The AIR Centre: International Collaboration for a Digital ...

The AIR Centre: International Collaboration for a Digital and Greener Atlantic

Climate Science from SpaceThe roadmap for a Digital and greener Earth

Miguel Belló Mora (CEO, AIR Centre)21st April 2021

CONTENT

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• AIR Centre Mission and Vision

• Timeline and Current Network Status

• Research Infrastructures

• Selected AIR Centre Projects

• Future Flagship Projects:

• Atlantic Pole to Pole Observation System ofSystems

• Constellation of Small Satellites

• Scholarship Program

• AIR Centre Network Events

• Conclusions

AIR CENTRE: MISSION AND VISION

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• International non-profit organization with a distributed and collaborative network• To foster job creation and knowledge driven economic development in Atlantic regions• Based in scientific excellence and providing services to the scientific community • To monitor and decisively contribute to reach the UN sustainable development goals• It integrates space, climate, earth, ocean, enegy and data sciences• To promote South-North/North-South cooperation• With main actions oriented towards selected main thematic missions

AIR CENTRE: RESULT OF AN INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC DIPLOMACY EFFORT

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October

AIR CENTRE NETWORK STATUS: COUNTRY MEMBERS

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AIR CENTRE NETWORK STATUS: AIR CENTRE OFFICES

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USA

BRAZIL

PORTUGALSPAIN

UK

CAPE VERDE

GHANA NIGERIA

ANGOLA

SOUTH AFRICA

S. TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE

NAMÍBIA

AIR CENTRE NETWORK STATUS: AZORES HEADQUARTERS

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USA

BRAZIL

PORTUGAL

UK

CAPE VERDE

GHANA NIGERIA

ANGOLA

SOUTH AFRICA

S. TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE

NAMÍBIA

Headquarters – Terinov, Terceira IslandEarth Observation Laboratory

Marine Biodiversity Observation Network

AIR CENTRE NETWORK STATUS: LISBON OFFICE

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USA

BRAZIL

PORTUGAL

UK

CAPE VERDE

GHANA NIGERIA

ANGOLA

SOUTH AFRICA

S. TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE

NAMÍBIA

Headquarters – Terinov, Terceira IslandEarth Observation Laboratory

Marine Biodiversity Observation Network

Central office – Palácio das Laranjeiras, Lisboa

SPAIN

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AIR CENTRE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE

AIR CENTRE HEADQUARTERS: TERCEIRA (AZORES)

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EARTH OBSERVATION LABORATORY & ESA LAB

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EARTH OBSERVATION LABORATORY & ESA_Lab

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GEO BLUE PLANET & GEO MBON SECRETARIAT

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ü GEO Blue Planet Thematic and regional Node (MoU signed by FCT, GEO Blue Planet and AIR Centre)

ü GEO MBON Secretariat (MoU signed by FCT, MBON and AIR Centre)

Note: MBON is the Marine Biodiversity ObservationNetwork

RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE: GEODESY STATION

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Ground station from the “Atlantic Network of Geodesy and Spacial Stations”

• Located in Santa Maria Island

• In collaboration with the RegionalGovernment of Azores

• Data from the Very Long BaselineInterferometry Global ObservingSystem (VGOS) - type radio telescope

• Control building which houses threepillars for the installation ofgravimeters and seismographs

AIR CENTRE SELECTED PROJECTS

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70 Proposals for international competitive calls> 20 Awarded projects> 35 M€ funding for the network in awarded projectsØ 120 new high-skilled jobs created for the next 3 years around the networkØ 1,6 M€ in direct contracts for AIR Centre

AIR CENTRE SELECTED PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT

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• E5DES

Excellence in Technological Efficiency, use of Marine Energies, Emerging Technologies and Circular Economy in Desalination.

