The Arctic is warming rapidly, with thawing permafrost releasing carbon that has been locked in frozen ground for thousands of years. While there is high confidence that permafrost thaw will lead to increased carbon release, important questions remain about when these emissions will occur, their magnitude, and the relative contribution of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and …
A previously unknown subglacial lake beneath the Flade Isblink Ice Cap in Northeast Greenland has been discovered using EO data. The lake acts as a temporary underground reservoir, storing a substantial fraction of meltwater generated at the ice surface and delaying its release towards downstream ecosystems. The study, an outcome of the ESA ARCTEX project …
The burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) leads to both CO2 and NOx emissions. Therefore, satellite NO2 observations can provide a fingerprint of fossil fuel use. Researchers from the DECSO-NRT project, funded under ESA’s Sentinel Users Preparation (SUP) initiative, have demonstrated how observations from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission can be used to monitor anthropogenic …
A dramatic reminder of how quickly polar landscapes can change: on 4 August, a 76 km² section of the floating ice tongue of Greenland’s Petermann Glacier broke away, forming a tabular iceberg roughly the size of Manhattan. Copernicus Sentinel-1 captured the glacier’s deterioration and fracture development in the days and months leading up to the …
The African Research Fellowship (ARF) is a joint initiative of the European Space Agency (ESA) with the African Space Agency (AfSA), an organ of the African Union, and carried out in coordination with the African Union Commission (AUC). It aims at strengthening Earth Observation (EO) research capacity in Africa and empowering the next generation of …
An Internal Research Fellow (PostDoc) opportunity is currently open for applicants who have recently completed, or are close to completing, a PhD in physics, engineering, Earth system or climate science, with research experience and peer-reviewed publications in relevant fields. During this two-year fellowship, you will contribute to cutting-edge Earth observation research within ESA’s Earth System …
When a moderate geomagnetic storm struck Earth on 3 February 2022, its impact was immediate and costly. Shortly after launch, 38 of 49 newly deployed Starlink satellites were lost as increased atmospheric drag caused by the storm prevented them from reaching their operational orbit. The event highlighted a growing challenge: even relatively modest space weather …
Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases driving climate change, responsible for nearly 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times. Rapid identification and mitigation of methane emissions is therefore a critical component of global climate strategies. However, detecting methane emission sources at global scale remains challenging due to the large volume of satellite …
By aligning two separately funded initiatives on a single field campaign, the European Commission and ESA have demonstrated how coordinated investments can increase the scientific and operational value of marine observations across Europe’s coasts. Between April 2023 and June 2024, the iconic 36-metre schooner Tara, operated by the Tara Ocean Foundation as a floating laboratory, …
As Arctic sea ice continues to decline at an alarming rate, improving how we observe and understand the polar regions has never been more critical. ESA is currently supporting an ambitious Arctic field campaign to prepare three next-generation Copernicus missions: Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR), Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL) and Copernicus …
