Projects
| Project | Abstract | Prime Company | Domain | Tags | Full text |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DCTRL | 3DCTRL project aims to evaluate cloud correction methodologies in Copernicus Sentinel-4, Sentinel-5 and Sentinel-5p trace gas retrieval schemes and to explore ways to improve handling of realistic clouds in the retrievals of atmospheric species. [...] | ARISTOTLE UNIV. OF THESSALONIKI (GR) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, clouds, permanently open call, science, Sentinel-5P, TROPOMI | 3DCTRL project aims to evaluate cloud correction methodologies in Copernicus Sentinel-4, Sentinel-5 and Sentinel-5p trace gas retrieval schemes and to explore ways to improve handling of realistic clouds in the retrievals of atmospheric species. Cloud shadow fraction, cloud top height, cloud optical depth, solar zenith and viewing angles, were identified as the metrics being the most important in identifying 3D cloud impacts on NO2 TVCD retrievals. For a solar zenith angle less than about 40° the synthetic data show that the NO2 TVCD bias is typically below 10%. For larger solar zenith angles both synthetic and observational data often show NO2 TVCD bias on the order of tens of %. In 3DCTRL, fast retrieval algorithms for 3D cloudy scenes will be designed. Very promising is a retrieval algorithm based on a linearized one-dimensional radiative transfer model, in which the direct beam and its derivative with respect to the total column are computed in a three-dimensional atmosphere. The performance of new methods for cloud correction will be evaluated against the present operational products and independent measurements. 3DCTRL project has the following main objectives: (a) Generate synthetic reference datasets in which true cloud properties including their 3D structure and vertical distribution are known by means of 3D radiative transfer simulations, realistic synthetic data of cloud properties will be obtained from large-eddy simulation (LES) model (b) Explore ways to improve the handling of realistic clouds in trace gas retrievals, specifically for NO2 (c) Testing and evaluation of improved approaches for cloud correction by application on synthetic and real TROPOMI-S5P data |
| AEOLUS+ INNOVATION – IMPROVING DUST MONITORING AND FORECASTING THROUGH AEOLUS WIND DATA ASSIMILATION (NEWTON) | Windblown dust plays a key role in the Earth system, affecting climate, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, anthropogenic activities as well as humans’ health. Winds, acting as the main driving force of dust emission determine also the [...] | NATIONAL OBSERVATORY OF ATHENS (GR) | Science | Aeolus, Aeolus+ Innovation, Aerosols, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science | Windblown dust plays a key role in the Earth system, affecting climate, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, anthropogenic activities as well as humans’ health. Winds, acting as the main driving force of dust emission determine also the spatiotemporal evolution of dust plumes during transport. The proposed study, entitled NEWTON, aims to demonstrate the potential improvement of short-term dust forecasts when the numerical simulations are initialized from meteorological fields in which Aeolus observations have been assimilated. To realize the overarching objective of NEWTON, regional dust simulations initialized with ECMWF numerical outputs, will be performed for specific regions of the planet, i.e. West Sahara-Tropical Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Mediterranean. The regional modelling approach will rely on the WRF model, in which critical developments have been implemented. These upgrades have been driven by recent studies, relying on advanced observations revealing that mineral particles are not appropriately treated in the current state-of-the-art atmospheric-dust models. In a nutshell, the NEWTON project aims to: Assess the potential improvements on short-term regional dust forecasts attributed to the assimilation of Aeolus wind profiles; Investigate the modifications of dust emission and transport mechanisms by contrasting numerical simulations initialized with and without Aeolus observations; Highlight the benefits and the necessity of Aeolus data on dust research, paving the way for future operational satellite missions.” |
| AEOLUS+ INNOVATION – OCEAN SUB-SURFACE PRODUCTS AND APPLICATIONS | The Aeolus Ocean Color (AOC) project aims at assessing the potential of the Aeolus mission to monitor ocean sub-surface optical and biogeochemical properties based on the measurements from the wind lidar ALADIN (Atmospheric Laser Doppler [...] | NOVELTIS SAS (FR) | Science | Aeolus, Aeolus+ Innovation, Aerosols, Altitude, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, Ocean Indicators, ocean optics, ocean science cluster, science | The Aeolus Ocean Color (AOC) project aims at assessing the potential of the Aeolus mission to monitor ocean sub-surface optical and biogeochemical properties based on the measurements from the wind lidar ALADIN (Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument) at 355 nm. AOC is funded by ESA within the framework of the Aeolus + Innovation project. The retrieval scheme for the AOC products relies upon parametric relationships between the lidar signal and the parameters of interest in a stepwise approach: “lidar-derived optical” parameters that can be inferred from the two lidar profiles in the Mie and Rayleigh channels: the particulate attenuated backscatter βP and the attenuation coefficient KL; “ocean optical” parameters related to ocean optical properties: the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd(355)) and the particulate back-scattering parameter (bbp(355)) that can be derived from the lidar-derived parameters; “biogeochemical”parameters: the particulate organic carbon (POC), the phytoplankton carbon (Cphyto) and the coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) that can be derived from the optical parameters. The prototype AOC product will be generated over a set of regions of interest (English Channel, tropical gyres, Polar Ocean), and evaluated against available ground truth as well as other comparable remotely sensed products and biogeochemical model simulations. |
| AEOLUS+ INNOVATION – STUDIES ON WIND AND AEROSOL INFORMATION FROM LIDAR SURFACE RETURNS (SWAILS+) | In the SWAILS+ project the Aeolus lidar surface returns are used in combination with collocated wind speed observations to retrieve the aerosol optical depth. The retrieval algorithm under development, LARISSA (Lidar Aerosol Retrieval based on [...] | KNMI (NL) | Science | Aeolus, Aeolus+ Innovation, Aerosols, Altitude, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science | In the SWAILS+ project the Aeolus lidar surface returns are used in combination with collocated wind speed observations to retrieve the aerosol optical depth. The retrieval algorithm under development, LARISSA (Lidar Aerosol Retrieval based on Information from Surface Signal of Aeolus), will complement the standard Aeolus (L2) aerosol profile products. Not only as LARISSA provides an opportunity to evaluate the standard Aeolus aerosol products but also since the L2a profile approach lacks sensitivity in low aerosol loading regions where an integrated column approach may be more successful. In addition, for low aerosol optical depth conditions, it is investigated whether it is feasible to retrieve the: Near-surface winds Bidirectional reflectance distribution function over land, based on which aerosol optical depth over land can be also retrieved using LARISSA The LARISSA products are developed at the Royal Institute of Meteorological Sciences (KNMI) in the SWAILS (NSO) and SWAILS+ (ESA) projects. The resulting aerosol product from LARISSA will be beneficial for various scientific applications including Better understanding of the wind speed dependence in off-nadir ocean surface scattering in the ultraviolet. Evaluation of aerosol models, where the LARISSA-based (integrated) aerosol optical depth can be used as input for data assimilation. Studies of global aerosol optical properties as LARISSA will retrieve the average column lidar ratios. Support of future lidar missions with nadir and non-nadir viewing angles in the UV, i.e., the EarthCARE mission lidar ATLID. |
| AEOLUS+ INNOVATION – CDOM-PROXY RETRIEVAL FROM AEOLUS OBSERVATIONS (COLOR) | The objective of the COLOR (CDOM-proxy retrieval from aeOLus ObseRvations) project is to assess the feasibility of deriving an in-water AEOLUS product from the analysis of the ocean sub-surface backscattered component of the 355 nm signal [...] | CNR – INSTITUTE FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSING OF THE ENVIRONMENT (IREA) (IT) | Science | Aeolus, Aeolus+ Innovation, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, Ocean Indicators, ocean optics, ocean science cluster, science | The objective of the COLOR (CDOM-proxy retrieval from aeOLus ObseRvations) project is to assess the feasibility of deriving an in-water AEOLUS product from the analysis of the ocean sub-surface backscattered component of the 355 nm signal acquired by the ALADIN (Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument). The project will focus on the potential retrieval of the ocean particle optical properties at 355 nm: diffuse attenuation coefficient for downwelling irradiance, Kd [m-1], and sub-surface hemispheric particulate backscatter coefficient, bbp [m-1]. COLOR activities are organized in three different but interacting phases: 1) Consolidation of the scientific requirements; 2) Implementation and assessment of AEOLUS COLOR prototype product; 3) Scientific roadmap. Furthermore, data collection activity will feed phase 1 and 2, encompassing both AEOLUS dataset and the ancillary reference/validation datasets. The overall proposed approach is based on the transfer of the lidar consolidated know-how from atmospheric to oceanic applications through AEOLUS observation data analysis and ocean radiative transfer numerical modelling. |
| AEOLUS+ INNOVATION – LIDAR MEASUREMENTS TO IDENTIFY STREAMERS AND ANALYZE ATMOSPHERIC WAVES (LISA) | For a better comprehension of climate change it is fundamentally important how well we understand the general condition (dynamics and chemistry) in the atmosphere. Aeolus wind measurements enable for the first time the derivation of atmospheric [...] | DLR – GERMAN AEROSPACE CENTER (DE) | Science | Aeolus, Aeolus+ Innovation, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric winds, gravity and gravitational fields, science | For a better comprehension of climate change it is fundamentally important how well we understand the general condition (dynamics and chemistry) in the atmosphere. Aeolus wind measurements enable for the first time the derivation of atmospheric wave structures on different temporal and spatial scales and wind gradients in particular above the oceans, where wind measurements from ground-based instruments are sparse. These measurements will help us to better understand the atmospheric dynamics. Planetary waves (PWs) are global scale waves, which are well-known as main drivers of the large-scale weather patterns in mid-latitudes on time scales from several days up to weeks in the troposphere. When PWs break, they often cut pressure cells off the jet stream. A specific example are so-called streamer events, which occur predominantly in the mid- and high-latitudes of the lower stratosphere. During a streamer event the wind field changes rather strong over a comparatively small horizontal distance. It is found that streamer mainly occur at the transition zone from the Northern Atlantic to Europe. Strong wind gradients can excite gravity waves (GWs). GWs have typical vertical wavelengths from a few 100 m to some kilometers. GWs are the main drivers of the mean meridional circulation of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. Their propagation is strongly dependent on the zonal wind in the stratosphere. The question of how much energy from the field of planetary waves is finally transferred into the generation of gravity waves is still an open question. Objectives Three data products will be derived by Aeolus measurements: global maps of horizontal wind shear, PW activity and GW activity. Supplementary measurements are used to further study acoustic GW activity at the ground and at large heights (Doppler sounding or microbarograph measurements). This allows a cross-check of the temporal evolution of the kinetic wave energy density and also provides additional information about the dynamic conditions in the stratosphere. The data products will be demonstrated within a case study of a selected streamer event. The Aeolus data will be compared with ERA-5 reanalysis data. The data products will be made available on a project web-site. The findings and recommendations of this project will be delivered through a scientific roadmap in order to further develop the methods and their application. |
