General Module
This document provides an overview of Copernicus’s portfolio and Services in the context of natural disasters and earth observation, as well as a brief introduction to other providers. This text provides a good starting point before proceeding with the disaster-specific modules.
Overview
There are many questions that actors working with natural disasters have: How many people are impacted by an event? How likely are certain events to occur in my region? Where can affected populations be safely evacuated to? How much vegetation will be affected by an event? Earth Observation (EO) Data can help to answer these and related questions that arise before, during and after natural disasters [1, 2]. Earth Observation Data can be provided in a timely manner with a high spatial and temporal resolution and is consistent over different periods of time. EO Data is therefore widely used in different stages of the disaster management cycle: preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery and it is ideally suited to support decision-making processes [2]. It can also be applied to monitor many different types of natural and man-made disasters, most often floods, droughts, storms and forest fires, but also landslides, earthquakes, technical accidents and volcanic eruptions [3, 4]. In this introductory module the components of the Copernicus programme and the Copernicus Emergency Services will be presented and methods to access datasets for further analysis will be explained.

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS) is a European Union programme that provides data and information based on Earth Observation (EO) and remote sensing satellite data for emergency response and disaster risk management as one of the six components of the wider Copernicus Earth Observation Program. The services are provided free of charge and implemented by and based on data from the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU Agencies and Mercator Océan. It combines datasets from ESA’s Sentinel satellites with in-situ Data in order to provide early warning, risk assessment and mapping Services as well as in-depth analyses. Through The Copernicus EMS the European Union aims to support crisis managers, civil protection authorities and humanitarian aid actors as well as actors involved in recovery, disaster risk reduction and preparedness activities both inside and outside the European Union [5, 6].

Copernicus EMS has provided valuable data before, after and during many major disasters. In early 2019 two major cyclones, Idai and Kenneth, made landfall on the coast of Mozambique just over a month apart. This has been the first time two major cyclones have hit the country in one year, and the neighbouring Comoros and Zimbabwe have also been affected, with Kenneth being one of the strongest cyclones to hit mainland Africa. The Cyclones have caused heavy rainfall, storms and subsequent floods. Both times products provided by Copernicus EMS using ESA Sentinel satellite data has been used to delineate the affected area, determine where and how to what extent populations were affected and which infrastructures have been destroyed. This data has been subsequently used to help coordinate both international relief efforts and local authorities working on the ground [7, 8, 9].

Existing Services
The Copernicus EMS Platform is composed of several different automated and on-demand services. The on-demand rapid and risk & recovery mapping services have been used to produce the outputs outlined above and are only obtainable through authorized European organizations which have to be contacted if these services are needed. All products produced by the rapid and risk & recovery mapping services can be accessed for free and are uploaded to the list of past rapid and risk & recovery activations after creation [5, 10].

The automated services provide early warning and monitoring services in the areas of floods fires and droughts that are accessible to all user groups without having to contact an authorized European organization. There is one service each covering Europe and the rest of the world: the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) [11] and the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS) [12] as well as the new Global Flood Monitoring (GFM) [13] component. Fires are covered with the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) [14], while the global Component is the Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS) that has been developed in cooperation with NASA and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) [15]. Lastly, Droughts are covered through the European Drought Observatory (EDO) [16] and the Global Drought Observatory (GDO) [17]. Additionally, most of the raw data can be downloaded in order to carry out custom analysis as described in the other modules [18].

GloFAS
In the following paragraphs, the functionalities of the global early warning and monitoring systems will be described. Firstly, GloFAS provides information on upcoming and ongoing floods as an early warning and forecasting system. It combines the latest ensemble of numerical weather prediction forecasts by the European Centre for medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) with the Hydrological Model LISFLOOD as well as Sentinel-1 satellite data [19, 20]. The System provides four main outputs: The medium-range flood forecasts, the seasonal forecasts, the rapid risk assessment and the new Global Flood Monitoring (GFM) [13, 19]. All outputs are mad available through the GloFAS Map View (Figure 2) for which a free registration is necessary [12]. There, several Layers are available, some of which will be explained exemplarily. Firstly, visualizations of past and ongoing floods as compared to their 2-, 5-, and 20-year exceedance probabilities are provided (Figure 2). For ongoing floods, rapid assessments of their impacts on the impacted administrative regions can be accessed (Figure 4). The GFM component provides delineations of flooded areas (Figure 5). All Data can also be downloaded manually or used on a web map service as outlined on the website [19]. A detailed introduction to GloFAS and GFM is available in the Flood module of this Document.

Concerning the monitoring, detection and forecasting of fires, the Global Wildfire Information System offers several services, which can be accessed through a map view called the Current Situation Viewer (see Figure 4 and Figure 5) in a similar manner to the GloFAS Map View. Here, different layers are available showing fire forecasting using different indices, lightning forecasting, which can be important as lighting strikes can ignite wildfires, and rapid fire and burnt area assessment for the last 1, 7 and 30 days for which assessments using the MODIS sensors on the Terra and Aqua satellites or the VIIRS sensors on the Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 satellites, or both can be chosen. Additionally, Fire Emissions and fuels can be shown.

