Presseinformation

Vom Satellitenbild zur Umweltintelligenz: 20 Jahre EOMAP

Im Schloss Seefeld bei München entstehen seit 2006 preisgekrönte Erdbeobachtungs-Lösungen. Diese helfen Behörden und Industrie, die Umwelt ganzheitlich zu verstehen und zu schützen.

Seefeld, Deutschland, im November 2026 – Seit 20 Jahren entwickelt EOMAP aus Seefeld bei München satellitenbasierte Lösungen, vor allem zu Küsten-, Seen- und Flussgebieten. 2006 gründete der Physiker Dr. Thomas Heege, ehemals Wissenschaftler beim Deutschen Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), das Unternehmen. Sein Ziel war, Wissenschaft in praktische Lösungen zu überführen. Im Februar 2025 wurde EOMAP Teil des niederländischen Geodaten-Konzerns Fugro.

Von der Adriaküste bis zum Great Barrier Reef

Drei Pionierprojekte prägen die Firmengeschichte: 2006 kartierte das damalige Start-up per Satellit erstmals Seegraswiesen vor Brindisi an der italienischen Adria, 2018 entwickelte EOMAP ein weltweites Wasserqualitäts-Portal für die UNESCO, und 2019 gelang gemeinsam mit australischen Meeresforschern die weltweit erste flächendeckende 3D-Habitatkarte des Great Barrier Reef. Von Innovationskraft zeugen auch die Auszeichnungen, darunter 2023 der Cassini-Preis der EU-Raumfahrtagentur EUSPA für die Plastikmüll-App Eyes on Plastic oder der Bayerische Innovationspreis 2022 für die cloudbasierte Lösung eoapp SDB-Online zur Berechnung von Flachwassertiefen.

Team aus zehn Ländern und acht Disziplinen

Möglich macht diese Pionierleistungen ein fünfzigköpfiges Team aus zehn Ländern, in dem Fachleute aus Physik, Geodatenanalyse, Softwareentwicklung oder Datenvisualisierung Hand in Hand arbeiten. Der Frauenanteil liegt mit 46 Prozent mehr als doppelt so hoch wie im Branchendurchschnitt. Für Thomas Heege steht die Unternehmenskultur an erster Stelle: „Das Wichtigste war von Anfang an der Aufbau unseres Teams. Wir arbeiten interdisziplinär, kooperativ und mit viel Eigenverantwortung. Diese Kultur ist das Fundament, auf dem 20 Jahre Hightech-Entwicklung und echte Marktlösungen stehen.“

Aus Daten werden Antworten

Seine Lösungen entwickelt das EOMAP-Team energisch weiter. Erhielten Kunden früher vor allem Daten, so sind es heute zunehmend Software-Lösungen und Informationspakete inklusive 3D-Visualisierung. „Viele Kunden wollen nicht nur Satellitendaten, sondern belastbare Antworten. Unsere Lösungen, teils mit integrierten Chatbots, bereiten Umweltinformationen mundgerecht auf und fördern so rasche und fundierte Entscheidungen“, erklärt Thomas Heege.

Erdbeobachtung im Höhenflug

2006 war Fernerkundung eine kleine Nische mit gut 150 Unternehmen in Europa. Inzwischen zählt der Branchenverband EARSC mehr als 800 Unternehmen, die satellitenbasierte Dienstleistungen anbieten. Auch die Datenbasis wächst stark: Allein zwischen 2014 und 2023 starteten laut Marktforscher Novaspace rund 2.100 Erdbeobachtungssatelliten.

Aus Terabyte an Daten bildet EOMAP digitale Zwillinge ganzer Küstenabschnitte, Seenregionen und Flusseinzugsgebiete. Dabei sind die Algorithmen sensorunabhängig und verarbeiten Daten öffentlicher Missionen wie Copernicus ebenso wie private, etwa von Planet oder Vantor. „Für jede Frage suchen wir die passendsten Sensoren aus, ob öffentlich oder privat. Das macht uns unabhängig und liefert bestmögliche Ergebnisse für unsere Kunden“, sagt Heege.

