will be an online event and will take place at 9:30 (CEST).
WQeMS Press Release
WQeMS Press Release, August 16, 2021
Topic: Invitation to a brain storming workshop about the assimilation of Copernicus products and services into the production of drinking water âWater We Drink v1.0â. The workshop will be conducted online on September 15, 2021.
WQeMS Newsletter I released
WQeMS Newsletter I released, August 16, 2021
The first newsletter of the WQeMS research project is out! It presents the main objectives of the project, the partners and the pilot areas profile.
Proximal sensing measurements in wheat plantations by the EOS team
Members of the EOS team, Christos Kalogeropoulos and Argyrios Stergioudis, performed proximal sensing measurements in wheat plantations, in the wider area of Epanomi, close to Thessaloniki (GR), by utilizing drone and hyperspectral imaging system. The measurements were carried out from April to June 2021 for the needs of a new research line of the EOS team.
PONTOS' brainstorming event in Greece
PONTOS' brainstorming event in Greece, May 26, 2021
The Information Technology Institute of CERTH in cooperation with Democritus University of Thrace organized and conducted an online brainstorming event in the context of the project "Copernicus assisted environmental monitoring across the Black Sea Basin â PONTOS". The main purposes were to:
- Introduce PONTOS project and its goals
- Present Copernicus Earth Observation program
- Collect the needs of stakeholders in order to incorporate them into the tasks that will be followed
Open Internship Offers
Open Internship offers at CERTH / ITI, May 18, 2021
The Information Technology Institute of CERTH offers internship opportunities in the subject of "Analysis of satellite images for information extraction aiming to natural resources management" in the context of research projects. The main objective will be the analysis of satellite images and radar data using Python programming language and specialized libraries.
EOS team @ the EARSeL Joint Workshop 2021
EOS team @ the EARSeL Joint Workshop 2021 "Earth Observation for sustainable cities and communities", April 1, 2021
Argyrios Stergioudis presented the EOS team's relevant work on the "Assessment of Texture Featuresâ Contribution in Discriminating Natural Bare Areas vs. Artificially Covered Ones: Chania Case Study" at the EARSeL Joint Workshop 2021 "Earth Observation for sustainable cities and communities", March 30 - April 1 2021.
You may find the extended abstract on pages 126 and 127 of the Abstract Book and cite our work as follows:
I. Manakos, A. Ledawi, A. Stergioudis, C. Kalaitzidis, Assessment of Texture Featuresâ
Contribution in Discriminating Natural Bare Areas vs. Artificially Covered Ones: Chania Case Study, Proceedings
of the EARSeL Joint Workshop 2021 "EO for sustainable cities and communities", March 30 - April 1 2021, Liege, Belgium, pp. 126-127.
WQeMSâ website is online
WQeMSâ website is online, April 1, 2021
The WQeMSâ website aims to reach a wider audience and especially end users and other stakeholders, through the provision of dynamic information, such as news about forthcoming and completed project activities, and events; multimedia material, such as project presentations, videos from events and pilot testing; social media streaming information related to WQeMS activities and online mentions.
The WQeMSâ website has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme (Research and Innovation Action) Grant agreement: 101004157
EARSeL Joint Workshop 2021 - New date!
Earth Observation for sustainable cities and communities, March 30 â April 1, 2021 LIEGE - BELGIUM.
This event is a combination of:
- 4th joint EARSeL LULC & NASA LCLUC Workshop
- 6th EARSe Joint Workshop Urban Remote Sensing
- 1st EARSeL Remote Sensing For UN Sustainable Development Goals Workshop
* If the sanitary and/or travel conditions are not satisfactory at the end of next winter the joint workshop might become a 100% virtual event!
Online Interdisciplinary Workshop
Interdisciplinary workshop on Big Data & Earth Observation services for journalists, March 18, 2021.
This online workshop is Co-organised by Center of Research & Technology Hellas and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The main purpose is to intoduce the project SnapEarth, to present its goals and recieve feedback from the participants regarding the optimization of the proposed solutions.
PONTOS Newsletter released
PONTOS Newsletter Released, February 8, 2021.
The first newsletter of the PONTOSâ research project is out! It presents the pilot areas profile as well as the main points concerning the Shoreline Change Methodology Training and the training for the AquaCrop Model.
