'Seize the beauty of our Planet' 2024 winners

It is the 5th time we have invited users of EO platforms to join the contest “Seize the beauty of our Planet” for the best satellite image of the Earth coming from the Copernicus programme. This year we were looking for the most outstanding imagery showing places worth preserving and saving from the effects of environmental changes. The images were generated on such EO platforms as Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, CREODIAS, WEkEO, CODE-DE or EO-Lab. The winners were selected by internet users, who voted for the best 13 images, and then a Jury, who chose the top three entries that took the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

The Jury was composed of Simonetta Cheli, ESA, Stefano La Terra Bella, European Commission - DG DEFIS, Katrin Molch, German Aerospace Agency DLR, Danaele Puechmaille, EUMETSAT, prof. Grzegorz Wrochna, Polish Space Agency POLSA, Betty Charalampopoulou, EARSC, prof. Katarzyna Dąbrowska-Zielińska, Polish Institute of Geodesy and Cartography IGiK.

As the voting phase has come to an end, we can finally announce the winners.

Meet the winners!

1st place
Agan River Wetlands and Oil Extraction Challenges - by Kamil Onoszko from Poland

Oil extraction along the Agan River has led to pollution of the soil and water, which harms the health of peatlands. Activities like drilling and building infrastructure are damaging the wetlands, making it harder for them to store carbon and manage local water resources. This poses a serious threat to the ecosystem, especially with climate change. Copernicus Sentinel-2, 2024/05/21, Short wave infrared composite.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (May 21, 2024)

2nd place
Nature´s Capillary Networks - Mangroves: Climate Allies at Risk - by Johannes Albert from Germany

This Sentinel-2 image of the Hara Biosphere Reserve located at the Iranian Qeshm island was acquired on the 19.10.2024. It shows a vulnerable mangrove forest under pressure that have shrunk by around 22 percent between 1996 and 2020 according to Mangrove Watch. The protection of the important mangrove ecosystems is crucial, since they are allies to us against climate change. Mangrove forest are able to extract up to five times more carbon than forest on land, and are thus some of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on the planet. Worldwide 50 % of the mangrove forest are at risk of collapse, threatened by sea-level rise, increasing natural hazards associated with climate change and human pressure through deforestation, pollution and urban development. The Hara forests are a nationally protected area and an international lagoon, recognized as UNESCO biosphere reserves.

The image illustrates the fragility of natural mangrove forests, which resemble blood vessel capillaries and symbolize the veins of life on Earth.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (October 19, 2024)

3rd place
(Perma)frost - Yakutia - by Klaudia Kościuk from Poland

The ongoing climate change contradicts the definition of permafrost, as the “permanent” part is no longer valid. Apart from altered landscapes, thawing permafrost, poses one of the biggest climate threat to the mankind. Packed with many thousands of years of life, from human bodies to the bodies of woolly mammoths, permafrost is one of earth’s great stores of global warming gases. It holds sizable amount of methane, which traps 80 times more heat than carbon. As it is melting, the temperature will rise, causing more thawing and trapping us in positive (but deadly) feedback loop. Location: Andryushkino, Yakutia Origin: ESA Platform short name: SENTINEL-2 Platform serial identifier: B Processing level: S2MSI2A Date: 2024-08-07.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (August 7, 2024).

Other winners:

Red alert for fires - Large-scale fires in South America - by Ricardo de Faria Nicolau from Brazil

The wildfires in South America in 2024 were alarming, especially in Brazil and Bolivia. In the satellite image, the regions in red represent the concentration of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, resulting from the burning of vegetation. There was a lot of news about the lack of visibility in many cities, due to the smoke. It serves as an important reminder of the environmental impact caused (Copernicus Sentinel 5-P, September 5-10, 2024).

Copernicus Sentinel-5P modified data (September 5-10, 2024)

Shifting Ice, Shifting Boundaries - Climate Change Forces Redefinition of Borders as Theodul Glacier Melts at the Foot of the Matterhorn - by Maciek Myśliwiec from Poland

The Theodul Glacier, situated near the Matterhorn in the Alps on the border between Italy and Switzerland in Europe, is melting rapidly due to rising global temperatures. Warmer air, reduced snowfall, and longer summers are accelerating its retreat, impacting water supplies and increasing the risk of landslides in the region. The melting glacier has also forced Italy and Switzerland to renegotiate their shared border, which was historically defined by the glacier’s natural landmarks near the iconic Matterhorn. Acquiref by Copernicus Sentinel-2_L2A on Spetember 26, 2023. False color exposition.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (September 26, 2023)

Sundarbans mangroves of Bangladesh and India - lungs of our planet - Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar image (2024/08/05) - by Jochem Braakhekke from Switzerland

The Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO World Heritage site, are captured in this Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar image, revealing a network of tidal waterways contrasting with irrigated agricultural fields and the Bay of Bengal. Taken during the August 2024 monsoon, the radar penetrates thick cloud cover - something unachievable for optical sensors. The 80km-wide image resembles lung bronchi, highlighting the mangroves' vital role as the "lungs" of the planet—absorbing carbon dioxide and protecting millions of people against cyclones and rising sea levels. However, storms and rising seas, as well as changing precipitation patterns are a growing threat to mangrove ecosystems worldwide. This image is a call to action to protect the mangroves, that serve as climate impact buffers and are a critical habitat for many endangered species like the Bengal tiger.