Pionierarbeit in der Praxis

In zwei Bereichen gilt EOMAP weltweit als Pionier:

Bathymetrie. Die satellitengestützte Vermessung der Wassertiefe aus dem All hat EOMAP maßgeblich mitentwickelt. „Wo Untiefen Schiffen gefährlich werden und andere Messverfahren teuer oder riskant sind, liefern Satelliten zuverlässige Daten“, erklärt Dr. Knut Hartmann, kommerzieller Direktor. 2015 druckte der britische Hydrographische Dienst (UKHO) erstmals EOMAP-Daten in eine Seekarte, inzwischen stützen sich rund 50 Seekarten weltweit darauf. Ingenieurbüros nutzen die Bathymetrie- und Seegrundkarten außerdem, um Seekabel sicher und umweltschonend zu verlegen.

Wasserqualität. Physikalisch basierte Verfahren errechnen aus Satellitenbildern Algenkonzentrationen, Oberflächentemperatur oder Sichttiefe. Beim Fischsterben in der Oder 2022 konnte EOMAP so den Verlauf der Goldalgenblüte zeitlich und örtlich eingrenzen. Wer die App eoapp AQUA öffnet, sieht das Wichtigste auf einen Blick, die komplexen Analysen laufen im Hintergrund: „Dank eoapp AQUA behalten Umweltbehörden in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern oder Baden-Württemberg ihre Seen und Küstengewässer schnell und tagesaktuell im Blick“, erklärt Karin Schenk, Bereichsleiterin Wasserqualität.

Die Lösungen informieren auch über Küstenveränderungen und natürliche CO2-Speicher wie Seegraswiesen oder Mangrovenwälder und zeigen auf, wo diese künftig am besten vor Erosion und Überflutung schützen. Erst 2025 kartierte das Team mit Fugro Seegras entlang der rund 8.000 Kilometer langen Küste Italiens, die der Umweltbehörde ISPRA gezielten Naturschutz ermöglichen.

Ausblick: Umweltfolgen besser abschätzen

Künftig will EOMAP verstärkt satellitenbasierte Vorhersagen liefern: „Wir wollen unsere Fähigkeiten in der Umweltfolgenabschätzung und bei Prognosen weiter ausbauen. Organisationen sollen Umweltveränderungen nicht nur im Nachhinein beobachten, sondern besser verstehen und vorhersehen können“, sagt Heege.

Über EOMAP

EOMAP, ein Fugro-Unternehmen, nutzt Satelliten, um ein besseres Verständnis der Umwelt und ihrer Veränderungen zu schaffen. Das Team beliefert Behörden und Industrie weltweit, die Wasser bewirtschaften, Infrastruktur planen, Blue Carbon bewerten oder sicher navigieren wollen. Die preisgekrönten Web-Apps der eoapp™-Reihe liefern die wichtigsten Erkenntnisse in wenigen Mausklicks. In den Bereichen satellitenbasierte Wasserqualität und Flachwasser-Bathymetrie ist EOMAP-Technologie weltweit führend. Das 50-köpfige Team fühlt sich den UN-SDGs und Klimazielen verpflichtet und möchte zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung unseres Planeten beitragen.

Service

Unter diesem Link können Sie folgendes herunterladen:

• PDF der Pressemitteilung
• Fotos von Management, Feier und Projekt-Highlights
• Portrait von Gründer und Direktor Thomas Heege

Für weitere Informationen, Interviews und Bildmaterial wenden Sie sich bitte an:
Andrea Schmölzer, Head of Marketing
E-Mail, Tel: +49 176 11 773 773

YellowScan, a global provider of UAV LiDAR mapping solutions, has added EOMAP’s satellite-derived services to its YellowScan Access ecosystem. Now, customers obtain information on their survey area before deploying equipment. As a consequence, they can plan projects more efficiently and with greater confidence.

Satellite imagery contributes to efficient LiDAR surveys

YellowScan Access gives organisations flexible access to professional LiDAR technology. For their bathymetry surveys, customers can rent high-performance systems including hardware, software, technical support, insurance and training.

With EOMAP’s satellite-derived environmental analysis now part of the ecosystem, customers can also

• assess the water quality of a site in advance
• recognise opportunities and challenges for airborne LiDAR bathymetry (ALB) mapping early,
• and optimise survey planning before mobilising personnel and equipment.

Water clarity details to optimise LiDAR mapping

Turbid waters can have negative impact on the results of LiDAR mapping campaigns. Thus, knowing about water clarity in advance of mapping campaigns is a clear information advantage: The new service powered by EOMAP’s water quality team empowers YellowScan Access clients better time successful campaigns. The new tool builds on historical water quality data and trends.