WQeMS Kick-off meeting
The WQeMS project 'Copernicus Assisted Lake Water Quality Emergency Monitoring Service' was launched at the kick-off meeting on 18, 19 and 20 of January 2021 and brings together 11 partners from countries across Europe: Greece (Lead Beneficiary), Spain, Germany, Italy, Finland and Cyprus.
The overall objectives of WQeMS:
- Provide an open surface Water Quality Emergency Monitoring Service to the water utilitiesâ industry leveraging on the Copernicus products and services;
- Optimize the use of resources by gaining access to frequently acquired, wide covering and locally accurate water-status information;
- Citizens will gain a deeper insight and confidence for selected key quality elements of the âwater we drinkâ, while enjoying a friendlier environmental footprint from a more intelligent production process.
WQeMS is funded under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme (Research and Innovation Action) Grant agreement: 101004157
E-shape @ Kerkini Lake Protected Area Authority
Dr. I. Manakos and his colleagues from the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas with the support of MAICh and the Management Body of Kerkini Lake organized a web meeting, within the framework of the e-Shape H2020 IA project, to discuss the progress and the key outcomes of the Earth Observation spaceborne water quality monitoring in Lake Kerkini.
The E-SHAPE project is funded and supported by the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 820852.
Copernicus assisted services for forest management (NextLand Showcase)
On 16 October 2020 Dr. Ioannis Manakos, Principal Researcher at the Centre of Research and Technology Hellas, was invited to present online at the 9th International Symposium on Forest and Sustainable Development, the âCopernicus assisted services for forest managementâ within the H2020 NextLand project.
EOTiST Kick-off meeting
The EOTiST project âEarth Observation Training in Science and Technology at the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciencesâ was launched at the kick-off meeting on October 6, 2020 and brings together 4 partners from countries across Europe: Poland (Lead Beneficiary), Greece, Spain and Italy.
The general aim of the project is to enhance the S&T capacity of the CBK PAN and to achieve excellence in research of EO productsâ assimilation in the ecosystem assessment and monitoring. The goal will be reached by establishing close collaboration with three EU research Centres of Excellence: CERTH, CREAF, CNR.
EOTiST is funded under the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Programme (Research and Innovation Action) | Grant agreement: 952111
Black Sea Project, PONTOS, launched
On July 22, 2020, the American University of Armenia (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment in collaboration with partners from Armenia, Georgia, Greece, and Ukraine publicly launched the 30-month Copernicus Assisted Environmental Monitoring Across the Black Sea Basin project, also known as PONTOS. The 1 million euro project, funded mainly by the European Unionâs ENI Cross-Border Cooperation Black Sea Basin Programme 2014-2020, commenced on July 1 of this year.
Among others the project will make Black Sea environmental information from the EU Copernicus Earth Observation system accessible to scientists, policymakers, citizens, and other stakeholders, by:
- utilizing information and data science to retrieve Copernicus information and images,
- coupling them with national or regional data and
- providing online monitoring services for the Black Sea and the surrounding environment in a transboundary, standardized and homogenized manner.
Proximal sensing measurements in cotton plantations by the EOS team
Members of the EOS team, Ioannis Manakos, Christos Kalogeropoulos and Danai Aristeridou, performed proximal sensing measurements in cotton plantations, in the wider area of Epanomi, close to Thessaloniki (GR), by utilizing the hyperspectral imaging system Muses. Target is to identify the vitality status and/ or stress signs of the plants across the formed spectral cube. In addition, the team has the chance to test own or generate new automated (unsupervised as possible) processing workflows. Moreover, findings will be juxtaposed with relevant ones derived from timely parallel acquired high resolution satellite imagery for the same pixels in an effort to extrapolate the applicability of the workflows.
The local farmer Mr Athanasios Gkaros (bottom left and upper right pictures on the tractor) kindly granted access to his plots for the experimentation, and shared with us applied cultivation practices, plot history conditions, and expected yields. Further in situ measurements are scheduled throughout the cultivation period.
Second edition of MedRIN's newsletter
The benefits for joining forces in the Mediterranean region in earth observation: The Mediterranean Regional Information Network (MedRIN)
MedRIN was established after discussions with European, African and American colleagues. It is a new network for the Mediterranean Region which is coupled with the framework of the Global Observations of Forests Cover and Land Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD).
In this newsletter edition, you may find a short presentation and an interview of Dr. Ioannis Manakos.
Second edition of SnapEarth's newsletter
In this newsletter, the progress, the key outcomes and the events within the framework of SnapEarth are discussed.
