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the GLOBAL FLOOD MONITORING SERVICE

The Global Flood Monitoraing Service (hereinafter proposed is designed to achieve the following three major requirements, namely: • to provide a continuous global, systematic monitoring of flood events, • to significantly enhance the timeliness of flood maps for emergency response and • to improve the effectiveness of Rapid Mapping activation requests through a better identification of the area of interest.

Additionally, the system is also designed to provide a long-term global flood monitoring archive. Making it ideal to provide essential information to plan for future events, such as flood protection measures or calibrate hydrological models. Finally, by combining data from the GFM service with other Copernicus Services, such as the Climate Service, the system will deliver useful information to address the challenges of climate change response management.

The aim of the proposed technical solution is the provisioning of an automated, global, satellite-based flood monitoring product enabling a continuous global, systematic monitoring of flood events complementing the existing CEMS components for flood early warning and on-demand mapping. The solution is based on all-weather, day-and-night SAR data provided by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites. It will provide a continuous, NRT global monitoring of all major flood events by the systematic, automated delineation of flooded areas and waterbodies and will therefore - • enable a continuous global, systematic monitoring of flood events, - • enhance the timeliness of flood maps for emergency response due to its fully automated process, and - • improve the effectiveness of Rapid Mapping activation requests through a better identification of the area of interest.

The GFM service includes the establishment and operational implementation of all facilities and processes for: - 1. Downloading worldwide Sentinel-1 Level 1 Ground Range Detected (GRD) imagery. - 2. Pre-processing of the Sentinel-1 data and storing the resulting georeferenced image stacks. - 3. Operational NRT application of high quality, fully automated flood mapping algorithms on a global scale. - 4. Generation of the required global flood monitoring output layers including observed flood events, observed water extent, reference water mask, exclusion mask, and uncertainty values. - 5. Data access and dissemination of the NRT flood monitoring product including an adequate user support. - 6. Performing regular quality assurance including product timeliness and accuracy and service reliability and accessibility. - 7. Building up a long-term archive for the analysis of past flood events

1.2 Partnership The proposed GLOBAL FLOOD MONITORING ALLIANCE, consisting of │ 2 companies: the Earth Observation Data Center (EODC - Group Leader) and GeoVille from Austria, │ 3 research institutions: the TU Wien (Austria), LIST (Luxembourg) and CIMA (Italy) and │ the German Aerospace Center (DLR, as sub-contractor to EODC),

comprises truly the most experienced group of leading experts in Europe for satellite based flood monitoring systems with a unique CLMS, CEMS and global flood mapping service heritage. From the early days of satellite based flood mapping and monitoring applications, the individual members of this group have built unprecedented, yet thematically complementary flood mapping, monitoring and related disaster risk service capacities as well as a accumulated a long track record of high-quality implementations and successful projects, related processing and data access systems with applications globally

EODC was the first operational BIG EO DATA processing center dedicated to the storage of global Sentinel-1 data as well as provision of fully automatic, continuous S-1 based processing services. In this regard, the company has a lead advance of some 5 years of hands-on operation experience as compared to any other Sentinel processing facilities or the Copernicus DIAS’s. Since 2018 EODC is a federation partner of the WEkEO Dias. Important for the GFM group leader, EODC has project implementation experience for both Copernicus Global Land Services and for operational JRC service projects (e.g. C-GLOPS1, C-GLOPS2). Moreover, EODC currently leads the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) activity “Land hydrology and cryosphere” (C3S 312b Lot4), and the ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI) “Soil Moisture” activity. The envisaged GFM processing and data access system will be set up based on lessons learned by EODC and GeoVille e.g. from CLMS Global Sentinel-1 Soil Moisture Service, the Sentinel2 Global Mosaic Service, the HRL Water&Wetness and the CLC+ DIAS-based processing setups (WEkEO, Mundi), and other cloud based applications (e.g. on AWS, EODC, CODE-DE, private clouds). Both partners have had the requirements for fast Sentinel-1 data access, implemented cutting-edge techniques (e.g. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning…) along with latest storage technologies within easily portable, scalable Sentinel based monitoring systems, providing blueprints for most efficient technology utilization for the GFM product. EODC can thus ensure the requested high service quality, availability and timeliness through a proven setup for a fully reliable, redundant, scalable and portable processing system with continuous 24/7 service operations capacity. Hence, EODC is HIGHLY QUALIFIED TO GUARANTEE A RISK-FREE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION along the desired key performance indicators (section 2). The group members LIST, TU Wien and DLR were part of the core Expert Group that was set up by JRC to assess the feasibility of an automated, global, satellite-based flood monitoring product, in order to complement and enhance the capabilities of the CEMS for mapping and monitoring floods. Each of these members has a long track record and excels in SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SAR-BASED FLOOD MAPPING METHODS (section 1) and have led many related scientific and technological advances. Due to this background they are deemed as the leading thematic experts in Europe representing the best starting point for tackling the scientific challenges of the method development ahead. Truly unique and of high importance is their strong experience in transferring scientific methods into operational frameworks for applied services. The synergetic team setup along with the professional IT support by EODC and GeoVille will secure the implementation of robust GFM processors as well as maximize the possibilities for a product evolution (section 2.7). GeoVille is specialized in the provision of satellite data processing and information systems for data access. The company has a solid track record in the development, implementation and operation of similar Copernicus Land Monitoring Service Systems (Sentinel-2 Global Mosaic Service (S2GM), HRL and the CLC+ Production Systems,), the ESA WorldWater cloud-based processing as well as its own system for global Sentinel-1&2 based services1. Apart from its ISO certified product quality management that was applied in over 465 successful production projects in over 138 countries, it also led the product and service quality assurance method developments and implementation of the Copernicus S2GM system. GeoVille has a global service heritage in the provision of satellite-based flood mapping application services, which partly stems from having been a service provider to the JRC coordinated CEMS Risk and Recovery Mapping. Based on this PRODUCT AND SERVICE QUALITY ASSURANCE IT has the required knowledge to excel the product accuracy assessment requirements (section 3). GeoVille will work with CIMA (see expertise below) to match its TECHNICAL DATA ACCESS EXPERTISE to build front-ends fulfilling the specific application related data access requirements for flood monitoring products by the CEMS GFM end-users (section 2.4). CIMA is specialized in assisting stakeholders in the fields of disaster risk reduction, civil protection and preservation of terrestrial and water-related ecosystems with technologies capacity development and assistance to the end users. The Foundation researchers have a long record in defining procedures and models to assess flood risk. Through its UNIQUE GLOBAL TRACK RECORD IN USER SUPPORT for flood related issues, CIMA has been able to build a significant expertise and network bridging local users with regional, national and international stakeholders. CIMA is also in the steering committee of the Global Flood Partnership2 and of the Risk Nexus Initiative3. Hence, CIMA is seen as the most fitting partner to bridge the expertise’s by the scientific and technology partners through appropriate communication support with the end user communities (section 2.6).