CA-ESRI
24.6.2021 14:02:10 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Esri , the global leader in location intelligence, today announced it is releasing for the first time ever a new high-resolution, 2020 global land cover map as part of the company’s Living Atlas . The map was built using European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, and developed using a new machine learning workflow teaming with new Esri Silver Partner Impact Observatory , as well as long-time partner Microsoft.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210624005176/en/
The new map will be updated annually supporting change detection and highlighting planetary land changes, especially related to the effects of human activity. A consistent map of land cover for the entire world based on the most current satellite information, the 2020 Global Land Cover Map can be combined with other data layers for green infrastructure, sustainability projects, and other conservation efforts that require a holistic picture of both the human and natural footprint on the planet. Later this year, Esri and Impact Observatory will make this new land cover model available to support on-demand land cover classification, allowing the GIS community to create maps for project areas as often as every week.
"This is a critical year for climate action," said Jack Dangermond, Esri founder and president. "With the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) bringing international parties together to address a set of common goals, we are happy to do our part in making this map available to users that are working towards the health of our planet."
Users will also be able to manipulate the map in association with other GIS layers such as terrain, hydrology, and more, all available in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, the foremost collection of geographic information from around the globe, including maps, apps, and data layers. Through the visualizations being released, planners worldwide will better understand the geography around them to make more informed decisions—enabling them to gain insight into locations with distinctive land cover, as well as human activity affecting them.
High-resolution, open, accurate, comparable, and timely land cover maps are critical for decision-makers in many industry sectors and developing nations. These maps improve understanding of important topics such as food security, land use planning, hydrology modeling, and resource management planning. In addition, national government resource agencies use land cover as a basis for understanding trends in natural capital, which helps define land planning priorities and is the basis of budget allocations.
Impact Observatory, contracted by Esri, developed a deep learning AI land classification model using a massive training dataset of billions of human-labeled image pixels, and applied this model to the Sentinel-2 2020 scene collection, processing over 400,000 Earth observations to produce the map. The unique machine learning approach used to create this global map will soon be available on demand, supporting land managers who need to monitor change in a specific area of interest, looking at annual change and seasonal differences in land cover.
"Global efforts are urging world leaders to set and achieve ambitious conservation targets," said Steve Brumby, Impact Observatory co-founder and CEO. "With support from the geospatial experts at Esri, and access to incredible compute resources at Microsoft, we were able to build in record time a land cover map that provides leaders in governments, NGOs, and across industries with a novel, timely view of the planet, and a new AI-powered capability for actionable, science-based insights on demand. In doing so, Impact Observatory hopes to contribute towards the global conservation effort."
Esri is releasing this valuable resource under a Creative Commons license to encourage broad adoption and ensure equitable access for planners creating a more sustainable planet. This content will be made available in ArcGIS Online as a map service and be freely available for use by its 10 million users. It will also be available for download and viewing. To explore the new 2020 Global Land Cover Map, visit livingatlas.arcgis.com/landcover .
About Impact Observatory
Impact Observatory is a mission-driven technology company bringing artificial intelligence (AI) powered algorithms and on-demand data to sustainability and environmental risk analysis for governments, non-profit organizations, companies, and markets. Founded in 2020 in Washington, DC, Impact Observatory’s goal is to empower global decision-makers to be planetary superheroes, with the timely, actionable science-based insights they need to succeed. Visit us at impactobservatory.com .
About Esri
Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations globally and in over 200,000 institutions in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofits, and universities. Esri has regional offices, international distributors, and partners providing local support in over 100 countries on six continents. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com .
