Press Releases
Critical Software will present the results of Desertwatch project at MundoGEO 2012
24 May 2012
Critical Software - a company specialized in providing reliable technologies for critical information systems - will participate in the event MundoGEOLatinAmerica Connect 2012, held from 29 to 31 May in Sao Paulo, Brazil. During this seminar dedicated to the use of satellite imagery, Critical Software will present the results of the project DesertWatch regarding the production of indicators related to desertification and soil quality.
During the seminar, the DesertWatch tool will be presented. This tool was developed by a consortium led by Critical Software for the European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with UNCCD’ focal points in Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal, and in partnership with Instituto Superior Técnico, Instituto Geográfico Português and Deimos Engenharia. The aim of the system is to produce information to be used by all stakeholders of the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) to assess and monitor land degradation through three metrics: Land Cover, Land Degradation Indicator and Indicator of Susceptibility to Desertification.
The system implements processing chains based on satellite images and may as such be used in areas with no infrastructure for collecting in-situ data. The installation at INSA (National Institute for the Semi-Arid, located in Paraiba, Brazil) allowed producing information for the Brazilian semiarid region, which identified areas susceptible to desertification and desertified areas, whose main causes are related to a decrease in vegetation quality, probably due to increased agricultural activities and increased drought over the past 20 years.
"DesertWatch tool, developed by Critical Software for the European Space Agency, shows the potential of satellite technology to collect desertification indicators, related to the land assessment and monitoring and the trends of vegetation and soil biophysical components. The satellite images processing allows providing a global comprehensive solution saving time and resources" refers Nuno Duro, Business Manager of Earth Observation of Critical Software.
