GFZ German research centre for geo sciences

Section 1.4: Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics

"AgriSens DEMMIN 4.0 - remote sensing technologies for digitization in crop production" identifies concrete applications for remote sensing data use via the regional experimental field in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in order to answer practical questions of crop production with digital methods.

The goal of this project to build on the comprehensive methodological competences already existing at DLR and GFZ with the goal of combining Big Data management of SAR data and novel machine learning algorithms for automatic flood mapping in near-real time.

AIHABs - AI-powered Forecast for Harmful Algal Blooms

The objective of APP4FARM is the definition of an ICT infrastructure allowing the farmer to monitor nitrogen loss, allowing efficient management of nitrogen-based fertilisers. This will ensure control of farming costs and nitrogen oxide emissions in the atmosphere leading to the improvement of both GHG levels (N2O) and local air quality (nitrogen oxides, secondary inorganic aerosol, and ozone)....

 The main objective of the project is the development of an end-to-end satellite simulator for ESA, which is able to simulate realistically and very accurately the whole chain starting from data recording, sensor calibration and data pre-processing to sensor products up to final surface parameter maps. Funded by: ESA Funding period: 01.09.2018 - 31.12.2020

Significant advances in Earth system understanding will only be achieved through better integration of data and knowledge from the different Earth science disciplines and earth compartments.Improvement in this field strongly depends on our capabilities of dealing with fast growing multi-parameter data and on our effort employing Data Science methods, adapting new algorithms and developing digital workflows tailored to specific scientific needs.With Digital Earth we will address these challenges within and between the Helmholtz partners. Funded by: Initiative and Networking Fund by Helmholtz Association Funding period: 01.06.2018 - 31.05.2021

Das Projekt „Wissensbasierter Präzisionspflanzenbau in einem Mischbetrieb (DigiMix-PA)“ hat zum Ziel die Digitalisierung in der Landwirtschaft mittels eines systemischen Ansatzes voranzubringen. Umgesetzt wird dies durch die Erprobung, Erforschung und Demonstration einer durchgängig digitalisierten Produktionskette für einen wissensbasierten, teilflächenspezifische Präzisionspflanzenbau in einem Brandenburger Mischbetrieb.

The Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) is a German hyperspectral satellite mission that aims at monitoring and characterizing the Earth’s environment on a global scale. EnMAP will provide accurate and diagnostic surface parameters for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to be used in a range of application fields. It will allow to quantify and model crucial ecosystem processes, to study the diverse effects of human interventions and to support the management of natural resources.

While the effects of climate change become apparent, the need for information on the vitality of forests is increasing. Since detailed information is often lacking, the numerous estimates on forest health are contradictory and speculative. Forest remote sensing can close this information gap...

FORWARDS is an EU-funded project that will prototype the ForestWard Observatory, a pan-European monitoring and evaluation tool that will help in demonstrating the impact of climate change on forests, guiding decision-making for practical forests management.

The project GEOINT4ENV - Geospatial Intelligence for Environment Protection Against Illegal Activities is part of the Framework Partnership Agreement on Copernicus User Uptake (FPCUP) - an EU programme to promote the potential of data and services from the COPERNICUS satellite programme.

Remote sensing for a sustainable use of resources - FERN.Lab is a Helmholtz Innovation Lab, which actively promotes the transfer activities of the Department of Geodesy. The technology platform supports the operationalisation of application-oriented, transdisciplinary method developments for the analysis of remote sensing data.

A new hyperspectral radiometer integrated in automated water and land networks, measuring bidirectional reflectance for satellite data validation

Innovative drone based hyperspectral detection of heavy metals (Nickel, Zinc, Copper) in plants based on phytomining

Waste crime is a serious problem in many countries of the European Union and worldwide, with negative consequences for the environment and health, as well as high costs for cleaning up and tracking down the perpetrators. It is estimated that waste crime costs EU Member States €72 billion a year in clean-up costs and lost revenue . Accordingly, in its plan for "EU action to improve environmental compliance and governance", the European Commission has prioritised the fight against illegal waste shipments and explicitly proposes the use of space-based intelligence data, such as data from the Copernicus missions.

Within IDEAS-QA4EO, GFZ provides Cal/Val support to ESA Earth Observation missions following QA4EO’s principles & guidelines

Within the WIR! funding program, the initiative "Land-Innovation-Lausitz" stands for the development of the region Lausitz towards a model for sustainable adaptation of land use practice to climate change through innovative technologies along the bioeconomic value chain. ...

