Four sectors, one pattern: the Irish question, what satellites show, the Copernicus inputs, who uses them, and real Irish examples.
Where is grass growing or under stress? Has a field been mowed or ploughed? Where has forest been felled, damaged or burned?
Grassland covers most of Ireland’s farmland. Sentinel-2 vegetation indices show how it is growing, and Sentinel-1 radar keeps the record going through cloudy weeks. In forests, satellite data combined with field measurements gives timber volume, canopy change and storm damage.
Sentinel imagery and machine learning classify crops and land use, detect mowing and ploughing, and link results to the national land parcel database. Dashboards support CAP decision-making.
Data: Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 · Read the case
Treemetrics combines satellite EO with field data to estimate forest inventory, harvest planning and change, supporting climate-smart forestry in Ireland and abroad.
Data: satellite EO + field data
Teagasc applies satellite and drone EO to grass and crop research and advice. The NCG-led Terrain-AI work models land use and land-use change to support carbon accounting.
Data: Sentinel-2 time series, drone surveys
After the 2025 upland and forest fires in Roscommon and Wexford, Sentinel-2 shortwave-infrared bands can map burned area and severity, guide replanting and track recovery over several seasons. The same methods apply to flood damage, drought stress and overgrazing.
Data: Sentinel-2 SWIR (burn ratio), EFFIS
How are temperature, rainfall and drought patterns changing? What does the coming season look like? Where are peatland, coastal and urban-heat risks growing?
Weather is what happens this week. Climate is the long-term pattern. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) compares each month and season with a 30-year reference period, so a warm spell can be read against what is normal for Ireland.
ERA5 reanalysis and satellite climate records fill gaps between weather stations and extend Irish records back to 1940. They support EPA climate reporting and Met Éireann’s climate services.
Data: C3S ERA5, ERA5-Land, satellite climate data records
Sentinel-1 and -2 track peatland wetness, rewetting and fire scars, which matter for Ireland’s land-use emissions. Thermal and land-cover data show urban heat islands in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.
Data: Sentinel-1/-2, Landsat thermal, CLMS imperviousness
What are sea state and currents doing? Where are algal blooms, sediment plumes or pollution risks? How is the coast changing? Which vessels are at sea?
Ireland’s marine area is about ten times its land area. Satellites are the only practical way to watch all of it. Copernicus Marine models and Sentinel ocean-colour, altimetry and radar data support fisheries, aquaculture, offshore energy, ports and maritime safety.
Copernicus Marine products set the boundary conditions for regional Irish ocean models. They support forecasts of currents, temperature and harmful algal blooms for aquaculture and safety.
Data: CMEMS Atlantic–Iberian Biscay Irish Seas products
TechWorks Marine combines in-situ metocean systems with EO, GIS and machine learning to monitor water quality and conditions for ports, aquaculture and offshore projects.
Data: in-situ sensors + Sentinel-2/-3
Sentinel-1 SAR picks out ships day and night. Matching detections against AIS reveals “dark” vessels for maritime-security research. Copernicus Security products are open to authorised authorities only.
Data: Sentinel-1 SAR, AIS
Where is flooding observed or likely? Which homes, roads and rail lines are affected? What area burned? How is recovery going?
Sentinel-1 radar sees floodwater through the cloud that comes with Irish storms. The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) turns this into rapid maps of flood extent and the people, buildings and infrastructure affected. National authorised users request rapid mapping. Many maps can then be viewed and downloaded by anyone.
We feature Irish case studies from agencies, companies and researchers. Send a short summary, an image and its credit line to eodatahub@mu.ie.