COSMO-SkyMed Contribution to

Cultural Heritage Monitoring

Copernicus for Cultural heritage Workshop Brussels, Monday, April 24, 2017

Maria Libera Battagliere

COSMO-SkyMed Deputy Mission ManagerHead of COSMO-SkyMed Data Utilization Office- Radar Satellite Infrastructure DepartmentItalian Space Agency

OUTLINES

INTRODUCTION: THE EFFORT OF ITALY IN EO FIELD and THE COSMO-SkyMed MISSION

2Copernicus for Cultural heritage Workshop Brussels, Monday, April 24, 2017

COSMO-SkyMed DATA ACCESS AND EXPLOITATION IN THE CIVILIAN DOMAIN

SAR TECHNOLOGY for CULTURAL HERITAGE

COSMO-SkyMed MISSION for CULTURAL HERITAGE

EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS BASED ON COSMO-SKYMED DATA

THE ITALIAN SPACE AGENCY (ASI)

ASI was founded in 1988 with the purposeto coordinate all of Italy's efforts andinvestments in the space sector that hadbegun in the 1960s.

Today ASI:

• HAS 250 EMPLOYEES

• HQS IN ROME

• 3 CENTERS: SCIENCE DATA CENTER(ASDC) IN ROME; SPACE GEODESYAND EO CENTER IN MATERA; BROGLIOSPACE CENTER IN MALINDI (KENYA)

• PARTICIPATION IN 5 COMPANIES (750EMPLOYEES)

IF REQUESTED

ASI supports the INSTITUTIONAL (incl. SCIENTIFIC) data exploitation

INSTITUTIONAL

USERS

e-GEOS supports the COMMERCIAL data exploitation

COMMERCIAL

USERS

www.e-geos.it

www.asi.it

> 1.000.000 scenes in the Civilian catalogue Dec. 2016

ACCESSING THE SYSTEM IN THE CIVILIAN DOMAIN

“ON DEMAND” ISTITUTIONAL

and COMMERCIAL USERS

MAP ITALY project (from 2009)

COSMO-SkyMed

BACKGROUN MISSION

TWO

COSMO-SkyMeD

OPEN CALLs for “SCIENCE” and for

National SMEs

COSMO-SkyMed BACKGROUND and FOREGROUND MISSIONs

264 UNESCO sites

distributed worldwide

are regularly

monitored in the

framework of the

COSMO-SkyMed

Background Mission

to build a multi-

temporal data

archivehttp://whc.unesco.org/en/list/

DESC

264

71

COSMO-SkyMeD OPEN CALL for “SCIENCE”

Selected projects will be supported for a maximumof two years, through a provision of a maximum of

100 free of charge COSMO-SkyMedscenes❖ 80 archive product❖ 20 Tasking product

• On February 25, 2015, ASI issued a COSMO-SkyMed Open Call for science:

• Call open for proposals related to:

− COSMO-SkyMed Constellation Innovative Exploitation

− COSMO-SkyMed Synergies with other EO Missions

− COSMO-SkyMed Methods and Algorithms

− New ideas for System Exploitation

• Exclusively related to basic and applied R&D in view of scientific and toward operational utilization of the products developed

• Commercial or operational activities are not supported• Peer-Review evaluation

http://www.asi.it/en/agency/calls-and-opportunities/calls/cosmo-skymed-constellation-data-utilization

: PERMANENTLY OPEN

Monitoring Cultural Heritage by satellite

An Open Call for national SME’s community waspublished on the ASI website to promote theexploitation of COSMO-SkyMed data and theimprovement of existing applications or thedevelopment of new technologies and algorithmsbased on EO information and to stimulate the wholeof the Italy’s industrial fabric (SMEs), which is strategicfor the Country.

