This work presents the Cyprus Flight Campaign of ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence and DLR (CERAD) that took place in October 2023 within the framework of the EXCELSIOR H2020 Widespread Teaming Phase 2 project titled “ERATOSTHENES: EXcellence Research Centre for Earth SurveiLlance and Space-Based Monitoring of the EnviRonment”. The campaign's main goal was to acquire about 100.000 high-resolution stereo 3K images and hyperspectral HySpex images, complemented by ground truth measurements to perform high-resolution hyperspectral analysis and 3D mapping. The campaign aimed at the capacity development of ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence staff on processing these imagery, cross-calibration and validation of sensors, and analysis of land, water, and cultural heritage sites with hyperspectral sensors. This campaign captured high-resolution hyperspectral imagery across a wide spectral range (420–2500nm) in several parts of Cyprus (Paphos and Limassol Districts). Parallel to this airborne campaign, the research team of ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence conducted a ground-based measurement campaign, which included the collection of spectroradiometric measurements (HR 1024 and GER 1500), water samples for laboratory analysis of water (e.g., dissolved organic matter) and soil (e.g., texture, pH, organic content) samples, GPS tracking, soil moisture and meteorological sensors and on-board UAV multispectral cameras. The collected data will support various applications, such as calibration and validation of satellite products, environmental monitoring, vegetation analysis, and disaster risk assessment. According to the literature, the use of airborne hyperspectral imaging is essential since the airborne remote sensing data acts as a bridge between large-scale satellite and point-scale field observations. Furthermore, hyperspectral imaging is a simultaneous acquisition of spatial images in several spectrally adjacent bands and a highly multidisciplinary and complex field. The present campaign demonstrates the efficiency of airborne hyperspectral imaging in capturing detailed environmental data and highlights the vital role of ground-truth measurements in verifying airborne and enriching environmental data. The combined use of the methods mentioned above paves the way for advanced ecological monitoring thereby contributing to informed decision-making and sustainable development efforts.
Turkey due to its location within the collision zone between the Eurasian, African and Arabian Plates, is a region prone to earthquakes. The country mostly lies on the Anatolian micro-plate, bounded by two major strike-slip fault zones, i.e., the North and the East Anatolian Fault. On 6 February 2023, the activation of a large segment of the East Anatolian Fault generated two earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude, in southern Turkey. The seismic risk is greater along the plate boundaries, however due to the frequency of earthquake occurrence throughout Turkey, detailed seismic risk maps are crucial and need to be continuously updated towards operational purposes, and as the optimal means towards decision making for disaster risk reduction. Extensive Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite image analysis was performed to determine ground displacements caused by the seismic sequence in the wider area around the two epicenters. Pre-seismic line of sight displacements, as well as co-seismic deformation, were estimated, providing critical information about the surface rupture and the overall ground deformation in the affected areas. Earthquakes can induce landslides and other ground displacements causing extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure. Therefore, optical (e.g., Sentinel-2, PlanetScope) and SAR (Sentinel-1) imagery were exploited as a useful tool for assessing the impact of earthquakes on the ground. The monitoring and mapping of these changes, in conjunction with SAR analysis, as well as information on building infrastructure and population density, highlight the overall damage assessment in the region, thus, allowing a better understanding of the impact of earthquakes while providing a more effective response and recovery efforts for decision makers and local authorities towards disaster risk reduction.
Marine litter is permanent, manufactured or processed solid matter that is disposed of in oceans, rivers, or beaches. Indirectly brought into the sea by rivers, sewage, rainwater and wind, or discarded or lost at sea. Marine litter poses environmental, economic, health, aesthetic and cultural threats. This includes the degradation of marine and coastal habitats and ecosystems, causing socioeconomic losses in the marine sector. Marine litter is characterized by unsustainable production and consumption patterns, poor waste management and infrastructure, and lack of adequate legal and policy frameworks and enforcement (including cross-border trade of plastic waste between regions), and a transnational challenge rooted in a lack of financial resources. This paper aims to detect plastic waste and fish farms. The study was conducted in Limassol, Cyprus, south of the Limassol Old Port. The Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) was used to conduct the study, using the Sentinel-2 imagery data. We used several well-established indices for water feature extraction to detect plastic litter. The Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Water Ratio Index (WRI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Automated Water Extraction Index (AWEI), Modified Normalization Deference Water Index (MNDWI) and Normalization Deference Moisture Index (NDMI), the Simple Ratio (SR). Also, the Plastic Index (PI) and Reversed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (RNDVI). The results when applying the above indicators are satisfactory and can separate the plastic waste in the sea.
ABSTRACT Forest ecosystems are among the most important natural resources on the planet and play a key role in the global carbon budget. Despite the enormous importance of forests to the entire planet, these ecosystems are affected by a variety of disturbances. One of the disturbance types is represented by fires. Cyprus is located in Eastern Mediterranean, which is an area where forest fires frequently occur, especially during the summer period. This study is mainly focused on burned area mapping and damage assessment on land surface and air pollutants for the case of the Arakapas fire in Cyprus which occurred on 3rd of July in 2021. For the purposes of this study, the satellite images acquired from Sentinel-2 were used for the burnt area mapping and the fire severity estimation based on the dNBR (difference Normalized Burn Ratio) spectral index, and other ancillary datasets were used for the damage assessment. Furthermore, on the morning of the 5th of July, due to the change of wind direction, the smoke travelled from the centre of the island to the southwest, and it was detected by the multiwavelength Raman lidar, installed in Limassol. Thus, the optical properties of the smoke plume retrieved from the lidar are presented. The PollyXT-CYP lidar system of the ECoE, observed multiple layers between 500 m and 2.5 km originating by the burned area northeast to Limassol. The depolarization ratio of 5-8% and lidar ratio of 45sr indicate mixtures of local soil dust and fresh smoke in the lower troposphere.
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