Copernicus and in situ team up for Europe's environment — Copernicus In Situ Component (original) (raw)

The Copernicus programme is Europe’s eyes on the environment, bringing together data collected in space, on the ground, in the sea and in the air for the benefit of Europe’s environment and its citizens.

Copernicus has a well-developed space component, comprised of a fleet of dedicated satellites – the Sentinels – and a large number of third-party satellites (owned and operated by European bodies and national governments) referred to as the Copernicus Contributing Missions. Since April 2014, four Sentinel satellites have been launched into orbit. Satellite data from the Copernicus Sentinels is made available on a full, free and open basis, and serves as one of the main inputs into the production of the six thematic Copernicus Services: Land Monitoring, Marine Environment Monitoring, Atmosphere Monitoring; Climate Change, Emergency Management and Security.

What is in situ data and where does it come from?

In the Copernicus programme, “in situ” data (named using the Latin for “in position”, “local” or “on site”) refers to observation data from ground-, sea- or air-borne sensors as well as reference and ancillary data licensed or provided for use in Copernicus. This includes data from sensors placed on the banks of rivers, carried on weather balloons or airplanes, pulled through the sea by ships, and drifting in the ocean on floats or buoys. Data about the physical environment have been collected for centuries, and the range of stakeholders involved in the collection and management of such data is therefore vast and diverse.

In situ data also includes a specific category of information known as geospatial reference data. This refers to background topographic information, such as transportation network maps, administrative boundaries and digital elevation models.

Finally, new and novel sources of in situ data, such as imagery gathered by drones (more formally referred to as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs) and information collected by crowds of volunteer contributors or citizen scientists (crowdsourcing) also fall under the in situ umbrella.

Most in situ data sources are owned and operated by institutions and agencies at national level. A good example is national air quality monitoring data collected by National Meteorological Services (NMS), which EU Member States are obliged to report to the European Environment Agency. Another are the maps and data managed by Member State National Mapping and Cadastral Agencies (NMCA). Some in situ data comes from international collaborations, such as the Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology, an intergovernmental body bringing together the expertise and technological capabilities of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

Scientific research networks also often serve as sources of valuable in situ data for the Copernicus programme. A large number of these exist within Europe, some of which are funded as European Research Infrastructures (RI).

How is it used by the Copernicus programme?

The satellite data from the Sentinels and the Contributing Missions provides the “big picture” for Copernicus services: broad swathes of data covering large areas at a time, updated regularly. But satellite data cannot, on its own, fulfil the needs of operational environment monitoring services.

The Copernicus programme’s in situ component is essential to the delivery of high-quality, reliable and sustainable information services. Although often not as well-publicised as the space component, the Copernicus in situ component is just as important – in fact, without in situ data, the programme simply cannot deliver its data, products and services.

At the level of the space component, satellite sensors need to be calibrated, and their data products validated, using independent in situ data sources meeting specific requirements.

The Copernicus services rely on the availability of a wide variety of in situ data. These data are used both for production and validation, as well as being provided to users as observations in their own right. The Copernicus services in the Marine, Atmosphere and Climate Change domains rely on mathematical models which simulate the behaviour of Earth’s natural systems. These models generate forecasts about the physics, chemistry and biochemistry of the ocean or the atmosphere, similarly to meteorological weather forecasting. The models require a constant stream of observations to stay on track, by assimilating satellite data and in situ observations made in the sea, on the ground or in the air. The models and the resulting products also need to be validated using in situ data.

For Copernicus Land Monitoring services, in situ data such as geometrically corrected aerial imagery, topographic information (such as hydrology, land cover and buildings) and LUCAS data points, are needed for both the production and validation of pan-European and local components. Global land products are validated a range of ground-based measurements, such as BELMANIP-2 and DIRECT for Vegetation and Energy products, and the International Soil Moisture Network for Water products.

In the case of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring service, satellite data cannot provide information about the state of the oceans. The ocean is complex, and many processes are involved, including physical oceanography, biology, geology, ocean-atmosphere fluxes, solar radiation, moon-induced tides – and of course, human activities. To study these processes in the oceans’ interior, the service uses in situ data from a wide range of sources, including sea-level stations, coastal observatories, high-frequency radars, drifting buoys, fixed moorings, sea-mammals or fish fitted with sensors, vessels, gliders and floats.

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service uses in situ data from national regulatory monitoring systems, from multiple research networks and from sensors mounted on aircraft to validate its models of the atmosphere and the resulting products and forecasts.

The Copernicus services for Emergency Management (Mapping component) and Security services need access to a host of geospatial reference data to complement the satellite information they use to produce maps and other geospatial intelligence products. These data include administrative boundaries, hydrological and transport networks, formal and informal settlements, industrial facilities, land cover and land use, and physiography. Population and census data is a very important input for these services, as they often deal with issues which affect human safety, and therefore need to know where populated areas are in relation to threats or crises.

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service’s Early Warning component includes the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS), which relies on systematic information delivered by national and regional hydrological and meteorological services.

The role of the EEA in the Copernicus in situ component

The Copernicus in situ component is organised in two tiers. In the first tier, Copernicus services access in situ data directly, according to their day-to-day operational needs and as an integrated part of their workflows. The service operators are responsible for day-to-day activities, setting up and managing the technical interfaces themselves.

The second tier stems from the need for a coordinated approach to accessing in situ data at a programmatic level. There are cases where necessary datasets cannot be provided efficiently without interventions that go beyond the capacities of the individual services - for example, because a change of policy by national authorities is needed – or where multiple services display common needs (e.g. for the pre-processing of data).

The European Environment Agency’s coordinating role in the in situ component is comprised of four main tasks:

1. Establishing and maintaining an overview of the state of play of in situ data for Copernicus services;
2. Operational provision of cross-cutting in situ data including access to reference data for Copernicus services;
3. Managing partnerships with data providers to improve access and use conditions of in situ data for Copernicus services; and
4. Supporting the European Commission and Copernicus Service Providers or Entrusted Entities when seeking solutions for providing access to required in situ data.

Through its coordination role, the EEA enables the Copernicus services to more easily navigate the complex stakeholder landscape, making possible the exploitation of synergies and facilitating access to datasets and partnerships which benefit the programme as a whole.