“Well in advance of mobilisation, EOMAP’s satellite-derived data informs customers about the expected water clarity at a survey site throughout the year. They can therefore plan their LiDAR campaign for the time with the best expected conditions. Making this tool available through YellowScan Access helps customers to plan and conduct their surveys successfully.” explains Philipp Bauer, Product Owner of eoapp^TM AQUALITE at EOMAP.

Learn More

• Access YellowScan’s press release here.
• Contact Philipp of our water quality team for a short demo.

Oil spill spanning hundreds of km² at the coast of Oman: Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) reveals the critical shallow-water area to support a safe salvage operation of the grounded tanker.

Oil from a “dark” vessel endangers marine ecosystem

On 11 June, the last AIS signal from the tanker ‘Caroline Bezengi’ was recorded off the coast of Yemen. According to media reports (gCaptain, Reuters, Al Jazeera Media Network,…) the vessel had loaded almost 1 million barrels of Russian crude oil at Novorossiysk (Black Sea) and was en route to Asia.

Later in June, the vessel – disabled and unmanned – ran aground on rocks southwest of Al Qibliyyah, Oman. The uninhabited island is part of the Al Hallaniyat archipelago, within a marine protected area. Nearly all of the vessel’s cargo tanks were breached.

Satellite Data Delivers Critical Shallow-Water Intelligence

Using very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery from Vantor, EOMAP delivered SDB to Amaza Surveys on behalf of Mubarak Bridge Maritime (Mubarak Group, Dubai), which had offered to lead the salvage of the wrecked tanker. This is exactly the kind of intelligence salvage teams need to plan operations safely, particularly in insufficiently charted shallow waters.

With the spill now spreading across more than 600 km² (Greenpeace currently estimates even 1.000 km²), we can only hope this data reaches the right hands soon.

Satellite-derived intelligence for safe navigation and maritime surveillance

In brief: At EOMAP, we use SDB not only to provide robust, up-to-date data on critical coastal areas. It also helps us track “dark vessels”, even when AIS data is suppressed or unavailable.

Contact

• Email Kim Knauer and our coastal team to learn more about how SDB supports maritime safety and salvage planning.
• Send us your inquiry to boost your project performance.

Milestone #5 in EOMAP’s 20 years history: Mapping what was once considered ‘unmappable’ – the Great Barrier Reef.

These world-first digital maps of thousands of coral reefs were a key step towards identifying, managing and essentially preserving this global marine icon.

Bathymetry maps covering 350.000 km²

Back in 2013, we were part of a true breakthrough. In collaboration with leading German and Australian scientists, we delivered high-resolution, satellite-derived bathymetry maps covering the entire Great Barrier Reef.

For the first time, this ecosystem covering ~350,000 km² and thousands of individual reefs, was mapped consistently from space.

The challenge: Mapping shallow and remote waters

In general, traditional approaches using vessels or airborne surveys were (and still are) limited by cost, logistics, and accessibility. Especially in shallow or remote reef areas, these methods can be challenging.

For decades, nearly half of the Great Barrier Reef’s shallow-water reef areas had remained unmapped due to remoteness and navigational challenges.

Large-scale reef mapping from space

However, EOMAP helped change this. Without any vessel or aircraft support, this world-first dataset with 30-m-resolution provided a complete 3D picture of the planet’s largest coral reef ecosystem. It enabled more effective environmental management. This included water quality modelling to predicting climate change impacts, such as sea level rise and cyclone activity.

Beyond science, the project bridged a crucial gap: It offered both detailed local insights and a comprehensive system-wide view to governments, researchers, and industry alike. Back then, partner Stuart Phinn from the University of Queensland stated: “This information is regarded as essential for any government or company involved with managing the reef environment.”

Apart from the University of Queensland, EOMAP partnered with James Cook University and the Australia Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information in this project.

Until today, we continue providing non-invasive, cost-effective technology to protect irreplaceable ecosystems.

Learn More

Read more about this and other reef mapping project here:

• Launch of the Great Barrier Reef Bathymetry in 2013
• Mapping Ningaloo Reef
• See more milestones of EOMAP’s 20 year journey.

Contact

Reach out to Emily Twiggs in Australia or us at the HQ for any mapping solution you might need.

Milestone #2 in EOMAP’s 20 years history: Mapping Ningaloo Reef in 2009 marked a turning point in reef science. The world’s largest hyperspectral marine habitat survey at the time transformed how reef systems are understood.