| AEOLUS+ INNOVATION – OCEAN SURFACE WIND FROM AEOLUS SEA SURFACE RETURNS (SEA-FLECT) | Welcome to the SEA-FLECT project page. The winds from Aeolus lidar SEA surface reFLECTance (SEA-FLECT) aims to demonstrate the potential of the Aeolus observations for monitoring of sea surface winds. This project is funded [...] | Verisk Analytics GmbH (DE) | Science | Aeolus, Aeolus+ Innovation, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, Ocean Indicators, science | Welcome to the SEA-FLECT project page. The winds from Aeolus lidar SEA surface reFLECTance (SEA-FLECT) aims to demonstrate the potential of the Aeolus observations for monitoring of sea surface winds. This project is funded by ESA under the Aeolus + Innovation project. Objective The objectives of the Aeolus Ocean Surface Wind project are to Demonstrate if the Aeolus observations can be used to derive ocean surface winds, and Understand which meteorological and oceanic conditions are favourable to derive this product from the observations Method To meet the objectives, we will perform a detailed analysis of the Aeolus surface returns over selected regions, under different surface wind conditions. The surface wind information will be derived from scatterometer data, while the surface conditions will be determined from traditional imagery data as provided by e.g. Modis or Sentinel2. In addition detailed radiative transfer calculations will be performed to support the analysis. |
| AI4CH4: An End-to-End AI Framework for Methane Plume Detection and Quantification using Satellite Imagery | Methane (CH4) is a significant anthropogenic greenhouse gas, second only to carbon dioxide (CO2) in contributing to global warming. It constitutes approximately 25% of the warming effect since pre-industrial times. Traditional methods for [...] | C-CORE (CA) | Science | AI4Science, air quality, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, environmental impacts, health, Sentinel-5P | Methane (CH4) is a significant anthropogenic greenhouse gas, second only to carbon dioxide (CO2) in contributing to global warming. It constitutes approximately 25% of the warming effect since pre-industrial times. Traditional methods for monitoring methane emissions rely on bottom-up approaches, calculating emissions by multiplying activity levels with emission factors. Satellites offer a more efficient alternative, providing near-real-time information on national emissions by sector. This data serves as a baseline for establishing methane reduction goals and allows ongoing monitoring to assess progress. Unlike bottom-up inventories, which may have latencies of a few years, satellites enable the documentation of rapid changes in emissions. The “AI4CH4” project aims to revolutionize methane atmospheric monitoring using advanced state-of-the-art earth observation data and technology. With a clear focus on innovation, the project aims to address a critical gap in the current methane emission monitoring landscape. As such, the project’s key objective is to develop an advanced end-to-end AI model for automatic plume detection and quantification, surpassing the limitations of conventional physics-based techniques (e.g., high uncertainty, slow processing speed, and dependency to ancillary data, such as wind information). By leveraging the vast datasets from the harmonious synergy of Sentinel data and creating a comprehensive benchmark dataset of plumes, the AI4CH4 project promises automated and accurate identification and quantification of methane emissions based on the integration of advanced deep learning models. This cutting-edge project will advance our collaborations with GHGSat and Harvard University and holds the potential to significantly advance our understanding of methane emissions at various temporal and spatial scales, contributing to global transparency and support for more effective climate change mitigation efforts for a greener, more sustainable future. |
| AIRSENSE | Project overview AIRSENSE's main objective is to enhance the understanding of aerosol and aerosol-cloud interactions. This activity is part of Atmosphere Science Cluster of ESA’s EO Science for Society programme, an element of the ESA FutureEO [...] | GRASP-SAS (FR) | Science | Aerosols, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3, Sentinel-5P | Project overview AIRSENSE’s main objective is to enhance the understanding of aerosol and aerosol-cloud interactions. This activity is part of Atmosphere Science Cluster of ESA’s EO Science for Society programme, an element of the ESA FutureEO programme, which aims at boosting Europe’s excellence in EO science and its applications. One of the goals of this programme is to establish a strong coordinated scientific effort in Europe on Aerosol and Aerosol/Cloud interaction research by promoting a cooperation between activities launched by ESA and the European Commission (EC), in particular with CLEANCLOUD and CERTAINTY projects that were selected under the EC Horizon Europe Call “Improved knowledge in cloud-aerosol interaction” (HORIZON-CL5-2023-D1-01-04). AIRSENSE objectives Support algorithms development for multi-mission approach promoting synergies between different space-borne instruments to compensate for individual weaknesses allowing the creation of long Aerosol Optical properties (e.g., AOD, AE) time series (i.e., Aerosol_CCI) combining mid resolution satellite such as Sentinel5-p and CO2M with high resolution sensors such as PRISMA and Sentinel-3. Explore the capability of new aerosol and cloud products from existing (e.g. POLDER) or upcoming (CO2M, PACE, MAIA) Multi Angle Polarimeters (MAP) to infer aerosol characterization and absorption properties developing products such as Angstrom Exponent (AE), Single Scattering Albedo (SSA), Absorbing Aerosol Optical Depth (AAOD) and Fine mode Aerosol Optical Depth (AODF) but also Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) and their role in climate and radiative forcing of the Earth system. Maximize the scientific impact of EarthCARE (in combination with additional EO missions and ground observations) in terms of novel observations and enhance scientific understanding of cloud, aerosol properties and their interactions: e.g., Long-term assessments in combination with Aeolus and CALIPSO data; aerosol-cloud interactions from the synergy between space- and ground-based instruments, study of precipitation initiation processes, characterisation of convection with synergistic GEO and LEO satellite observations, light precipitation and low-level oceanic clouds, global estimates of hydrometeors sedimentation rates, etc. Study the effects of cloud screening and aerosol retrievals in partly cloudy scenes, develop and improve the capabilities to detect aerosol above clouds and over challenging scenarios such as snow, ice shelves and in low illumination conditions such as the Arctic. Study cloud height, aerosol-cloud interactions and chemistry to understand the processes that can lead to cloud formation and to infer radiative properties of different cloud and aerosol types. Improve the quantification of the impact of 3D cloud shape and cloud shadow on cloud retrievals and for the impact of 3D cloud effects and apply this to aerosol retrievals close to clouds edges. Investigate the aerosol influence on the hydrological cycle fostering the use of aerosols products in combination with water vapour and water vapour isotopologues satellite observations. Investigate aerosol and cloud observations from Aeolus and extend this into the use of ATLID on EarthCARE with respect to humidity-growth effects in different areas of the world and for different aerosol types by comparing them with ground-based measurements during nearby overpasses; Make use of multiwavelength polarization Raman lidars that comprise also water-vapour channels are best suited for the detection of changes in scattering properties at high relative humidity. Improve the capabilities to detect stratospheric aerosol with a classification scheme allowing their separation by sources. Build on existing work and enhance the generation of stratospheric aerosol CDRs Advance the retrieval of aerosol vertical profiles fostering the simultaneous use of active and passive satellite instruments considering lessons learnt from Aeolus, but mainly novel EarthCARE products and validation activities Support (coordinated) activities on the radiative forcing due to aerosol-cloud interactions and the anthropogenic contribution on it considering lessons learnt from Aeolus and the future availability of EarthCARE mission products that will provide vertical information about aerosol particles and clouds (e.g., shape, size, type, amount). Support (coordinated) activities on the effect of climate and air quality on cloud properties, relevance for extreme events such as heavy rainfall, hailstorm, etc. Support (coordinated) activities to quantify the improvement of the numerical weather predictions (NWP), Earth System Models (ESM), and for the understanding of atmospheric dynamics and its interaction with the water cycle related to the development of novel aerosol products. Capitalise on novel EO-based capabilities, in particular EarthCARE observations, to advance our understanding and characterisation, including uncertainty reduction, of radiative forcing due to aerosol-cloud interactions and the anthropogenic contribution on it considering lessons learnt from Aeolus and the future availability of EarthCARE mission products that will provide vertical information about aerosol particles and clouds. Capitalise on novel EO-based capabilities, in particular EarthCARE observations, to advance understanding of atmospheric dynamics and its interaction with the water cycle related to the development of novel aerosol products and potentially numerical weather predictions (NWP). |
| AnREO: Retrieval of Total Ozone using OLCI-S-3 over Antarctica | The main part of the project is to develop a total ozone product for Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) on board Sentinel 3 A,B. The product will be derived using the Sentinel-3A, B OLCI Level 1 Full Resolution data. The cloud mask, snow [...] | VITROCISET BELGIUM SPRL (BE) | Science | atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, OLCI, permanently open call, science, Sentinel-3 | The main part of the project is to develop a total ozone product for Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) on board Sentinel 3 A,B. The product will be derived using the Sentinel-3A, B OLCI Level 1 Full Resolution data. The cloud mask, snow mask, and atmospheric correction procedures will be also developed. OLCI measurements make it possible to understand the intra-pixel variability of the total ozone and observe rapid changes on the total ozone with a high spatial detail. The accuracy of the retrievals will be assessed using ground and collocated satellite (e.g., OMI) measurements of total ozone. |
