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This paper aims to explore the importance of monitoring military landscapes in Cyprus using Earth Observation. The rising availability of remote sensing data provides adequate opportunities for monitoring military landscapes and detecting underground military man-made structures. In order to study possible differences in the spectral signatures of vegetation so as to be used for the systematic monitoring of military landscapes that comprise underground military structures, field spectroscopy has been used. The detection of underground and ground military structures based on remote sensing data could make a significant contribution to defence and security science. In this paper, underground military structures over vegetated areas were monitored, using both ground and satellite remote sensing data. Several ground measurements have been carried out in military areas, throughout the phenological cycle of plant growth, during 2016–2017. The research was carried out using SVC-HR1024 ground spectroradiometers. Field spectroradiometric measurements were collected and analysed in an effort to identify underground military structures using the spectral profile of the vegetated surface overlying the underground target and the surrounding area, comprising the in situ observations. Multispectral vegetation indices were calculated in order to study their variations over the corresponding vegetation areas, in presence or absence of military underground structures. The results show that Vegetation Indices such as NDVI, SR, OSAVI, DVI and MSR are useful for determining areas where military underground structures are present.

This paper aims to explore the importance of monitoring military landscapes in Cyprus using Earth Observation. The rising availability of remote sensing data provides adequate opportunities for monitoring military landscapes and detecting underground military man-made structures. In order to study possible differences in the spectral signatures of vegetation so as to be used for the systematic monitoring of military landscapes that comprise underground military structures, field spectroscopy has been used. The detection of underground and ground military structures based on remote sensing data could make a significant contribution to defence and security science. In this paper, underground military structures over vegetated areas were monitored, using both ground and satellite remote sensing data. Several ground measurements have been carried out in military areas, throughout the phenological cycle of plant growth, during 2016–2017. The research was carried out using SVC-HR1024 ground spectroradiometers. Field spectroradiometric measurements were collected and analysed in an effort to identify underground military structures using the spectral profile of the vegetated surface overlying the underground target and the surrounding area, comprising the in situ observations. Multispectral vegetation indices were calculated in order to study their variations over the corresponding vegetation areas, in presence or absence of military underground structures. The results show that Vegetation Indices such as NDVI, SR, OSAVI, DVI and MSR are useful for determining areas where military underground structures are present.

Satellite remote sensing is considered as an increasingly important technology for detecting underground structures. It can be applied to a wide range of applications, as shown by various researchers. However, there is a great need to integrate information from a variety of sources, sent at different times and of different qualities using remote sensing tools. A SVC-HR1024 field spectroradiometer could be used, and in-band reflectance's are determined for medium- and highresolution satellite sensors, including Landsat. Areas covered by natural soil where underground structures are present or absent can easily be detected, as a result of the change in the spectral signature of the vegetation throughout the phenological stages; in this respect, vegetation indices (VIs) such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), simple ratio (SR), and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) may be used for this purpose. Notably, the SR vegetation index is useful for determining areas where military underground structures are present.

Remote sensing is considered as an increasingly important technology for military intelligence. New satellite missions, such as Sentinel 2A, may provide systematic datasets for monitoring vast areas of interest. However, there is a great need to understand the information retrieved from such sensors. This paper contemplates the results obtained from a one-year field spectroradiometer campaign, aiming at the detection of underground military structures in Cyprus, covered with crops. The measurements were taken at the following test areas: (a) vegetation area covered with vegetation (barley), in the presence of an underground military structure, and (b) vegetation area covered with vegetation (barley), in the absence of an underground military structure. The ground hyperspectral signatures were resampled to the Sentinel-2A sensor using the appropriate Relative Spectral Response Filters (RSRF). Ten vegetation indices were utilized for the identification of the detection of underground military structures. Results have shown that differences exist between these ten vegetation indices, thus some of them are sufficient to distinguish the two areas. The phenological analysis of these measurements have shown the period of head emergence stage is suitable for monitoring crop marks. Sentinel-2A results were also validated with field spectroradiometer results which were acquired during a simultaneous in-situ campaign.

Geophysical Research Abstracts, 2018, Volume 20, EGU2018-7390 ; The aim of this paper is to present our vision to upgrade the existing ERATOSTHENES Research Centre (ERC) established within the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) into a sustainable, viable and autonomous Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Earth Surveillance and Space-Based Monitoring of the Environment, which will provide the highest quality of related services on the National, European and International levels. EXCELSIOR is a Horizon 2020 Teaming project which addresses a specific challenge defined by the work program, namely, the reduction of substantial disparities in the European Union by supporting research and innovation activities and systems in low performing countries. It also aims at establishing long-term and strategic partnerships between the Teaming partners, thus reducing internal research and innovation disparities within European Research and Innovation landscape. The proposed CoE envisions the upgrading of the existing ERC into an inspiring environment for conducting basic and applied research and innovation in the areas of the integrated use of remote sensing and space-based techniques for monitoring the environment. Environment has been recognized by the Smart Specialization Strategy of Cyprus as the first horizontal priority for future growth of the island. The foreseen upgrade will regard the expansion of this vision to systematic monitoring of the environment using Earth Observation, space and ground based integrated technologies. Such an approach will lead to the systematic monitoring of the the Environment. Five partners have united to upgrade the existing ERC into a CoE, with the common vision to become a world-class innovation, research and education centre, actively contributing to the European Research Area (ERA). More specifically, the Teaming project is a team effort between the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT, acting as the coordinator), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), ...

