Explore Aurora - Pixxel’s Earth Observation Studio’s impact across industries

August 12, 2024

Amy Zammit

Explore Aurora - Pixxel’s Earth Observation Studio’s impact across industries

As we proudly experienced the public launch of Aurora, Pixxel's in-house Earth Observation Studio, excitement sparks about its transformative potential across various industries. Aurora offers an extensive range of readily available indices and models designed to monitor, prevent, and mitigate detrimental phenomena, promising to revolutionise operations.

Aurora supports multispectral sensor imagery from notorious missions, including Sentinel and Landsat. However, the platform will also boast the added capability of hosting imagery from Pixxel’s high-resolution hyperspectral imaging satellite constellation.

Although initially focusing on vegetative and nature-based applications, Aurora is continually expanding to meet the evolving needs of diverse industries.

Optimising Agricultural Practices with Aurora’s Indices and Models

*The* ***Crop Bio-parameters model*** *uses crops' unique spectral signatures to assess various health parameters.*

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In modern agricultural practices, analysing remotely sensed imagery is crucial in monitoring crop health, assessing drought conditions, and optimising resource management.

Vegetation Monitoring

*Aurora’s* ***Crop Stress model*** *assesses agricultural lands for areas of high vegetative stress, supporting organisations in making better decisions about resource allocation.*

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	Type	Application	Function
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)	Index	Monitor crop rotation patterns	Identify shifts in vegetation dynamics
Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI)	Index	Early crop development monitoring	Observe seedling emergence in areas of high bare soil
Rededge Chlorophyll Index (RECI)	Index	Non-destructive chlorophyll estimation	Assess leaf chlorophyll content
Plant Senescence Reflectance Index (PSRI)	Index	Determining leaf senescence and fruit ripening stages	Detect carotenoid changes in leaves and fruits
Green Chlorophyll Index (GCI)	Index	Regular crop health monitoring	Assess chlorophyll content for nutrient management and seasonal planning
Crop Classification	Model	Precision agriculture and yield forecasting	Accurate crop type identification for optimised resource use and tailored management
Crop Stress	Model	Early stress detection and management	Identify stress factors early for targeted interventions to minimise losses
Crop Growth Monitoring	Model	Yield prediction and resource management	Track growth stages for precise yield forecasts and input optimisation
Optical Fusion	Model	Advanced crop monitoring and management	Track crop stages and manage large areas efficiently
Segmentation	Model	Precision agriculture	Identify weeds, assess crop health variations, and segment crop rows
Image Clustering	Model	Crop type mapping	Group pixels for large-scale crop mapping for monitoring and market analysis

Drought and Water Stress Assessment

*Through Aurora’s model and index libraries, agricultural organisations can track variations in crop conditions. For example, the* ***NDMI*** *is applied to identify and monitor water stress.*

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	Type	Application	Function
Normalised Difference Drought Index (NDDI)	Index	Grassland drought assessment	Detect drought conditions accurately
Moisture Stress Index (MSI)	Index	Evaluate plant water stress	Detect changes in canopy water content and water stress
Normalised Difference Moisture Index (NDMI)	Index	Monitoring crop water stress and biomass changes	Identify water stress areas and track water content
NDVI Using Microwave	Model	Solving cloud and temporal unavailability issues	Detailed NDVI when optical imagery is limited, aiding crop phenology and yield estimation

Land Use and Resource Management

*Aurora’s models, including the* ***Farm Boundary model****, help agricultural organisations understand land use patterns and enable efficient resource allocation.*

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	Type	Application	Function
Crop Bio Parameters	Model	Various agricultural applications, including crop monitoring	Guide fertiliser, irrigation, and yield prediction
Land Use and Land Cover	Model	Agriculture and food securit	Map and monitor agricultural land and assess suitability
Farm Boundary	Model	Precision agriculture and farm manageme	Accurate field-level analysis to optimise resource allocation

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By applying these indices and models, agricultural organisations can significantly enhance their ability to monitor crop health, manage resources efficiently, and ensure sustainable farming practices.

Applications of Aurora’s Indices and Models in Environment and Forestry

*With Aurora, environmental management agencies can monitor and manage vital ecosystems and habitats, including water quality status, with the* ***Water Quality Index model***.

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Aurora’s indices and models are crucial in monitoring and managing environmental and forestry resources. They provide valuable insights into vegetation health, water quality, land use changes, and biodiversity, enabling informed decision-making for sustainable practices and conservation efforts.