• FPACUP

Framework Partnership Agreement on Copernicus User Uptake. Expanding the existing markets and creating new markets and competitiveness

• HYPERSPECTROMETER FOR MARINE LITTER

Development of hyperspectral sensors for detection and identification of macroplastics

• SAIL

Space-Atmosphere-Ocean Interactions in the Marine Boundary Layer, on board the Sagrescircumnavigation trip

• MISSION ATLANTIC

Mapping and assessing present and future status of Atlantic marine ecosystems under Climate Change and Exploitation

• ASTRAL

Develop new, sustainable, profitable and resilient value chains for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA)

SELECTED PROJECTS

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• CE2COAST

Downscaling Climate and Ocean Change to Services: observations of ocean climate, biogeochemistry and relevant ecological indicators

• DIRECT RECEIVING STATION (DRS)

(DRS) for EO satellites with direct broadcast installed at the Earth Observation Laboratory in Terceira

• PORTS OF FUTURE

Design a transformative environmental monitoring and management service, moving towards zero pollution ports

• MAGAL

Development of a constellation of radar altimeter small satellites for ocean applications in collaboration with UT Texas (Austin, USA)

• AEROS

Development of a constellation of small satellites with optical, AIS and communication payloads for maritime applications in collaboration with MIT (USA)

SELECTED PROJECTS

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• RENEWABLE OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY

EO-based services to support the wind energy sector in the design and operations planning of offshore infrastructures in the Atlantic Region

• ATLANTIC CITIES AND PORTS

Development and delivery of customized EO-based information services to support decision making processes by climate resilience, ports and protecting the oceans related stakeholders in the Atlantic Region

• IntAIRSect

Deployment of an international structure between scientific and technological entities to create the conditions for technological and innovative experiments for blue economy

• COVID-19 OBSERVATORY

Continuous analysis of air and water quality during the COVID-19 pandemia

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AIR CENTRE FUTURE FLAGSHIP PROJECTS: ATLANTIC POLE

TO POLE OBSERVATION SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS (APPOSS),

CONSTELLATION OF SMALL SATELLITES

ATLANTIC USER NEEDS

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• Coastal erosion, bay and stuarine area protection• Fish stock management and protection of fisheries• Optimization of aquaculture and algae bloom monitoring

• Detection of oil spills, plastics and ocean contamination• Climate change monitoring and marine weather forecast• See ice monitoring and marine operations safety• Ocean ship monitoring and air traffic service (AIS and ADSB)• Disaster monitoring:

• Floods risk and evolution

• Tsunami alert• Fire risk and recovery

• Earthquakes and volcanoes

• Biodiversity assessment and animal migrations• Water quality, resources and management• Ports safety and energy, oil and gas services

ATLANTIC POLE TO POLE OBSERVATION SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS (APPOSS)

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• The complexity of the user needs requires a holistic approach encompassing different sciences (space, ocean, atmosphere, climate, data, energy, ...)

• At the same time, a framework that provides a complete understanding of the environment (ocean, land, atmosphere, space) is needed

• This framework can not be a single system, as it is impossible to observe all the complexity with a single type of sensors

• AIR Centre proposes this framework to be a “system of systems” for the observation of the Atlantic in its wholecomplexity

• The Atlantic Pole to Pole Observation System of Systems (APPOSS) is a holistic framework to provide the required measurements and to deliver the required services to cope with the identified user needs

APPOSS ARCHITECTURE

Space Component

Atmospheric Component

See Surface Component

Underwater Component

Ground Control Component

Data Component

User Service Component

Tracking stations

EU/ESASentinels

NOAA, NASA satellites

HAPS

UAVs

CTD GlidersAUVs

Autonomous VesselsDrifters Buoys

Small satelliteconstellation

Monitoring and ControlTelemetry/TelecommandMission PlanningFlight DynamicsCalibration and Validation

ArchiveCatalogueBig Data MetadataStandarization

Algorithms and Mathematical ModelsArtificial Inteligence (AI)Ocean, Space and Atmospheric science Users Community

APPOSS SPACE COMPONENT

• The use os satellite is of paramount importance because it provides synoptic measurements due to its very large field of view

