PILOT : FOOD SECURITY USE CASE

Food security is one of the most challenging issues of this century (especially in a changing Earth environment). Population growth, increased food consumption and challenges of climate change and increased variabilities will expand over the next decades. Therefore, the biomass production and yield will need to be increased and all risks of yield loss even under extreme environmental conditions needs to be minimized. One measure for this is irrigation, but sustainable irrigation requires reliable water resources either from ground water or surface water. In a large portion of the earth system, fresh water is linked to snowfall, snow/ice storage and seasonal release of the water.  As one example in Europe, it’s the Danube River Basin, as the second largest river basin, with a total area of 801,463 km². It is the world’s most international river basin as it includes the territories of 19 countries. The ecosystems of the Danube River Basin are highly valuable in environmental, economic, historical and social terms, but they are subject to increasing pressure and serious pollution from agriculture, industry and cities. The different uses of the water are in conflict and require local, regional and international management.

Within the pilot, we will generate Water Availability maps, giving spatial and temporal information about the usable water stored in the snow cover, in the soil, in the rivers, reservoirs and lakes. This information is generated from modelling of the water balance, taking meteorological parameters and land-surface parameters into account. All calculations are performed by using a physically based, raster-oriented process model (PROMET), that is able to provide all relevant information for every location and time step for the entire catchment.

For the intended Irrigation Information, a detailed knowledge on crop types and crop status (how is the development, how much biomass) is essential. Here we use the big data stream of Sentinel-2 observation from Copernicus. With up to 3 observations each week, the land surface parameters and the crop information can be retrieved in high spatial resolutions. Beyond atmospheric correction, with big calculation effort, the determination of the crop type requires intelligent tools. Here we are working on dedicated training and deep learning architecture. This expertise is coming from a number of project partners, with a key role for the University of Trento, Italy, for the specific questions in the Food Security Use Case.

Big data processing and all EO analyses are performed at the Food Security Thematic Exploitation Platform (TEP). This TEP addresses the needs of a heterogeneous user community by providing a platform for the efficient use of Earth Observation (EO) datasets. Cloud based services and applications, where the full power of Copernicus Sentinel-1 and -2 satellites, as well as additional datasets, are required, were provided.

In a later phase of the project, the methods, products and pilot services will be implemented in the Douro River Basin, including the third-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula.

The objectives of the pilot are:

• Big Data analysis using Copernicus Sentinal-2 datasets
• Use of Food Security TEP for operational and effective data processing
• AI supported crop information as new benefit
• Water Balance Modelling providing water availability
• Irrigation recommendation based on water and crop status
• Connections with the stakeholders, including farmers and administrative level

Expected results:

• Technological boost by new methods in analytics and data processing
• New level of information gathered from EO datasets and extreme analytics
• Dedicated information for different user communities
• Provision of EO data and services to new user groups
• Ecological and economic impact for involved users

The main KPIs of the pilot are:

• To be defined within the project
  • Faster EO processing
  • More effective EO and product data storage
  • Pre-season water availability information
  • Increased effectiveness for irrigation