COSMO-SkyMeD OPEN CALL for “NATIONAL SMEs”

Selected projects are supported for a maximum of two

years, through a provision of a maximum of 100 free ofcharge COSMO-SkyMed scenes from both❖ archive❖ new acquisitions

Topics: Mainly addressed to ❖monitoring of infrastructures and building stock❖ surveying of archaeological heritage in cooperation with

institutions ❖ developing of new tools and SAR methods.

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Monitoring Cultural Heritage by satellite

COSMO-SkyMed IS a COPERNICUS CONTRIBUTING MISSION since 2009

Floods in Bangladesh

CSK ACQUISITION

23 AUGUST 2014

High resolution SAR data

are used for flood extent

delineation

THANKS TO THE

SHORT REVISIT TIME,

COSMO-SkyMed HAS

BEEN LARGELY USED

DURING EMERGENCY

SITUATIONS.

SAR technology for CULTURAL HERITAGE

Early applications of SAR data in archaelogy date

back to 1980s and enabled numerous important

discoveries, reveling new insights in vast desert

areas.

Being active sensors, radar sensors are able to

sense a target area at any time of day and night

and are less influenced by atmosphetic effects,

offering a valuable data source for mapping and

studying tropical or subtropical territories,

where cloud cover is one of the major limitations

of optical images.

Neverthless, archaelogical investigations based

on spaceborne SAR were limited due to

the relatively low spatial resolution of

previous sensors.

the scarse public availability of data

the higher complexity of data processing and

software compared with optical dataThe availability of Very High Resolution (VHR) SAR data such as

the COSMO-SkyMed data, opened a new era in spaceborne SAR remote

sensing, including archaelogy remote sensing and cultural

heritage monitoring.

An ASI’s Open Call initiative for the scientific EO community

started in February 2015

The current availability oh commercial VHR satellite SAR and open

source software makes the use of these data more affordable and

Have we done things right until now?

HIGH REVISIT TIME (max 12 H)

Copernicus for Cultural heritage Workshop Brussels, Monday, April 24, 2017

The Interferometric capabilities combined with the high resolution of COSMO-SkyMed data, allow to obtain very accurate measurements (with a millimetric accuracy) of terrain and structures displacements and to have information to support the management of risks due to any deformation phenomena in place.

INTERFEROMETRIC CAPABILITIESHIGH RESOLUTION (< 1m)

COSMO-SkyMed Mission for Cultural Heritage and Infrastructure monitoring

Possibility of interferometric acquisitions (Same orbit direction, same look side, same incidence angle)

COSMO-SkyMed contribution to Cultural Heritage Monitoring

Applications based on the MAP ITALY DATA SET

Data Set: 32 STRIPMAP Himage

Right Looking mode, ASC orbits,

HH, 3m res between March 2011

and June 2013, through the Map

Italy project and Archeocosmo

projectASC

The analysis assessed the condition of

both city centre and peripheral quarters

of Rome to monitor the historical

deformation.

✓ The main monuments and

archaelogical sites of the historic

centre are stable, excpet for

movements detected in Trastevere

and the area of Basilica di san Saba;

✓ Subsidence phenomena are evident

in areas of recent urbanization

(quarter of Marconi).

✓ Demonstartion of the capability to

detect deformation at a single-

building scale trough COSMO-

SkyMed Stripmap Himage data

Page 13e-GEOS Proprietary

Temporal evolution of a PS over Palatino, RomaCOSMO-SkyMed Jan 2010 – May 2012

Courtesy of e-Geos (34 acquisitions, STRIP HI mode, RL, ASC)Request of the Superintendence of Archaeological sites

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01/10/10 05/10/10 09/10/10 01/10/11 05/10/11 09/10/11 01/10/12 05/10/12

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Temporal evolution

It can be observed that the area over Palatino is essentially stable with the mean velocity near to zero in the analyzed period.

