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Copernicus Summer Series - Irrigation Detection & Mapping in Austria

Copernicus Summer Series - Irrigation Detection & Mapping in Austria [Aug/2024]

Benefits of Copernicus data used by the Austrian Environment Agency to detect irrigation on agricultural fields

Earth Observation (EO) data carry a wealth of information that can contribute to interpreting geophysical phenomenon. Raw data once transformed into information can support agents solving problems by supplying actionable intelligence that reduces the uncertainty of a decision.

Both the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 missions are part of Europe’s flagship EO programme Copernicus, and the produced data are available to the public under an open and free data policy.

The Sentinel-1 mission comprises a constellation of two sun-synchronous polar-orbiting satellites, operating day and night performing C-band synthetic aperture radar imaging, enabling them to acquire imagery regardless of the weather. Sentinel-1 measurements can be used for various applications, including global land masses monitoring, sea-ice monitoring, ocean and marine monitoring, and emergency response.

Sentinel-2, on the other hand, is a wide-swath, high-resolution, multi-spectral imaging mission, consisting of two twin satellites, Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B. The data from these satellites are used to support a variety of services and applications, including land management, agriculture, forestry, disaster control, humanitarian relief operations, risk mapping, and security concerns.

An analysis by the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC) was conducted to examine the benefits enabled from the radar (Sentinel-1) and optical (Sentinel-2) satellite imagery used by the Environment Agency Austria to detect irrigation on agricultural fields and understand water usage.

This is particularly important as climate change is expected to increase the frequency and duration of droughts (see also results of study conducted in 2023), leading to severe water shortages in the future. Since farmers are currently dependent on irrigation to provide necessary water supplies for crops, they will be among the first to suffer from increasing water scarcity. Against this background, the Environment Agency Austria is using Sentinel data to better identify where and when irrigation takes place.

The report finds that the use of the Sentinel data results in:

  • Economic benefits (minimisation of costs by reducing the need for manual reporting and field visits by regional water authorities to monitor irrigation)
  • Regulatory benefits (improvement of the policy making process and the outcome of water policy through better and more comprehensive information)
  • Environmental benefits (better information and water management policies lead to reduced depletion and consumption of water).

The full report can be accessed in the restricted area (please log in before).


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