Vegetation monitoring and assessment

*Aurora features a suite of models and indices, including the renowned* ***NDVI****, which can be applied over vegetated areas to understand variations over time and support swift and timely interventions where required.*

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	Type	Application	Function
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)	Index	Assess vegetation health	Detect stress and disease in tree stands
		Monitor pollution effects	Assess vegetation health before and after pollution events
		Monitor reclamation efforts	Evaluate vegetation health and growth post-land reclamation
		Assess the environmental impacts of urbanisation	Measure changes in vegetation density near urban areas
		Monitor vegetation burning	Identify fire-prone areas and monitor vegetation recovery post-fire
Enhanced Vegetation Index 2 - 2 (EVI2-2)	Index	Highlight land cover variation	Differentiate land cover types with minimised soil influences
Transformed Vegetation Index (TVI)	Index	Understand forest cover dynamics	Assess forest health during drought conditions
Rededge Chlorophyll Index (RECI)	Index	Monitor Earth system dynamics	Broadly monitor ecosystem health and dynamics

Water and Wetland Monitoring

*The* ***NDWI*** *in Aurora* *provides insights into flood impacts and supports rapid disaster response management.*

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	Header	Header	Header
Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI)	Index	Estimate open water surface area	Detect sudden changes in water surface area indicating pollution events or pests
		Identify waterbodies as mosquito habitats	Detect potential breeding sites
Visible Atmosphere Resistance Index (VARI)	Index	Distinguish unhealthy or dry vegetation susceptible to wildfire	Identify areas with vegetation health discrepancies
Normalised Difference Snow Index (NDSI)	Index	Map snow cover	Provide accurate snow cover mapping for hydrological, terrestrial, and climatological processes
Water Quality Index (WQI)	Model	Assessing water quality for various uses	Evaluate water quality for recreational activities, irrigation, industrial use, and environmental use
Principal Component Analysis (PCA)	Model	Water quality monitoring	Reduce data dimensionality to identify water pollutants
		Land cover classification	Improve accuracy in classifying land cover

Drought and Climate Monitoring

*Aurora’s in-built* ***NDDI*** *is applied over drought-stressed areas to detect vegetation stress and change detection.*

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	Type	Application	Function
Normalised Difference Moisture Index (NDMI)	Index	Mapping drought severity	Identify drought-prone areas
Normalised Difference Drought Index (NDDI)	Index	Early detection of drought stress in vegetation	Detect vegetation stress and land cover changes due to afforestation or deforestation

Pollution and Hazard Detection

*Aurora’s* ***OSI*** *can be applied to contaminated water bodies to identify hydrocarbons and support rapid intervention to prevent environmental degradation.*

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	Type	Application	Function
Oil Spill Index (OSI)	Index	Oil spill detection and monitoring (water surface only)	Evaluate oil spill distribution, spread, thickness, and impact
Rededge2	Index	Water quality assessment	Assess aquatic ecosystem health using chlorophyll presence
Chlorophyll Vegetation Index (CVI)	Index	Assess canopy sensitivity	Study canopy reflectance based on leaf chlorophyll concentration
Change Detection	Model	Deforestation monitoring and disaster assessment	Track vegetation cover changes and identify disaster-affected areas
Optical Fusion	Model	High-frequency land use change detection	Ensure continuous monitoring and create consistent datasets for climate studies
Cloud Gap Fill	Model	Disaster management and climate change research	Fill data gaps for constant monitoring in cloud-prone regions
LULC (Land Use Land Cover)	Model	Track deforestation and natural hazards	Identify land-use changes for conservation and disaster preparedness

Biomass and Forest Management

*Aurora’s* *inbuilt* ***Forest Biomass*** *model will provide information on forested areas' potential productivity and overall health.*

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	Type	Application	Function
Forest Biomass Estimation	Model	Sustainable forest management	Quantify biomass for carbon sequestration and habitat quality assessment
Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI)	Index	Estimating vegetation crown	Enable crown estimation and periodic forest health evaluation
Crop Bio Parameters	Model	Forest biomass estimation and health monitoring	Support sustainable management and biodiversity assessment
Segmentation	Model	Detailed forest mapping	Identify tree crowns and map ecosystem diversity for conservation
Image Clustering	Model	Ecosystem diversity mapping	Group similar pixels to map distinct vegetation patterns and habitats

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Aurora’s indices and models' diverse applications highlight their significance in the environmental and forestry sectors. As technology advances, applying these indices and models is essential for addressing global environmental challenges and promoting sustainable development practices across industries.

Aurora is expected to redefine how industries monitor, manage, and respond to numerous challenges. With its cutting-edge indices and models, it offers unparalleled insights across diverse industries and applications, utilising various satellite imagery sources.

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Don't miss the opportunity to experience Aurora’s capabilities firsthand—register now and benefit from a free one-month trial for all users. Get in touch with our team for more information and how Aurora can benefit your organisation.

Welcome the future of Earth observation insights with Aurora!