Copyright © 2021 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, ArcGIS, The Science of Where, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210624005176/en/
Link:
Social Media:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
VerSprite Launches Fork and Knife: AI-Driven Threat Modeling and Adversarial Testing Built for the Speed of Modern Software26.6.2026 23:28:00 CEST | Press release
Powered by the risk-centric PASTA methodology and two decades of accredited offensive security, the integrated platform lets enterprises threat model in a security sprint—then prove the risk through AI-led, human-on-the-loop testing. VerSprite, a global leader in risk-based threat modeling and the firm behind the PASTA (Process for Attack Simulation and Threat Analysis) methodology, today announced the general availability of Fork (www.forktm.com), a continuous application threat modeling platform, alongside Knife, an AI-led, human-on-the-loop adversarial testing platform for web applications and web API endpoints. Together, the two products operationalize a new model for product security—one where applications are securely designed, continuously modeled, and actively tested as part of the build process itself. The launch addresses a problem every security leader knows but few tools have solved: threat modeling is essential, never more so than in an AI-driven era, yet it has remained s
Venture Global Announces Closing of $1.5 Billion Senior Secured Vessel Financing Facility26.6.2026 22:30:00 CEST | Press release
Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE: VG) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Venture Global Shipping Holdings, LLC (“VGSH”), has entered into a Credit and Guaranty Agreement providing for a senior secured term loan facility (the “Facility”) in an aggregate principal amount of up to $1,500,000,000. The Facility will mature on June 26, 2032. Deutsche Bank and ING acted as coordinating lead arrangers for the Facility. ING also serves as facility agent and security trustee. VGSH intends to use the net proceeds from the Facility for general corporate purposes, including to reimburse Venture Global LNG, Inc. for payments previously made by it or its affiliates in connection with the acquisition of nine LNG carriers, funding certain reserve accounts, and paying transaction fees and expenses. About Venture Global Venture Global is an American producer and exporter of low-cost U.S. liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) with over 100 MTPA of capacity in production, construction, or development. Ven
Andersen Consulting tilføjer House of Code for at styrke teknologi- og dataløsninger26.6.2026 20:01:00 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
Andersen Consulting forstærker sine kompetencer inden for teknologisk transformation gennem en samarbejdsaftale med House of Code, en global virksomhed med hovedkvarter i USA, der specialiserer sig i datadrevne platforme, automatisering og agentbaserede ai-løsninger. House of Code blev stiftet i 2001 og udvikler softwareløsninger samt yder rådgivning til energihandels- og finanssektoren med kunder, der spænder over hedgefonde, kapitalfonde og forsyningsvirksomheder. Virksomheden besidder dyb ekspertise inden for energihandel og risikostyring og hjælper organisationer med systemimplementering, forretningstransformation, dataautomatisering og ai-underbygget modernisering af arbejdsgange. Deres proprietære platform, Enterprise Platform for Integrated Compliance (EPIC), skaber en mere effektiv datastyring, automatiserer rapporteringsprocesser, forbedrer den driftsmæssige gennemsigtighed på tværs af virksomhedssystemer og skaber et fundament for opbygning af intelligente, agentbaserede arbe
Capco Recognized by OpenAI for Innovation and Responsible AI Leadership26.6.2026 20:00:00 CEST | Press release
Receives AI Governance & Risk Excellence Award at OpenAI Partner SummitCapco’s UK AI Lab wins OpenAI Codex Hackathon Global management and technology consultancy Capco, a Wipro company,has been recognized by OpenAI for both AI innovation and responsible AI leadership. Capco received the AI Governance & Risk Excellence Award at the recent OpenAI Partner Summit 2026 in San Francisco, highlighting Capco’s ability to deliver enterprise-grade AI outcomes in highly regulated environments. The award recognizes Capco’s expert advantage when helping financial services and energy organizations to scale AI with confidence, balancing innovation with strong governance to reduce risk, strengthen compliance and improve customer outcomes. This award follows Capco winning the OpenAI Codex Hackathon, where its UK AI Lab competed against more than 30 teams and over 100 participants from across the OpenAI partner ecosystem. Capco's winning entry Sentra – a consulting-led, AI-powered retail banking solutio
Incyte Announces Positive CHMP Opinion for Opzelura® (ruxolitinib) Cream for the Treatment of Adults with Moderate Atopic Dermatitis26.6.2026 13:30:00 CEST | Press release
If approved, Opzelura® (ruxolitinib) cream will be the first steroid-free, topical JAK treatment option in the European Union (EU) for adults with moderate atopic dermatitis (AD) for whom standard topical therapies have failedAD, the most common type of eczema which affects 230 million people globally,1 is a chronic, recurring, inflammatory and highly pruritic (itchy) skin condition that can have a significant impact on daily life2Phase 3 TRuE‑AD4 data supporting the positive CHMP opinion demonstrated that ruxolitinib cream met both co‑primary endpoints at Week 8, maintained disease control with as-needed treatment through Week 24 and was well tolerated3,4,5 Incyte (Nasdaq: INCY) today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued a positive opinion recommending the approval of Opzelura® (ruxolitinib) cream for the treatment of moderate atopic dermatitis (AD) in adult patients for whom topical corticosteroids
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom