Use of satellite data

European and other countries' satellites today cover most of the globe and provide access to large amounts of data. Such data can be used to extract detailed information, for monitoring the environment and possible dangerous situations. However, this requires access to advanced and scalable tools, for fast processing and analysis.

To utilize the large amounts of data available from satellite-based monitoring, we develop techniques and analysis tools. Our work makes it possible to utilize satellite data in an efficient way for research on sea ice, open ocean, and land, and to facilitate information that society needs. We have cutting-edge expertise in remote sensing, and broad experience in the development of specially adapted software for processing satellite data.

Our main focus is the northern sea areas, where we monitor, among other things, ice conditions and plankton blooms that can be harmful to marine ecosystems. Along the Norwegian coast, we look at changes in sea level, and study currents that are important for safe navigation. Our expertise and research make it possible to improve safety both on the open sea and near the coast. At the same time, we are looking at new areas where our expertise can come in handy, such as in ocean areas at southern latitudes. More efficient use of satellite data is needed to monitor changes in the environment and climate. We make important contributions to filling knowledge gaps in this area.

For more information, contact research leader Antonio Bonaduce.

News

Products and services

Ocean modelsAt the Nansen Center, we are developing the data assimilation system TOPAZ which is based on the ocean model HYCOM, the ecosystem model ECOSMO, the sea-ice model CICE, and our own developed data assimilation method Ensamble Kalman Filter.
Climate modelsGlobal climate models such as NorESM take into account all the elements our globe is made of, and which affect each other: atmosphere, ocean, ice, soil, and ecosystem. With such models, it is possible to look at what causes climate change and how the development could be.
Sea-ice modelsSea ice data is of great importance for safe navigation in Arctic regions. At the Nansen Center, two tools have been developed which are used to predict changes in the sea ice in the near future for the North Atlantic and the Arctic; the data assimilation system TOPAZ and the sea-ice model neXtSIM.

Projects

Client: Research Council of Norway
Project owner: Nansen Center
Project leader at the Nansen Center: Einar Ólason
Client: European Space Agency
Project owner: Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Project leader at the Nansen Center: Antonio Bonaduce
Client: Norwegian Space Agency
Project owner: Nansen Center
Project leader at the Nansen Center: Anton Korosov
Client: European Space Agency
Project owner: Assimila, UK
Project leader at the Nansen Center: Johnny A. Johannessen