Copernicus Sentinel-1 modified data (August 5, 2024)

Water giant that turned into a desert - by Maria Valsoni de Faria from Brazil

One of the largest lakes on Earth called Poopó located in Bolivia is completely dry, even in the rainy season of 2024. Over much of its length, it is possible to see the region covered by white sand and the exposed soil around the old lake, demonstrates a scenario of extreme environmental degradation.

Copernicus Sentinel-2, January 8, 2024

A Fragile Paradise - Belize’s Coral Reefs from above by Lorenzo Amici from Italy

Belize’s coral reef, the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere and a UNESCO World Heritage site, is facing severe threats from climate change. Rising sea temperatures are causing widespread coral bleaching, while ocean acidification weakens the reef’s structure. Additionally, stronger and more frequent storms are physically damaging this fragile ecosystem. As one of the most diverse marine habitats on the planet, protecting Belize's reef is crucial for both biodiversity and the livelihoods of the local communities that rely on it.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (February 15, 2023)

Devastating Floods in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - by Lukumon Olaitan Lateef from Nigeria

Severe and unprecedented floods struck Rio Grande do Sul state in South Brazil from 29 April through to 4 May 2024 and from 16 – 17 June. Heavy and continual rainfall (three times more than the usual average), primarily driven by climate changes, influenced these devastating floods. These floods affected an estimated 2.4 million people; 182 died, 423,486 were rendered homeless, and critical infrastructures such as airports and aircraft, roads, and properties worth billions of dollars were destroyed. The floods affected 478 (out of 497) municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 May 2024, and displayed in true colour (Red, Green, and Blue), shows the extent of the flood around Porto Alegre (the state capital) in the east all the way to Bexiga in the west. The brown colour in the image shows the flood waters and Jacui and Taquari rivers, while vegetation and cropland are shown in green colour.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (May 6, 2024)

Flood on the Odra and Nysa Klodzka Rivers - by Adrian Bobowski from Poland

Image taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2_L1C satellite on September 18, 2024, near the town of Lewin Brzeski (Opole Voivodeship, Poland). It shows a huge flood of the Odra and Nysa Kłodzka rivers caused by heavy, sudden rainfall in the southwestern part of the country. Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem. Band composite: SWIR (B12, B8A, B4).

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (September 18, 2024)

Cyclone’s Wake: Porto Alegre Submerged - When waters rise: Porto Alegre faces the wrath of climate change - by Chinmai G Megalamane from India

On June 30, 2024, Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A captured Porto Alegre, Brazil, in the aftermath of Cyclone Extratropical. The storm triggered severe flooding across southern Brazil, with Porto Alegre among the worst affected. This image vividly shows the destructive impact of climate change-induced cyclone.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (June 30, 2024)

Typhoon Aftermath - by Vasil Yordanov from Bugaria

False-color satellite image of the coastal area of Quang Ninh, Vietnam devasted by the Super Typhoon Yagi (September 2024), revealing widespread damage to aquaculture farms. Broken fish pens and scattered debris now cover the area that was once filled with well-organized, grid-like aquaculture structures.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (October 6, 2024)

Frisian Islands 2020 06 01 - Wadden Sea - by Marek Gryboś from Poland

Low-lying chain of islands from 5 to 32 km off the northern European mainland. They extend in an arc from northern Netherlands, eastward along the Dutch and German coasts and the southern part of the Jutland Peninsula coast (Denmark). Unique ecosystem, in 2009 the park was included on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (June 1, 2020)

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you all who joined our contest!

Having the honour of acting as a Copernicus relay, CloudFerro is organising the 5th edition of the contest “Seize the beauty of our Planet” for the best satellite image of the Earth coming from the Copernicus programme. We have encourage researchers, EO data scientists and anyone interested in the field of Earth observation to send us satellite images of places on Earth that are threatened by the negative effects of climate change and need to be protected. We have asked contestants to show everyone the beauty of a place of their choice and motivate others to take action to preserve it.

What are the goals of the contest?

Join forces – we want to support the joint effort of many European and international organisations in preserving precious places on our planet that are threatened by the devastating consequences of climate change such as floods, droughts, rising levels of oceans, deforestaion, to name a few.

Educate - let's join our efforts to bring the attention of decision-makers and society as a whole to the irreversible effects of climate change and convince them to take action. Cities, forests, lakes, islands, rivers and glaciers need us - let's show the beauty of the Earth that is worth preserving!

Promote Copernicus - as a Copernicus Relay, CloudFerro aims to promote the use of Copernicus Earth observation data in environmental research, demonstrating the key role that data plays in effective and cost-efficient monitoring of environmental change and planning to protect our planet's ecosystems.

How to enter the contest and win?