Furthermore, in this newsletter the first two partners of the project are introduced: Qwant - the coordinator of SnapEarth consortium and Centre for Research and Technology Hellas from Greece
This is one of the largest research centres in Greece, founded in 2000. The mission of CERTH is to promote the triplet Research â Development â Innovation by conducting high quality scientific research and developing innovative products and services while building strong partnerships with industry and strong collaborations with research centres and universities in Greece and abroad. CERTH has participated successfully in more than 1,000 competitive research projects and is listed among the Top-20 Research Centres of the EU with the highest participation in FP7 competitive research grants for the period 2007-2012 and received numerous awards and distinctions...
Join the SnapEarth user community
Are you familiarize to agriculture, food security, climate or journalism and would like to learn how you can easily search and analyze EO data? Are you interested in Artificial Intelligence, machine learning or want to know the open-source portable and secured multi-cloud management solution?
If you would like to participate with us in developing appropriate application solutions that could support your work, please let us know.
NextLandâs kick-off meeting
The NextLand project âNext Generation Land Management Services for Agriculture and Forestryâ was launched through online means (instead of physical kick-off meeting) on 2, 3 and 4 of June, 2020.
NextLand will develop 15 innovative and operational services, as shown in the picture above, to strengthen the entire value chain of the agricultural and forestry sector. These services could be use through 7 different scenarios:
- Support to irrigation
- Crop planning optimization
- Early stress / anomaly identification
- Deforestation & illegal logging
- Forest growth
- Fire impact & risk assessment
- Forest health
*Picture source: https://remotesensing.vito.be/
Read the latest news about the AQUACYCLE project
Find out more about AQUACYCLE's activities:
Subscribe in AQUACYCLE's Newsletter list
Subscribe in AQUACYCLE's YouTube channel
Follow AQUACYCLE on Facebook
Follow AQUACYCLE on Twitter
The AQUACYCLE project is funded and supported by the European Union through the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme under the Grant Contract A_B41_0027_AQUACYCLE. For more information, please visit enicbcmed.eu and enicbcmed.eu/projects/aquacycle.
CERTH is in service of the society.
CERTH is in service of the society. Since the outbreak of the pandemic virus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) CERTH follows closely the developments. Capitalizing on knowledge and capacity in the domain of the bio-analytical and diagnostic services, accumulated through its research and innovation activities, CERTH offers support to the Greek government and health care system. You may find more information in the following article (written in Greek).
Earth Observation data and Artificial Intelligence in support of Journalism
Earth Observation data is valuable for journalistâs reports to the public. An example are the maps released in little time during or after the tsunami in Indian Ocean in 2004 or the Fukushima disaster in 2011, accompanying the verbal or text reports of theirs. Taking advantage of the improved temporal frequency and spatial cover of the Sentinel satellite sensors SnapEarth aims to assimilate latest spaceborne retrieved information to support journalists in their work in near real time...
SnapEarth's innovative platform (leaflet available)
SnapEarth project aims to initiate the creation of a virtuous circle of innovation by providing to EO data users an innovative platform with leading edge EO segmented datasets, Neural Networks models and Cloud computing ecosystem.
This project has received funding from the European Unions' Horizon 2020 innovation action program, under Grant Agreement No 870373.
5 reasons why E-shape is important for you and your organization
For more information about the project activities, visit the website https://e-shape.eu or the helpdesk of E-shape https://helpdesk.e-shape.eu.
2nd meeting in Malta for the Aquacycle project
An initial training of partners was organized on the occasion of the 2nd project meeting in Malta during 3 to 5 February 2020, which at the same time served to further develop the prototype webGIS.
In the final part of the training session, Dr. Ioannis Manakos presented the envisaged webGIS platform and its functionalities. Based on an open source software globally acknowledged solution, the AQUACYCLE webGIS will be enriched with geospatial data analysis functionality. This way cubes of existing data, both Earth Observation and existing thematic ones, will generate analysis ready data.
The AQUACYCLE project is funded and supported by the European Union through the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme under the Grant Contract A_B41_0027_AQUACYCLE. For more information, please visit enicbcmed.eu and enicbcmed.eu/projects/aquacycle.
SnapEarth Kick-off meeting
The SnapEarth project âFostering Earth Observation market uptake thanks to natural and holistic access to added value data generated through cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence technologiesâ was launched in Paris on 19 and 20 of December, 2019.
