3rd ESA Carbon Science Cluster Meeting

Background

The carbon cycle is central to the Earth system, being inextricably coupled with climate, the water cycle, nutrient cycles and the production of biomass by photosynthesis on land and in the oceans. Understanding the patterns of exchanges of carbon between the atmosphere, ocean and land and the processes associated to them such as CO2 fertilization, ocean acidification, changes in surface runoff of sediments, changes to wetlands and peatlands, warming of permafrost, and changes to natural disturbance regimes, are critical to improving knowledge of the carbon cycle, its direct and indirect impacts on society and identifying approaches to mitigate and adapt for its consequences. To achieve such understanding requires an integrated approach to the carbon cycle which exploits the both observations (satellite and in situ) and modelling and cross-domain research (ocean, land and atmosphere).

In the last few years ESA has launched a critical mass of projects addressing different and complementary aspects of the Carbon cycle over land, ocean and atmosphere. Those projects, today more than 20, represent the core of the ESA Carbon Science Cluster. Through this Cluster, ESA also aims at contributing to the establishment of a strong European carbon cycle research area in close collaboration with the European Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation and other European and international partners.

To encourage exchange between these projects as well as linking them effectively to ongoing work internationally, the ESA Carbon Science Cluster will be supported by a number of research opportunities and networking actions. These are aimed at promoting collaborative research, and fostering international collaboration and bringing together different expertise, data and resources to ensure that the final result is bigger than the sum of the parts.

The 3rd ESA Carbon Science Cluster Meeting represents an opportunity for the projects under the Cluster to present their activities, discuss opportunities for collaborative research and help the Cluster to identify new challenges, problems and mechanisms for engaging with the wider carbon cycle community and with, in particular, activities under the ESA-EC Earth System Science Initiative.

Objectives

With the belief that it would be extremely beneficial to establish a technical forum for all teams and ESA to present the work done, discuss opportunities and define potential ways forward, ESA has planned the Carbon Science Cluster Meeting to:

• Present the status and results of ESA’s science supported activities in Terrestrial Carbon Research, so that all teams are updated on the progress and informed about plans and outcomes of the different projects.
• To identify synergies and potential collaboration and cross-fertilization among the different teams.
• Strengthen coordination and collaboration of different activities if needed.
• Discuss and propose a way forward in terms of scientific gaps and requirements, science questions, and new ideas that may be used as guidelines for ESA to define a Carbon science plan for 2025-2028.
• Explore options to widen the community.

Proposed approach

The workshop will be a virtual meeting. The intention is to involve all the teams currently funded by ESA to establish a dialogue across all the projects to identify gaps, common areas for further work and opportunities, in particular those presented by upcoming satellite missions.

The workshop will take place in sessions to review all the projects currently under ESA funding and opportunities offered through new missions, campaigns and other ESA activities in 6 main sessions aligned to the planned sessions at the Living Planet Symposium 2025.

1. Global Carbon Budgets and Earth Observation
2. Preparation for multi-mission assessment of the carbon cycle (Flex, BIOMASS and the Sentinel Expansion missions)
3. Understanding the role of land use change in the carbon cycle
4. Model-data interfaces and the carbon cycle
5. Opportunities and challenges for global monitoring of photosynthesis from space
6. Exploring ground-based, airborne and satellite observations and concepts for the carbon cycle.

The preliminary agenda is available HERE.