Contest 2023 for best satellite image of Earth
Join the 4th edition of the contest "Seize the beauty of our Planet"
Toghether for Cool Earth!
Take part in the 4th edition of the contest 'Seize the beauty of our Planet'
Welcome to the page of the 4th edition of the contest “Seize the beauty of our Planet” for the best satellite image of the Earth, organised by CloudFerro. This edition focuses on GLOBAL WARMING. That is why, the contest motto is: Together for Cool Earth! The goal of this year's contest is to support the joint effort of many European and international organisations in tackling global warming on Earth. As a Copernicus Relay, CloudFerro also aims to promote the use of Copernicus Earth observation data in environmental research, showing a key role it plays in efficient and cost-effective monitoring of environmental changes.
It is the fourth time we have invited the users of our EO platforms to join this competition. This year, we are looking for the most outstanding imagery depicting consequences of global warming. The images should be generated on CREODIAS, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, WEkEO, CODE-DE or EO-Lab - the platforms developed / co-developed and operated by CloudFerro. The winners will be selected by internet users, who will vote for the best 13 images, and then a Jury, who will choose 3 best images taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. The winners will be announced on CloudFerro website and our social media profiles.
Watch a tutorial on how to prepare an image for the contest:
Why global warming?
The Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate, with Europe alone twice as much as the global average since 1980s. A record after record is broken every month now, and in June a critical point of 1.5⁰C limit was breached that may inflict irreversible damage to humans and the environment. Global warming causes extreme phenomena such as droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, flash floods, sea level rise and intense storms affecting agriculture crops, air quality, drinking water supplies, to name just a few. According to the Copernicus’ European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), 45 countries in Europe suffered 16 941 fires in 2022, and the area burnt amounted to 1 624 381 hectares (ha), which is 48% more in the number of fires than between 2021 and 2022.
It is the forth time we have been organising the contest ‘Seize the beauty of our Planet’ to raise public awareness about environmental changes that occur on Earth. As in previous years, we aim at encouraging EO community to help us promote this cause by showing the evidence of devastating environmental changes in the Earth’s ecosystems.
Rhodes island, Greece, wildfires observed on 23 July 2023. Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified 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.
Apart from widespread wildfires, also drought has become a common challenge in many regions of the world, and with the acceleration of global climate change, its impact on everyday life is expected to grow. Satellite imagery is a vital tool for understanding drought on a larger scale, offering global coverage and instant access to accurate data. 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.
What is the contest about?
In the contest, we are looking for the best satellite images depicting an area of your choice affected by global warming and its consequences. The images shoud be generated on one the platforms CloudFerro has developed / co-developed and operates:
- 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.
The best 13 images chosen in public voting (1st phase) and by a Jury (2nd phase) will be presented in CloudFerro calendar for 2024 that will be distributed among leading institutions, companies and organisations in the Earth Observation sector. The calendar will also be awarded to all the contest winners and participants whose images were admitted to the voting phase.
Let's act together to raise the awareness of the need to tackle global warming and its consequences, such as droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, floods, sea level rise and others.
How to enter the contest?
To enter the contest, users need to generate an image on one of the platforms developed and operated by CloudFerro – CREODIAS, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, WEkEO, CODE-DE, EO-Lab and submit the image using the form at the bottom of the page.
All entries must be submitted by October 12, 2023.
- The image should depict an area on Earth affected by visible consequences of global warming.
- The image should be obtained on CREODIAS, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, WEkEO, CODE-DE and EO-Lab platform by means of tools available on these platforms (on CREODIAS - choose Data Explorer, on Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem portal - go to Browser tool, on WEkEO choose: Explore data, on CODE-DE and EO-Lab - choose Finder tool) and visualized in a dedicated software of the user's choice (e.g. QGIS). Watch our tutorial on how to prepare an image for the contest.
- Apart from the esthetical aspects and the relation to climate change, the image must meet a minimum requirement of 250 dpi, 4200 x 3000 pixels or more.
- The image should be described in terms of: what kind of environmental change it depicts and what area is affected, location, name of the satellite that generated the image, and the date of the satellite observation.
- Only ONE image can be submitted by each contestant.
- 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.
Where will the submitted images be used?
The images that meet the requirements of the competition will be used in CloudFerro communication to promote the Copernicus programme and the European values, and they will be published in online and print communication materials. The 13 winning images will also be published in a calendar for 2024 prepared by CloudFerro.
How winners are selected and what are the prizes?
All the submitted images that meet the requirements will be put to an online voting of the general public. 13 images with the highest number of votes will proceed to the 2nd stage, in which the Jury consisting of the representatives of CloudFerro and its business partners will vote for the best 3 images. The authors of the 3 images with highest number of Jury votes will be awarded attractive prizes:
- Apple iPad 10.2 inch (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - 1st place
- a LED monitor 27" 165 Hz - 2nd place
- Apple AirPods 2 earphones - 3rd place
The authors of all the entries accepted for the 1st phase of the contest will be awarded a CloudFerro calendar for 2024 composed of the winning images.
See the winning images of 2021 contest and 2020 contest.
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).
Please submit your contest image using the form below. The deadline for submitting contest images is October 12, 2023.