From “Shutter Control” to “Big Data”: Trends in the Legal Treatment of Earth Observation Data

AbstractIn this chapter we present the concepts of remote sensing and Earth Observation and, explain why several of their characteristics (volume, variety and velocity) make us consider Earth Observation as Big Data. Thereafter, we discuss the most commonly open data formats used to store and share the data. The main sources of Earth Observation data are also described, with particular focus on the constellation of Sentinel satellites, Copernicus Hub and its six thematic services, as well as other private initiatives like the five Copernicus-related Data and Information Access Services and Sentinel Hub. Next, we present an overview of representative software technologies for efficiently describing, storing, querying and accessing Earth Observation datasets. The chapter concludes with a summary of the Earth Observation datasets used in each DataBio pilot.

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Open Source Framework for Enabling HPC and Cloud Geoprocessing Services

Agris on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics ◽

10.7160/aol.2020.120405 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 61-76

Author(s):

José Miguel Montañana ◽

Paolo Marangino ◽

Antonio Hervás

Keyword(s):

Big Data ◽

Open Source ◽

Precision Agriculture ◽

Data Analytics ◽

Performance Metrics ◽

Earth Observation ◽

Observation Data ◽

Open Source Framework ◽

Earth Observation Data ◽

Geoprocessing Services

Geoprocessing is a set of tools that can be used to efficiently address several pressing chal-lenges for the global economy ranging from agricultural productivity, the design of transport networks, to the prediction of climate change and natural disasters. This paper describes an Open Source Framework developed, within three European projects, for Ena-bling High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Cloud geoprocessing services applied to agricultural challenges. The main goals of the European Union projects EUXDAT (EUro-pean e-infrastructure for eXtreme Data Analytics in sustainable developmenT), CYBELE (fostering precision agriculture and livestock farming through secure access to large-scale HPC-enabled virtual industrial experimentation environment empowering scalable big data analytics), and EOPEN (opEn interOperable Platform for unified access and analysis of Earth observatioN data) are to enable the use of large HPC systems, as well as big data management, user-friendly access and visualization of results. In addition, these projects focus on the development of software frameworks, and fuse Earth-observation data, such as Copernicus data, with non-Earth-observation data, such as weather, environmental and social media information. In this paper, we describe the agroclimatic-zones pilot used to validate the framework. Finally, performance metrics collected during the execution (up to 182 times speedup with 256 MPI processes) of the pilot are presented.

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Enabling the Big Earth Observation Data via Cloud Computing and DGGS: Opportunities and Challenges

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12010062 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 62 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Xiaochuang Yao ◽

Guoqing Li ◽

Junshi Xia ◽

Jin Ben ◽

Qianqian Cao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cloud Computing ◽

Big Data ◽

Earth Observation ◽

Current Status ◽

Observation Data ◽

Computing Technology ◽

Grid Systems ◽

Data Framework ◽

Earth Observation Data ◽

Global Grid

In the era of big data, the explosive growth of Earth observation data and the rapid advancement in cloud computing technology make the global-oriented spatiotemporal data simulation possible. These dual developments also provide advantageous conditions for discrete global grid systems (DGGS). DGGS are designed to portray real-world phenomena by providing a spatiotemporal unified framework on a standard discrete geospatial data structure and theoretical support to address the challenges from big data storage, processing, and analysis to visualization and data sharing. In this paper, the trinity of big Earth observation data (BEOD), cloud computing, and DGGS is proposed, and based on this trinity theory, we explore the opportunities and challenges to handle BEOD from two aspects, namely, information technology and unified data framework. Our focus is on how cloud computing and DGGS can provide an excellent solution to enable big Earth observation data. Firstly, we describe the current status and data characteristics of Earth observation data, which indicate the arrival of the era of big data in the Earth observation domain. Subsequently, we review the cloud computing technology and DGGS framework, especially the works and contributions made in the field of BEOD, including spatial cloud computing, mainstream big data platform, DGGS standards, data models, and applications. From the aforementioned views of the general introduction, the research opportunities and challenges are enumerated and discussed, including EO data management, data fusion, and grid encoding, which are concerned with analysis models and processing performance of big Earth observation data with discrete global grid systems in the cloud environment.

