Earth observation
Encyclopedia
Earth observation is the gathering of information about planet Earth’s physical, chemical and biological systems. It is used to monitor and assess the status of, and changes in, the natural environment
and the built environment
. In recent years, Earth observation has become technologically more and more sophisticated. It has also become more important due to the dramatic impact that modern human civilization is having on the Earth, the need to minimize the negative impacts, and the opportunities Earth observation provides to improve social and economic well-being.
Earth observations can include:
• a birdwatcher
’s notes on bird sightings
• numerical measurements taken by a thermometer
, wind gauge
, ocean buoy
, altimeter
or seismometer
• photos and radar or sonar images taken from ground or ocean-based instruments
• photos and radar images taken from remote-sensing satellites
• decision-support tools based on processed information, such as maps and models
Just as Earth observations consist of a wide variety of possible elements, they can be applied to a wide variety of possible uses. Some of the specific applications of Earth observations include:
• forecasting weather
• tracking biodiversity
and wildlife
trends
• measuring land-use change (such as deforestation
)
• monitoring and responding to natural disaster
s, including fires, flood
s, earthquake
s and tsunami
s
• managing natural resource
s, such as energy
, freshwater
and agriculture
• addressing emerging diseases and other health risks
• predicting, adapting to and mitigating climate change
The quality and quantity of Earth observations continue to mount rapidly. In addition to the ongoing launch of new remote-sensing satellites, increasingly sophisticated in-situ instruments located on the ground, on balloons and airplanes, and in rivers, lakes and oceans, are generating increasingly comprehensive, near-real time observations.
An example of Earth observing sensors are the sensors in the Landsat program
.
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
and the built environment
Built environment
The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...
. In recent years, Earth observation has become technologically more and more sophisticated. It has also become more important due to the dramatic impact that modern human civilization is having on the Earth, the need to minimize the negative impacts, and the opportunities Earth observation provides to improve social and economic well-being.
Earth observations can include:
• a birdwatcher
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
’s notes on bird sightings
• numerical measurements taken by a thermometer
Thermometer
Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...
, wind gauge
Anemometer
An anemometer is a device for measuring wind speed, and is a common weather station instrument. The term is derived from the Greek word anemos, meaning wind, and is used to describe any airspeed measurement instrument used in meteorology or aerodynamics...
, ocean buoy
Buoy
A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
, altimeter
Altimeter
An altimeter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth underwater.-Pressure altimeter:...
or seismometer
Seismometer
Seismometers are instruments that measure motions of the ground, including those of seismic waves generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other seismic sources...
• photos and radar or sonar images taken from ground or ocean-based instruments
• photos and radar images taken from remote-sensing satellites
• decision-support tools based on processed information, such as maps and models
Just as Earth observations consist of a wide variety of possible elements, they can be applied to a wide variety of possible uses. Some of the specific applications of Earth observations include:
• forecasting weather
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
• tracking biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
trends
• measuring land-use change (such as deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
)
• monitoring and responding to natural disaster
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
s, including fires, flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
s, earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s and tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s
• managing natural resource
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s, such as energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
, freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
• addressing emerging diseases and other health risks
• predicting, adapting to and mitigating climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
The quality and quantity of Earth observations continue to mount rapidly. In addition to the ongoing launch of new remote-sensing satellites, increasingly sophisticated in-situ instruments located on the ground, on balloons and airplanes, and in rivers, lakes and oceans, are generating increasingly comprehensive, near-real time observations.
See also
- Earth observation satelliteEarth observation satelliteEarth observation satellites are satellites specifically designed to observe Earth from orbit, similar to reconnaissance satellites but intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making etc....
- Group on Earth ObservationsGroup on Earth ObservationsThe Group on Earth Observations is coordinating international efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems . It is linking together existing and planned Earth observation systems and supporting the development of new ones where the need exists...
- Global Earth Observation System of Systems
- TerraSAR-XTerraSAR-XTerraSAR-X, a German Earth observation satellite, is a joint venture being carried out under a public-private-partnership between the German Aerospace Center DLR and EADS Astrium GmbH; the exclusive commercial exploitation rights are held by the geo-information service provider Infoterra GmbH....
: a German Earth observation satellite
An example of Earth observing sensors are the sensors in the Landsat program
Landsat program
The Landsat program is the longest running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. On July 26, 1972 the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Landsat. The most recent, Landsat 7, was launched on April 15, 1999. The instruments on the...
.