SnapEarth will unlock new value, derive actionable service ideas on top of EO big data collections, and address future priorities by leveraging cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence and Cloud technologies and tools.
SnapEarth is funded under the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Programme (Innovation Action) | Grant agreement: 870373
Multiple Purpose Forestry Seminars: 'Improving future ecosystem benefits through Earth Observations - from EO to ecosystem services modelling'
Two invited seminars of 'Improving future ecosystem benefits through Earth Observations - from EO to ecosystem services modelling' are held by Dr. Ioannis Manakos at the International 'Multiple Purpose Forestry' 2 years MSc of the Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania. Further dedicated technical meetings included familirization of the academic personnel with the results of ECOPOTENTIAL H2020 project, the ongoing E-SHAPE one, and the Open Data Cubes. Forest Design Romania, a successful private sector company, is introduced to eos.iti.gr team work, and took part in the discussions.
Special thanks to the Dean, Prof. dr. ing. Lucian CURTU, and the Associate Professor Mihai NITA for the invitation and fruitful discussions.
Remote Sensing course tutored by Dr. I. Manakos at CIHEAM.
The course of 'Remote Sensing' at the 'Geoinformation in Environmental Management' MSc of the International Centre for Advanced Meditarrenean Agronomic Studies at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, GR, is successfully concluded. Dedicated sessions included the presentation of the 'ODYSSEAS' project eos.iti.gr team spectrophotometer, drone data acquisition - thanks to Nicolas Gailhard, who is the director of Arkeoservice, a market oriented presentation and discussion for Earth Observation career opportunities with ALTUS LSA representative - Dr. Zak Sarris, and the progress of MSc candidate Ms. Malak Kanj within the framework of E-SHAPE project.
Credit: Nicolas Gailhard for the drone photo.
Land Cover Change and Land Degradation Assessment (EuroGEO Showcase) presented at the Geo Week in Canberra, in Australia
The Land Cover Change and Land Degradation Assessment (EuroGEO Showcase) was presented at Canberra during the Geo Week by Gilles Ollier, who is a representative of the European Commission. CERTH and Dr. I. Manakos received credits for their contribution. You may watch the respective video bellow.
EuroGEO launches a pioneering new project, e-shape
EuroGEO is the European component of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). It is a shared initiative of the European Commission and the European Caucus Member States and Participating Organisations.
To strengthen Europeâs contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), EuroGEO has launched e-shape. With a user-centric approach to Earth observation (EO) data sharing, the system aims to improve forecasting capabilities for sound decision making.
E-shape is funded under the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Programme. E-shape allows Europe to position itself as global force in Earth observation through leveraging Copernicus, making use of existing European capacities and improving user uptake of the data from GEO assets.
ESA's Sentinel Online Journal news about "Copernicus Sentinels improve hydroperiod estimations of Mediterranean wetlands"
Within the ECOPOTENTIAL project, researchers of Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC, Spain) and the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) worked in close collaboration, using satellite data, to study wetland seasonal dynamics and hydroperiods duration and trends in the Doñana National Park (Southern Spain)..
The ECOPOTENTIAL project is funded and supported by the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 641762.
ECOPOTENTIAL tools hands-on workshop
ECOPOTENTIAL tools hands-on workshop took place in Doñana Biological Reserve (RBD-CSIC), in Spain. The workshop was organized in order to present the results and tools that have been produced in the H2020 project ECOPOTENTIAL (ref. No 641762), to the managers and technicians of Doñana Protected Area in particular, and other protected area managers in general.
Dr. Manakos was speaker in the following sessions:
- "Using Sentinel 2 to estimate hydroperiod in Doñana"
- "How to incorporate Sentinel 1 to hydroperiod estimates in Doñana"
The ECOPOTENTIAL project is funded and supported by the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 641762.
Aquacycle Kick-off meeting
The AQUACYCLE project âTowards Sustainable Treatment and Reuse of Wastewater in the Mediterranean Regionâ was launched in Thessaloniki on September 30, 2019, and brings together 7 partners and 4 associated partners from 8 countries around the Mediterranean: Greece (Lead Beneficiary), Lebanon, Malta, Spain, Tunisia, Algeria, France and Morocco.
AQUACYCLE is set to bring an eco-innovative wastewater treatment technology that will consist of anaerobic digestion, constructed wetlands and solar treatment for the cost-effective treatment of urban wastewater with minimal costs of operation and maximum environmental benefits. The novel technology will be demonstrated in 3 pilot sites in Lebanon, Spain and Tunisia.
