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.

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.

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

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.

As we reach for our clean fluffy towels and white T-shirts this summer, more and more of us demand our cotton to be eco-friendly. A study funded by ESA uses satellite data to promote the sustainable production of cotton.

For a decade, International Day of Forests on 21 March, has marked an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of forests. About 30% of Earth's surface is covered by forests, but their area is declining annually through small scale disturbances such as illegal logging, or conversion of forestland for agriculture, clearing to pastures for livestock and urban landscapes. 

Forests play a critical role in Earth's climate by providing a carbon sink. They sequester large quantities of the carbon dioxide, including that released by human activities. However, an estimated 20% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are then released back into the atmosphere through deforestation.

As we work towards net zero carbon solutions, it is vital to know how much carbon is being held in forest biomass and monitor change in biomass carbon stock. In this regard, the consistent temporal radar observations from Copernicus Sentinel-1 are adding precious value to scientific efforts to track the state and dynamics of forest biomass globally.

A pioneering open-access environmental monitoring system that helps to fuel the sustainable management of the natural world has launched.

The Landscape Evolution and Forecasting Toolbox, or LEAF, transforms data delivered by the Sentinel-2 mission of the European Union’s Copernicus Programme into global maps that reveal different aspects of vegetation cover, including canopy water content, leaf area index and many more.

Researchers at the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), in Greece, have been studying how a Copernicus Sentinel-2 image could be used to estimate pixel values of canopy height—thus improving sustainable ecosystem management.

In the frame of ESA’s Sentinel-1 Project, scientists at TU Wien processed and subsequently aggregated 500,000 individual Copernicus Sentinel-1 SAR scenes to a set of global mosaics, describing our planet as perceived by a radar—as such, the obtained radar signals depict an additional source of information, measuring ground variables from another physical perspective, revealing new properties.

In Denmark, land areas and infrastructure are undergoing subsidence depending on soil type and stability, and changing ground water levels and foundation. As of 2014, data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites have been freely available—becoming a game changer for the growing needs for such measurements in Denmark, thus helping to develop a national monitoring program.

A rainfall deficit in Argentina generated a forecast of a decrease in the production of winter crops as well as forage production this year, affecting the yielding of livestock in its central regions—data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission are helping to create a monitoring system for such croplands.

Seasonal wetlands are common in Mediterranean climates. They flood during rainy seasons in autumn and winter and dry-up in summer. Precipitation changes in these areas have profound effects on the dynamics of wetlands, affecting plants and animals that inhabit them. These wetlands can suffer changes in their hydrology, becoming transformed into permanent lakes or completely drying-up—but Copernicus Sentinels are making a difference.

Featuring ECOPOTENTIAL, a European funded project that focuses on a set of internationally recognised protected areas, this video describes how the unprecedented availability of satellite data allow scientists to understand large scale changes in our environment and how best to protect it. 

Tracking spatio-temporal variations in flooded areas of wetlands is not an easy task, especially when they are characterised by a dense cover of emergent vegetation. Researchers in France developed a tool to monitor water in seasonal wetlands using Copernicus Sentinel-2 data, which exceed the performance of existing water indices.

The Peneda-Gerês National Park  in northeast Portugal has been home to wild ponies for around 2500 years. Today, it also provides a rich habitat for wolves, foxes, wild boars, ibex, and deer. It also hosts otters, fish, frogs, salamanders, 147 different bird species (many migratory) and 15 bat species. Data from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites are helping to safeguard this mountainous habitat.

One of the main threats for soil degradation is the decline of soil organic carbon—the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites are currently being exploited to monitor soil conditions in croplands, in turn supporting the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union.

The conservation and protection of biodiversity is a fundamental activity of protected areas, such as the Samaria National Park, in Greece. The use of data from the Copernicus Sentinels, combined with geodiversity variables, are proving to be fundamental in monitoring certain areas where the Podarcis cretensis endemic lizard is found.

With two sensors now in orbit, the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites could monitor some parts of the world almost daily. This capability could be crucial in monitoring rapidly developing events such as biotic/abiotic stress on crops and provide accurate and timely information from farmers to policy-makers, to develop appropriate mitigation strategies.