GWIS
Concerning the monitoring, detection and forecasting of fires, the Global Wildfire Information System offers several services, which can be accessed through a map view called the Current Situation Viewer in a similar manner to the GloFAS Map View [21]. Here, different layers are available showing fire forecasting (Figure 6) using different indices, lightning forecasting (which can be important as lighting strikes can ignite wildfires [22]) and rapid fire and burnt area assessment for the last 1, 7 and 30 days (Figure 7) for which assessments using the MODIS sensors on the Terra and Aqua satellites or the VIIRS sensors on the Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 satellites, or both can be chosen. Additionally, Fire Emissions and fuels can be shown [21].

Similarly, there are country profiles with several indicators available. This service includes data on the number of fires in each country, the burnt area as derived from MODIS, the fire regimes, the monthly fire size distribution per year, the landcover damage and wildfire emissions [24].

Furthermore, long-term fire weather forecasts are made published worldwide [25]. These include monthly and seasonal forecasts of temperature and rainfall anomalies. All outputs can be downloaded on this website, where the Current Situation Viewer is also available as a Web Map Service. More information on GWIS and a detailed guide is available in the wildfire module of this document.

Platform specific usage of remote sensing data and data acquisition
Part of the wider Copernicus programme, which contains 5 more components in addition to the Emergency Management Service has been the launch of the Sentinel satellites. Data obtained by the sensors aboard the eight satellite missions is used by almost all of Copernicus Emergency Management Services [26]. The constellation is currently (July 2023) comprised of three twins of identical Satellites and two single satellites with plans for up to 9 future missions [27]. For Emergency Management purposes Sentinel 1 and 2 data is primarily used [28], but data from the other missions can be used supplementarily. This includes Sentinel 4 and 5 products for the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service which can be used to monitor emissions from wildfires and volcanic eruptions [29] as well as Sentinel 3 data to monitor changes in vegetation [27].

Sentinel 1A & B are a pair of identical, polar-orbiting Satellites that have a C-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor on board. They were launched on April 3rd, 2014, and April 25th, 2016 [30]. SAR sensors are able obtain imagery in all weather conditions and at night [31]. SAR Data is used to create Digital Elevation Models and has proven to be useful for Floods, Landslides, Earthquakes and Volcano Monitoring [32]. The impacts of cyclone Idai in Mozambique used as an example before have been estimated using a Sentinel 1 dataset [9]. Because of a malfunction of the Sentinel 1B Satellite, only data from Sentinel 1A has been available from December 23rd, 2021, until the launch of Sentinel 1C, which is planned for late 2023 [33]. Sentinel 1A offers a revisit frequency of 12 days at the equator which will be reduced to 6 days after the launch of Sentinel 1C, with a higher frequency at higher latitudes [34]. When using SAR Data for time-series analyses it is important to note that data acquired when the satellite passes any area from south to north (ascending pass) is different from data acquired when the satellite passes an area from north to south (descending pass) and can usually not be compared [35], the effective revisit time might therefore be 24 or 12 days. The spatial resolution of Sentinel 1 data depends on the acquisition mode and the level of processing, with different applications requiring different products [32].

Sentinel 2A & B are a pair of identical, polar-orbiting Satellites as well. They are equipped with the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) sensor. They were launched on June 23rd, 2015, and March 7th, 2017 [27]. The MSI sensor is an optical multi-spectral sensor which covers the visible, near infrared and short-wave infrared parts of the spectrum and offers a spectral resolution of 10, 30 or 60 meters depending on the wavelength. Both satellites combined offer a relatively high revisit time of five days. Optical remote sensing data can be applied to most natural disasters, especially floods, wildfires, and droughts as well as landcover monitoring [36]. A third Satellite, Sentinel 2C is scheduled to launch in 2024 [37].

Additionally, Data from third-party missions is used for the Copernicus Emergency Management services and can be useful for disaster risk management in general. These include the Products from the Earth Observation Programs by NASA and USGS, namely the optical MODIS and VIIRS Sensors on the Terra, Aqua [38], Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 [39] Satellites, and the optical sensors on the Satellites from the Landsat Project which have continuously produces imagery since 1972 [40]. Additionally, Products from commercial Satellites and Sensors are sometimes used through the ESA/Copernicus Third Party Missions [41]. These include imagery from the COSMO-Skymed and TerraSAR-X Satellites launched by ASI and DLR respectively, which provide SAR date in a higher resolution and frequency then the Sentinel 1 Sensors [42, 43], as well as the Pléiades Neo satellites by CNES which provides very high resolution optical Data [44]. Even though commercial Data is usually pay-to-use, it can sometimes be obtained for free for disaster risk management and scientific purposes [45].

