Brandenburg / Havel, Germany, October 8, 2009 – RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate a constellation of five Earth Observation satellites, announced today that they have supplied the German company EOMAP GmbH & Co. KG (Earth Observation and Mapping) with satellite imagery to support mapping services for oil spill monitoring in Australia. EOMAP creates solutions to produce standardized map products from Earth Observation data, and incorporated RapidEye data into their mapping of the ecological disaster of an oil spill near the coast of western Australia in September this year.
The incident occurred in early August when oil, gas and condensate started seeping into the Timor Sea near Darwin in western Australia. The spill covered several thousand square kilometers with approximately 400 barrels leaking daily. The spill threatened the commercially important fish stocks, the marine ecosystem and coral colonies on the western Australian coastline.
“Our constellation of five Earth Observation satellites is quite flexible, making it relatively easy to image the oil spill area near the western Australian coastline. In this particular situation, EOMAP was able to create high-precision maps from our up-to-date, high resolution satellite data over this area which supported them in their water monitoring efforts. This situation shows how capable the RapidEye system is to support crisis management for natural disasters," commented Michael Prechtel, Head of Sales and Marketing for RapidEye.
“Timely and accurate detection of surface oil slicks is fundamental for monitoring oil spill hazards and operating drift forecast models. By using RapidEye high resolution satellite imagery in addition to imagery from other sensors such as MODIS and MERIS, we enhanced the chance to obtain cloud-free, high quality images for the detection of oil spills. RapidEye data is extremely valuable to emergency response management, as their system is capable of reaching any point on Earth within a day and allows for frequent revisits,” stated Dr. Thomas Heege, Managing Director of EOMAP GmbH & Co. KG.
If you are interested in demonstration products (free test data) from Australia, please visit RapidEye’s website at www.rapideye.de/demo-products or email demoproducts@rapideye.de.
Images of your region or area of interest can be chosen from the expanding collection of imagery in the RapidEye Library by contacting a distributor at www.rapideye.de/distributors, or RapidEye directly. The Library is continuously growing, with new images being downloaded from the satellites every day. For more information, please contact the company’s website at www.rapideye.de, or email an inquiry to sales@rapideye.de.
About EOMPAP GmbH & Co. KG
EOMAP creates sophisticated map products based on multi- to hyperspectral remote sensing data, SAR data, as well as classification software solutions. Our solutions rely on standardized physical models and work independently of scale, sensor type, and geographic location. We offer customized, large-area mapping based on satellite and airborne imagery for a manifold of applications with a focus on aquatic remote sensing. EOMAP’s services can be applied in environmental monitoring and spatial explorations, in particular for coastal zones, inland waters, wetlands, and other areas where high-precision mapping is required. EOMAP GmbH & Co.KG is an independent company located in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, Germany. http://www.eomap.de/
About RapidEye AG
RapidEye is an ISO-certified geospatial information provider focused on integrating customized and industry specific solutions into the workflow of global customers in agriculture, forestry, energy, infrastructure, government, security and emergency. RapidEye experts and the satellite system – a constellation of five satellites capable of downloading over 4 million km² of high resolution, multi-spectral imagery per day, and a ground segment for processing and archiving data – allow for cost-effective customized services. The unique combination of large area coverage, high spatial resolution and the possibility of daily revisit to an area provide for superior management information solutions. Currently, more than 110 experts from more than 20 countries are employed by RapidEye, with plans to grow the team to 140 by late 2009. RapidEye benefits from a public-private partnership with the Space Agency of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. RapidEye is also cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). For more information on ERDF please contact efreinfo@mw.brandenburg.de. RapidEye is a “Selected Landmark in the Land of Ideas” and therefore part of the event series “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas”. This program is run by the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” and Deutsche Bank. Being a “Selected Landmark” RapidEye will stand for Germany being a “Land of ideas” in 2009 and will demonstrate Germany’s spirit of innovation. The initiative is under the patronage of Germany’s federal president Horst Köhler. www.land-of-ideas.org. For more information about RapidEye, please visit www.rapideye.de.