ESA, NASA, and JAXA have created a new tool that combines a wealthy amount of data of Earth-observing satellites to monitor the worldwide impacts of COVID-19. The new online tool is now made public.
The new “COVID-19 Earth Observation Dashboard” combines multiple data records from multiple satellite data records. It allows users to track changes in air and water quality, climate change, economic activity, and agriculture.
“Together NASA, ESA, and JAXA represent a great human asset: advanced Earth-observing instruments in space that are used every day to benefit society and advance knowledge about our home planet.”, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate said.
ESA’s Director for Earth Observation observed the changes in the patterns of human activity as observed from space and created a powerful analytical tool to bear the coronavirus pandemic.
“Through this close cooperation, ESA, NASA, and JAXA have created a new centralized platform. Through this, we are making sure that our Earth observation programs deliver their full potential to society, and in doing so, are helping humanity navigate through this crisis with more accurate information at its disposal.”
Changes observed from Space
- Air quality changes: One of the first changes observed as a result of the restrictions put in place to control Covid-19. Nitrogen Dioxide that is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, as well as industrial activity was clearly observed from the space.
- Changes in carbon dioxide: The dashboard also highlighted the changes in the carbon dioxide how global and local reactions to the pandemic have changed concentrations of this greenhouse gas.
The dashboard will be further enhanced with further new data added over the following months and new sections will be added. The COVID-19 Earth Observation Dashboard is available here: https://eodashboard.org.