The Challenge of Mapping Large Reefs

Ningaloo is one of the world’s largest fringing reefs. It stretches across three degrees of latitude in a remote part of Western Australia. Traditional boat-based surveys were logistically impossible for such a vast area. Older maps relied on manual visual interpretation of aerial photos, which lacked detail and consistency.

Therefore the goal was to develop the first standardized, semi-automated classification system for the entire 300 km reef system, providing a high-resolution baseline for long-term conservation.

Halina Kobryn, a senior environmental scientist from Murdoch University, collaborated closely with us in this study.

“This project, at the time the world’s largest hyperspectral survey of marine habitats, provided a unique opportunity to map at very high spectral and spatial resolution, both the marine and coastal strip. This high-resolution baseline supports marine planning, monitoring, and management of Australia’s longest nearshore fringing reef”, says Halina.

Using the HyMap airborne sensor (capturing 125 spectral bands at 3.5m resolution), the team applied EOMAP’s physics-based Modular Inversion and Processing System (MIP) in 2006.

Key Results and Impact

• Together, we successfully mapped 762 km² of the Ningaloo Reef environment to a depth of 20 meters, utilizing a semi-automated approach that delivered overall accuracies ranging from 70% to 84%.
• The results also revealed that macro-algae dominated 51% of the area, while hard and soft corals cover about 8% (58.6 km²).
• Including the coastal strip (up to 2km) was important as runoff from the coast can have detrimental effects on the corals.

Until today, we continue providing non-invasive, cost-effective technology to protect irreplaceable ecosystems.

Learn More

Read more about the project in these papers:

• Ningaloo Reef: Shallow Marine Habitats Mapped Using a Hyperspectral Sensor
• Bathymetry Derivatives and Habitat Data from Hyperspectral Imagery Establish a High-Resolution Baseline for Managing the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
• An assessment of coastal land cover and off-road vehicle tracks adjacent to Ningaloo Marine Park, north-western Australia

Follow along and share your memories as we look back on 20 years EOMAP!

Contact

Reach out to Emily Twiggs in Australia or us at the HQ for any mapping solution you might need.

Milestone #1: 20 years ago, EOMAP was founded with a bold ambition: to transform the way we understand inland waters and coastal environments through satellite-based analytics.

When Thomas Heege founded the company in 2006, satellite‑based water analytics were still a young and largely unexplored field. Yet, the need for reliable, science‑driven insights was already clear.

“From the very beginning, our purpose has been to bridge the gap between scientific excellence and real-world decision-making, and to make satellite-derived information accessible to organisations around the globe”, Thomas says looking back.

Early Support and Strong Partnerships

A huge thanks goes to German Aerospace Center (DLR) Technology Transfer. Especially to Rudolf Faymonville, whose belief in us was instrumental during our start‑up years and also thank his successor, Robert Klarner, who has continued this spirit of support.

We are also deeply grateful for the encouragement from Thorsten Rudolph at AZO Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen as well as the guidance of Prof. Manfred Schroeder, the former head of the EO department.

Celebrating Two Decades of Progress

As EOMAP’s 20‑year anniversary this summer is approaching, we’re excited to share the milestones of our journey with you in a post series. The series will highlight pioneering research and breakthrough innovations to global partnerships and project highlights across inland and coastal waters.

Follow along and share your memories in the comments as we look back on two decades of progress, collaboration, and impact!

Bathymetric data is key for navies and hydrographic offices. They must navigate rising operational demands while maintaining the highest standards of safety and precision. At the same time, the need for fast, data‑driven insights is growing, calling for efficient and robust methods.

With WATCOR‑X, authorities can derive shallow‑water bathymetry accurately, securely, and on demand. It empowers users to generate high‑resolution bathymetric grids anywhere on the globe, without the need for site‑specific calibration data.

The new WATCOR-X subpage offers a detailed overview of the capabilities, including key features, processing insights, and real‑world advantages for operational users. Moreover, it includes a testimonial from a leading Australian hydrographer.

For a closer look at WATCOR‑X in action, we also provide a series of explanatory tutorials on YouTube. These step‑by‑step videos demonstrate key functions, workflows, and use cases – helping new users quickly understand what the software can do.

Contact shallowwater@eomap.com for further details.

The Scorpion Reef, in Spanish “Arrecife Alacranes”, is the largest atoll in the southern Gulf of Mexico and a designated National Park. EOMAP has now mapped this region using Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB).

Mapping a biodiversity hotspot

This largest reef of the region is home to an extraordinary marine ecosystem: With five islets and at least 34 hard coral species, it serves as a sanctuary for numerous kinds of birds, fish, and turtles. Unfortunately, like many other biodiversity hotspots, Scorpion Reef faces threats from factors, such as illegal fishing and unregulated tourism.

