COPERNICUS EMERGENCY
MANANGEMENT SERVICE PROGRAMME - SCI & TECH
News: What is the Copernicus EMS
rapid response service activated to trace the Iranian President? | Explained
What's in the news?
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As part of a multi-agency effort to locate a
helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that crashed in East
Azerbaijan province recently, the European Union activated its Copernicus EMS
rapid response mapping service at Iran’s request.
Copernicus Emergency
Management Service (EMS) Programme:
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Named after the renowned 15th-century scientist
Nicolaus Copernicus, the programme is the earth observation component of the
European Union’s (EU) space initiative.
Backdrop:
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Copernicus was launched in 1998 and was earlier
known as the Global Monitoring for
Environment and Security Programme (GMES).
Features:
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The programme uses global data from satellites, and ground-based, airborne, and sea-borne
measurement systems to provide environment-related information to
researchers, policymakers, public authorities, international organisations, and
commercial and private users to address issues related to climate change,
disaster management, and agriculture, among other uses.
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The space segment uses a group of satellites,
called the Sentinels and the
Contributing Missions.
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It is complemented by a ground segment which
includes in-situ sensors that
provide access to the Sentinels and Contributing Missions data.
Implementation:
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Presently, the programme is implemented by EU member states with the support of
the European Space Agency (ESA) for
the space component and the European
Environment Agency (EEA) for the in-situ component.
Working Models:
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Active since 2012, the Copernicus EMS works on two
models such as
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On-demand mapping
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Early warning and monitoring to issue warnings,
risk assessments, and information on the impact of disasters worldwide, before,
during, or after a crisis.
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On-demand mapping offers detailed information for specific
emergencies.
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Early warning provides critical geospatial data through
monitoring and forecasts for floods, droughts, and forest fires.
Working of On-demand
Rapid Mapping:
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The Copernicus EMS on-demand rapid mapping provides
geospatial information within a few hours or days of a request to support
efforts in the immediate aftermath of an emergency or a disaster anywhere in
the world.
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It acquires, processes, and analyses satellite
images, geospatial data, and relevant social media in rapid mode to provide information.
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The service offers four “products”, one pre-event reference and three post-event
(first estimate, delineation, and grading).
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Each comprises delivery packages, including maps
and a vector package of spatial data.
Significance:
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The data from the Copernicus programme is freely available and accessible to all.