LIGHTS aims at designing a new exploration process at the target scale. The objective is to perform an airborne and a ground survey in a single field survey to test the fertility of the outcropping target.

The limited availability of raw materials within European territories, the dependency from external markets for supplying European industries and the potential environmental impact from mining activities require the industrial and scientific communities to find solutions that can aid the mining industry in improving their extraction and processing efficiency and reduce their environmental footprint. The objective of the project is to develop multi-scale and multi-temporal remote sensing technologies and methods that allow the acquisition, processing and analysis of data from mining and tailing sites to help improving the mining value chain and mitigate the environmental impact of commercial mining activities.

MOSES (Modular Observation Solutions for Earth Systems) has been developed as a project and earth observation system within the “Earth and Environment” research field of the Helmholtz Association to decipher the interactions of short-term events and long-term trends in Earth and environmental systems.

Developing a novel hybrid multi-scale data fusion approach that incorporates information from all satellite remote sensing sources including optical images and radar data for near real-time change detection and assessing landslide stability and early warning indicators

Evaluation of the potential of multispectral point clouds and their acquisition with multispectral airborne laser scanners

Nachtlicht-BüHNE addresses Citizen Science in the context of the topic areas Astronomy, Space Research, Sustainability Science and Light Pollution. The general aim is the development of a co-design framework for App-based Citizen Science projects that brings together citizens and Helmholtz scientists for research purposes. The results of the project will be provided within a web platform, along with tools for supporting collaborative work of citizens and Helmholtz scientists.

The project NaTec – KRH aims to develop remote sensing based methods for the monitoring of species and habitats in nature conservation areas. In different ecological scales (from satellite sensors over drones to field spectroscopy) it will be examined how habitat management impacts spatial patterns of biodiversity and supports ecosystem resilience.

The Research Training Group „NatRiskChange“ funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) started in 2015. It aims at developing quantitative methods for an improved hazard and risk analysis. The Remote Sensing section at GFZ is involved in two out of 12 PhD projects.

Night Watch is a project funded through the European Space Agency's first "New Earth Observation Mission Ideas" (NEOMI) call. It aims to develop a concept for a future European satellite for remote sensing using nighttime lights.

Ocean Scan - Marine litter database from earth and space is a platform that brings together in-situ observations of marine plastic litter and archived remote sensing images into one searchable database ensuring a consistent data format and schema to fit the requirements of remote sensing users and machine learning algorithms.

ReMon aims at developing a prototypical monitoring system for mine tailings. The monitoring system will be a combination of software and hardware packages. Different sensors scaling from satellite- to drone-based will be integrated into a product primarily aiming at the mining sector.

SERES is funded by DAAD and CAPES within the German-Brazilian PROBRAL programme for bilateral scientific cooperation. The project aims at monitoring and managing water resources in semi-arid NE Brazil by means of in situ, remote sensing and modelling approaches.

The aim of SEVA was to develop a scalable exploration tool that supports users to conduct change detection based on optical Sentinel-2 satellite observations. Funded by: Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy Funding period: 01.11.2017 - 30.04.2020

GFZ section 1.4 is operating the Demmin monitoring site focusing on agrometeorological, phenological and soil parameters. Research targets plant-water-availability, agricultural and ecological topics. New methods for linking ground based data with remote sensing data are developed and validated.

Using daily high-resolution optical, SAR, and hyperspectral satellite data, this project aims to obtain precise and reliable data on large pieces of floating litter, regarding their quantity, trajectories and accumulation zones, material properties, floating depth, and sources. This information may serve as a basis for the recovery of floating litter, the elimination of its sources, and to prevent its dispersing.

With recent satellite missions and new concepts such as the Copernicus program and the Planet Labs fleet a golden era for Earth observation (EO) has begun. We have access to very large and ever-growing data volumes of satellite image time series (SITS) on a global scale, which enables tackling global applications at an unprecedented spatial resolution and revisit time. It now allows the observation of small-scale and rapid change dynamics at the Earth’s surface. Such spatio-temporal Earth surface anomalies are often caused by natural or man-made hazards including but not limited to solid waste dump sites, landslides, deforestation, dam breaks, fires, and volcanic eruptions, which clearly differentiate due to their rapid nature from long-term and seasonal dynamics.

WORLDSOILS aims to develop a Soil Monitoring System to provide yearly estimations of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) at global scale, exploiting space-based Earth observation data leveraging large soil data archives and modelling techniques to improve the spatial resolution and accuracy of SOC maps.

The following projects are closed.

back to top of main content