Overview of data acquisition platforms

• Copernicus Hub
  Open-Source Data from the Sentinel 1, 2 and 3 Missions.
• Sentinel 5P Pre-Operations Data Hub
  Open-Source Data from the Sentinel 5P Mission.
• ASF Vertex Data Search
  Alternative Interface aimed at radar-based sensors where archived Sentinel 1 products can be accessed without Copernicus Hub’s waiting period. Data from other Radar and SAR-based Earth Observation missions is available here as well.
• USGS Earth Explorer
  A similar platform to Copernicus Hub for optical Earth observation data obtained by NASA/USGS Missions Including the Landsat Missions and data from MODIS and VIIRS instruments aboard several satellites. Some Sentinel 2 products are available here as well.
• Data and Information Access Services (DIAS)
  Platforms offering both free and pay-to-use cloud-based processing services based upon the Copernicus Missions.
• Google Earth EngineOffers free, cloud-based processing services based upon both Copernicus and NASA/USGS Data.

References

[1] https://www.d-copernicus.de/daten/beispiele-und-anwendungen/katastrophen-und-krisenmanagement/

[2] G. Le Cozannet et al., „Space-Based Earth Observations for Disaster Risk Management” Surveys in Geophysics, vol. 41, March 2020, pp. 1209-1235, doi: 10.1007/s10712-020-09586-5.

[3] C. J. Van Westen, “Remote Sensing and GIS for Natural Hazards Assessment and Disaster Risk Management” Treatise on Geomorphology, vol 3, March 2013, pp. 259-298, doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-374739-6.00051-8.

[4] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/ems/rapid-mapping-portfolio

[5] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/faq.html

[6] https://www.copernicus.eu/sites/default/files/2019-06/The_EU_Earth_Observation_and_Monitoring_Programme-EN-20190405-WEB.pdf

[7] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/ems/copernicus-ems-monitors-major-tropical-cyclone-mozambique

[8] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/ems/copernicus-ems-monitors-impact-cyclone-kenneth-mozambique-and-comoros

[9] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/ems/eu-provides-further-support-mozambique-following-cyclone-idai

[10] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/ems/who-can-use-service

[11] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/downloads/CEMS_Flyer_FloodsEFAS_2020.pdf

[12] https://www.globalfloods.eu/general-information/about-glofas/

[13] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/downloads/CEMS_Flyer_GFM_2022.pdf

[14] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/downloads/CEMS_Flyer_FiresEFFIS_2020.pdf

[15] https://gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

[16] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/downloads/CEMS_Flyer_DroughtsEDO_2020.pdf

[17] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/downloads/CEMS_Flyer_DroughtsGDO_2020.pdf

[18] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/emsdata.html

[19] https://www.globalfloods.eu/technical-information/products/

[20] https://ec-jrc.github.io/lisflood-code/

[21] https://gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/apps/gwis_current_situation/

[22] B. L. Hall and T. J. Brown, “Development of Lightning Climatology Information over the Western U.S” CEFA Report 01-03, October 2001, https://cefa.dri.edu/Publications/LightningReport.pdf

[23] https://gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/apps/gwis.statistics/

[24] https://gwis-reports.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/countriesprofile/gwis.country.profiles.pdf

[25] https://gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/apps/gwis.longterm.forecasts/

[26] https://www.copernicus.eu/en/about-copernicus/copernicus-detail

[27] https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/The_Sentinel_missions

[28] A. Lorenzo-Alonso et al “Earth Observation Actionable Information Supporting Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts in a Sustainable Development Framework” Remote Sensing 11 (1), 2019, p. 49. DOI: 10.3390/rs11010049.

[29] https://www.eumetsat.int/our-satellites/sentinel-series

[30] https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1

[31] R. Torres et al “GMES Sentinel-1 mission” Remote Sensing of Environment 120, 2012, p. 9-24. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2011.05.028

[32] W. Fu et al “Remote Sensing Satellites for Digital Earth” In: H. Guo et al (Ed) Manual of Digital Earth (Springer Singapore) Singapore. 2020. p. 55–123.

[33] https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/Mission_ends_for_Copernicus_Sentinel-1B_satellite^

[34] https://sentinels.copernicus.eu/web/sentinel/user-guides/sentinel-1-sar/revisit-and-coverage

[35] https://sentinels.copernicus.eu/web/sentinel/user-guides/sentinel-1-sar/definitions

[36] M. Drusch et al “Sentinel-2: ESA's Optical High-Resolution Mission for GMES Operational Services” Remote Sensing of Environment 120, 2012, p. 25-36. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2011.11.026

[37] https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-2/Gearing_up_for_third_Sentinel-2_satellite

[38] https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/sensors/modis

[39] https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/sensors/viirs

[40] M. A. Wulder et al “Fifty years of Landsat science and impacts” Remote Sensing of Environment 280 113195, 2022, DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2022.113195

[41] https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/missions/third-party-missions

[42] https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/missions/terrasar-x-and-tandem-x

[43] https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/missions/cosmo-skymed-series

[44] https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/missions/pleiades-neo

 [45] https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/documents/20142/37627/Third-Party-Mission-Data-Access-Guide.pdf/6f486fb1-925d-e53b-5057-ce76e76050c1?version=1.4&t=1678379999395