LAND
MARINE
ATMOSPHERE
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
CLIMATE CHANGE
SECURITY
ISSUE 29 / SEPTEMBER 2013
SATELLITES PINPOINT THE
LOSS OF NATURAL SOIL
Facts
Soil is the Earth's living skin, essential for life on our planet. Nevertheless, increasing
areas are being covered with impervious materials as a result of urban development
and the construction on new infrastructure. This 'soil sealing' causes an irreversible
loss of the soil's natural functions and can lead to floods as water can no longer
seep and drain away. Soil sealing can also affect human health as well as mediumand long-term economic development and food security. Soil is a non-renewable
resource: its health is important for Europe's sustainable development and therefore
needs to be preserved and managed carefully.
Copernicus provides high-resolution land use maps of Europe, tracking soil
sealing for improved and well-informed spatial planning.
Satellite data form an excellent information base to monitor changes on Earth’s surface as result of human
activity and natural changes. Multispectral optical sensors are particularly useful, but complementary radarbased techniques are being investigated to exploit their all-weather, day-and-night characteristics. Soil that has
been sealed off can be mapped and monitored with satellite images, providing valuable and comprehensive
information to support improved soil management and spatial planning. This information can also be used to
evaluate processes influenced by the state of the soil, such as floods.
> Soil sealing describes
where the soil has been
permanently covered with
an impermeable layer such
as buildings and asphalt
roads
In the EU:
> between 1990 and 2000,
around 1000 km² per year
were sealed
> from 1990 to 2006 the rate
of land sealed increased by
9%
> every 10 years an area the
size of Cyprus is paved over
Benefits
Satellite-based land services:
> support European decisionmaking and spatial planning
authorities with consistent
and comparable EU-wide
information products across
administrative boundaries
Unsealed
Sealed: 1 - 29%
Sealed: 30 - 49%
Sealed: 50 - 79%
Sealed: 80 - 99%
> help to analyse current and
potential future trends and
impacts of land take for
urban development and
infrastructure investments
> help to target a
comprehensive approach
towards efficient soil use
Sealed: 100%
This satellite-based soil sealing degree image from 2009 shows the densely populated area around Lisbon, Portugal. It can be clearly
seen that the coastal area north of Lisbon and parts of the countryside have considerable soil sealing. Inland, sealing is confined to
cities and villages.
In urbanised countries such as the Netherlands and Germany, the amount of soil loss owing to increased surface sealing is high. In
the Mediterranean, soil sealing is a particular problem along the coasts where rapid urban sprawl is associated with the expansion
of tourism. However, soil sealing appears to be growing even in countries where urbanisation is relatively low, such as Finland and
Ireland.
Source: GeoVille; map based on IRS
www.esa.int/copernicus • http://copernicus.eu/
Policy Objectives
> Soil Thematic Strategy
> Thematic Strategy on the
Urban Environment
ISSUE 29 / SEPTEMBER 2013
Sentinel contribution
Next steps
The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service
uses satellite data to provide regular geospatial information on soil sealing, thereby
supporting improved and well-informed
spatial and urban planning.
The upcoming Copernicus Sentinel-2
satellite mission will support soil sealing
monitoring by offering:
> Assist European and regional
administrations in routinely integrating
Earth observation-based information
products and in decision-making
processes
Example products:
> continued acquisition over land surfaces
with a very large swath of 290 km
COPERNICUS
ACTIVITIES
Copernicus services
> Regular high-resolution soil sealing
maps and related changes in Europe
(about every three years)
> Regular high-resolution maps of artificial
surfaces at European scales (e.g. roads
and paved areas)
> Continuous low-to-medium resolution
biophysical variables at global scales
> Regular updates of the European Urban
Atlas at very-high resolution
> multispectral optical imaging for terrestrial
applications
> short revisit time of 5 days at the equator
(under cloud-free conditions) and 2 to 3
days at mid-latitudes
> long-term continuity
> Continue research and development to
improve the use of Earth observation data
in spatial planning
> Expand the mapping service on soil
sealing and land cover mapping in
developing countries
Data from Sentinel-2 will benefit European
and national land management services.
With its increased coverage and sensitivity,
Sentinel-2 will be essential for mapping
built-up surfaces, land cover and land cover
change.
SEOSat-Ingenio
Monitoring land cover and its changes
SEOSat-Ingenio (Satélite Español de Observación de la Tierra) is a
Spanish mission, expected to be ready for launch in 2015, that will
provide high-resolution multispectral optical images over land
for Copernicus and other users. The overall objective is to provide
image data for applications in cartography, land use, urban
management, water management, environmental monitoring,
risk management and security.
The requirements for detailed urban mapping can be met with
the satellite’s two cameras, each with a 30 km swath, which can
be combined to 60 km swath. Each camera has three visible, one
near-infrared (all 10 m resolution) and one panchromatic channel
(2.5 m).
In the centre the high-resolution optical image shows the densely sealed
metropolitan area of Sofia, Bulgaria. The image was acquired in July 2009 by
the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite, which has sensor characteristics
similar to the Copernicus Contributing Mission of SEOSat-Ingenio.
Source: IRS
www.esa.int/copernicus • http://copernicus.eu/