Preserving the Past from Space: An Overview of Risk Estimation and Monitoring Tools

Earth observation (EO) technologies can enable advanced performance and new operational applications specifically addressed to security and risk (see, for example Copernicus program and Sentinel missions), also including the monitoring and preservation of heritage sites. EO techniques can provide operative tools for supporting heritage protection, conservation, and presentation identifying and monitoring factors that can adversely affect the property (see, for example, those listed in the UNESCO web site http://whc.unesco.org/en/factors/). In this context, UNESCO, in partnership with some space agencies of the world (NASA, ESA, DLR, ASI, CNES, Chinese), over the years has strongly promoted the use of space technologies to assess the state of conservation of cultural and natural heritage sites. Nevertheless, even if the potential of EO technologies for assessing and monitoring natural and man-made disasters is well known, still today the application of RS data in operational disaster management and monitoring is a difficult task. To move from scientific to operational applications there are gaps to be filled and needs to be addressed. To improve the risk estimation and management based on remote sensing data, it is particularly important to set up operational approaches and methods for diverse applications and risks, with protocols and quantitative evaluations of accuracy and reliability.