| ATMOSPHERE VIRTUAL LAB | The Atmosphere Virtual Lab is based on three main pillars. It adopts the concept of Exploitation Platforms and Cloud Based services. There is a strong focus on making sure that users can work with the vast amounts of satellite data without [...] | Science [&] Technology Netherlands (NL) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science | The Atmosphere Virtual Lab is based on three main pillars. It adopts the concept of Exploitation Platforms and Cloud Based services. There is a strong focus on making sure that users can work with the vast amounts of satellite data without having to download all data locally. Providing analysis environments inside cloud-based environments close to the data is an essential part in making this work. The project will further develop tools that have been historically developed for users to handle and process atmospheric data (cf. https://atmospherictoolbox.org/). Use cases of a wide selection of atmospheric science scenarios will demonstrate the capability of the Atmosphere Virtual Lab and allow users to explore datasets in an interactive manner. |
| CITYSATAIR | More than half of the world’s population is living in cities. According to the WHO air quality database 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO limits. Narrowing down to [...] | KNMI (NL) | Applications | air quality, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric indicators, health, permanently open call, public health, science | More than half of the world’s population is living in cities. According to the WHO air quality database 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO limits. Narrowing down to cities in low and middle income countries with more than 100 000 inhabitants, this number increases to 98%. To resolve urban air pollution problems a clear understanding of the local situation is essential. Low-income cities, which are most impacted by unhealthy air, usually have less resources available for a good reference network. It is here where a combination of low-cost sensors and satellite data can make a difference. So far, only very few studies aim at joining heterogeneous data sources of urban air quality, and to our knowledge no previous work has provided practical solutions which can be implemented in cities everywhere. We therefore propose to develop and demonstrate a methodology that is capable of exploiting the various available data sources, to combine them in a mathematically objective and scientifically meaningful manner, and to provide value-added maps of urban air quality at high spatial resolution. |
| CLIMATE DATA RECORD OF STRATOSPHERIC AEROSOLS (CREST) | Stratospheric aerosols impact the radiative forcing and thus the energy balance of the Earth’s atmosphere, therefore information about their distribution and variability is of high importance for climate related studies. The main [...] | FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE (FI) | Science | Aerosols, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric indicators, climate, permanently open call | Stratospheric aerosols impact the radiative forcing and thus the energy balance of the Earth’s atmosphere, therefore information about their distribution and variability is of high importance for climate related studies. The main scientific objective of the project CREST is creating a new merged long-term time series of the vertically resolved aerosol extinction coefficients using data records from six limb and occultation satellite instruments: SAGE II, OSIRIS, GOMOS, SCIAMACHY and OMPS-LP instruments for the years from 1984 to present. The merged aerosol extinction coefficient is computed as the median of the adjusted data from the individual instruments. The merging of aerosol profiles is performed by transformation the aerosol datasets from individual satellite instruments to the same wavelength, i.e., 750 nm, and their de-biasing and homogenization by adjusting the seasonal cycles. The merged time series of vertically resolved monthly mean aerosol extinction coefficients at 750 nm is provided in 10° latitudinal bins from 90°S to 90°N, in the altitude range from 8.5 km to 39.5 km. The time series of the stratospheric aerosol optical depth (SAOD) is created by integration of aerosol extinction profiles from the tropopause to 39.5 km; it is also provided as monthly mean data in 10° latitudinal bins. The created aerosol dataset is in open access at: https://fmi.b2share.csc.fi/records/8bfa485de30840eba42d1d407f4ce19c |
| DACES – Detection of Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions Sources | The project aims at developing a new methodology for detecting anthropogenic carbon dioxide emission sources. CO2 data from OCO-2 and NO2, SO2 and CO data from Sentinel-5P are collocated. The plan is to analyze these data in synergy to better [...] | FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE (FI) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, carbon cycle, carbon science cluster, permanently open call, science, Sentinel-5P, TROPOMI | The project aims at developing a new methodology for detecting anthropogenic carbon dioxide emission sources. CO2 data from OCO-2 and NO2, SO2 and CO data from Sentinel-5P are collocated. The plan is to analyze these data in synergy to better detect anthropogenic CO2 sources and plumes. In detail OCO-2 XCO2 data is deseasonalized and detrended, and further correlated/clustered to the spatial distribution of other species such as NO2, SO2, CO. Further a direct detection of emission plumes is done for anthropogenic sources using NO2, SO2 and CO datasets, and collocating the plumes with XCO2 data. The corresponding CO2 enhancements and ratios between different species at local level is then calculated. The project has been kicked-off the 5th October. |
| Earth Observation for Air Quality and Health ‘AlpAirEO’ – Alps regional initiative | Recently, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) reported that air pollution contributed to 400.000 annual deaths in the EU. The Alps are special. They host 14 million people and attract many tourists and businesses. Due to the diverse [...] | DLR – GERMAN AEROSPACE CENTER (DE) | Regional Initiatives | air quality, Alps, atmosphere science cluster, climate, health, regional initiatives, Sentinel-3, Sentinel-5P | Recently, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) reported that air pollution contributed to 400.000 annual deaths in the EU. The Alps are special. They host 14 million people and attract many tourists and businesses. Due to the diverse landscape and climate, pollution hotspots can develop in certain areas while pristine environments prevail throughout most of the high Alpine regions. As part of the “eo4alps” initiative ESA held a workshop in June 2018 with leading scientists to discuss the potential benefits of earth observation of the Alpine region. “Air quality & health” was identified as one of four priority actions. The project “AlpAirEO” will use state-of-the-art technology to deliver innovative science and information services to support expert and non-expert stakeholders and thereby help to improve the general quality of life in the Alps. By approach of co-design, the needs of the health community will be addressed. Satellites EO in conjunction with atmospheric models and surface observations can deliver the spatial coverage and quality needed. The project will look into the available data from operational instruments like MODIS and GOME-2 and especially the new Sentinel mission instruments starting with Sentinel 3 SLSTR for aerosols and Sentinel 5P TropOMI covering NO2. Additionally, the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) and Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) will provide important information on atmospheric constituents and climate indicators. For reference, surface-based data from observation networks for the Alpine region will also be taken into consideration. The unprecedented capabilities of the new Sentinels and the Copernicus services will be combined with available environmental information and demographic data, e.g. population density. By following the recommendations of WMO-CCI and WHO, the findings of epidemiological studies and evidence of regional health statistics, daily information on health risk due to environmental stress can be derived.Results will be made freely available based on the Bioclimatic Information System hosted by AlpEnDAC as part of the Virtual Alpine Observatory. Project lead: German Aerospace Center (DLR) Project Duration: 2020 – 2022 Discover more projects, activities and resources on the Alps regional initiative (EO4ALPS) page. |
| EOplumes | The detection of trace gas plumes allows us to improve attribution of pollutant emissions and photochemical processing in the global troposphere. Data collected by the ESA TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) has resulted in a growing [...] | UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (GB) | Science | air quality, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, environmental impacts, science | The detection of trace gas plumes allows us to improve attribution of pollutant emissions and photochemical processing in the global troposphere. Data collected by the ESA TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) has resulted in a growing number of case studies that have used ad hoc methods to detect plumes for science applications. Developing a more comprehensive understanding of TROPOMI data will help to identify new research avenues and support the development of new applications. However, this is difficult because of the associated data volumes, a challenge that will only grow with time. We address this challenge by using artificial intelligence methods, underpinned by domain-level expertise, to develop plume reference datasets for TROPOMI. Sulphur dioxide hotspots We will develop our plume identification algorithm to study the entire TROPOMI SO2 record and build an up-to-date database of the time and location of each plume we identify. We anticipate, based on recent work, we will find the location of volcanoes, powerplants, smelting facilities, and shipping routes. These facilities can mostly be evaluated using existing inventories, although we expect that some new coal-fired power plants will be missing from the inventories due to a lag between national emission reports and inventory compilation. We will also use our new SO2 plume reference dataset to examine the spatial and temporal variations in the SO2 columns. Photo-chemical processing Elevated surface ozone levels are detrimental to human health and to the growth of a range of agricultural crops. Understanding the sensitivity of surface ozone to changes in emissions of nitrogen oxides (=NO+NO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is therefore an important scientific and policy-relevant quantity to understand. We will use collocated plumes of formaldehyde (HCHO), a high-yield product of VOC oxidation, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from our TROPOMI plume reference datasets to examine spatial and temporal variations in photo-chemical environments. The resulting HCHO:NO2 ratio plume reference data will help us to study changes in the photo-chemical environment in urban areas across the world. |
