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Discover Europe's landscape through satellite and ground-level pictures

News Published 30 Apr 2008 Last modified 21 Jun 2016

1 min read

Topics: Land use

The LUCAS viewer, a new mapping tool managed by the European Environment Agency, now allows users to see land-cover information based on satellite images as well as thumbnail-size photographs taken in sampled locations across Europe.

Adding such in situ observations to satellite data leads to a more accurate and detailed presentation of Europe's landscape. This is particularly useful in understanding how Europe uses its land and helps improve environmental assessments.

The photographs were collected by Eurostat as part of the LUCAS field surveys (land use/cover area frame statistical survey). LUCAS provides harmonised information on Europe's agricultural environment and has been recording in situ observations of land use and land cover, including photographs in four directions (north, east, south and west) and of the sample spot itself. The LUCAS viewer plots these photographs against the Corine land cover 2000 data.

A new GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) working group on in situ observations meets for the first time in London today (18 March 2008) to discuss how ground-based monitoring could be better integrated with earth observation data.