European Union Ambassador visits Landgate

The European Union Ambassador to Australia Dr Michael Pulch visited Landgate on 15 March 2018 to see first-hand how we are using data from the European-led Copernicus satellite program and learn about Landgate’s innovative way of working.

Copernicus, a European Commission initiative, is helping nations in Europe and around the world monitor and respond quickly to global challenges.  The program focusses on six key areas: land, marine, atmosphere, climate change, emergency management and security.

Manager Imagery, Matthew Adams said Landgate became involved because data from Copernicus, particularly the Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 satellites, had the potential to improve Western Australia’s emergency management systems.  

Matthew and Team Leader Satellite Delivery (Emergency Management), Adrian Allen, demonstrated Aurora during the Ambassador’s visit.  They showed him how Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data has led to higher resolution and more timely images of flooding and fire scars which are helping firefighters and other emergency workers.

“The Ambassador was very impressed by how we are using data from the Copernicus program to help emergency workers save lives and property in Western Australia,” said Matthew.

“Not only are emergency workers able to access better information, it’s being delivered faster which can be critical when planning for, and responding to natural disasters.”

Director Customers and Open Data Damian Shepherd explained to the Ambassador how we are making Copernicus data available to others for re-use through data.wa.gov.au and Aurora.

“Using data.wa.gov.au connects the public to large Copernicus data stores at the Pawsey Centre that our Imagery team have helped set-up, and Aurora provides access to processed imagery for our emergency services. We believe there’s still more potential for start-ups, researchers and other government agencies to create innovative services and solutions using this data,” said Damian.

General Manager SPUR Peter Markham said that the Ambassador was extremely impressed with how SPUR’s program linked data, like that received from Copernicus, with both Government and Industry demonstrating an excellent example of our commitment to innovation and collaboration internationally.

“We’re already seeing impressive results from this international collaboration and SPUR is excited about where this will take us in the future.”