CyGOS - Cyprus Geohazard Observatory Supersite
CyGOS (Cyprus Geohazard Observatory Supersite) is Cyprus’s national geohazard observatory and a Permanent Supersite of the GEO Geohazard Supersites and Natural Laboratories (GEO-GSNL) initiative, one of only 14 in the world at the time of acceptance. Coordinated by the Laboratory of Geodesy at the Cyprus University of Technology, CyGOS combines satellite Earth Observation with the CyCLOPS national research infrastructure to monitor earthquakes, landslides, ground deformation, coastal change and other geohazards affecting Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Long-term scientific observation is the foundation. Operational services that authorities, infrastructure operators, and researchers can act on are the goal.
CyGOS is best understood as three connected layers: CyCLOPS, the research infrastructure that produces the observations; CyGOS, the internationally recognized observatory that integrates them; and CyGMS, the operational service, alongside the related TerraMotion platform, that delivers them to end users.
Infrastructure and Products
CyCLOPS is the national geodetic and Earth Observation research infrastructure that underpins CyGOS. Cyprus’s largest scientific GNSS research infrastructure provides continuous, precise observations from ground-based GNSS stations, calibration-grade Corner Reflectors, and environmental sensors, which feed into CyGOS’s monitoring logic and services.
Building on CyCLOPS, CyGOS delivers a growing portfolio of operational services:
CyGMS (Cyprus Ground Motion Service) was developed as a deliverable of the CyCLOPS+ project and is now integrated into CyGOS as a permanent operational service. It transforms continuous GNSS and satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations into ground displacement and velocity products covering the whole of Cyprus, delivered via a dedicated WebGIS platform at cygms.cut.ac.cy. Products are provided at three levels — Basic, Calibrated, and Ortho — aligned with the European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) standard.
TerraMotion is a GSD-funded operational GNSS-based monitoring platform developed by CUT in collaboration with GSD. Built on daily coordinate solutions from the CyCLOPS network, it delivers near-real-time and final displacement timeseries (North, East, Up) for all stations. The platform includes relative displacement baselines between moving and reference stations, localized trend analysis, and an Early Warning System issuing displacement alerts at both station and kinematic block levels. A built-in earthquake catalogue tool (QuakeXplorer) allows multi-source seismic event search with filtering and data export. The platform correlates ground-motion data with data from heterogeneous sensors, helping authorities understand the factors behind geohazard activity.
Through GSD’s membership of the CyGOS consortium, TerraMotion is being integrated into the CyGOS services portfolio.
Why Cyprus?
Cyprus sits on the boundary between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates — the Cyprus Arc — in one of the most seismically active regions of the Eastern Mediterranean. The island is regularly affected by earthquakes, landslides, and ground instability. CyGOS was established to give Cyprus the sustained, independent monitoring capability its tectonic setting demands.
What we Monitor?
- Earthquakes and tectonic deformation
- Landslides and slope instability
- Ground subsidence and uplift
- Coastal processes and sea-level change
- Climate-related environmental impacts
International Recognition
In November 2025, CyGOS was accepted as a Permanent Supersite of the GEO-GSNL initiative, following evaluation by the CEOS Working Group on Disasters and the GEO GSNL Coordinator. Permanent Supersites are maintained for the lifetime of the related activities and are subject to periodic review. This acceptance places Cyprus among a select group of leading geohazard observatories worldwide, alongside observatories monitoring some of the planet’s most active geological regions.
As part of this recognition, CEOS member space agencies provide satellite data in support of CyGOS, including high-resolution radar imagery from the COSMO-SkyMed and SAOCOM missions.
CyCLOPS stations already contribute to the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) and the EUREF Permanent Network (EPN), anchoring Cyprus into the European geodetic reference infrastructure.
Satellite Data
CyGOS processes a range of spaceborne Earth Observation datasets to build its ground motion products. Sentinel-1 C-band SAR imagery forms the operational baseline. As a CEOS-supported Permanent Supersite, CyGOS also has access to high-resolution X-band data from COSMO-SkyMed, L-band data from SAOCOM, and PLEIADES acquisitions.
What's Next?
CyGOS is actively expanding its capabilities. Near-term developments include the delivery of an open API for flexible data and product dissemination, a second version of the Early Warning System (both targeted for Q2 2027), and the densification of the permanent station network.
CyGOS is transitioning from national infrastructure to an operational GSNL Supersite delivering calibrated, multi-sensor geohazard intelligence.
Partners
CyGOS is delivered by a consortium of national and international institutions:
- Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) — coordinating institution, Laboratory of Geodesy
- Geological Survey Department (GSD) — Cyprus’s national geological authority
- German Aerospace Center (DLR) — SAR/InSAR calibration and Earth Observation
- National Observatory of Athens (NOA) — seismological and geodynamic expertise
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) — geodesy and reference-frame research
Open Science and Data Access
CyGOS has adopted the GSNL Supersite Data Policy Principles of openness, data sharing and scientific collaboration. GNSS, environmental and InSAR corner-reflector data are available to registered users through the CyCLOPS data platform. Ground-motion products are accessible via the CyGMS WebGIS platform. A dedicated API for flexible data and product dissemination is currently under development.
Contact
Coordinator: Assoc. Professor Chris Danezis Laboratory of Geodesy, Cyprus University of Technology
Media enquiries should be directed to the Communications Office through the Coordinator.