The AQUACYCLE project is funded and supported by the European Union through the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme under the Grant Contract A_B41_0027_AQUACYCLE. For more information, please visit enicbcmed.eu and enicbcmed.eu/projects/aquacycle.
ECOPOTENTIAL project at Researchers' Night 2019
On 27 September 2019, the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) organized the Researchersâ Night in Thessaloniki, with the goal to bring researchers closer to the society and encourage young people pursue relevant careers. The event had a big success and managed to reach more than 4500 visitors within 5 hours.
Among other participating teams, the ECOPOTENTIAL/ CERTH team presented the H2020 flagship ECOPOTENTIAL project and its main results, providing the opportunity to visitors to view the beauty of the protected areas in Europe and beyond, get informed about issues and challenges they face and familiarized with ECOPOTENTIAL services towards an advanced monitoring of these areas. A series of presentations, posters and flyers illustrated the ECOPOTENTIAL achievements while the ECOPOTENTIAL/ CERTH team members ceaselessly discussed with visitors of all ages about the usefulness of earth observation to improve future ecosystem benefits.
The ECOPOTENTIAL project is funded and supported by the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 641762.
E-SHAPE project at Researchers' Night 2019
Within the framework of the Researcherâs Night held in Thessaloniki on 27 September 2019, the H2020 E-SHAPE project has been presented to the visitor flows of all ages by the E-SHAPE/ CERTH team. The whole event had a big success and managed to reach more than 4500 visitors within 5 hours.
E-SHAPE related information was placed at a central point. Presentations and posters demonstrated especially the myEcosystem Showcase of the project to familiarize the audience with the latest advancements in Europe in regards with earth observation and its usefulness to the ecosystem monitoring and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. Ways of access to consistently scaled environmental information on ecosystems from various sources and cutting-edge technologies (e.g. the open data technologies) that deliver analysis ready data for the user were showcased.
The E-SHAPE project is funded and supported by the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 820852.
ODYSSEAS project at Researchers' Night 2019
On 27 September 2019, the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) organized the Researchersâ Night in Thessaloniki, with the goal to bring researchers closer to the society and encourage young people pursue relevant careers.The whole event had a big success and managed to reach more than 4500 visitors within 5 hours.
ODYSSEAS activities related with the use and applications of the spectrophotometer were presented by the research team of Dr. I. Manakosâ of the Information Technologies Institute (ITI) of the Centre of Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH), which is specialized in Remote Sensing. The newly acquired spectrophotometer, purchased within the framework of the project, was displayed to the visitors, while detailed presentations on the operating principles and the capacity of the equipment and its high potential in various application areas were explained.
In addition, acquisition of spectral images performed live on plant samples and projected on the screen. Accordingly, during the experiments, that were recently designed with Dr. P. Madesisâ research team of the Institute of Applied Biosciences (INAB) of CERTH, spectral images are also acquired from the plant Arabidopsis. The Madesis research group has expertise in DNA- and RNA-based analytical tools, -omics technologies, and bioinformatics, which are primarily used for understanding biosynthetic pathways and gene regulatory networks underlying plant stress responses.
Both research teams, simultaneously perform different types of experiments to the plant and by the end of the experimentation, they will analyze the data and correlate the foundings.
International LCLUC Regional Science Joint Meeting for Central Asia and Caucasus: Water - Energy - Food and Sustainability
International LCLUC Regional Science Joint Meeting for Central Asia and Caucasus took place in Nur Sultan, in Kazakhstan. Dr. Manakos was speaker at the workshops and thematic sessions on September 16 and 17 as follows:
- September 17: "Cooperation experiences and outlook with the Validation focus Working Group of SCERIN"
- September 16: "Inundation mapping by fusing Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 images with machine learning techniques: the ECOPOTENTIAL legacy"
E-shape @ Kerkini Lake Protected Area Authority
Dr. I. Manakos and his colleagues visited the premises of Kerkini Lake Protected Area in Northern Greece following an invitation of the responsible Management Authority. Ways for cooperation within the framework of the E-SHAPE project were extensively discussed. Issue of main interest is the exploitation of Earth Observation (EO) data and existing EO based products to support monitoring of changes and management of the area.
The E-SHAPE project is funded and supported by the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 820852.
