TUM and DLR secure unique archive of environmental change for Europe

Through the EUROLAND project, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and DLR plan to mirror the complete Landsat archive, dating back to 1972, on German infrastructure. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the project with approximately €2.5 million.

Safeguarding five decades of Earth observation

For more than five decades, the Landsat program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has continuously captured images of Earth’s surface. Since observations began in 1972, around ten petabytes of imagery have been stored. That is equivalent to ten million gigabytes—enough storage for roughly two billion high-resolution photographs of five megabytes each.
The data underpin research into climate and the environment, forest monitoring, agriculture, water management, biodiversity, and urban development. No other satellite mission provides a comparably long and consistent time series of global observations.

Why Europe needs independent access

Until now, Landsat data have been provided exclusively by NASA. This leaves European research dependent on political decisions and infrastructure outside Europe. Previous restrictions and temporary outages have demonstrated how vulnerable this access can be. EUROLAND is intended to ensure that the entire Landsat archive remains available in Europe independently and permanently.

Storing, processing, and making data usable

The plan is to mirror the Landsat archive in DLR’s German Satellite Data Archive (D-SDA) with support from the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ). In addition, datasets tailored specifically to European requirements will be created, enabling researchers to use the data directly. Alongside the long-term preservation of the original data, the project will produce modern analytical products that are freely accessible.

TUM, DLR, and LRZ combine their expertise

Collaboration between TUM, DLR, and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) is central to the project. DLR contributes its experience in operating large Earth observation archives. Led by Cornelius Senf, the Professorship of Earth Observation for Ecosystem Management at the TUM School of Life Sciences develops advanced methods for processing the data and putting them to scientific use. LRZ provides the computing and storage infrastructure required.

A wealth of data for environmental analysis

“Landsat is the backbone of numerous environmental and climate studies worldwide. If we want to understand how forests, water bodies, agricultural land, or cities have changed over decades, Landsat is often our only source of data. With EUROLAND, we are laying the groundwork to ensure that European researchers have permanent and independent access to this unique wealth of data,” says Cornelius Senf. He adds: “Europe needs not only access to important research data, but also the capacity to store, process, and provide these data over the long term. Together with DLR and LRZ, we are building an infrastructure that combines scientific excellence with digital sovereignty.”

Over the course of the 18-month project, the partners will strengthen the independence of European research and enable future analyses of environmental change—from forests and water bodies to agriculture, cities, and the impacts of climate change.