VENICE Lagoon - 2009-2011

Evoluzione Temporale

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10/26/2009 2/13/2010 6/3/2010 9/21/2010 1/9/2011 4/29/2011

Tempo (giorni)

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mm

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Evoluzione Temporale

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10/26/2009 2/13/2010 6/3/2010 9/21/2010 1/9/2011 4/29/2011Tempo (giorni)

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Courtesy of E-GEOS

UNESCO site from 1987

Ecosystem with a strong

vulnerability

The multiband approach allowed to improve the

knowledge of the subsidence in the highly

heterogeneus environments of this area,

pointing out a significant difference between the

land subsidence in the crop fields with the respect

to the same phenomena experienced by the

structure and infrastructures

16 images ALOS-PALSAR, L

band, 2007-2010 31 images COSMO-SkyMed, X

band, 2008-2011 (PSI)

Monitoring Cultural Heritage by satellite

COSMO-SkyMed contribution in the International Context

ARTEK PROJECT

Satellite enabled Services for Preservation and Valorization of Cultural Heritage

Map Italy Data Set

2016-2018

Villa Adriana e Villa d’Este:

UNESCO sitesTivoli cultural

heritage is exposed

to several threats

related essentially

to:

• Illegal

constructions

• Land subsidence

given by the

phenomenon of

water extraction

for travertine

quarries and

thermal baths

MAJOR USERS

• Organizations responsible for the

Cultural properties

• Site visitors

NEEDS

Organizations responsible for the

Cultural properties need systematic tools

to:

• perform risk assessment at

local/municipal spatial scale

• Delineate damages in case of

disasters

• Provide a regular monitoring to

guarantee a preventive conservation

and maintenance planning

Spot, Right Looking, Desc, HH, 2015

UNESCO site from 1993

Risks:

• new industrial areas

• landfill of waste

• Earthquakes, flooding, forest fires

MATERA TEST SITE for ARTEK DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Monitoring Cultural Heritage by satellite

COSMO-SkyMed contribution in the European Framework

trough the ASI Open Call initiative for national SMEs

CLIMA and CLIMA-SAR PROJECT

The CLIMA project was funded by the European

Commission through the Joint Programming Initiative

on Cultural Heritage (2015-2018)

The prevention and risk monitoring of cultural heritage

resources, which include landscapes, could generate a cost

reduction for restoration of about 30% (source MIBACT-

Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism)

ASI is providing

COSMO-SkyMed data

(STRIPMAP and

SPOTHLIGHT) over

two test sites:

• Falerii Novi

(Fabrica di Roma,

Italia)

• Nea Paphos

(Cipro)- UNESCO

site

Green points are stationaryThe 2010–2014 Pollino swarm sequence comprises more

than 6000 events, as recorded by the Italian seismic

network, and provides an unprecedented opportunity to

characterize a normal faulting earthquake swarm using

both seismic and geodetic observations. The sequence

started at the end of 2010 following decades of seismic

quiescence and lasted until the beginning of 2014.

Unesco Global Geoparks

Light blue points are moving towards the

satellite direction (1.5 cm/year)

Red points are moving away from the satellite

(2.5 cm/year)

Deformation velocity map of the Pollino area (2012-2014)

Calabria Region

COSMO-SkyMed Open Call for the Scientific Community

“Monitoring of the 2011-2013 Pollino Earthquake

sequence with COSMO/SKYMED data”

PERSEPOLISSTRIPMAP HIMAGE modeJanuary 9, 2017HH, Right ASCSAR2

COSMO-SkyMed BACKGROUND MISSION

260 scenes available from July

28, 2011 until January 9, 2017

• Multi-temporal data set available

in the COSMO-SkyMed

catalogue

• Repeat-pass interferometry is a

powerful instrument to generate

deformation maps

• Identification of damages in case

of disasters

More than 8000 data available over

IRAN (high seismic risk area)

EGYPTIAN-ITALIAN SCIENCE FORUM 2012 ROME – JANUARY 16-17 2012

Sensor mode: SPOTLIGHT 10 km x 10 kmResolution: 1 mAcquisition date: Sept 18, 2009Pass Direction: Descending

Pyramid of Khafre

GIZA Necropolis

COSMO-SkyMed BACKGROUND MISSION

COSMO-SkyMed images of the Giza

pyramides were used to test the shape

detection alghoritm in the framework of

the HORUS (Heritage Retrieval and

Observation Under Sand)

project, funded by ESA

Very high spatial resolution SAR data

offer a promising capability to detect

building fragments under sand.

