DMCii has acquired an image of the recent flooding in Brazil. Torrential rains and a broken dam caused the Paraiba do Sul river to burst its banks close to the coastal town of Atafona, Rio de Janiero. The level of the River reached 10.9m, 3 metres higher than normal meaning over 4,000 people had to be evacuated from the immediate area. As reported by the Rio Times, the nearby town of Três Vendas was so badly affected that it was patrolled by city guards to prevent looting and the power was cut to prevent short circuits occurring.

This is one of many flooding incidents in south-east Brazil with total evacuation numbers now reaching 35,000. The country often encounters problems with extreme weather and last year around 1,000 people were killed during the rainy season.

If you’re interested in seeing more remarkable images captured by DMCii please visit DMCii’s photostream on Flickr.

DMCii has acquired images of flooding in both El Salvador and Ghana - just two of the many floods that have taken place recently worldwide.

El Salvador in South America was hit by a tropical depression at the end of October. Torrential rains resulted in rockslides, landslides and widespread destruction of crops and homes. Water levels rose by a reported 3m and it is said that up 10% of the country was flooded. The aftermath of this extreme weather can be seen in this image taken by UK-DMC-2 on the 21st October.

Accra in Ghana also experienced heavy rains that started on the 25th October. The nation’s capital is a low-lying area and prone to flooding. However it is unusual in October as the rainy season is June to August in Ghana. The flooding has led to sanitation fears and massive disruption of transport links.


If you’re interested in seeing more remarkable images from UK-DMC-2 please visit DMCii’s photostream on Flickr. All images are acquired by UK-DMC-2 © DMCii, 2011. All rights reserved

Celebrating a decade in space, we take a closer look at the hyperspectral imager CHRIS and how gazing at Earth from different angles and with a large number of programmable spectral bands has made all the difference for a fantastic range of scientific studies, from classifying plants to mapping the submerged shoreline.

CHRIS is the innovative hyperspectral imager payload on the European Space Agency (ESA) microsatellite Proba-1 - that started its life as a technology demonstration satellite, but turned into an Earth observation mission serving the scientific society. Its agility makes PROBA-1 different to most Earth-observing missions, with the satellite platform and payload working as one.

Guided by a star tracker, the microsatellite spins its reaction wheels to roll 25 degrees off-nadir across track directions, and 56 degrees along-track. This means that CHRIS can acquire five different views of the same target at different viewing angles. It’s these different angles that the scientists find valuable, as they can capture or avoid reflections and look at differences in colour.

“Say you’re looking at a sunflower on the ground,” explains Mike Cutter of SSTL’s Optical Payloads Group, which developed CHRIS and oversees its operation. “You’ll see a different mix of colours depending on where you’re stood, as well as the growing season and time of day: the yellow canopy, green stalk and leaves, brown soil, sun glint or shadows. The same is true when observing from orbit. This offers a way of giving much more accurate classification of vegetation and canopy covers, such as the tree species within forests.”

Continue reading "CHRIS: 10 years of science innovation"

This week DMCii has acquired satellite images of the Dollar Lake Fire in Oregon, USA showing the devastation caused by the current wildfires. According to officials, the fire is burning across 4,378 acres. There are now concerns that that strong winds and high temperatures may fuel the fire that is running close to Bull Run watershed, which is the main source of drinking water for people in Portland and many of its suburbs.

The fire started on the Labor Day holiday, September 5, 2011 at 5:06 p.m and is believed to have been caused by lightning. Emergency services are fighting to contain the fire with some nine helicopters and twenty four fire engines.

This satellite image is shown for illustrative purposes only. For news updates you may wish to visit on the Oregon Live website. There are updates on the Dollar Lake Fires at the Northwest Inter-agency Coordination Center.