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Our goal is to establish the earth observation data in the business world Unser Ziel ist es, die Erdbeobachtungsdaten in der Geschäftswelt zu etablieren

GIS Business ◽

10.26643/gis.v12i3.5187 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 12-14

Author(s):

Eicher, A

Keyword(s):

Earth Observation ◽

Observation Data ◽

Business World ◽

The Earth ◽

Earth Observation Data

Our goal is to establish the earth observation data in the business world Unser Ziel ist es, die Erdbeobachtungsdaten in der Geschäftswelt zu etablieren

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Mapping slums and model population density using earth observation data and open source solutions

2019 Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event (JURSE) ◽

10.1109/jurse.2019.8808934 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Tais Grippa ◽

Stefanos Georganos ◽

Sabine Vanhuysse ◽

Moritz Lennert ◽

Nicholus Mboga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Density ◽

Open Source ◽

Earth Observation ◽

Observation Data ◽

Model Population ◽

Earth Observation Data

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Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation Data

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13010005 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 5

Author(s):

William Straka ◽

Shobha Kondragunta ◽

Zigang Wei ◽

Hai Zhang ◽

Steven D. Miller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Los Angeles ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Demographic Data ◽

The United States ◽

Earth Observation ◽

Observation Data ◽

Washington Dc ◽

Mobility Data ◽

Earth Observation Data

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected almost 73 million people and is responsible for over 1.63 million fatalities worldwide since early December 2019, when it was first reported in Wuhan, China. In the early stages of the pandemic, social distancing measures, such as lockdown restrictions, were applied in a non-uniform way across the world to reduce the spread of the virus. While such restrictions contributed to flattening the curve in places like Italy, Germany, and South Korea, it plunged the economy in the United States to a level of recession not seen since WWII, while also improving air quality due to the reduced mobility. Using daily Earth observation data (Day/Night Band (DNB) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Suomi-NPP and NO2 measurements from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument TROPOMI) along with monthly averaged cell phone derived mobility data, we examined the economic and environmental impacts of lockdowns in Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Washington DC from February to April 2020—encompassing the most profound shutdown measures taken in the U.S. The preliminary analysis revealed that the reduction in mobility involved two major observable impacts: (i) improved air quality (a reduction in NO2 and PM2.5 concentration), but (ii) reduced economic activity (a decrease in energy consumption as measured by the radiance from the DNB data) that impacted on gross domestic product, poverty levels, and the unemployment rate. With the continuing rise of COVID-19 cases and declining economic conditions, such knowledge can be combined with unemployment and demographic data to develop policies and strategies for the safe reopening of the economy while preserving our environment and protecting vulnerable populations susceptible to COVID-19 infection.

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2nd Edition of Instrumenting Smart City Applications with Big Sensing and Earth Observatory Data: Tools, Methods and Techniques

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13071310 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 1310

Author(s):

Gabriele Bitelli ◽

Emanuele Mandanici

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Exponential Growth ◽

Smart City ◽

Earth Observation ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Observation Data ◽

High Resolution Imagery ◽

Observatory Data ◽

Methods And Techniques ◽

Earth Observation Data

The exponential growth in the volume of Earth observation data and the increasing quality and availability of high-resolution imagery are increasingly making more applications possible in urban environments [...]

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Quantifying Tree Cover Loss in Urban Forests within Nairobi City Metropolitan Area from Earth Observation Data

Environmental Sciences Proceedings ◽

10.3390/iecf2020-07952 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 78

Author(s):

Francis Oloo ◽

Godwin Murithi ◽

Charlynne Jepkosgei

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Land Surface ◽

Urban Forest ◽

Urban Forests ◽

Earth Observation ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Observation Data ◽

Vegetation Health ◽

Earth Observation Data

Urban forests contribute significantly to the ecological integrity of urban areas and the quality of life of urban dwellers through air quality control, energy conservation, improving urban hydrology, and regulation of land surface temperatures (LST). However, urban forests are under threat due to human activities, natural calamities, and bioinvasion continually decimating forest cover. Few studies have used fine-scaled Earth observation data to understand the dynamics of tree cover loss in urban forests and the sustainability of such forests in the face of increasing urban population. The aim of this work was to quantify the spatial and temporal changes in urban forest characteristics and to assess the potential drivers of such changes. We used data on tree cover, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and land cover change to quantify tree cover loss and changes in vegetation health in urban forests within the Nairobi metropolitan area in Kenya. We also used land cover data to visualize the potential link between tree cover loss and changes in land use characteristics. From approximately 6600 hectares (ha) of forest land, 720 ha have been lost between 2000 and 2019, representing about 11% loss in 20 years. In six of the urban forests, the trend of loss was positive, indicating a continuing disturbance of urban forests around Nairobi. Conversely, there was a negative trend in the annual mean NDVI values for each of the forests, indicating a potential deterioration of the vegetation health in the forests. A preliminary, visual inspection of high-resolution imagery in sample areas of tree cover loss showed that the main drivers of loss are the conversion of forest lands to residential areas and farmlands, implementation of big infrastructure projects that pass through the forests, and extraction of timber and other resources to support urban developments. The outcome of this study reveals the value of Earth observation data in monitoring urban forest resources.

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