GlobCorine 2005 map, May 2010

Tracking land cover changes using remotely sensed data contributes to evaluating the impact of human activities on the environment. The first GlobCover map successfully demonstrated the usefulness of MERIS time series for operational land cover observation. Jointly supported by theEuropean Space Agency and the European Environment Agency, the GlobCorine project builds on the GlobCover findings and aims to make the full use of the MERIS time series for frequent land cover monitoring at the pan-European scale. Such an automated approach at 300 m will not identify landscape patterns as precisely as the Corine methodology, but it will significantly shorten the time response and expand the coverage. First, the automated GlobCover processing chain is adjusted towards a more land use oriented classification, compatible with the Corine typology. Second, an automated statistically-based algorithm is proposed to enable to monitor key land dynamics on a regular basis.