Special Issue of "Sentinel Analysis Ready Data (Sentinel ARD)" @ Remote Sensing MDPI Journal
This Special Issue is consequently aiming to cover the most recent advances in ARD developments and implementations for Sentinel data.
Topics include:
- Methods for generating Analysis Ready Data for both optical (Sentinel-2 and 3) and SAR imagery (Sentinel-1);
- Defining ARD level for thermal imagery (Sentinel-3);
- Defining guidelines for ARD product interoperability;
- Defining ARD level for Sentinel-5P (Air pollution);
- Significance of ARD for Data Producers; Data Distributors; Data Users;
- Data quality, reliability, flagging, etc.;
- Cost/Benefits analysis for ARD data;
- Thematic application of Sentinel ARD;
- Software tools that support generating analysis-ready data for both optical and SAR imagery;
- Support to policy framework such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, or Aichi targets;
- Links with initiatives like Copernicus or the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS);
- Data cube interoperability;
- Error propagation and uncertainty handling;
- ARD standards;
- User driven requirements for ARD;
- The significance of sensor Cal/Val in ARD including issues related to cross-sensor interoperability.
Did you hear the news about our book?
âLand Use and Land Cover Mapping in Europe â Practice & Trendsâ has more than 53.560 chapter downloads and was among the top 25% most downloaded eBooks in its respective Springer eBook Collection in 2018!
About the book:
âŠthe book provides a comprehensive view of various LULC activities focusing on European initiatives, such as the LUCAS surveys, the CORINE land covers, the ESA/EU GMES program and its resulting Fast-Track- and Downstream Services, the EU JRC Global Land Cover, the ESA GlobCover project as well as the ESA initiative on Essential Climate Variables.
âŠthe book covers the operational approaches, but also provides reviews of current state-of-the-art scientific methodologies and recommendations
... the book showcases best-practice examples that lead to a perspective exceeding pure mapping towards investigating drivers and causes, as well as future projections
Editors: Ioannis Manakos, Matthias Braun | eBook ISBN: 978-94-007-7969-3 | DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7969-3 | Publisher: Springer Netherlands | Copyright: 2014
EuroGEOSS Workshop 2019
Fruitful discussion took place last week at the EuroGEOSS Workshop in Lisbon where the ECOPOTENTIAL and the E-shape teams interacted with the rest of the EuroGEOSS community.
SCERIN-7 Capacity Building Workshop on Earth System Observations
"Land Cover Dynamics in the Agricultural and Protected Natural Areas in the SCERIN Domain", Novi Sad, Serbia.
Oral presentation by Dr. I. Manakos about "The ECOPOTENTIAL online data services legacy and SCERIN
applications".
H2020 ECOPOTENTIAL's final meeting
The legacy of Rome embraces the legacy of H2020 ECOPOTENTIAL at the final meeting of the project in Rome, 20-24.05.19, where representatives from 48 partner Entities discussed about joint past and future activities.
2019 Living Planet Symposium at Milan, Italy.
Dr. Ioannis Manakos' oral presentation at 2019 Living Planet Symposium: Derivation of inundation maps by fusing Sentinel-1 data with Sentinel-2 products to overcome cloudy conditions.
Abstract:
Monitoring of inundation regimes for wide areas and frequent time intervals is of great value for the fulfilment of the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets, such as Aichi Targets 7, 11, 12, 14, 15 & SDG targets 6.6, 13.1, 15.1, 15.5.
Multispectral satellite data are suitable for the estimation of the inundation extent under cloud-free weather conditions achieving a high degree of accuracy. Radar data on the contrary, especially Sentinel-1 ones, face limitations and challenges in reaching credible results. As such may be referred the land cover synthesis of the scene, as, for example, shallow waters or waters with emergent vegetation or flat sandy areas may produce a confusing signal with either non-inundated areas in the first two cases or inundated ones in the latter.
Exploitation of high accuracy Sentinel-2 inundation derived maps to train Sentinel-1 varying pixel values in time leads to credible results up to a time interval and coverage percentage from the date that training occurred. The aim of this study is to unravel the conditions, especially the time interval from available accurate inundation maps that the sole use of Sentinel-1 data, in view of lack of available multispectral data for the desired date, may lead to credible results.
Focus is on Doñana marshlands in Spain, a breeding and wintering habitat for many water birds, where inundation maps are required to balance bird nesting and cattle breeding ecosystem services, as expressed via the biomass production due to water presence. Generated inundation maps can be provided via the ECOPOTENTIAL Virtual Laboratory, fully integrated in GEOSS and in support of GEO ECO initiativeâs objectives.
