Copernicus
Copernicus is a large Earth observation programme in Europe (EU), in which Norway is also involved. EU funding is secured until 2020, and the programme involves among other things, taking advantage of satellite data to monitor the atmosphere, ocean and climate. The project will help us understand how our planet and its surface, atmosphere and climate is changing, the role human activities play in these changes and how it will affect our daily lives.
The target groups are decision makers, businesses and the general public who need reliable and updated information about how the Earth and the climate are changing. The Copernicus programme, formerly known as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security), provides this.
In addition to Earth observation satellites, ground stations and air and seaborne sensors are also used.
The budget is several billion euros. It consists of six areas, and MET is involved in the areas of ocean, atmosphere and climate change. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute is involved in a number of contracts in Copernicus' atmosphere service CAMS (=Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), which together constitute three full-time positions at the Department of climate modelling and air pollution.
Copernicus' six areas:
- land
- ocean
- atmosphere
- climate change
- emergency response
- security
Based on Copernicus' services and data, many services are tailored to specific public or commercial needs, which also results in new business opportunities.
The European Commission is coordinating the Copernicus programme. The development of infrastructure for observation is conducted under the auspices of the European Space Agency (satellite section) and the European Environment Agency together with the member states (the ground stations). After some years of research and development, the Copernicus is at present being operated by the EU until 2020.
The services are developed to varying degrees. Some are in operation, while others are pre-operative or in development.
All the services are provided free to the users.