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Why is it useful


Earth Observation (EO) data are having a huge impact in unravelling complex issues in earth systems science and in improving the way we manage our environment.

Gulf of Mexico oil spill seen from space. Credit ESA (JPG, 134 Kb)  
Image of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill taken by Envisat
Credit: ESA

Applications of EO increase on an almost daily basis; historically EO satellites were largely meteorological.  Nowadays, whilst  meteorology is still an important application, EO can show the spread of air  pollution across a whole continent, identify the precise damage caused by an earthquake , track  deforestation or monitor the changes occurring at polar  ice caps.  In the longer term, these global, consistent, reliable datasets will play a critical role in our understanding and predictions of climate change.

If you are involved in a novel application of EO or have an interest in exploring the ways that EO data could improve your work, we would like to hear about it, so please  get in touch.

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The UK Space Agency

The UK Space Agency is at the heart of UK efforts to explore and benefit from space.

The UK's thriving space sector contributes £9.1 billion a year to the UK economy and directly employs 28,900 with an average growth rate of almost 7.5%. (The Size and Health of the UK Space Sector 2010/11, preliminary survey results.)

View a list of organisations that we work with.

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