The Innovation Manager of PLOCAN, Ayoze Castro, presented the capabilities, competencies and strategies of the Research Proyects of the Consortium in order to collaborate with the potentials offered by the new research space satellites (Sentinels) launched by the ESA (European Space Agency) during the ‘Atlantic from space’ Workshop organised by the ESA in Southampton, UK.
Ayoze Castro made reference to the possibility of contributing to the meteo-oceanographic data correlation ‘in situ’ during the ‘Atlantic from space’ Workshop. The objectives of this Workshop were the review of the main requirements from geo-information in the Atlantic Region from science to information services, and of the main activities, projects and initiatives taking place in the region where Earth Observation may contribute; the assessment of the potential of the increasing observation capacity offered by satellites to address the needs for science, applications and future information services and the identification of high-level requirements and associated solutions for support ICT infrastructure in the Atlantic region, including the basis for developing an Atlantic Regional Earth Observation Exploitation Platform.
During this Workshop, a specific presentation of the Project EO-MAMMALS (Earth Observation for Marine Environment: Application for Marine Mammals Environmental Public Management), which has recently started, was made. This Project, coordinated by PLOCAN, will demonstrate the benefits of combining different types of ocean, ecological and biological data, which are directly measured on the marine environment, with parameters remotely detected by satellites (such as the colour of water or the bathymetry) in order to contribute to determine areas of high density of marine mammal populations. EO-MAMMALS wil develop a new useful tool for the management of marine protected areas, it will provide relevant scientific and technical data for the community of researchers and for promoting the sustainable development of the private sector business which offers access and whale watching in the Macaronesian Region. EO-MAMMALS is 100% funded by ESA under the science for society programme element of the EOEP-5 of ESA.
The focus of the ‘Atlantic from space’ Workshop is to assess the opportunities for regionally focussed EO research and development, downstream activities and ICT evolution, which may be the basis for future ESA investments to address some of the key information needs of this important area. These opportunities will be framed with respect to emerging Earth science, development of novel applications, testing innovative information services and implementing required upgrades to capabilities to manage and manipulate large data volumes.
