eOsphere has specialised in sea ice monitoring since it was established in 2001. We are strongly focused on solving real problems using remote sensing data for companies who are operating in ice infested waters.
We are also involved in research projects where a key aim is to extract the maximum amount of information from satellite data. Some important techniques include exploiting polarisation effects or the benefits of synergy offered by combining data from different sensors.
MPOL: Exploiting Polarimetric SAR data for Marine Applications
MPOL is a project which aims to exploit a new SAR polarimetric target detection algorithm for marine applications, such as iceberg and ship detection.
Our project has been prompted by the recently launched satellites (TerraSar-X, RadarSat-2, CosmoSkyMed, ALOS PalSAR) that are able to acquire SAR data in fully polarimetric modes, as well as dual-polarimetric modes. These increased capabilities offer new opportunities for target detection and classification.
Ship Detection using SAR Polarimetry: The Development of a New Algorithm Designed to Exploit Polarimetric Satellite SAR Capabilities for Maritime Surveillance: Presented at SEASAR 2010 | 25-29 January 2010 | ESA ESRIN | Frascati (Rome), Italy.
MPOL is supported by the European Space Agency (ESA).
SAR Ice Constellation
The SAR Ice Constellation project is investigating the benefits of the European Space Agency’s planned Sentinel-1 satellite for sea ice monitoring, by using it in combination with SAR data from a constellation of other satellites. eOsphere’s role in the project is to develop a simulator tool that will allow SAR backscatter values to be derived for a range of possible sea ice types and for different SAR satellite system parameters.
The project is led by C-Core and funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Polar View
eOsphere is a part of the Polar View Team supported by the European Space Agency (ESA). Polar View offers integrated monitoring and forecasting services in the polar regions using satellite earth observation data to support improved decision-making, planning and adaptation to climate change.
eOsphere provide daily near real-time maps of hemispheric ice conditions to the US National Ice Center and the Norwegian Meteorological Office. These products have been delivered since 2004 and are derived from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) ENVISAT data, which has been used in support of their ice charting operations, and has been used to derive information on icebergs and leads.
