Glaciers are one of the largest reservoirs of freshwater on our planet, and their melting or growing is one of the best indicators of climate change. However, knowledge of glacier change has been hampered by lack of data, especially for understanding regional behaviour.

A new campaign marks an important step in preparing for how data from the Sentinel-1 European Radar Observatory will be used for applications such as land-cover mapping and crop management. Sentinel-1 is the first of the five missions that ESA is developing for the GMES initiative.

In November 2008, an eruption occurred in the Alu-Dalafilla volcanic centre that lies 30 km north of the lava lake, the eruption started on 3 November and eruptive activity peaked over a few hours and then waned exponentially until stopping on the night of 6 November 2008.

Wetlands are havens of biodiversity, and have important ecological, hydrological and economic value, but their misuse can have devastating consequences. Satellite data are being used for wetland conservation and management.

The risk of natural disasters can be reduced by understanding our environment and the fundamental forces that shape it. Earth-observing satellites can provide vital information to mitigate and prepare for disasters.

Satellite measurements show that nitrogen dioxide in the lower atmosphere over parts of Europe and the US has fallen over the past decade. More than 15 years of atmospheric observations have revealed trends in air quality.

The Rio+20 summit on promoting jobs, clean energy and a more sustainable use of our planet's resources closed today after three days of talks. During the summit, the role of Earth observation in sustainable development was highlighted.

Many people know and crave delicious Belgian chocolate, but might not be aware that the Belgian city of Tienen is known as the ‘Sugar City’ of Europe. And satellites are helping to grow the crop that makes our taste buds tingle.

Within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, great attention is given to the future mechanism REDD + (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).

Piracy may be a topic of schoolboy adventure stories, but it’s still a dangerous and costly problem for merchant shipping and tourism in some parts of the world. In the pirate-ridden waters of the Indian Ocean, satellites show that environmental conditions have limited recent pirate activity.