| GLANCE | Prompted by the novel satellite data of glyoxal (CHOCHO) and formaldehyde (HCHO) retrieved by the high resolution spectra of the TROPOMI sounder, GLANCE aims to assess the global budget of their precursors using the MAGRITTEv1.1 global [...] | BELGIAN INSTITUTE OF SPACE AERONOMY (BIRA-IASB) (BE) | Science | air quality, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, environmental impacts, health, public health | Prompted by the novel satellite data of glyoxal (CHOCHO) and formaldehyde (HCHO) retrieved by the high resolution spectra of the TROPOMI sounder, GLANCE aims to assess the global budget of their precursors using the MAGRITTEv1.1 global atmospheric chemistry-transport model (CTM) and an inverse adjoint-based framework. Both compounds are formed in the oxidation of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), with isoprene being the most important in terms of global emissions, and they are also emitted directly, in particular, from biomass burning. CHOCHO is produced at high yields from the oxidation of specific anthropogenic compounds, namely acetylene and aromatic NMVOCs. However, the atmospheric budget of glyoxal is, to this day, still poorly understood. Whereas past studies have shown that models can reasonably well reproduce the satellite observations of HCHO, a severe underprediction of CHOCHO from spaceborne observations has been identified, pointing to a large continental CHOCHO source unaccounted for in models. GLANCE will contribute to fill in the current gap in our understanding of the CHOCHO sources worldwide and to improve the current VOC emission inventories. This is particularly important since the currently available inventories bear large uncertainties. Within GLANCE, we will first update the model to consider the updated recommendations for the reactive uptake coefficients for CHOCHO to aerosol particles and cloud droplets, the recent detailed chemical oxidation mechanism for aromatic hydrocarbons based on the latest laboratory and theoretical results, and a state-of-the-art chemical mechanism for isoprene oxidation. A joint (two-compound) inversion scheme will be designed to handle the simultaneous use of HCHO and CHOCHO columns as top-down constraints. The emissions to be optimized include biogenic isoprene, biomass burning NMVOCs, two classes of anthropogenic NMVOCs (glyoxal precursors and other compounds), and an additional biogenic precursor meant to account for the missing glyoxal source suggested in previous studies. The emissions will be derived on monthly basis from 2018 to 2020. The inversion results will be evaluated against a wide array of in situ observations, as well as FTIR and MAX-DOAS data. Furthermore, the outcomes of GLANCE will be compared against 3 aircraft campaigns performed by NOAA: the first airborne CHOCHO measurements from the SENEX 2013 research flights over the southeast U.S., the recent FIREX-AQ 2019 aircraft campaign focusing on wildfires in the western U.S., and the AEROMMA mission planned in summer 2023 over U.S. megacities.The main innovative aspects of GLANCE are: the use of the improved high resolution retrievals of HCHO and CHOCHO from TROPOMI in a two-compound inversion framework; the first top-down estimation of the emissions of anthropogenic CHOCHO precursors from space; the strength and distribution of the missing CHOCHO source, its uncertainty, and the identification of potential candidates explaining it; the extensive evaluation of the optimization against in situ, ground-based and aircraft data. |
| Harmonizing and advancing retrieval approaches for present and future polarimetric space-borne atmospheric missions (HARPOL) | Atmospheric aerosol particles strongly influence climate by scattering and absorbing light (direct forcing) and by changing cloud properties (indirect forcing). The corresponding radiative forcing represents one of the most uncertain radiative [...] | Netherlands Institute for Space Research (NWO-I) (NL) | Science | Aerosols, Altitude, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, permanently open call | Atmospheric aerosol particles strongly influence climate by scattering and absorbing light (direct forcing) and by changing cloud properties (indirect forcing). The corresponding radiative forcing represents one of the most uncertain radiative forcing terms as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). To improve our understanding of the effect of aerosols on climate and air quality, measurements of aerosol chemical composition, size distribution, optical properties like Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) and Single Scattering Albedo (SSA), as well as the aerosol height profile are of crucial importance. It has been demonstrated by studies on synthetics measurements, airborne measurements, and space-borne measurements that Multi-Angle Polarimetric (MAP) measurements are needed to provide information about detailed aerosol properties like size distribution, refractive index, SSA, in addition to the AOT. The only MAP instrument that has provided a multi-year data set (2005-2013) in the past has been the French POLDER-3 instrument on the PARASOL mission. Now space agencies realize the large potential of MAP instrumentation, in the 2020s several of such instruments will be launched, e.g. 3MI on METOP-SG (ESA-2023), SPEXone and HARP-2 on PACE (NASA-2023), and a MAP on the CO2-Monitoring mission (ESA-2025) and A-CCP (NASA-2028). To cope with the increased information content on aerosols of MAP instrumentation and to assess the climatic effect of aerosols, new tools for retrieval need to be (further) developed. So far, this development has lagged behind the instrument development, which is the reason for the under-exploitation of the existing POLDER-3/PARASOL data sets. Currently, there are two algorithms that have demonstrated capability at a global scale to exploit the rich information content of MAP measurements: the Generalized Retrieval of Aerosol and Surface Properties (GRASP) algorithm, developed at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Optics (LOA) of the University of Lille and the GRASP-sas company, and the Remote Sensing of Trace gases and Aerosol Properties (RemoTAP) algorithm developed at SRON – Netherlands Institute for Space Research. Both algorithms show good performance against ground based AERONET measurements and already important scientific advancement has been made using the corresponding data products. Nevertheless, when looking at global maps, significant differences are apparent between the two algorithms. In order to improve retrieval products from PARASOL and the upcoming missions containing MAP instrumentation (3MI/METOP-SG, SPEXone/PACE, HARP2/PACE, MAP/CO2M) it is essential to understand the reasons for the differences between the GRASP and RemoTAP algorithms. Therefore, in this project we propose to perform an extensive and systematic comparison between the two algorithms. We expect this will lead to optimized algorithm choices for both algorithms leading to better aerosol products and error characterization. The project will results in improved global data sets of aerosol properties from both algorithms. |
| High information content ozone profile algorithm for ground-based passive remote sensing instruments (OPA) | LuftBlick Earth Observation Technologies (LuftBlick) and the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA) propose to develop a novel algorithm to derive ozone profiles from measurements of ground-based passive remote sensing instruments. [...] | LUFTBLICK OG (AT) | Science | Altitude, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, permanently open call | LuftBlick Earth Observation Technologies (LuftBlick) and the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA) propose to develop a novel algorithm to derive ozone profiles from measurements of ground-based passive remote sensing instruments. These are the highlights of our proposed activity: The novel algorithm distinguishes itself in several ways from existing approaches: It uses MAX-DOAS sky observations combined with direct sun measurements; It relies on absolute slant columns instead of relative ones; It combines results from UV and VIS spectral regions (Huggins and Chappuis ozone bands respectively) to make use of their different path lengths; It adds the retrieved effective ozone temperature to the input; It analyses entire days as a whole instead of single measurement sequences; It includes temperature profiles from re-analysis to be used in combination with the retrieve effective ozone temperatures. Once validated and made operational, the novel algorithm can be applied to new and existing datasets such as from the Pandonia Global Network (PGN). By this it would be an extremely valuable contribution to our knowledge of tropospheric ozone with direct impact to air quality, tropospheric chemistry and satellite validation. Having a working operational technique to derive TropO3 information from ground-based passive remote sensing measurements would increase our knowledge about TropO3 substantially at hardly any additional cost. Pandoras (or other MAX-DOAS instruments) are distributed in existing networks, e.g. the Pandona Global Network (PGN) with >100 locations around the world and are most often already performing the types of measurements which we plan to use for the algorithm we propose to develop. Hence a working ozone profile algorithm can be applied to these observations as well as on additional worldwide data sets which extend several years into the past. |
| High-resolution methane mapping with hyper and multispectral data (HiResCH4) | The detection and repair of methane leaks from fossil fuel production activities have been identified as a key climate change mitigation strategy. In the last years, a number of optical satellite missions with a spatial resolution of 30-m or [...] | UNIVERSITAT POLITÈCNICA DE VALÈNCIA (ES) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, permanently open call, science, Sentinel-2 | The detection and repair of methane leaks from fossil fuel production activities have been identified as a key climate change mitigation strategy. In the last years, a number of optical satellite missions with a spatial resolution of 30-m or better have shown potential for the detection of strong methane plumes emitted by point sources, which is key to guide emission reduction efforts. Those high resolution missions include two types of optical imagers, namely hyperspectral (e.g. PRISMA) and multispectral (e.g. Sentinel-2). The number of studies using either of those classes of spaceborne instruments to map methane point emissions is rapidly increasing. The overarching objective of this project is to assess the potential and limitations of spaceborne hyperspectral and multispectral missions for high-resolution methane mapping. Critical tasks to achieve this goal are the implementation of a realistic end-to-end simulator, the development of advanced methane retrieval methods, and the evaluation of methane emissions at different sites using real data from those missions. Methane emissions from fossil fuel extraction and transport Methane (CH4) emissions from fossil fuel production activities have been found to account for 35% (range 30%–42%) of total global anthropogenic emissions. Emissions mostly originate from oil and gas production infrastructure, such as wells, gathering stations, compressor stations, storage tanks, pipelines, processing plants, and flares, and also coal mines can be strong methane emitters. These industrial methane emissions typically happen as so-called “point emissions”, namely plumes emitted from small surface elements and containing a relatively large amount of gas. The detection and elimination of unintended methane emissions from fossil fuel production activities have been identified as a key means to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Detecting methane point emissions from space The Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI mission, launched in 2017, is leading a revolution in this field, but its 7-km pixel size does not generally allow for sampling of individual point sources. Fortunately, very recent scientific developments are showing that high-resolution (30 m or better) methane retrievals are possible using land-oriented satellite missions with optical imagers sampling the 2300-nm methane absorption. On the one hand, hyperspectral missions have a relatively high sensitivity to methane due to their dense spectral sampling of the strong methane absorption at 2300 nm, but only provide sporadic acquisitions over pre-selected sites. On the other hand, multispectral missions offer a continuous global coverage within some days, but with a lower sensitivity to methane than hyperspectral missions. Better understanding the potential and limitations of these new data sets, and the synergies between them and with TROPOMI, are key for future satellite-based methane emission mitigation efforts. |
