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Nigel Press (born 8 March 1949) is a British geologist who pioneered the development of commercial applications of satellite earth observation technology in geo-science, and founded Europe's longest standing satellite mapping company.
Educated at The King's School, Canterbury and Imperial College London, Press graduated in Mining Geology in 1970 with underground experience in nickel, copper and lead-zinc mines. He worked briefly in geochemical exploration before commencing postgraduate work at Imperial on the potential applications of remote sensing for geological exploration, in anticipation of the launch of the first civilian earth observation satellites. Specifically, this focussed on the possible detection of the toxic effects of soil-bound heavy metals on vegetation as a mineral exploration tool. [1] [2]
In 1972, Press founded Nigel Press Associates Ltd (NPA) to continue his research in the commercial arena with an emphasis on structural mapping and photogeology. During the 1970s, in conjunction with Dutch geologist Dr. Wim Kampschuur, the Tectosat Exploration System was developed, [3] using brittle fracture patterns found on satellite imagery as a means of better understanding mechanisms and consequences of plate tectonics. Studies were undertaken on a continent-wide scale throughout Europe (including the Greenland-Norwegian basin), Africa, Arabia and parts of India, linking extensive, specially collected field data to satellite interpretation. The studies were subscribed to by most of the world's major oil companies as well as mining companies and international organisations such as UNDP. These studies formed the foundation on which further interpretation has been made worldwide by NPA Satellite Mapping (now CGG) up to the present day.
During this period, NPA became the leading commercial supplier of imagery from different satellite sources and the go-to supplier for photo-mosaicked images, and later, digitally processed images and mosaics - a forerunner service to today's Google Earth. With the advent of the European Space Agency's radar satellites in the early 1990s, Press, in conjunction with Dr Geoff Lawrence, led NPA to develop Offshore Basin Screening using sea surface roughness patterns observed on radar imagery to detect slicks caused by traces of hydrocarbons seeping from the sea floor. [4] This technique has become a universally recognised complimentary data source to seismic surveying and other offshore exploration tools, and is used by most of the world's major oil companies who draw on a global database compiled and maintained by CGG-NPA.
Growing availability of satellite radar during the 1990s led Press to focus NPA on developing methods using interferometric principles to detect small amounts of ground surface movement that remain difficult to survey with ground-based techniques. The ability to measure millimetric-level surface changes due to both geological and anthropogenic effects introduced a new dimension to environmental studies in disciplines ranging from earthquake and volcano studies to groundwater and oil extraction and engineering geology. [5] It is now widely applied by CGG-NPA in monitoring projects such as fracking extraction, pipelines and transportation tunnelling. Much of this work was originally done as collaborative research projects with the British National Space Centre (BNSC, now UK Space), the European Space Agency, the Joint Research Centre and latterly under EU Framework Program for Research and Technological Development and Copernicus Programme. NPA, with project manager Ren Capes, conceived and led the ESA Terrafirma Project and the EU PanGeo Project.
Press was instrumental in founding British Association of Remote Sensing Companies (BARSC) and served several terms as chair. He was an advisor to the DG of BNSC and an Executive Member of The Parliamentary Space Committee. Press is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London and of The Royal Geographical Society.
In 2008, Press sold NPA to Fugro, who in turn sold NPA to CGG when they divested of their Geological exploration activities in 2012. Press is no longer directly involved in the activities of CGG-NPA.
Press has been involved with the charity MapAction since its inception in the late 1990s in the wake of the Bosnia crisis; one of MapAction's first volunteers was an NPA employee and NPA provided practical support and computer servers for many years. Press acted in the role of Development Director, became a Trustee in 2008 and subsequently Secretary to the Board. He took over as chair in December 2015 and retired in 2021. He remains an advisor on technology.
Press was a member of the University of London Boat Club from 1967 to 1973. With UL he was several times British University Champion in various classes and won two Henley medals. He has remained active at Masters Level winning at Henley Veterans and World Rowing Masters. In 2011, he was part of an expedition that rowed 1000 km down the Zambezi from Angola to the Victoria Falls: Row Zambezi Expedition. Press is an experienced mountain and fell walker and his geological work provided the opportunity to travel in many wilderness areas of the world, which he continues.
Another passion is choral singing; as a student, Press was a peripatetic cathedral lay-clerk and has performed, broadcast and recorded with a number of London-based chamber choirs including Choir of the 21st Century, New Renaissance Voices, the Tallis Chamber Choir and the Thomas Tallis Society. Press is married to landscape artist Julia Corfe and they divide their time between rural Kent, the Yorkshire Dales and the French Pyrenees. They have a daughter who is an art therapist. A younger daughter died in a mountaineering accident: Lydia Press Memorial Fund.
An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, cartography and others. The most common type are Earth imaging satellites, that take satellite images, analogous to aerial photographs; some EO satellites may perform remote sensing without forming pictures, such as in GNSS radio occultation.
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth and other planets. Remote sensing is used in numerous fields, including geophysics, geography, land surveying and most Earth science disciplines ; it also has military, intelligence, commercial, economic, planning, and humanitarian applications, among others.
The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Landsat 1 in 1975. The most recent, Landsat 9, was launched on 27 September 2021.
The British National Space Centre (BNSC) was an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, organised in 1985, that coordinated civil space activities for the United Kingdom. It was replaced on 1 April 2010 by the UK Space Agency.
Aerial archaeology is the study of archaeological remains by examining them from a higher altitude. In present day, this is usually achieved by satellite images or through the use of drones.
Satellite images are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell images by licensing them to governments and businesses such as Apple Maps and Google Maps.
India's remote sensing program was developed with the idea of applying space technologies for the benefit of humankind and the development of the country. The program involved the development of three principal capabilities. The first was to design, build and launch satellites to a Sun-synchronous orbit. The second was to establish and operate ground stations for spacecraft control, data transfer along with data processing and archival. The third was to use the data obtained for various applications on the ground.
Multispectral imaging captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by filters or detected with the use of instruments that are sensitive to particular wavelengths, including light from frequencies beyond the visible light range, i.e. infrared and ultra-violet. It can allow extraction of additional information the human eye fails to capture with its visible receptors for red, green and blue. It was originally developed for military target identification and reconnaissance. Early space-based imaging platforms incorporated multispectral imaging technology to map details of the Earth related to coastal boundaries, vegetation, and landforms. Multispectral imaging has also found use in document and painting analysis.
TerraSAR-X, is an imaging radar Earth observation satellite, a joint venture being carried out under a public-private-partnership between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and EADS Astrium. The exclusive commercial exploitation rights are held by the geo-information service provider Astrium. TerraSAR-X was launched on 15 June 2007 and has been in operational service since January 2008. With its twin satellite TanDEM-X, launched 21 June 2010, TerraSAR-X acquires the data basis for the WorldDEM, the worldwide and homogeneous DEM available from 2014.
Eman Ghoneim is an Egyptian/American geomorphologist. In March 2006, Dr. Ghoneim, together with Farouk El-Baz, discovered the Kebira Crater, a possible impact crater (astrobleme) in the Sahara. In 2007, while processing microwave space data, she discovered an ancient Mega-Lake (30,750 km2) buried beneath the sand of the Great Sahara in Northern Darfur, Sudan.
Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union Space Programme, managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with the EU Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), Frontex, SatCen and Mercator Océan.
CGG SA (CGG) is a multinational geoscience technology services company that specializes on solving complex natural resource, environmental and infrastructure challenges.
Remote sensing techniques in archaeology are an increasingly important component of the technical and methodological tool set available in archaeological research. The use of remote sensing techniques allows archaeologists to uncover unique data that is unobtainable using traditional archaeological excavation techniques.
NPA Satellite Mapping is the longest-established satellite mapping specialist in Europe, with expertise in geoscience applications of earth observation and remote sensing. In addition to processing and distributing data from a variety of optical and radar satellites, NPA specialises in added-value and derived products, providing validation and interpretation of satellite-based imagery.
The Earth Observation Center is a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aeronautical research facility located in Hatoyama, Saitama, Japan. It utilizes remote sensing technologies such as satellites to study Earth's environment from outer space. The research done by this center has a substantial impact on the study of the Earth's environmental phenomena, such as global warming.
IRS-1E was an Earth observation mission launched under the National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS) programme by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Sometimes written IRS-P1. The objective of the mission was to develop Earth imagery using instruments carried on board. Due to a malfunction of the launch vehicle, the satellite deviated from its path and plunged into the Indian Ocean.
The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission is a joint project between NASA and ISRO to co-develop and launch a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar on an Earth observation satellite. The satellite will be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequencies. It will be used for remote sensing, to observe and understand natural processes on Earth. For example, its left-facing instruments will study the Antarctic cryosphere. With a total cost estimated at US$1.5 billion, NISAR is likely to be the world's most expensive Earth-imaging satellite.
Remote sensing is used in the geological sciences as a data acquisition method complementary to field observation, because it allows mapping of geological characteristics of regions without physical contact with the areas being explored. About one-fourth of the Earth's total surface area is exposed land where information is ready to be extracted from detailed earth observation via remote sensing. Remote sensing is conducted via detection of electromagnetic radiation by sensors. The radiation can be naturally sourced, or produced by machines and reflected off of the Earth surface. The electromagnetic radiation acts as an information carrier for two main variables. First, the intensities of reflectance at different wavelengths are detected, and plotted on a spectral reflectance curve. This spectral fingerprint is governed by the physio-chemical properties of the surface of the target object and therefore helps mineral identification and hence geological mapping, for example by hyperspectral imaging. Second, the two-way travel time of radiation from and back to the sensor can calculate the distance in active remote sensing systems, for example, Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar. This helps geomorphological studies of ground motion, and thus can illuminate deformations associated with landslides, earthquakes, etc.
Underwater exploration is the exploration of any underwater environment, either by direct observation by the explorer, or by remote observation and measurement under the direction of the investigators. Systematic, targeted exploration is the most effective method to increase understanding of the ocean and other underwater regions, so they can be effectively managed, conserved, regulated, and their resources discovered, accessed, and used. Less than 10% of the ocean has been mapped in any detail, less has been visually observed, and the total diversity of life and distribution of populations is similarly obscure.