E-shape - Kick off meeting
54 partners (100 participants) from Europe and beyond were gathered in Cannes for the launching of the e-shape project!
United Nations/Romania International Conference on Space Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture and Precision Farming at Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Poster: EEOBSS - EO education for Bulgarian secondary schools
ECOPOTENTIAL at the 2019 NASA LCLUC Spring Science Team Meeting
ECOPOTENTIAL results have been presented at the recent NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change (LCLUC) Spring Science Team Meeting, held in April (9th-11th) at the Hilton Washington DC, USA. This annual Science meeting consisted of presentations from and discussions among the LCLUC Science Team members funded for research by the NASA LCLUC program.
Focus was a) on the use of fine resolution data for LCLUC, b) the preliminary results of the Multi-Source Land Imaging team making benefit of the complementary use of Copernicus and Landsat satellite data towards a Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 harmonized surface reflectance product, c) LCLUC synthesis projects over the globe, and d) applications in Southeast Asia and Northern Eurasia.
CERTH (Greece) was among the approximately 150 participants to present and highlight ECOPOTENTIAL achievements in LCLUC products generation, and, more specifically, about online monitoring data services (mounted on the Virtual Laboratory Platform) that promote repeatability of layers production; triggered by users. The flash talk was respectively about âOnline monitoring data services for ecosystem indicators: an overview of ECOPOTENTIAL resultsâ. Vivid discussions followed at the poster presentation.
Mediterranean Regional Information Network (MedRIN) Meeting and Workshop
The second Mediterranean Regional Information Network (MedRIN) meeting and workshop took place at the Aliathon Holiday Village, in Paphos, Cyprus as a component of the 7th International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of the Environment (RSCy2019).
In the link you may find the presentation of Dr. Ioannis Manakos on âThe SCERIN network: Best practices and achievementsâ.
Special Issue of âRemote Sensing in Ecosystem Modellingâ @ Remote Sensing MDPI Journal
Topics include:
- direct comparisons of EO with in-situ data
- assessment of the added value of EO to ecosystem models
- interoperability topics, for example spatial and temporal scale issues, derived from the incorporation of EO in ecosystem models
- uncertainty propagation of EO-derived inputs in ecosystem models
- benefits by the EO assimilation and side-effects in the designed processing chains
- adjustments in ecosystem models to better integrate EO inputs
- the new capacity being developed and explored by the installation and operation of the Data and Information Access Services (DIASs)
Real time analysis direct from the Sentinel data hub to your screen
Special Issue of âMonitoring Land Cover Change: Towards Sustainabilityâ @ Land MDPI Journal
Topics include:
- New instruments and data processing methods
- Geological, hydrological, land and ice applications
- Climate and climate change
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Urban and Thermal remote sensing
- Use of LIDAR and RADAR data for various applications
- Applications employing UAVs and UASs
- Synergy of remote sensing technologies for land-use change monitoring
- The role of earth observations within the WaterâEnergyâFood nexus
- Social and behavioral aspects of land use supported by remote sensing observations
- Advances and outlook in the processing and analysis of remotely sensed data
ECOPOTENTIAL at the European Parliament
The science-policy briefing event âScience for Post 2020 Environmental Targets â Insights from Earth Observation of Protected Areasâ for the EU Parliament will take place on the 27th of September 2018 (09:00-11:00). At the event, the most relevant ECOPOTENTIAL key findings for post 2020 environmental strategies will be presented.
The event will be chaired by MEPs Ricardo Serrão Santos and Sirpa PietikÀinen and is organized in cooperation with EBCD which serves as the secretariat of the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development.
Land-Use/Cover Change Drivers, Impacts and Sustainability within the Water-Energy-Food Nexus
3rd joint EARSeL LULC/NASA LCLUC Workshop
Following the success of the two previous EARSeL Special Interest Group on Land Use and Land Cover (SIG LU/LC) and NASA Land-Cover/Land-Use Change (LCLUC) Program joint Workshops (Berlin 2014 and Prague 2016) with more than 270 participants from 4 continents, the 3rd EARSeL LULC and NASA LCLUC joint Workshop âLand-Use/Cover Change Drivers, Impacts and Sustainability within the Water-Energy-Food Nexusâ set the questions towards and beyond the 2020 emerging challenges.