| Impact study of COVID-19 lockdown measures on air quality and climate (ICOVAC) | The global crisis due to the pandemic spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 that the humanity is facing since early 2020 led to unprecedented measures taken by different governments worldwide in order to limit as much as possible the number of [...] | BELGIAN INSTITUTE OF SPACE AERONOMY (BIRA-IASB) (BE) | Science | air quality, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, covid19, environmental impacts, health, public health | The global crisis due to the pandemic spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 that the humanity is facing since early 2020 led to unprecedented measures taken by different governments worldwide in order to limit as much as possible the number of impacted persons. Those measures include social distancing, banning of people gathering and travels, encouragement for teleworking, closings of schools, universities, restaurants, pubs and non-essential product shops, border closings,… All those measures have been implemented by the individual countries at different moments, depending mostly on the virus outbreak timing in each territory. Italy has been the first European country to be significantly impacted by the virus outbreak and to take lockdown measures in early March 2020. Most of the other European countries had to take similar decisions in the following weeks, almost all countries worldwide are impacted by the COVID-19. All those measures impact significantly the anthropogenic emissions in the atmosphere as they lead to a drastic drop in road and air traffic and a strong reduction of industrial activities in non-essential sectors. On the other hand, other sectors might face increased demands, like domestic heating for example. Satellite measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) tropospheric columns are a direct proxy for anthropogenic emissions. A decrease of the TROPOMI NO2 tropospheric columns in different parts of the world (e.g. China, Po Valley, US) during the respective lockdown periods has been reported in many press articles lately. Besides NO2, other atmospheric species such as CO, glyoxal, CO2,… originate, at least partly, from anthropogenic activity and might be impacted by the taken COVID-19 measures. It will be investigated during this work whether a COVID-19 footprint can be detected in available satellite and ground-based data sets for a number of pollutants. We will attempt to assess the potential impact of the lockdown measures on air quality and climate by deriving updated NOx and CO emissions but also on climate with the analysis of satellite greenhouse gas data products, such as XCO2 columns and/or via the use of the NOx emissions as a proxy to derive fossil fuel CO2 emissions. |
| IMPALA | Methane is among the most important greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing rapid global warming. A recent study indicates that tropical methane emissions explain a large fraction of the global atmospheric methane growth (Feng et [...] | KNMI (NL) | Applications | africa, air quality, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, Ecosystems, environmental impacts, science | Methane is among the most important greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing rapid global warming. A recent study indicates that tropical methane emissions explain a large fraction of the global atmospheric methane growth (Feng et al., 2022). The relatively short lifetime of methane of about a decade makes methane emissions an attractive target of short-term climate change mitigation strategies. The sources of methane in Africa are quite diverse (e.g. gas/oil production and transport, wetlands, landfills, geological seepage, livestock and rice paddies) and the emissions of each of those sources are often poorly quantified. The determination of methane emissions is a main focus for African countries, as was recently shown by the signing of the Global Methane Pledge (following COP26) by 24 African countries. However, methane emissions reported to the UNFCCC bear large uncertainties (Deng et al., 2022). Those reported from Africa are based on only a few in situ observations, due to the lack of infrastructure and logistical hurdles in collecting emission data. There is a clear need to improve upon the current estimates, for which satellite observations are potentially very useful. Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from soils and hydrocarbon emissions from vegetation in the Tropics (biogenic volatile organic compounds, BVOC) contribute substantially to the global budget of these species. BVOCs are key drivers of tropospheric chemistry through their impacts on ozone, aerosols and the oxidising capacity of the atmosphere. However, large uncertainties reside in BVOC and soil NO emission estimates mostly due to the complex mechanisms driving the emissions and to the paucity of local observations. Since BVOC emissions are the dominant source of formaldehyde (HCHO) over African rainforests, spaceborne HCHO columns can be used to better quantify this source. Moreover, the use of satellite NO2 data provides valuable information on the spatial distribution and magnitude of the natural sources of NOx over Africa at an unprecedented spatial resolution. Within IMPALA, we will combine Sentinel-5p satellite data with state-of-the-art models and sophisticated inversion algorithms to estimate the emissions of methane as well as biogenic hydrocarbon and natural NOx emissions over Africa. Both qualitative and quantitative constraints on biosphere/atmosphere exchanges and anthropogenic emissions will be provided. This information is relevant not only for a better scientific understanding of climate forcing and biosphere-climate-air quality interactions, but also for local stakeholders and for environmental and agricultural agencies. IMPALA capitalises the long-term expertise of the consortium in emission estimation from space observations. |
| KARLOS | Air pollution is one of the current major environmental issues affecting human health at the global scale, therefore monitoring air pollution in urban and suburban areas is of great societal importance. The monitoring of air quality at urban [...] | LUFTBLICK OG (AT) | Science | air quality, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, public health | Air pollution is one of the current major environmental issues affecting human health at the global scale, therefore monitoring air pollution in urban and suburban areas is of great societal importance. The monitoring of air quality at urban scales is currently based on telemetric in-situ networks, which provide continuous observations with high accuracy of a number of relevant air pollutants but have limited representativeness due to the relatively small number of measurement sites. Air quality satellite observations has resolution values good enough to resolve the spatial and temporal variability of trace gases such as NO2 over regions of the world without sources, e.g. the oceans. However they fail in capturing the variability over most landmasses, especially over urban and complex (e.g.mountainous) terrains. Ground-based imaging DOAS in downward looking mode can represent a step forward for air quality monitoring in terms of spatial and temporal resolution but is rather seldom simply for the fact that a significantly elevated platform is needed for this purpose. Such a unique situation is present in Innsbruck with the Hafelekar station located at about 1800m above the city with little horizontal distance. The KARLOS (HafeleKAR Line Of Sight AQ monitoring) project aims to develop a mountain top imaging DOAS overlooking the city of Innsbruck with the following purposes: Demonstrate the capabilities and test the performance of the prototype Monitor the air quality in and around Innsbruck at high temporal and spatial resolution Assess the options for a high resolution air quality retrieval system combining measurements and model calculations |
| L2A+ | ESA wind mission Aeolus hosts the first space-based Doppler Wind Lidar (DWL) world-wide. Its scientific objectives are to improve Numerical Weather Predictions (NWP) and to advance the understanding of atmospheric dynamics and its interaction [...] | NATIONAL OBSERVATORY OF ATHENS (GR) | Science | Aeolus, Aeolus+ Innovation, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric winds | ESA wind mission Aeolus hosts the first space-based Doppler Wind Lidar (DWL) world-wide. Its scientific objectives are to improve Numerical Weather Predictions (NWP) and to advance the understanding of atmospheric dynamics and its interaction with the atmospheric energy and water cycle. The primary data product is profiles of horizontally projected line-of-sight winds from the surface up to about 30 km, and spin-off products are profiles of cloud and aerosol optical properties. While the L2A product has a reasonable quality, its full potential for aerosol and cloud studies and for further improving NWP, has not been exploited. This is mainly because L2A is not provided separately for aerosol and cloud targets. The proposed L2A+ study aims at developing a refined Aeolus L2A aerosol product (L2A+), test its application for enhancing aerosol research and aims at assessing the impact of the new product on aerosol assimilation towards improved dust transport modelling and for further enhancing NWP. This overarching goal of L2A+ will be realised by fulfilling the following individual objectives: Develop a refined Aeolus aerosol optical product (L2A+). Examine the impact of L2A and L2A+ on aerosol assimilation and dust transport models. Assess the impact of Aeolus on NWP. Highlight the benefit of the Aeolus joint aerosol and wind assimilation for simulating dust deposition fields. Compare the monthly averaged L2A+ product with the CALIPSO L3 product, to assess the climatological value of L2A+ for aerosol databases. |
| LIdar Cloud REcord for Climate – LICREC | Clouds play an important role in the energy budget of our planet: optically thick clouds reflect the incoming solar radiation, leading to cooling the Earth, while thinner clouds act as “greenhouse films”, preventing escape of the Earth’s [...] | Sorbonne Université, SU (FR) | Science | Aeolus, Altitude, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science | Clouds play an important role in the energy budget of our planet: optically thick clouds reflect the incoming solar radiation, leading to cooling the Earth, while thinner clouds act as “greenhouse films”, preventing escape of the Earth’s long-wave radiation to space. Cloud response to ongoing greenhouse gases climate warming is the largest source of uncertainty for model-based estimates of climate sensitivity and therefore for predicting the evolution of future climate. Understanding the Earth’s energy budget requires knowing the cloud coverage, its vertical distributions and optical properties. Predicting how the Earth climate will evolve requires understanding how these cloud variables respond to climate warming. Documenting how the cloud’s detailed vertical structure evolves on a global scale over the long-term is therefore a necessary step towards understanding and predicting the cloud’s response to climate warming. Satellite observations have been providing a continuous survey of clouds over the whole globe. Passive infrared sounders have been observing our planet since 1979. Active sounders, which measure the altitude-resolved profiles of backscattered radiation with an accuracy on the order of 1−100 meters. These instruments have been providing invaluable information on cloud’s vertical profile with the accuracy matching modern requirements for climate-related processes and feedback analysis since 2006. All active instruments share the same measuring principle – they send a short pulse of laser or radar electromagnetic radiation to the atmosphere, collect the time-resolved backscatter signal by the telescope, and then register it in one or several receiver channels. However, the wavelength, pulse energy, pulse repetition frequency, telescope diameter, orbit, detector, or optical filtering are not the same for any pair of instruments. These differences define the active instruments’ capability of detecting atmospheric aerosols and/or clouds for a given atmospheric situation and observation conditions (day, night, averaging distance). At the same time, there is an obvious need to ensure the continuity of global space-borne lidar measurements. One has to stress that a simple merging of different satellite data is not enough – our overarching goal is to build a multi-lidar record accurate enough to constrain predictions of how the clouds evolve as climate warms. The project will merge the measurements performed by the relatively young space-borne lidar ALADIN/Aeolus, which has been orbiting the Earth since August 2018 and operating at 355nm wavelength with the measurements performed since 2006 by CALIPSO lidar, which is operating at 532nm and is near the end of its lifetime. Even though the primary goal of ALADIN is wind detection, its products include profiles of atmospheric optical properties (aerosols/clouds). This makes it an excellent test bed for developing an approach for building a continuous multi-lidar cloud record. Main objectives of this activity are to: develop a cloud layer detection method for ALADIN measurements, which complies with CALIPSO cloud layer detection; compare/validate the resulting cloud ALADIN product with the well-established CALIOP/CALIPSO cloud data set; develop an algorithm for merging the CALIOP and ALADIN cloud datasets; apply the merging algorithm to CALIOP and ALADIN data and build a continuous cloud profile record; adapt this approach to future missions (e.g. ATLID/EarthCare). |