To participate in our contest, contestants needed to generate a satellite image of thier chosen location and submit it to us on a dedicated webpage. The image could be generated on any platform with Copernicus Earth observation data, such as CREODIAS, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, WEkEO, CODE-DE or EO-Lab.

Contest schedule

How are the winners selected and what are the prizes?

13 images with the highest number of votes will be the finalists and will proceed to the 2nd phase, in which a Jury consisting of EO experts will vote for the best 3. The authors of the 3 images with the highest number of the Jury votes will be awarded the following prizes:

• Apple iPad 10,9" 64GB - 1st place
• Apple Watch SE 2nd gen. - 2nd place
• Apple AirPods 4 - 3rd place

The authors of all the entries accepted for the 1st phase of the contest will be awarded a CloudFerro calendar for 2025 composed of the winning images. The calendar will also be awarded to all the contest participants whose images were admitted to the voting phase.

Image requirements

1. The satellite image you submit to the contest should depict an area on Earth threatened or already affected by consequences of climate change. Submit your image on a dedicated webpage.

2. The image should be obtained on an Earth observation platform (such as CREODIAS, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, WEkEO, CODE-DE or EO-Lab) by means of tools available on these platforms.

3. The satellite data can be visualized in a dedicated software of the user's choice (e.g. QGIS) to highlight the phenomena you wish to show. Watch our tutorial on how to prepare an image for the contest.

4. The image must meet a minimum requirement of 250 dpi, 6500 x 5000 pixels, but less than 8000 px.

5. Each contest entry must be described with details such as: name of the place, type of environmental change if it shows any, location, name of the satellite that generated the image/data you used, the date of the satellite observation.

6. Only ONE image can be submitted by each contestant.

7. The image can be enhanced with EO or photo editing software but it must NOT contain any text or additional graphic elements such as labels, logos or similar.

See previous year's winners

Where to generate a contest image?

In the contest, we are looking for the best satellite images depicting an area of your choice threatened by the consequences of climate change.  

The images shoud be generated on an Earth observation platforms with Copernicus programme data, such as:

• CREODIAS - a European Copernicus DIAS platform commissioned by ESA that combines public cloud computing, access to a satellite image repository, and a range of applications that allow users to search, view, and process satellite products. It is the first commercial element of the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem.
• Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem -  launched in January 2023, it is the largest EO data offering in the world and the main EO data dissemination endpoint of the European Space Agency (ESA), with outstanding discovery and download capabilities, and a set of data processing tools. It is built by a consortium of European cloud and Earth observation service providers: T-Systems, CloudFerro, Sinergise, VITO, DLR, ACRI-ST, and RHEA.
• WEkEO - another European Copernicus DIAS jointly implemented by EUMETSAT, ECMWF, EEA and MERCATOR OCEAN. It provides combined access to environmental data and information from the Copernicus Sentinels and the Copernicus Monitoring Services, together with virtual environment for data processing and skilled user support.
• CODE-DE - a German national platform for authorities and other public institutions commissioned by DLR that provides easy and efficient access to all Copernicus remote sensing data about Germany, a virtual secure working environment for processing these data and extensive information materials and trainings to support the users.
• EO-Lab - a German platform commissioned by DLR, providing a development environment for researchers from both scientific and commercial entities, which draws upon new cloud technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse a big amount of Earth Observation data.
• other Copernicus platforms.

Why Earth preservation?

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change created by the United Nations estimates that an increase in the global air temperature of more than 1.5°C could trigger a process that would destabilise the Earth's climate system.

The biodiversity of the Earth’s systems, the presence of glaciers, ice sheets, forests and even entire cities are at a great risk that we can no longer ignore. Climate Change, a global non-profit organisation, has estimated that in the future, Gdansk, Venice, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Tokyo or even Shanghai could be under water as a result of an ongoing climate change.

The Gulf of Gdansk, Poland. Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (2024).

About the Copernicus data

Satellite observations play a key role in efficient and cost effective monitoring of the Earth ecosystems, and remote sensing techniques prove highly beneficial in this area. The European Copernicus Earth Observation programme provides data that has many attributes, spectral and spatial ones, about oceans, lands and atmosphere. They provide us with resources for environmental analysis in all dimensions, from local to global and from visible to radar techniques.

Scientists have developed various indices like NDVI, NDWI, and SMI, which are essential tools for Earth observation. NDVI measures vegetation health by comparing near-infrared (NIR) and red visible light wavelengths. NDWI, or Normalized Water Index, indicates water body extent and reflects biomass water content, commonly used in water management. The Soil Moisture Index (SMI) estimates soil moisture content using Sentinel-1 radar data. Additionally, SWIR or NIR data can help assess land dryness, vegetation coverage, and map extreme events like wildfires or flash floods.

By organising the contest we want to promote the use of satellite imagery that is a vital tool for understanding processes taking place on Earth on a larger scale, offering global coverage and instant access to accurate data.

Please contact us at communications [at] cloudferro.com for any questions that you may have. We will be happy to help you.

The details of the contest can be found here: Terms and Conditions (PDF).