EXPERT OPINION
Tiding over climate crisis via geospatial data refinery To harness underutilized data, Blue Sky Analytics has set out to develop a revolutionary technology – Geospatial Data Refinery – to empower decisionmakers with climate intelligence by leveraging satellite data, AI and the cloud, writes Kshitij Purwar, Founder and CTO, Blue Sky Analytics.
Blue Sky Analytics Geospatial Data Refinery
Problem: The impending climate crisis We are in the midst of a global climate crisis, with climatic disasters worsening in intensity and frequency each passing year. According to the latest IPCC report, the fight to keep global heating under 1.5°Celsius has reached a “now or never” territory. It is “almost inevitable” that humanity will surpass this critical temperature threshold in the current scenario. The trend of increased frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events has inevitably increased the exposure of businesses to material financial losses across the corporate value chain. By the end of the century, the expected value at risk to manageable assets is estimated to be as high as $43Tn. Additionally, 215 most prominent global companies reported
almost $1Tn at risk from shortterm climate impacts, likely to accrue by 2024.
The climate data gap Currently, the world is plagued with fragmented and expensive environmental data, leading to inefficient capital/resource allocation for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Satellite data can play a pivotal role in bridging this gap as according to the Global Climate Observing System, 50% of essential climate variables (ECVs) can only be tracked using satellites. However, a variety of issues are still prevalent that hinder the ability to harness the true potential of satellite data. There is a challenge in acquisition and processing of geospatial data. One: it is heavy and non-standardised. Two: the current tech-in-
frastructure is not enough to develop a catalogue of datasets that is replicable and scalable. There is a lack of capacity to build an all-inclusive platform that maintains the required accuracy, resolution and coverage for all environmental indicators. At present, many models are based on outdated research papers, resulting in static datasets that do not evolve with new research. And finally, information derived from satellites available today is in the form of repackaged, raw imagery that users cannot directly consume. The problem is so grave that even exponential growth in the upstream satellite market in the past decade and the utilisation of the data harnessed have been below par. For instance, it is estimated that more than 100 TB of satellite data is generated per day, with less than 1% being analysed. "The upstream space market, with its rocket launches and hightech satellite payloads, may seem at a first glance to be the most exciting segment of the space industry. But when it comes to innovation, job and revenue creation and the provision of services that change people’s lives for the better, the downstream market is where the action is" - New Space Economy forum in Rome on December 12, 2019
Solution: Climate intelligence At Blue Sky Analytics, we wanted to empower decision-makers with climate intelligence by leveraging satellite data, AI and the cloud. The idea was to harness the true potential of satellite data as a result of the booming upstream space market to draw deeper and decision-ready environmental insights. For this, we set out to build a revolutionary technology infrastructure that GEOSPATIAL ARTHA Volume 01 » ISSUE 01
51
