Glaciers typically move at slow speeds but, under certain conditions, surge events can accelerate ice flow to far higher velocities. Now scientists have mapped these short-lived and potentially dangerous phenomena using data from Copernicus Sentinel-1.

A deep learning approach to predict the depth and extent of supraglacial lakes on the Greenland Ice Sheet using Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery was presented at the first Global Space Conference on Climate Change (GLOC).

In May 2023, Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region was hit by catastrophic floods that caused a loss of lives and left some thirteen thousand homeless—Copernicus Sentinel-2 proved to be a game-changer in identifying the aftermath’s mudslide locations.

As global warming induced reductions in sea ice open the polar regions for increased maritime traffic, radar data from Copernicus Sentinel-1 enable a new tool for safer navigation in changing ice conditions.

Radar data delivered by Copernicus Sentinel-1 are enabling an icebreaking research vessel named Polarstern to navigate more efficiently across Earth’s polar seas.

New techniques to quantify methane point sources using multispectral data from Copernicus Sentinel-2 are instrumental for global monitoring of large point emissions in oil and gas production regions.

A series of comprehensive in-situ inland water height monitoring campaigns are reinforcing confidence in data delivered by Copernicus Sentinel-3. To collect the water height measurements, researchers used boats, drones and small fixed stations equipped with lidar, acoustic radar and imaging instruments.

New and robust techniques for land mapping set the foundation for accurate, high resolution global maps that are necessary for taking on the world’s greatest challenges.

Space-borne technology has long been used to spot the tell-tale signs that can help to predict when volcanoes will reawaken. Now scientists have combined machine learning with more than half-a-million Copernicus Sentinel-1 images with the aim of forecasting eruptions on a global scale. 

A German-Israeli research team used Copernicus Sentinel-1 data to train a deep-learning based oil spill detection system in the South-eastern Mediterranean Sea, which can be used for early-stage oil contamination alerts.

Improved Copernicus Sentinel-2 coverage of the Antarctic is set to advance science and exploration in the icy continent.

Access to extended coverage over terrestrial areas will help researchers to map out safe routes through previously unexplored Antarctic regions, as well as supporting a global validation campaign of optical Earth observation data.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission is helping to estimate snow algae in the Antarctic Peninsula for the first time ever—making a difference to researchers.

In countries like Finland—where the large amount of water bodies would imply enormous associated costs for authorities to use traditional monitoring methods across the entire nation—the use of satellite data are particularly helpful.

As Pakistan contends with the impact of the torrential rains that plunged it into crisis, experts are tapping into the potential of Earth observation data to help communities rebound from the disaster.

To support the response to the crisis, a flood monitoring method is being used that was developed as part of an ESA activity called eDrift, which lies within the agency’s FutureEO programme.

The aim of eDrift – which is led by the CIMA Research Foundation – is to develop remote sensing products that will enable organisations such as insurance companies and government agencies to assess the effects of catastrophes and finance recovery efforts.

Copernicus Sentinel data help strengthen policy decisions on European peatland restoration – possibly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 is supporting a data-driven transformation for the financial sector that will accelerate green economic development in Europe and beyond.

Imagery from the mission is contributing to a new initiative that aims to produce comprehensive, open datasets combining information on the ownership and location of industrial facilities with the risks they pose to the environment.

Linked to climate change impacts, Pakistan has been undergoing severe flooding all summer, leaving thousands displaced, and causing severe devastation to agriculture with possible health issues in various areas—the Copernicus Sentinels are bringing valuable information on assessing the damage, for aid purposes.

Researchers have used Copernicus Sentinel imagery collected over Peru to track the production of asparagus, a major Peruvian farming export that is widely consumed in Europe.  

They hope this will inform improved decision-making and build resilience into the asparagus supply chain, benefiting local farmers, the environment and ensuring less food waste between farm and table.

The Italian island of Sardinia often suffers wildfires in the summer, whether due to natural phenomena or to human-induced ones, for instance by shepherds trying to control certain grazing lands. Young researchers of Sardegna Clima - an organisation working for climate and wildfire monitoring since 2009 - are making a difference with the help of Copernicus Sentinel-2 data.

Scientists are using the Copernicus Sentinels to track the impacts of the searing heatwaves and fierce wildfires that are gripping parts of the continent this summer.