Copernicus is the most ambitious Earth observation programme to date. It provides accurate, timely and easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security. The programme is coordinated and managed by the European Commission. It is implemented in partnership with the 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), EU Agencies and Mercator Océan.
Copernicus is served by a set of dedicated satellites (the Sentinel families) and contributing missions (existing commercial and public satellites). The Sentinel satellites are specifically designed to meet the needs of the Copernicus services and their users. The programme also collects information from in situ systems such as ground stations, which deliver data acquired by a multitude of sensors on the ground, at sea or in the air. The information provided by the Copernicus services can be used by end users for a wide range of applications in a variety of areas.
Copernicus services:
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Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS): provides continuous data and information on global atmospheric composition. The service describes the current situation, forecasts the situation a few days ahead, and analyses consistently retrospective data records for recent years. Find out more about the CAMS here.
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Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS): provides regular and systematic reference information on the physical state variability and dynamics of the ocean and marine ecosystems for the global ocean and the European regional seas. The observations and forecasts produced by the service support all marine applications. Find out more about the CMEMS here.
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Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS): provides geographical information on land cover and on variables related, for instance, to the vegetation state or the water cycle. It supports applications in a variety of domains such as spatial planning, forest management, water management, agriculture, and food security, etc. Find out more about the CLMS here.
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Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S): responds to environmental and societal challenges associated with human-induced climate changes. The service provides the access to information for monitoring and predicting climate change, thus helping to support adaptation and mitigation. It benefits from a sustained network of in situ and satellite-based observations, re-analysis of the Earth climate and modelling scenarios, based on a variety of climate projections. Find out more about the C3S here.
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Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS): provides all actors involved in the management of natural disasters, man-made emergency situations, and humanitarian crises with timely and accurate geo-spatial information derived from satellite remote sensing and completed by available in situ or open data sources. It consists of a mapping component and of an early warning component. Find out more about the CEMS here.
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Copernicus Security Service: support European Union policies by providing information in response to Europe’s security challenges. It improves crisis prevention, preparedness and response in three key areas: border surveillance, maritime surveillance, support to EU External Action. Find out more about the Security Service here.
To contribute on spreading awareness and knowledge about Copernicus across and outside the EU, the European Commission has developed two Networks – the Copernicus Relays and the Copernicus Academy. At the star of 2017, the Institute for Environmental Solutions (IES) became a member and national representative of both networks by receiving Copernicus Academy and Copernicus Relay status. More than 194 organisations has joined the networks. Find out more about them here.
Copernicus information point in Latvia: copernicus@videsinstituts.lv
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