Background

This International Workshop follows a series of events addressing remote sensing of vegetation fluorescence. With the Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) – Sentinel-3 tandem mission close to being launched and fluorescence measurements becoming increasingly available from missions like OCO-2 and Sentinel-5 P and other platforms such as UAVs and ground-based instruments, the FLEX 2026 workshop will focus on latest developments in fluorescence remote sensing.​

These include the technical bases for measuring solar-induced fluorescence, fluorescence retrievals from spectrally resolved data and atmospheric correction, dynamic changes of reflectance, as well as product validation using ground and airborne instrumentation. Secondly, we will address current and future applications of fluorescence such as understanding and predicting the dynamics of the carbon and water cycle, the use of fluorescence to detect and quantify vegetation stress and the application of fluorescence for coastal and inland waters. The interplay between fluorescence observations and modelling at different spatial and temporal scales as well as data assimilation aspects, are an integral aspect along these thematic schemes.​

The workshop will take place from 03 March 2026 to 06 March 2026 at the Electoral Palace, the Main Building of Bonn University, Germany and is open to all scientists and engineers interested in exploring the new observation capabilities and synergies provided by the FLEX and the Sentinel-3 mission, which is currently being prepared for launch in 2026.

Workshop Objectives

• Inform the community about recent and future activities for the upcoming launch of the FLEX mission​
• Inform the community about the data products delivered by the FLEX mission, the latest developments on FLEX data processing, fluorescence and biophysical parameter retrievals and validation​
• Review research linking fluorescence with the carbon and water cycles, agriculture, and forestry
• Provide updates on recent modelling activities coupling remote sensing signals and ecosystem processes​
• Plan future activities related to fluorescence and merged data sets​
• Bring together remote sensing communities focusing on aquatic and terrestrial systems, including data providers, experts and users​

Main Themes

• FLEX mission: getting ready for launch!​
• Data Products and validation strategies​
• Understanding the Carbon and water cycles using fluorescence data​
• Exploiting novel indicators for vegetation stress detection​
• FLEX data for studying inland and coastal waters​
• Recent advances in modelling activities (radiative transfer, biochemistry, structural-functional vegetation models…)​
• Combining multi-scale, multi-mission EO data for closing the temporal and spatial gap​
• Thinking beyond state-of-art: novel applications for FLEX data

Information and Timeline

Important: For more information on the abstract submission and workshop logistic, visit the official event website 👉https://flex-fluorescence-workshop-2026.esa.int/