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EU Maritime Day – the Space Dimension  Why is space relevant for maritime issues?
On the occasion of the first EU Maritime Day on 20 May, ESA is taking the opportunity to highlight the contribution of space technologies to three areas currently being addressed in the context of the recently agreed European Integrated Maritime Policy. These are:
For centuries, the Arctic has been a source of natural resources for Europe and with new reserves of oil and gas becoming available, this is set to continue for the foreseeable future. It is also a highly sensitive environment with many processes acting as early indicators of climate change impacts. As a result of current and expected future reductions in sea ice coverage, the region will also experience significant increases in commercial traffic between Europe and the Far East. This will be exacerbated by increased levels of tourist traffic. The increased exploitation of the Arctic environment will result in increased stress on a fragile set of ecosystems and habitats and increased risk of environmental disasters such as oil or chemical discharges into the marine environment resulting from accidents or deliberate actions.
Due to the difficulties inherent in setting up traditional systems, satellite based monitoring and surveillance is of particular value for Arctic operations support. Satellite based radars such as the Envisat ASAR are already used on a regular basis for monitoring sea ice conditions, iceberg movements and tracking vessels while meteorological satellites such as the European Polar System can provide high resolution wind information for the region to support offshore operations. Both Envisat and the meteorological satellites provide high precision sea surface temperature data to support regular monitoring of marine habitats as well as to support short term forecasting of future ice conditions. Arctic information services based on satellite data PolarView portal Where are the icebergs? Click here to see the latest icebergs detected by satellite in the North Atlantic. Where is the ice? Click here to see ice conditions in the Arctic.  Click the map for Water Quality around the Europe The marine environment is a vital resource for life on earth. The ultimate aim is to keep our oceans and seas biologically diverse and dynamic, and also safe, clean, healthy and productive. The marine environment is also a great contributor to economic prosperity, social well-being and quality of life. It provides resources which can be used to achieve greater economic potential, so its protection is crucial at a time when the EU is seeking to revitalise its economy. Today, satellite based monitoring is providing routine support for operational monitoring of the marine environment. Examples include:
More water quality products and information click the right navigation bar and go to the Water quality Page
European states are under an increasing responsibility to effectively control, protect and manage their territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. Under the various fisheries agreements, coastal states are responsible for monitoring their own fishing zones as well as the activities of their own fishing fleets. This is done through the use of satellite telecommunications based transmission of vessel location and identification data to the national authorities. It is planned to introduce an additional satellite radar based surveillance capability to enhance the surveillance effectiveness over the coming years. Similarly, to counter illegal trafficking of persons, drugs, weapons, etc, at present, vessels are tracked through a combination of coastal surveillance (AIS, radar), satellite based transponder tracking (for fishing vessels) and airborne or surface patrol craft. The Eurosur initiative of the European Commission already highlights the expectations for the increased contribution of satellite based detection and tracking of suspicious vessels over the next 5 years.
ESA is responding to this requirement through the development of the appropriate space technologies such as the next generation of operational satellite based radar systems and satellite based AIS. In addition, ESA is presently managing demonstration projects to qualify prototype capabilities to integrate satellite based vessel detection and tracking systems with conventional monitoring systems such as coastal AIS and radar systems. The figure below illustrates how the different surveillance capabilities can operate in an integrated framework.
The examples highlighted here are based on the use of currently available space technologies. However, ESA is continuously working with the maritime community to develop new technologies that respond to evolving requirements of the different communities within the maritime domain.
In the framework of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security initiative (GMES), ESA is developing a family of satellite missions known as the Sentinels. These missions respond to operational monitoring needs within Europe and continue the measurement heritage established by current missions such as Envisat and ERS-2. Specifically:
As the most advanced gravity space mission to date, GOCE is planned for launch in summer 2008 and will realise a broad range of fascinating new possibilities for the fields of oceanography, solid Earth physics, geodesy and sea-level research, and significantly contribute to furthering our understanding of climate change. Over its lifetime of about 20 months, GOCE will map these global variations in the gravity field with extreme detail and accuracy. This will result in a unique model of the geoid, which is the surface of equal gravitational potential defined by the gravity field – crucial for deriving accurate measurements of ocean circulation and sea-level change, both of which are affected by climate change. ESA will also launch the Cryosat 2 mission to provide a unique measurement capability to assess the amount of ice in the Arctic region using innovative altimeter concepts.
In addition to Earth Observation, ESA is also working on other technologies to support the maritime community. In particular, in cooperation with the EC, ESA is working to develop satellite based AIS measurements to extend the capability for vessel identification and tracking beyond the current coverage of coastal systems. Initial work will begin during summer 2008.
Last update: 20 October 2008
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