| Methane+ | The ESA Methane+ project aims at exploiting the SWIR and TIR CH4 observations from different satellites in order to better differentiate between sources and sinks of CH4 on the regional and global scale. For this we will use the CH4 observations [...] | Netherlands Institute for Space Research (NWO-I) (NL) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, carbon science cluster, CrIS, IASI, Metop, permafrost challenge, science, Sentinel-5P, SUOMI-NPP | The ESA Methane+ project aims at exploiting the SWIR and TIR CH4 observations from different satellites in order to better differentiate between sources and sinks of CH4 on the regional and global scale. For this we will use the CH4 observations of TROPOMI on Copernicus Sentinel-5p, IASI on MetOp-B, and CrIS on Suomi NPP in combination with atmospheric inversion models. OBJECTIVES: Given the identified opportunities and challenges of the current generation of space borne methane sensors, and the scope of the current study, the specific study objectives are as follows: Providing support for the algorithm development for the CH4 SWIR retrieval from TROPOMI, TIR from IASI/CrIS, and joint SWIR-TIR retrieval from TROPOMI and IASI/CrIS. Assess the quality of the TROPOMI, IASI and CrIS CH4 retrievals by comparing data products generated with different algorithms and product validation using independent ”ground-based” measurements. Investigate the added value of combining CH4 SWIR and TIR in regional case studies. Infer global sources and sinks of CH4 from inverse modelling of 2 years of TROPOMI and IASI (and/or CrIS) data. Investigate the added value of the combined use of SWIR and TIR CH4 observations. Investigate the consistency of the SWIR and TIR CH4 satellite data, with model simulated transport and chemistry. Formulate a road map for future CH4 satellite remote sensing based on the outcomes of this study as well as parallel studies covering the use of CH4 from TROPOMI across the full range of scales. The Methane+ project started on 22-Jan-2020 with a duration of 2 years. |
| MethEO – Methane emissions in the Northern Hemisphere by applying both data from Earth Observing (EO) satellites and global atmospheric methane inversion model estimates | The project will investigate Northern Hemisphere methane (CH4) sources and their connection to the soil freezing and thawing at high latitudes. We will innovatively combine methods for monitoring of CH4 (methane) emissions in the Northern [...] | FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE (FI) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, biosphere, carbon cycle, carbon science cluster, permafrost challenge, permanently open call, polar science cluster, science, Sentinel-5P, SMOS | The project will investigate Northern Hemisphere methane (CH4) sources and their connection to the soil freezing and thawing at high latitudes. We will innovatively combine methods for monitoring of CH4 (methane) emissions in the Northern Hemisphere by applying both data from Earth Observing (EO) satellites and global atmospheric methane inversion model estimates. The EO data consists of global soil F/T estimates obtained from the European Space Agency (ESA) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission (from the SMOS+ Frozen soil project) as well as retrievals of atmospheric methane obtained from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and the newly launched Sentinel 5 Precursor TROPOMI (S5P-TROPOMI) observations. The project has been kicked-off the 5th September. A first informal progress meeting has been on 20th December. First results have been shown and look promising. |
| MOOC ATMOSPHERE | The course will introduce learners to the role of satellite ‘Earth observation’ (EO) technology in monitoring the Earth's Atmosphere and the data it produces looking also at the importance of ground based remote sensing and in situ observations, [...] | Imperative Space (GovEd Ltd) (GB) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science | The course will introduce learners to the role of satellite ‘Earth observation’ (EO) technology in monitoring the Earth’s Atmosphere and the data it produces looking also at the importance of ground based remote sensing and in situ observations, which complements as well as validates EO data. During the first week state of art atmospheric scientists and researchers will guide learners through the basic concepts of how satellites acquire data about the atmospheric composition and will provide an introduction to Atmospheric science, the second week covers atmospheric chemistry, greenhouse gases and ozone, the third week looks at air quality, health and policy, and the fourth week explores atmospheric dynamics and long-range pollution transport. An additional Week focusing on the impacts on the atmospheric composition of COVID-19 lockdown measures, is also included in this course. The course can be taken at this link: https://www.imperativemoocs.com/courses/eo-from-space-the-atmosphere |
| NOvel cOmputational methoDs for reLiablE SAteLlite-based Air quality Data (NOODLESALAD) | NOODLESALAD aims to develop computational methods for improving the satellite-based air quality estimates. More specific, it will concentrate on improving the air quality key indicator PM2.5, which is the dry mass concentration of fine [...] | FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE (FI) | Science | Altitude, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, permanently open call, Sentinel-3 | NOODLESALAD aims to develop computational methods for improving the satellite-based air quality estimates. More specific, it will concentrate on improving the air quality key indicator PM2.5, which is the dry mass concentration of fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers (micrograms per cubic meter of air). This activity will be developing a novel artificial intelligence approach for retrieving PM2.5 from earth observation data. The innovative strategy will be based on machine learning post-process correction that we recently developed. The novel approach will utilize an innovative fusion of Sentinel-3 satellite data, simulation model information, ground-based observations, traditional satellite retrieval techniques, and machine learning to produce satellite-based PM2.5. In this development work, data from the year 2019 will be used and select Central Europe as region of interest. The project will produce and validate PM2.5 estimates with a high spatial resolution of 300 meters for the Sentinel-3 satellites overpasses. In addition, this prototype approach will be used to create high temporal resolution air quality datasets for 5-10 European cities. Finally, the PM2.5 datasets produced will be publicly shared together with an open-source code package for Sentinel-3 PM2.5 retrieval. |
| OPEn platform for the Retrieval of Aerosol and CO2 from S5 (OPERA-S5) | The aim of the OPEn platform for the Retrieval of Aerosol and CO2 from S5 (OPERA-S5) project is to develop a totally modular open scientific platform for the combined retrieval of CO2, CH4, aerosol and surface properties based on GRASP [...] | GRASP-SAS (FR) | Science | Aerosols, air quality, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, platforms, Sentinel-5, Sentinel-5P, Surface Radiative Properties | The aim of the OPEn platform for the Retrieval of Aerosol and CO2 from S5 (OPERA-S5) project is to develop a totally modular open scientific platform for the combined retrieval of CO2, CH4, aerosol and surface properties based on GRASP (Generalized Retrieval of Atmosphere and Surface Properties) code with the measurements of Sentinel-5 spectrometer UVNS as stand alone, and in combination with the Multiangular Polarimeter 3MI. This new open platform will allow state-of-the-art characterization of atmospheric and surface properties. But also, thanks to its modular architecture, it will serve as a scientific hub for the development of new modeling and retrieval techniques based on AI methodologies. Two of the main challenges to reach the accuracy requirements in the retrieval of GreenHouse gas concentrations from spaceborne sensors are the scattering elements (aerosol and surface) and the computationally expensive calculations involved in the hyperspectral gas absorption features. OPERA-S5 platform tackles both of them by taking advantage of the highly accurate aerosol and surface characterization of GRASP with Multiangle-Polarimetric measurements and the acceleration possibilities offered by AI based approaches. |
| Ozone Recovery from Merged Observational Data and Model Analysis (OREGANO) | Stratospheric ozone (the “ozone layer”) protects the biosphere from harmful UltraViolet (UV) radiation. Ozone (O3) is expected to recover as a consequence of the Montreal Protocol signed in 1987 and its Amendments regulating the phase-out of [...] | UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN (DE) | Science | Altitude, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, science | Stratospheric ozone (the “ozone layer”) protects the biosphere from harmful UltraViolet (UV) radiation. Ozone (O3) is expected to recover as a consequence of the Montreal Protocol signed in 1987 and its Amendments regulating the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances (ODS). The stratospheric halogen amount (mainly bromine and chlorine) released by ODSs reached its maximum abundance in the middle of the 1990s. Observations from satellites and the ground confirmed that the long-term decline of stratospheric ozone was successfully stopped. Future, stratospheric ozone levels do not only depend on changes in ODS but also on changes in greenhouse gases (GHG) and possibly stratospheric aerosols. The latter modifies both ozone chemistry and dynamics (transport, circulation) of ozone. The rate of ozone recovery thus depends on the geographic region and altitude. In some altitude domains like the lower tropical stratosphere, ozone will likely continue to decline according to the majority of chemistry-climate models. At middle latitudes, the current trends in lower stratospheric ozone remain highly uncertain in part due to larger uncertainties in observational data and larger year-to-year variability in ozone. The major goal of the OREGANO project is to advance our understanding of ozone recovery using a combination of observations and model analyses. The study topics in this project are: Long-term ozone column and profile trends from models and observations; Impact of atmospheric dynamics and chemistry on polar and extrapolar ozone; Role of tropospheric ozone in column ozone trends; Evaluation of the bromine monoxide – chlorine monoxide (BrO-ClO) cycle using nadir BrO and chlorine dioxide (OClO) observations; Impact of aerosol and GHG changes on stratospheric ozone trends (past and future). Recommendations for future satellite missions and programs shall be made following the results of this study in support of continued ozone monitoring. |