• An important part of the space component are existing satellites from Europe (Copernicus’s Sentinels), USA (NOAA, USGS and NASA) and others AIR Centre members: Brazil (CBERS), Nigeria (NigeriaSat), Spain (Paz, Ingenio, Deimos 1, Deimos 2)

• Direct access to data from those satellites shall be developed at theGround Control Component, the seed of this part is the EO Lab

• Appart from above existing satellites, a new constellation of small satellites (Atlantic Constellation) shall be developed to complement providing the required short revisit time and low latency

CONSTELLATION DESIGN: 2D VIDEO

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• 2D graphicalanimation of theAtlantic Constellation with visibility of the cone of coverage of each satellite

• The image on the poles are distorted due to the projection used in this video

CONSTELLATION DESIGN: 3D VIDEO

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• 3D graphicalanimation of theAtlantic Constellation with visibility of the cone of coverage of each satellite

• Some gaps of coverage appears on the video, but they are closed always in a few minutes

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AIR CENTRE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM: 60 PHD SCHOLARSHIPS 2020-22

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IMPLEMENTATION OF SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

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1. Health: EO for Public Healt

2. Health: Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies

3. Health: Air quality impacts using Earth Observation and GIS – Geographical Information System

4. Marine Robotics: Coordinated autonomous ocean and air vehicle

5. Marine Robotics: Marine Litter Detection and Collection

6. Marine Litter: Aerial surveys of estuarine and beach plastic litter

7. Numeric Modeling: Health Atlantic Basin

8. Numeric Modeling: Downscaling-Upscaling of Ocean Circulation models in the Atlantic

9. AIR DataNET: Research data management tools for the AIR_DataNet repository

10. AIR DataNET: Value-added services for the AIR_Data Net repository

11. Atlantic open data cubes: Concepts and tools for the Macaronesian region Data Cube

12. Air quality impacts using earth Observations and GIS – Geographical Information System

13. Adaptive Ocean Sampling and Mapping using Networked Marine Robots (surface and

underwater vehicles)

§ 1st call launched in Q4 of 2020§ (13) Scholarships

§ 42 applications

AIR CENTRE NETWORK EVENTS

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AIR Centre Virtual Events

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Networking Fridays• Weekly sessions with relevant

speakers• Several hundred participants from

over 114 countriesRound Tables• Special sessions on relevant topics• Covid-19 impact in Blue Economy• Oceans in the solar system

AIR Centre Online Events: Networking Fridays Statistics

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SESSÕES 33

NÚMERO TOTAL DE UTILIZADORES 4477

INSCRIÇÕES 5534

VISUALIZAÇÕES NO YOUTUBE 4384

VISUALIZAÇÕES ÚNICAS 3004

PAÍSES E TERRITÓRIOS ULTRAMARINOS 114

NÚMERO TOTAL DE MEMBROS DOS PAINÉIS 120

6th HIGH LEVEL DIALOGUE ON ATLANTIC INTERACTIONS

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§ Full virtual event§ Participation of 11

Ministers from the AIR Centre Network

§ Signature of the “Philadelphia Declaration”

§ Nearly 700 registered participants form 53 countries

§ 70 speakers

Special Events

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SPECIAL EVENTS 2021

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• PPEU 2021: All Atlantic event in São Miguel - Azores, June 3rd- 4th

• PPEU 2021: European-African Summit on Earth Observation, Lisbon, June 10th - 11th

• Eureka Presidency events (Azores)

• AIR Centre 7th High Level Dialogue, Cape Town, November 2021 (expected November)

Conclusions

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CONCLUSIONS

• AIR Centre has been consolidated as an important international network for technical and scientific collaboration for a digital and greener Atlantic

• AIR Centre infrastructures like Earth Observation Laboratory, MBON, GEOBON and RAEGE have been implemented

• The first set of proposals were released to competitive calls, leading to 20 different projects in international collaboration

• The long term vision (APPOSS) is defined with the Atlantic Constellation of small satellites as flagship project

• Ambitious Scholarship program has been designed for PhDs in international collaboration within our network