The Institute for Applied Remote Sensing is one of  EURAC' s latest developments.

The institute is an initiative by the provincial government of South Tyrol together with the European Academy of Bozen and began its work in 2006.

The main purpose of the institute is to produce scientific monitoring as well as investigations of the earth's surface and the atmosphere by means of aerial photographs and satellite images.

Remote sensing offers various advantages: an extensive data coverage with the most recent and updated data and cost efficiency. In fact, remote sensing has become one of the most important tools for environmental monitoring, in particular for high dynamic and vulnerable regions.

The aim of our institute is to develop remote sensing applications for the Alps and other mountainous areas, addressing current environmental problems such as the following:

-          land use changes (withdrawal of agriculture, urban sprawl, reforestation)

-          natural hazards (avalanches, mudslides, floods)

-          retreat of glaciers and the rising snow line

-          vegetation changes as a result of climate change

-     air quality (concentration of particulate matter)

The development of those applications will be accomplished in cooperation with different research institutes as well as economic and administrative stakeholders including the authorities of South Tyrol. Thus, the results of remote sensing applications can directly be incorporated into regional planning, nature conservation, agriculture, forestry planning, civil protection and tourism planning.

By having its own receiving station on the high mountain plateau of Ritten (planned to be finished in 2008) the institute will be able to receive and process satellite images in near-real time.

This offers an important advantage of time for all applications with a need for most recent data like monitoring the consequences of natural hazards and risk management.   

Remote Sensing in various scales.

Left: NOAA- AVHRR Satellite image of the Alps; resolution: 1km.

Middle: LANDSAT 7 Satellite Image showing areas of South Tyrol with Bozen in the centre of the image; resolution: 30m.

Right: aerial photograph of Bozen. Confluence of Talfer and Eisack showing the EURAC building in the centre; resolution: < 1m.