A near-real-time service for the provision of ERS SAR products

ERS SAR data are used to support mapping and forecasting of sea ice, wind and waves and the management of coastal zones. These information improve e.g. ship routing and the detection of environmental impacts like oil slicks. A major key is the fast availability of this information at the relevant institutions. DLR's Remote Sensing Data Center operates a X-band receiving station as well as the German Processing and Archiving Facility for ERS and X-SAR data. Both systems were linked in order to implement a near-real-time service for the provision of products derived from ERS-SAR data. The data are acquired in Neustrelitz, transferred via network to the processing center in Oberpfaffenhofen and provided to the user, again via network. This chain currently supports the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (BSH) in Hamburg in it's tasks like the ice service in the Baltic and North Sea, the monitoring of the German coast and the detection of oil slicks. The proposed presentation will describe the chain, the delivered products and the potential of this service for other applications fields like disaster assessment and management.