Stefano Salvi
Chair of the Supersites Advisory Committee
Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Sendai, March 2015
DRR and satellite EO
During the last four decades, satellite imagery has proved to
be very well suited for providing important information to
support Disaster Risk Reduction, in particular for Geohazards.
HOWEVER:
Are satellite data fully exploited for DRR?
Inaccessible data and unexploited knowledge
1
Especially, but not only, in developing countries, data are not
easily accessible to map and study geohazards.
Sometimes are not even acquired.
2
Where they are acquired and become available there may be a
lack of capacity to use them.
3
But even when they are well analysed by the scientific
community, the important new knowledge generated is in many
cases not efficiently exploited.
The Geohazards Supersites concept
A voluntary partnership aiming to demonstrate in high risk
areas of the world (the Supersites) a streamlined and efficient
process by which geohazard research results obtained by the
global scientific community can directly benefit local Disaster
Prevention and Response activities.
http://www.earthobservations.org/gsnl.php
The Geohazard Supersite partnership
 The Local Monitoring Agencies
 CEOS Space agencies
 The Local & Global Scientific
Communities
 The Local DRM Agencies
First bulding block: the data
In-situ data
CEOS
Satellite data
The value-added chain
In-situ data
Science
Team #1
Science
Team #2
Science
Team #3
CEOS
Satellite data
Science
Product
A’
Science
Product
…
Science
Product
A’’
Science
Product
A’’’
Science
Product
…
… a synthesis is needed …
In-situ data
Science
Team #1
Science
Team #2
Science
Team #3
CEOS
Satellite data
Virtual
repository
Science
Product
A’
Science
Product
…
Science
Product
A’’
Science
Product
A’’’
Collaborative knowledge processing
(compare, validate, model, report)
Consensus product generation
(hazard model, predictive scenario, etc.)
Science
Product
…
… driven by local agencies …
In-situ data
Science
Team #1
Science
Team #2
Science
Team #3
CEOS
Satellite data
Virtual
repository
Collaborative
process
coordinated
by local
agency
Science
Product
A’
Science
Product
…
Science
Product
A’’
Science
Product
A’’’
Collaborative knowledge processing
(compare, validate, model, report)
Consensus product generation
(hazard model, predictive scenario, etc.)
Science
Product
…
… which will provide the information to DRM users
In-situ data
Science
Team #1
Science
Team #2
Science
Team #3
CEOS
Satellite data
Virtual
repository
Collaborative
process
coordinated
by local
agency
Science
Product
A’
Science
Product
…
Science
Product
A’’
Science
Product
A’’’
Science
Product
…
Collaborative knowledge processing
(compare, validate, model, report)
Consensus product generation
(hazard model, predictive scenario, etc.)
Risk products to
local DRM users
Supersites proposals
 They are submitted by national geohazard monitoring
agencies, and must be supported by the wider scientific
community.
 Supersite proposals are evaluated by the Supersite
Advisory Committee and by the CEOS.
 Resources should be obtained independently by the
partners, who could leverage on the Supersite framework.
 The proposal must address priorities and requirements
from the local DRM users.

Active geohazard Supersites & Points of Contact
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Hawaiian volcanoes – PoC is US Geological Survey, USA
Icelandic volcanoes – PoC is Univ. of Iceland
Etna volcano – PoC is Natl. Inst. Geophysics and Volcanology,
Italy
Campi Flegrei volcano – PoC is Natl. Inst. Geophysics and
Volcanology, Italy
Western North Anatolian Fault – PoC is Kandilli Observatory
and Earthquake Research Institute, Turkey
Taupo Volcano – PoC is GNS Science, New Zealand
Tungurahua and Cotopaxi volcanoes – PoC is Instituto
Geofísico, Ecuador
A success story: the Bardabunga eruption 2014
Main volcano is under 800 m thick ice cap.
Worst scenario was magma/water mixing, causing strong
explosions, 10-km high volcanic ash/gas plume, subglacial floods.
Possible very strong impacts on:
 Regional air traffic. Eyjafjallajökull eruption, in 2010 caused
100,000 flights to be canceled, for a 5 Bn$ damage.
 Global air quality. Laki eruption in 1783 caused global climate
effects leading to a number of global casualties in excess of
hundreds of thousands.
The Icelandic volcano supersite
www.futurevolc.hi.is
Seismic data show magma migration
January
2015
August
2014
Satellite image coverage through the Supersite
InSAR images shows dyke transferring magma for 45
km out of ice area, reducing impact of eruption
GPS and InSAR allowed modeling of the source
Energy
Dyke mapping
Depth
Magma volume
A coordinated effort to support response
Analyses of Supersite data by various international research
teams, coordinated by University of Iceland and with the
local Civil Protection Agency, contributed to provide
important information to update the situational awareness,
directly driving important decisions by DRM users.
To submit a Supersite proposal
Write to:
Stefano Salvi:
Francesco Gaetani:
stefano.salvi@ingv.it
fgaetani@geosec.org
http://www.earthobservations.org/gsnl.php