The Earth Observation Group of the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’ was founded in 1982 by Prof. Domenico Solimini, one of the founders of the same University and a national pioneer of teaching and research in the field of Earth Observation, as well as the head of numerous international scientific projects. The group, which currently consists of 3 full professors, 2 research fellows, 8 PhD students and a laboratory technician, has been working since the beginning on remote sensing of the atmosphere, especially in the field of microwave radiometry, and has increasingly developed, over time, a particular expertise in inversion problems, not only with microwave data, but also with data from the visible and infrared band. From the end of the 1990s, the group began in particular to develop methodologies for the inversion of remote sensing data based on neural networks.
In the meantime, in 2006, the group founded GEO-K, the first spin-off of the ‘Tor Vergata’ University, which uses ‘knowledge-based’ techniques to extract application information from earth observation data. On the research front in this period, neural techniques also began to be considered for processing hypespectral data, in particular those from the CHRIS PROBA satellite mission, and from the AHS and AVIRIS platforms. The results obtained are published in the most important international journals of the sector and presented at various conferences, 7 papers being presented at the ESA Hyperspectral Workshop 2010 plus 2 at the Workshop on Hyperspectral Image and Signal Processing (WHISPERS) in the same year.
Regarding collaborations with ESA, the group currently supports Phi-Lab, the research facility that ESA recently set up to develop artificial intelligence-based technologies in OT applications. The OT laboratory at ‘Tor Vergata’ was also one of the first members of the Copernicus Academy (https://www.copernicus.eu/it/opportunita/il-settore-dellistruzione/copernicus-academy). These activities are complemented by research in other OT sectors, such as microwave electromagnetic modelling, radar reflectometry, oil spill detection at sea from SAR images, SAR interferometry applications, automatic change detection algorithms, and technology transfer. In particular, the group recently concluded a project developed under the Horizon 2020 programme for the in-house realisation of a Fablab dedicated to space applications with a funding received of EUR 260000. In general, the group boasts a significant number of participations, also in a leadership role, in international scientific projects and over 800 papers in journals, books or proceedings of international conferences.
2. Università degli Studi dell’Aquila
CETEMPS (Center of Excellence for Telesensing of Environment and Model Prediction of Severe events, http://cetemps.aquila.infn.it) was born at the University of L’Aquila in 2001 from a selection by the Italian Ministry of University and Research for excellence centers, which finances its activities for three years. In the following years, CETEMPS was able to finance itself thanks to the close collaboration with national public bodies such as the Department of Civil Protection, the Abruzzo Region, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and international ones such as the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Science Foundation (ESF).
CETEMPS includes about 40 people dedicated to an intense scientific activity, which has led to numerous publications in important journals. The scientific activities of the Center were originally mainly aimed at meteorological and hydrological observations and forecasts. The interests of CETEMPS have more recently expanded to climate modelling, the measurement and modeling of atmospheric composition. The inauguration of the latter activity is largely due to the contribution of the scientific coordinator of the subcontracting unit and extends from the global scale to the regional and local scale. The activities relevant to this proposal have in particular been supported thanks to funding deriving from 3 projects of the Italian Space Agency in the years 2006-2015 and from 2 national projects in the years 2015-2017.
The interests of the research line in Environmental Modeling, of which the scientific responsible in PRIMARY is coordinator, are focused on the study of Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry, in particular the understanding of the processes that control the atmospheric balance of the chemical species that play an important role both in the context of global climate change and regional air quality. The main research tools are: (1) Eulerian-type chemistry and transport (CTM) models, both at global and regional scales; (2) remote sensing observations from satellite and in-situ from ground and airborne instruments. The excellent experience is gained also thanks to the direct collaboration with the international research groups of reference, and includes the full mastery of the IT tools necessary for the production and analysis of the results. CETEMPS uses and contributes directly to the development of three international community models such as the CHIMERE and GEOS-Chem chemistry and transport models and the coupled WRF/Chem weather-chemistry-radiation model.
3. CNR – ISAC
The Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC) is CNR’s main institute for research in atmospheric sciences. The scientific activities conducted by the Institute aim at an integrated understanding of processes involving the atmosphere, terrestrial and non-atmospheric, through a multidisciplinary approach that combines scientific and technological capabilities in the fields of meteorology, climatology, atmospheric dynamics, chemical composition, and earth observation. ISAC is organised in 7 territorial units, 7 permanent observatories, which also include 3 Global Stations of the World Meteorological Organisation’s Global Atmosphere Watch Programme and 2 atmospheric supersites in Rome (CIRAS) and in the Po Valley (San Pietro Capofiume). ISAC is internationally recognised through its collaborations with numerous European laboratories and research centres worldwide. An important part of ISAC, most of which can be traced back to one of the three maroareas into which the institute is structured (CAFCA, Atmospheric Composition, Climate Forcing and Air Quality), has been conducting cutting-edge research on atmospheric particulate matter and its impacts on climate, environment and health for decades, at the basis of which there is always a marked focus on the experimental part.
In particular, within the ISAC, the theme of study of the research group participating in the PRIMARY proposal is the physical-chemical characterisation of atmospheric aerosols, from the local to the regional scale, through the use of active and passive remote sensing observations, from the ground and from space coupled with in-situ multi-sensor measurements and numerical modelling.
4. CNR – IIA
The Institute on Atmospheric Pollution of the CNR-IIA is articulated in four Locations including the Main Office located in the Rome-1 Research Area in Monterotondo (Rome) and three Secondary Offices. The institute, in support of large public and private sectors, provides high consulting services in the field of air pollution in urban and industrial areas. In particular on the emission, transformation, transport, deposition and circulation of air and environmental pollutants in urban and industrial areas and supports the development of observational and legislative strategies to assess the impact of air and environmental pollution on various ecosystems and at different spatial scales. It promotes the development of international systems and standards for environmental data sharing and the interoperability of systems and infrastructures. The Institute is engaged in the development of integrated environmental analysis systems that involve the integration of observational systems with numerical air quality models in order to develop socio-economic analyses useful for the implementation of European directives and international treaties at both national and international scales. The main research lines related to the PRIMARY project are:
1 – Integration of space and ground-based and in-situ observational components for the study of the atmosphere and air quality.
2 – Acquisition of in-situ data for the calibration and validation of remote sensing data and derived products (core and downstream services).
3 – Development of algorithms for atmospheric correction of images and for the study of radiative transfer in the atmosphere.
4 – Air quality monitoring in urban and rural settings through the use of ground-based and satellite OT data.
5. SERCO
Serco is an international service company that combines technical and commercial know-how with a deep interest in public service. It supports, with its more than 45,000 employees, governments, international organisations, agencies and companies in more than 35 countries around the world, who are looking for qualified partners with a solid track record of providing effective solutions to ensure the delivery of services at high quality standards. Serco has gained experience and expertise in the various IT sectors, covering all market areas where Serco operates, following a single policy of Quality. Our Serco IT Services are provided to Public Administrations, International Organisations, Telecommunications Companies, Organisations operating in the aerospace, urban security and remote sensing sectors.
The IT services we offer cover almost all of our customers’ needs and are divided into:
- Systems Administration Services
- Help Desk services
- Desktop/Laptop/Printers/Hardware support
- Systems Integration Services
- Office Automation Support
- Development Services
- LAN and WAN Network Administration
- Security Services
Serco Italia SpA has been providing services in the Remote Sensing sector to the European Space Agency (ESA) for more than 25 years.