| PRISMA + S5P demonstration for COVID-19 studies | Recent climate remote study showed essential effect of COVID-19 on trace gases emissions, in particular, of NO2 and CO2. In Europe, Italy was one of the first countries to be infected by the COVID-19 virus, starting in the beginning of February [...] | GRASP-SAS (FR) | Science | Aerosols, air quality, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, covid19, environmental impacts, health, public health, Sentinel-5P | Recent climate remote study showed essential effect of COVID-19 on trace gases emissions, in particular, of NO2 and CO2. In Europe, Italy was one of the first countries to be infected by the COVID-19 virus, starting in the beginning of February 2020, and numbers soaring up to over 100,000 infections and 20,000 deaths by mid-April. Severe limitations of people movements following the lockdown determined a significant reduction of pollutants concentration mainly due to vehicular traffic (PM10, PM2.5, BC, benzene, CO, and NOx), which is visual, for example, in S5P images of NO2 distributions. The lockdown also led to an appreciable drop in SO2. Despite the significant decrease in NO2, the O3 exhibited a significant increase, probably, due to the minor NO concentration. At the same time the effect on aerosol emission and loading has not been reported yet widely in the scientific literature, although news and social media stories report spectacular cleaner air due to various lock-downs (e.g. “Himalayas being visible from India for the first time in 30 years”). Furthermore, a possible influence of long-term exposure to small particulate matter on COVID-19 mortality has been reported. In general, aerosol distribution is strongly spatially and temporally inhomogeneous. Therefore, to investigate COVID-19 effect on aerosol the remote sensing measurements with frequent revisiting time and fine spatial resolution may be necessary. In this project we investigate the possibility to exploit PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa, an Italian Space Agency (ASI) hyperspectral mission) fine resolution measurements together with daily S5P/TROPOMI and AERONET measurements for motoring environmental dynamics associated with COVID-19 epidemic appearance and evolution in regional scale. |
| SENTINEL-5P+ INNOVATION | The Sentinel-5p+ Innovation activity is motivated by potential novel scientific developments and applications that may emerge from the exploitation of the Copernicus Sentinel-5p mission data. This satellite mission is dedicated to the precise [...] | ESA EOP-SDS initiative (IT) | Science | applications, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science, Sentinel-5P | The Sentinel-5p+ Innovation activity is motivated by potential novel scientific developments and applications that may emerge from the exploitation of the Copernicus Sentinel-5p mission data. This satellite mission is dedicated to the precise monitoring of the Earth’s atmosphere with a highlight on tropospheric composition. The Sentinel-5p spacecraft was launched in October 2017, where fills the gap from the past SCanning Imaging Absorption SpectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) instrument on ESA’s Envisat satellite, via the yet active Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) carried on NASA’s Aura mission to the future Sentinel-5 The overarching objectives of this Sentinel-5p+ Innovation project are: To develop a solid scientific basis for the application of Sentinel-5p data within the context of novel scientific and operational applications; To develop a number of novel products and retrieval methods that exploit the potential of the Sentinel-5p mission’s capabilities beyond its primary objectives; To define strategic actions for fostering a transition of the target methods and models developed in this project from research to operational activities; To maximise the scientific return and benefits from the Sentinel-5p mission. The Sentinel-5p+ Innovation project addresses seven themes related to atmospheric composition and ocean colour: Theme 1: Glyoxal (CHOCHO) Theme 2: Chlorine Dioxide (OClO) Theme 3: Water Vapour Isotopologues (H2O-ISO) Theme 4: Sulphur dioxide layer height (SO2-LH) Theme 5: Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) Theme 6: Solar Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) Theme 7: Ocean colour (OC) The individual project themes have been kicked-off end June/beginning of July 2019 and will run for 24 months. |
| SENTINEL-5P+ INNOVATION – GLYRETRO (GLYoxal Retrievals from TROPOMI) | Glyoxal is the most abundant dicarbonyl present in our atmosphere and is directly emitted from biomass burning and also results from the oxidation of precursor non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC). It is currently estimated that about [...] | BELGIAN INSTITUTE OF SPACE AERONOMY (BIRA-IASB) (BE) | Science | applications, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science, Sentinel-5P, Sentinel-5P+ Innovation, TROPOMI | Glyoxal is the most abundant dicarbonyl present in our atmosphere and is directly emitted from biomass burning and also results from the oxidation of precursor non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC). It is currently estimated that about 70% of its production originate from natural sources and fires, while the remaining 30% come from human activities. With a short lifetime (~3 hours), elevated glyoxal concentrations are observed near emission sources. Measurements of atmospheric glyoxal concentrations therefore provide quantitative information on VOC emission and can help to better assess the quality of current inventories. In addition, glyoxal is also known to contribute significantly to the total budget of secondary organic aerosols, which impact both air quality and climate forcing. The GLYRETRO (GLYoxal Retrievals from TROPOMI) activity is one of the seven themes from the ESA S5p innovation (S5p+I) project, which aims at further exploiting the capability of the S5p/TROPOMI instrument with the development of a number of new scientific products. The GLYRETRO project, proposed by both the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and the Institute of Environmental Physics at the University of Bremen, has been successfully kicked-off on July, 1st 2019 and will last two years. The objectives are manifold and can be listed as To develop a scientific glyoxal (CHOCHO) tropospheric column product To collect independent data sets in order to validate the satellite observations To pave the way towards an operationalization of the developed S5p glyoxal product To demonstrate the added-value of the S5p glyoxal product for the user community. For more information on the project, contact Christophe Lerot (christophe.lerot at aeronomie.be). |
| SENTINEL-5P+ INNOVATION – SO2 Layer Height Project | The ESA Sentinel-5p+ Innovation project (S5p+I) has been initiated to develop novel scientific and operational applications, products and retrieval methods that exploit the potential of the Sentinel-5p mission’s capabilities beyond its primary [...] | DLR – GERMAN AEROSPACE CENTER (DE) | Science | applications, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science, Sentinel-5P, Sentinel-5P+ Innovation, TROPOMI | The ESA Sentinel-5p+ Innovation project (S5p+I) has been initiated to develop novel scientific and operational applications, products and retrieval methods that exploit the potential of the Sentinel-5p mission’s capabilities beyond its primary objective. Accurate determination of the location, height and loading of SO2 plumes emitted by volcanic eruptions is essential for aviation safety. The SO2 layer height is furthermore one of the most critical parameters that determine the impact on the climate. The height of volcanic ash columns are often estimated by local observers with mostly unknown accuracy. The plume height can also be determined using aircraft, ground-based radar or LIDAR but such observations are often not available and many volcanic eruptions in remote areas remain not observed. In addition, volcanic plumes containing SO2 but not ash cannot be seen directly. SO2 in the atmosphere has important impacts on chemistry and climate at both local and global levels. Natural sources account for ~30% of SO2 emissions. Next to contributions from volcanic activity, these include emissions from marine phytoplankton and a small contribution from soil and vegetation decay. However, by far the largest contributions in global SO2 production are from anthropogenic sources. These account for the remaining 70% of global emissions and primarily relate to fossil fuel burning, with smaller contributions from smelting and biomass burning. While satellite instruments, in principle, provide global products e.g. from SEVIRI (Second Generation Spin-stabilised Enhanced Visible and Infra-Red Imager) or AIRS (Atmospheric Infra-Red Sounder), they have no or little vertical resolution. SO2 height retrievals have been developed for IR sensors like the scanning IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer). This can provide information on the vertical distribution of SO2 in a volcanic plume but only at a horizontal resolution of 12 km. Although retrievals of SO2 plume height have been carried out using satellite UV backscatter measurements from e.g. OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) or GOME-2, until now such algorithms are up to now very time-consuming, since the spectral information content and its characterization require computationally demanding radiative transfer modelling. Due to the high spatial resolution of TROPOMI (Tropospheric Ozone Measurement Instrument) aboard S5p(Sentinel-5p) and consequent large amount of data, an SO2 layer height algorithm has to be very fast. The SO2 Layer Height (SO2LH) theme is dedicated to the generation of an SO2 layer height product for Sentinel-5p taking into account data production timeliness requirements. The S5p+I: SO2LH project is funded by the European Space Agency ESA The coordination of the project is under the responsibility of the German Aerospace Center DLR. The objectives of the SO2 LH project are: • Development of an SO2 layer height product for Sentinel-5p; • Assessment of the performance of the new algorithm specifically with respect to timeliness requirements in operational processing frameworks; • Assessment of the applicability of various algorithms based on e.g. EISF or a LUT approach; • Assessment of the errors in the presence of absorbing and non-absorbing aerosols; • Assessment of retrieval results based on observation conditions, e.g. inhomogeneous scene; • Demonstration of the new retrieval on a number of cases of volcanic eruptions, including intercomparisons to SO2 height levels for volcanic eruptions with available OMI and GOME2 SO2 height level retrievals; • Discussion on how the effect of layer altitude change can be distinguished from a change of vertical column; • Assessment of the contribution of the new LH algorithm to the independent operational SO2 column retrieval • Discussion of mechanisms of adding the LH product to the SO2 operational column product (e.g. inclusion into the existing SO2 total column product), or justification for a standalone product. The S5P+I: SO2LH project had its official kick-off on 3 July 2019 The project duration is 24 month |