EGYPTIAN-ITALIAN SCIENCE FORUM 2012 ROME – JANUARY 16-17 2012

MULTI TEMPORAL COHERENCE approach is based on the combined

analysis of SAR amplitude and coherence, with the general goal to detect changes

between two o multi-temporal data sets. This kind of product/mapping is useful for

looting and destruction or deterioration monitoring of cultural heritage sites.

PYRAMIDS

Red Pyramid

OPTICAL

COSMO-SkyMed Spotlight 2

2011, May 29

2011, June 01

Coherence

Courtesy of E-GEOS

Green areas show were the

coherence is low (changes)

and the backscatter signal is

higher in the second image

Red areas show were the

coherence is low (changes)

and the backscatter signal is

higher in the first image

Bent Pyramid or

Pyramid of Snefru

The coherence represents a

cross-correlation product

derived from two SAR co-

registered images in terms of

complex values (both intensity

and phase components): it

depicts changes in

backscattering characteristics

of the target

EGYPTIAN-ITALIAN SCIENCE FORUM 2012 ROME – JANUARY 16-17 2012

Tanis - COSMO-SkyMed Multi TemporalCoherence Image overlayed on Google Earth

COSMO-SkyMed Spotlight 2

2011, May 28

2011, June 01

Coherence

2 meter resolution

Excavations taking place in

Tanis, where archaeologists

uncovered a 3,000-year-old

house.

THE COHERENCE MAP

SHOWS CLEARLY

EVIDENCE OF DIGGING

SITES AND TRACKS: IT CAN

BE SEEN AS THE

COMPARISON IN

AMPLITUDE and PHASE

BETWEEN THE TWO

SIGNALS RECEIVED

DURING TWO CONSCUTIVE

ACQUISITIONS WITH THE

SAME ACQUISITION

GEOMETRY

Sensor mode: SPOTLIGHT 10 km x 10 kmResolution: 1 m

Acquisition date: May 28, 2011Pass Direction: Descending

Blue areas indicate high

coherence, that means no

changes (e.g. buildings,

desert)

COSMO-SkyMed for CULTURAL HERITAGE

It means more than 20

projects activated by the

users in the last 3 years.

✓ About the 97% of the

requested data comes from

the CSK data archive

✓ The most exploited acquisition

mode is the STRIPMAP

sensor mode.

NO ACQUISITION/NRT

products MEANS 100% of

success rate in the data

delivery/provision

Conclusions

Earth Observation is recognized as a key instrument to support monitoring actions at localand global scale aimed to ensure environmental sustainability of human activities. A strategicrole is represented by missions such as COSMO-SkyMmed for its peculiarities as high spatialresolution and high revisit time.

The Earth Observation satellites are powerful instruments for identification and evaluations ofnatural and anthropogenic hazards that can have a negative impact over cultural assets.They are useful to identify changes over monitored areas and to assess the state ofconservation.

Italian Space Agency is providing its contribution at both National and International leveltrought the use of COSMO-SkyMed data.In this context the Open Call initiative for the Scientific Community, which is permanentlyopen, represents a source of data free of charge for scientists and Organizations responsiblefor Cultural properties.

It was estimated that a regular monitoring of cultural heritage resources, which includelandscapes, could generate a cost reduction for restoration and manteinance of about 30%(source MIBACT - Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism)

Contact Points:

Alessandro Coletta - COSMO-SkyMed Mission Director - alessandro.coletta@asi.it

Maria L. Battagliere - COSMO-SkyMed Deputy Mission Manager - maria.battagliere@asi.it

ThankYou!

Copernicus for Cultural heritage Workshop Brussels, Monday, April 24, 2017