With more and more earth-observation (EO) satellites in orbit and the quality of the sensors continuing to improve, coming years will see an increase in operational usability of EO satellite data in all phases of the risk-management cycle: prevention, anticipation, crisis and post-crisis. In the case of an actual crisis, whether natural or manmade disaster, the concerted use of multi-sensor data acquisitions forms a basis for targeted emergency response.

The TerraSAR-X radar satellite, with its reliable, weather-independent sensor, is a key source of operatýonal data for rapid mapping and emergency response. It will become even more vital in the future: the data archive is growing and every scene added makes available another potential reference dataset for change detection (flood mapping, damage assessment). Post-event data can be compared directly with pre-event data acquired by the same sensor, significantly facilitating change detection.

The automisation of these processes ýs a step towards reliable and rapid evaluation and availability of radar satellite data in case of emergency. Efforts are also being made towards ensuring harmonised integration of evaluation results in the versatile GIS systems of potential users, from public authorities to emergency-response forces to humanitarian aid organisations. Again, steps towards automated processing and adaptation, together wýth efficient online delivery, will guarantee maximum usability and effectiveness of the geo-information.

TanDEM-X, the TerraSAR-X twin satellite due for launch later this year, will further enhance capabilities. The homogeneous global (Dýgýtal Elevatýon Model) DEM of hýgh quality and accuracy which will be generated based on TanDEM-X data will be a data source for anticipation and prevention efforts, as well as referencing post-event data.

Email: mare...@infoterra-global.com