GMES: A SYSTEM IN THE MAKING; A CHALLENGE TO MEET
The use of Earth-observation satellites has become indispensable over time, not only for science but also for practical applications and services. When Europe decided to establish the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative, decision-makers aimed to secure Europe’s independence and capacities for achieving precisely these benefits. An Earth-observation system with common European and national space and ground infrastructure and a network of services, to benefit policies and citizens likewise, was a daring idea. The efforts of the stakeholders have turned this idea into concrete results. Climate change is a case in point. Long-term, accurate and globally comparable observations are a prerequisite not only to understand the interdependencies of the global climate system but also its socio-economic impact on citizens worldwide.
Much has been achieved. The Space Component, co-ordinated by ESA, is taking shape at full pace. The Services Component, co-ordinated by the European Commission, has been developed to a high level of maturity with some services already fully operational. GMES is supporting emergency response through the provision of satellite-based maps highlighting the extent of disasters. GMES services are providing daily air-quality information; information on solar irradiance; updated information of Europe's coastal areas through detection of ships that pollute the waters with oil; regular maps of the European territory and changes of its land-use; and information on agricultural production as a means of early warning for potential food crises in the developing world. Those are a few examples of the wide-ranging portfolio.
The backbone of space-based observations of GMES will be the suite of Sentinel satellites, grouped in five mission families with different capabilities, designed as a complement to existing and planned missions at national European level. They are the result of a careful and comprehensive gap analysis, responding to user requirements and their related observation needs at large. The first satellites (the so-called ‘A’ units) of Sentinel 1, 2 and 3 are currently developed by industry; their launch is only about two years away.
The uniqueness of GMES is the aim to establish an operational programme that covers a broad spectrum of services for a long time; that it is available at any time after the deployment of its components; and that it is reliable, affordable and openly accessible. Creating sustainability is, therefore, the biggest challenge of all. As regards the GMES Space Component, Europe aims at providing full and open access to Sentinel data in order to give industry and users the best possible opportunity to maximise the benefits of public investments. The derived information will follow a GMES data and information policy, which, likewise, aims at providing environmental information at the disposal of European citizens. In turn, this will promote economic growth and job creation.
Most of all, all stakeholders must work together to guarantee a sustainable programme. The efforts undertaken already, and the practical benefits expected, must not be jeopardised by delays or gaps. The Sentinel satellites must be launched and operated in consistent intervals. Like gear wheels, where each part must intertwine with the next in order to keep the system running, it will be essential to keep the data-flow coming from space and from ground, to keep services producing products and to enable politicians and citizens to profit from those products on a daily basis without fearing an interruption of services or having to fight for continuation.
With GMES, Europe engages itself in operational environmental observations in a similar way as it was done 30 years ago in weather forecasting when the first weather satellites were launched. With the GMES system fully operational Europe will have the first operational satellite-based environmental observation system worldwide.