The aim of this paper is to present our strategy and vision to upgrade the existing ERATOSTHENES Research Centre (ERC), established within Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), into a sustainable, viable and autonomous Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Earth Surveillance and Space-Based Monitoring of the Environment (EXCELSIOR), which will provide the highest quality of related services both on the National, European and International levels. The 'EXCELSIOR' project is a Horizon 2020 Teaming project, addressing the reduction of substantial disparities in the European Union by supporting research and innovation activities and systems in low performing countries. It also aims at establishing long-term and strategic partnerships between the Teaming partners, thus reducing internal research and innovation disparities within European Research and Innovation landscape. The ERCis already an established player in the local community and has excellent active collaboration with actors from various sectors in (a) the government, (b) industry, (c) local organisations, and (d) society. In order to further engage users and citizens and to become more attractive to international research and education community, the Centre aims to be fully involved in strategic positioning on the national level, but also in Europe, the Middle East region and internationally. Some examples of how space technologies are integrated with other tools or techniques such as UAV, field spectroscopy, micro-sensors, EO space/in-situ sensors etc. for the systematic monitoring of the environment is shown. Indeed such examples fulfills the objectives of the COPERNICUS academy network (in which ERC is a member) for empowering the next generation of researchers, scientists, and entrepreneurs with suitable skill sets to use Copernicus data and information services to their full potential. Finally, opportunities for future collaboration and investments with the ERC in the Eastern Mediterranean Region are stated. Five partners have united to upgrade the existing ...

The "EXCELSIOR" H2020 Widespread Teaming Phase 2 Project: ERATOSTHENES: EXcellence Research Centre for Earth SurveiLlance and Space-Based MonItoring Of the EnviRonment is supported from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 857510 for a 7 year project period to establish a Centre of Excellence in Cyprus. As well, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus is providing additional resources to support the establishment of the ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence (ECoE) in Cyprus. The ECoE seeks to fill the gap by assisting in the spaceborne Earth Observation activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and become a regional key player in the Earth Observation (EO) sector. There are distinct needs and opportunities that motivate the establishment of an Earth Observation Centre of Excellence in Cyprus, which are primarily related to the geostrategic location of the European Union member state of Cyprus to examine complex scientific problems and address user needs in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and Northern Africa (EMMENA), as well as South-East Europe. An important objective of the ECoE is to be a Digital Innovation Hub and a Research Excellence Centre for EO in the EMMENA region, which will establish an ecosystem where state-of-the-art sensing technology, cutting-edge research, targeted education services, and entrepreneurship come together. It is based on the paradigm of Open Innovation 2.0 (OI2.0), which is founded on the Quadruple Helix Model, where Government, Industry, Academia and Society work together to drive change by taking full advantage of the cross-fertilization of ideas. The ECoE as a Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) adopts a two-axis model, where the vertical axis consists of three Thematic Clusters for sustained excellence in research of the ECoE in the domains of Atmosphere and Climate, Resilient Societies and Big Earth Data Management, while the horizontal axis is built around four functional areas, namely: Infrastructure, Research, Education, ...

The "EXCELSIOR" H2020 Widespread Teaming Phase 2 Project: ERATOSTHENES: EXcellence Research Centre for Earth SurveiLlance and Space-Based MonItoring Of the EnviRonment is supported from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 857510 for a 7 year project period to establish a Centre of Excellence in Cyprus. As well, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus is providing additional resources to support the establishment of the ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence (ECoE) in Cyprus. The ECoE seeks to fill the gap by assisting in the spaceborne Earth Observation activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and become a regional key player in the Earth Observation (EO) sector. There are distinct needs and opportunities that motivate the establishment of an Earth Observation Centre of Excellence in Cyprus, which are primarily related to the geostrategic location of the European Union member state of Cyprus to examine complex scientific problems and address user needs in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and Northern Africa (EMMENA), as well as South-East Europe. An important objective of the ECoE is to be a Digital Innovation Hub and a Research Excellence Centre for EO in the EMMENA region, which will establish an ecosystem where state-of-the-art sensing technology, cutting-edge research, targeted education services, and entrepreneurship come together. It is based on the paradigm of Open Innovation 2.0 (OI2.0), which is founded on the Quadruple Helix Model, where Government, Industry, Academia and Society work together to drive change by taking full advantage of the cross-fertilization of ideas. The ECoE as a Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) adopts a two-axis model, where the vertical axis consists of three Thematic Clusters for sustained excellence in research of the ECoE in the domains of Atmosphere and Climate, Resilient Societies and Big Earth Data Management, while the horizontal axis is built around four functional areas, namely: Infrastructure, Research, Education, and Entrepreneurship. The ECoE will focus on five application areas, which include Climate Change Monitoring, Water Resource Management, Disaster Risk Reduction, Access to Energy and Big EO Data Analytics. This structure is expected to leverage the existing regional capacities and advance the excellence by creating new programs and research, thereby establishing the ECoE as a world-class centre capable of enabling innovation and research competence in Earth Observation, actively participating in Europe, the EMMENA region and the global Earth Observation arena. The partners of the EXCELSIOR consortium include the Cyprus University of Technology as the Coordinator, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) and the Department of Electronic Communications, Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy.