Exploring the sources of the Amazon River with KOMPSAT-2

“I congratulate the heroes of the last geographical discovery of our times. I am pleased to express my appreciation for the work your research team has done and the wonderful contribution it has made to our country. Contributing to the knowledge of the largest river in the world, the Amazon, is a valuable work that will be appreciated by our nation” – these words honored Ricardo Marquez Flores, First Vice-President of the Republic of Peru, Mr. Jacek Pałkiewicz, a famous traveler and European authority in the field of survival, emphasizing the importance of his search sources of the Amazon River. Jacek Pałkiewicz’s book “Amazonka. The mystery of the source of the queen of rivers” describing his many years of research is now available in bookstores. The GEOSYSTEMS Polska team participated in this project, confirming the results of field research using satellite imaging technology.

The task faced by the GEOSYSTEMS Polska team was to develop a map of the hydrographic network of the Amazon River spring area. The research area, located in a poorly explored area, not covered by large-scale topographic maps, was an ideal place to use the set of solutions offered by Spot Image, one of the leading operators of imaging satellites. In the course of work, KOMPSAT-2 satellite imagery with a field resolution of 1 m was acquired for the research area located in Peru, in the southern part of the Arequipa region. In the process of orthorectification of the satellite image, a digital landform model from the SPOT DEM resource with a resolution of 30m was used.

We would like to thank Mr. Jacek Pałkiewicz for the invitation to cooperate and the opportunity to participate in such an interesting and important project.