Space-based data on water depth

Only recently, our team processed 290 km² of the region around Scorpion Reef using Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) workflows. This approach provides detailed insights into water depths across the atoll without the need for costly or invasive surveys. The data generated are valuable decision-support for conservation and monitoring efforts.

For this 10-m dataset, our colleagues analysed satellite scenes of Sentinel-2. “10-metre resolution” means that the smallest area mapped is 10x10m size – which we also applied for extended areas such as the Bahamas.

The benefits of SDB datasets

Like at Scorpion Reef, this space-based mapping technology offers several benefits for decision makers in coastal environments:

• Enhanced monitoring: Continuous monitoring and update of sandy seabed and beaches
• Fills bathymetric data gaps: Depth information in areas which are not sufficiently charted
• Cost-effective and scalable: No need for extensive fieldwork, satellite imagery enables large-area coverage quickly
• Supports conservation: Provides actionable data for managing and protecting marine ecosystems
• Non-intrusive and safe: Ideal for remote or protected regions where traditional surveys are challenging

Learn more

For other applications, especially in coastal engineering, we can increase the spatial resolution of SDB grids to submeter levels of detail.

Please contact our US office or our shallowwater team for SDB services worldwide.

How accurate is your SDB data? – This is a question we are often asked. SDB Update No.9 provides some information on the complex topic of uncertainties.

50% of the stakeholders identified mapping inaccessible locations as the main reason to apply Satellite-Derived Bathymetry. (Innovation project ‘4S’)

For our clients and partners, the reliability of our SDB data is a fundamental prerequisite for integrating it into their shallow water surveys, models, or coastal planning and engineering.

In general, the ability to map the seabed depends on the environmental conditions at the time of satellite image recording, and so does the overall quality of these measurements. Therefore, we provide some facts and (simplified) details about horizontal and vertical accuracy of our SDB measurements and how we manage uncertainty.

What about horizontal accuracy?

The horizontal or geo-positioning of SDB depends on the spatial resolution of the satellite sensors and is up to 2m. We make sure to remove effects from water refraction or terrain bias to minimize positional uncertainties.

Vertical uncertainties

Depth or vertical uncertainties are of highest interest to bathymetric users. Basically, there are standard statistical methods to describe the uncertainties: The LE90 level indicating that 90% of all data fall within this category, and the root mean square error (RMSE). As the LE90 is more relevant for our users, we return information on this as standard feedback. Over the years, we have found that 0.5m plus a depth dependent factor of 10% gives a very good global approximation of the vertical LE90 uncertainties.

Is it that simple?

Of course not. In addition, seabed coverage, water turbidity, tidal uncertainties, and other effects impact uncertainty. For this reason, we provide pixel-specific uncertainties for each depth measurement.

What about client data?

Can we use client data to improve and verify SDB? Yes, we can and are happy to do so! For this purpose, a detailed validation report and statistics will be included. Furthermore, there is an interesting validation option, even if you don’t have any data: We leverage active green laser depth measurements to verify our results, and it comes with detailed statistics on how accurate it performs.

Validation studies

Although our physics-based image processing is based on 30 years of development and can be applied independently of in situ depth information, we continue conducting validation studies to further improve our algorithms and SDB apps. Here are two recent examples:

• A very comprehensive study of this sort was part of the “4S” project, in the framework of which we developed the web app SDB-Online. In this study, SDB results are validated at ten different sites, ranging from the higher latitudes of Canada to turbid UK waters to the Caribbean. SDB was validated against Lidar and MBES data. The project team published the details of this analysis in the peer reviewed ‘International Hydrographic Review’.

• Atmospheric correction (AC) for water bodies is key to ensure standardized and high-quality outputs. In 2024, 21 European scientists evaluated AC as the core of our “MIP” methodology in the framework of the EnMAP mission. In this intercomparison between three AC methods covering 17 water sites, our “MIP” showed superior results. Read more on the study published in “Optics Express”.

Contact

Scroll down to our FAQs for more on how we deal with uncertainties here.

Sign up to eoapp™ SDB-Online to test bathymetry from the comfort of your desk.

Or simply request a quote via our Enquiry portal.

SDB update is a Linkedin post series on Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) by EOMAP – a Fugro company. Enjoy news, facts, and figures on a bi-weekly basis!