| SENTINEL-5P+ INNOVATION – THEME 5, AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH (AOD) + BRDF | The capability of Sentinel-5p for aerosol monitoring is currently not used to its full potential. However, satellite observations in the spectral range from approximately 340 to 400 nm are known to have unique sensitivity to elevation and [...] | GRASP-SAS (FR) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science, Sentinel-5P, Sentinel-5P+ Innovation, TROPOMI | The capability of Sentinel-5p for aerosol monitoring is currently not used to its full potential. However, satellite observations in the spectral range from approximately 340 to 400 nm are known to have unique sensitivity to elevation and absorption of tropospheric aerosols. Traditionally, this sensitivity is used in many ozone monitoring instruments such as TOMS, GOME-1, SCIAMACHY, OMI and GOME-2 for deriving UV Aerosol Index (UVAI) that provides very valuable qualitative information about aerosol distribution. However, UVAI does not have explicit geophysical quantitative meaning and, therefore, it is not fully appropriate for utilization in validation of aerosol transport models and other climate applications. The reflectivity of the Earth’s surface is an important input parameter for many satellite retrievals of atmospheric composition. Examples are the retrieval of trace gases such as ozone, NO2, BrO, CH2O, H2O, CO2, CO, and CH4, and of cloud information and aerosol optical depth (AOD). Recent developments in atmospheric remote sensing have focused strongly on deriving and implementing angular-dependent surface BRDF information (as opposed to using traditional, non-directional Lambertian surface reflectivity information), and on obtaining this information on a much higher spatial resolution than before. ESA S5P+I AOD/BRDF project is focused on aerosol and surface reflectance characterisation using capabilities of Sentinel-5p (TROPOMI) measurements. One objective of the project is to achieve quantitative characterization of aerosol properties from Sentinel-5p. Specifically, the objective is to develop the algorithm capable to provide Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), i.e. aerosol load in the atmosphere as well as to provide information about absorption and type of the aerosol. Another objective of the RFP/ITT is the development of a product of spectral surface BRDF information from (and for) the TROPOMI instrument. |
| SENTINEL-5P+ INNOVATION – WATER VAPOUR ISOTOPOLOGUES (H2O-ISO) | Atmospheric moisture is a key factor for the redistribution of heat in the atmosphere and there is strong coupling between atmospheric circulation and moisture pathways which is responsible for most climate feedback mechanisms. Water [...] | UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER (GB) | Science | applications, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science, Sentinel-5P, Sentinel-5P+ Innovation | Atmospheric moisture is a key factor for the redistribution of heat in the atmosphere and there is strong coupling between atmospheric circulation and moisture pathways which is responsible for most climate feedback mechanisms. Water isotopologues can make a unique contribution for better understanding this coupling. In recent years, water vapour isotopologue observations from satellites have become available from thermal nadir infrared measurements (TES, AIRS, IASI) which are sensitive above the boundary layer and from shortwave-infrared (SWIR) sensors (GOSAT, SCIAMACHY) that provide column averaged concentrations including sensitivity to the boundary layer. Sentinel 5P (S5P) measures SWIR radiance spectra that allow retrieval of water isotopologue columns but with much improved spatial and temporal coverage compared to other SWIR sensors thus promising an unique dataset with larger potential for scientific and operational applications. The aim of this proposal is to develop and evaluate a prototype dataset from Sentinel 5P for water isotopologues. This will be addressed by a team of experts from University of Leicester, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and University of Bergen bringing together expertise in atmospheric measurement (EO and in-situ), and modelling with scientific end-users. Objectives: During this project we will demonstrate the feasibility of measuring stable water isotopologues for S5P, specifically ratios of HDO/H2O by: Optimizing the retrieval method making use of the University of Leicester Full Physics (UoL-FP) retrieval algorithm. Examining and characterize the retrieval performance by validation of retrieved waterisotopologues against reference data sets (MUSICA NDACC data and TCCON) and satellite data from IASI and GOSAT. Assess the impact of the S5P datasets using two different models for defined regions of interest. The findings and recommendations of this project will be delivered through a scientific roadmap, in order to further develop the methods and their application including a transition to operational activities. This will benefit from the strong links of the team with relevant international activities, projects and initiatives. |
| SENTINEL-5P+ INNOVATION CHLORINE DIOXIDE (OCLO) | The S5PI+ OClO project is one of the seven themes of ESA's Sentinel-5p+ Innovation activity, which aims at developing products for the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite which are not yet part of the operational processor. [...] | UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN (DE) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, science, Sentinel-5P, Sentinel-5P+ Innovation, TROPOMI | The S5PI+ OClO project is one of the seven themes of ESA’s Sentinel-5p+ Innovation activity, which aims at developing products for the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite which are not yet part of the operational processor. The Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite was launched in October 2017 and provides operational data since July 2018. This mission is intended as a gap-filler between the time series of the former instruments GOME and SCIAMACHY, the still operating OMI and the future Copernicus S5 instruments. The stratospheric ozone layer plays an important role for life on Earth as it absorbs a large part of the harmful UV radiation coming from the sun. The amount and vertical distribution of ozone in the stratosphere is determined by transport and by an equilibrium between chemical ozone production on the one hand and catalytic ozone destruction cycles on the other hand. Anthropogenic emissions of long-lived halogen containing substances such as CFCs and halons have disturbed this equilibrium as additional reactive halogens have been released in the stratosphere. This lead to global reductions in ozone columns and the annual appearance of the ozone hole over Antarcica in austral winter / spring. Strong ozone depleteion is also observed in Arctic winter / spring but only in years where the stratosphere is cold enough to facilitate formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). As a reaction on the rapid loss of stratospheric ozone, the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987, phasing out the emissions of many long-lived halogen containing substances. Several amendments to this protocol have in the last decades lead to further and more rapid decreases in emissions of of ozone depleting substances, and stratospheric halogen levels are already decreasing. Because of the long lifetimes of the emitted substances, it is expected that return to the ozone levels of the 1980s will take at least until 2050. Stratospheric chlorine activation can be monitored directly by measuring ClO with microwave radiometry. In the UV/visible spectral range, the OClO molecule can be retrieved as it has a structured absorption spectrum. As the only known formation of OClO is by reaction of ClO and BrO, the amounts of OClO are proportional to the concentrations of these two species. With BrO concentrations being much less variable than those of ClO, OClO can be used as a quantitative measure of chlorine activation at least at solar zenith angles around twilight. Retrievals of OClO have been performed for all UV/vis heritage instruments (GOME, SCIAMACHY, GOME2, OMI) and the S5P OClO product will act as a continuation of these timeseries. Atmospheric profiles of OClO have also been retrieved from SCIAMACHY, OSIRIS and GOMOS measurements, providing additional information on the vertical distribution of OClO. For the validation of the S5P OClO product, ground-based observations of OClO from instruments in the NDACC network can be used. |
| SENTINEL-5P+ INNOVATION OCEAN COLOUR (S5P+-I-OC) | The S5P+I-OC project will explore the capacity of the Sentinel-5p TROPOMI data to provide novel Ocean Colour (OC) products. More specifically, the objectives of this S5P+ Innovation activity are to: develop a solid scientific basis for the [...] | ALFRED WEGENER INSTITUTE (DE) | Science | atmosphere science cluster, carbon cycle, carbon science cluster, ocean science cluster, oceans, science, Sentinel-3, Sentinel-5P, Sentinel-5P+ Innovation, TROPOMI | The S5P+I-OC project will explore the capacity of the Sentinel-5p TROPOMI data to provide novel Ocean Colour (OC) products. More specifically, the objectives of this S5P+ Innovation activity are to: develop a solid scientific basis for the application of S5P data within the context of novel scientific and operational OC products applications; assess existing algorithms which have been used for OC product retrievals from SCanning Imaging Absorption Spectro-Meter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY), Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME-2); develop novel OC products and retrieval methods that exploit the potential of the S5P mission’s capabilities beyond its primary objectives, in particular, the chlorophyll-a concentration (CHL) of important phytoplankton groups (PFT-CHL), the underwater light attenuation coefficients (Kd) for the ultraviolet (UV) and the blue spectral region separately (KdUV, KdBlue), and the sun-induced marine chlorophyll-a fluorescence signal (SIF-marine) from TROPOMI S5P level-1 data; explore the potential of the UV range of S5P for ocean biology; use complementary products from Sentinel-3 (S3) and S5P for exploring the UV measurements of TROPOMI for assessing sources of coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and the amount of UV-absorbing pigments in the ocean; validate with established reference in situ datasets and perform intercomparison to other satellite OC data; define strategic actions for fostering a transition of the methods from research to operational activities; maximize the scientific return and benefits from the S5P mission for surface ocean research and services (e.g. CMEMS) by assessing the synergies with other satellite sensors, in particular explore the synergistic use of S5P and S3. |
| SENTINEL-5P+ INNOVATION SOLAR INDUCED CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE (SIF) | The ESA –TROPOSIF project is one of the seven themes from the Sentinel-5p+ Innovation (S5p+I) activity funded by ESA, which aims at developing novel scientific products / retrieval methods from the data acquired by the TROPOMI (TROPOspheric [...] | NOVELTIS SAS (FR) | Science | atmosphere science cluster, biosphere, carbon cycle, carbon science cluster, land, science, Sentinel-5P, Sentinel-5P+ Innovation, TROPOMI | The ESA –TROPOSIF project is one of the seven themes from the Sentinel-5p+ Innovation (S5p+I) activity funded by ESA, which aims at developing novel scientific products / retrieval methods from the data acquired by the TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) instrument aboard the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor mission launched in October 2017. Although the Sentinel-5P mission was designed to monitor the Earth’s atmosphere, TROPOMI’s spectral and radiometric performance enable to also monitor terrestrial Solar Induced Fluorescence (SIF) with an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. What is SIF? Solar induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is an electromagnetic signal emitted by the chlorophyll a of assimilating plants: part of the energy absorbed by chlorophyll a is not used for photosynthesis, but emitted at longer wavelengths as a two-peak spectrum roughly covering the 650–850 nm spectral range. The SIF signal responds instantaneously to perturbations in environmental conditions such as light and water stress, which makes it a direct proxy for photosynthetic activity. However, SIF emission constitutes only a small fraction (typically 0.5%-2%) of the radiance at the top of the canopy, which is mostly composed of reflected sunlight, and its estimation from space-borne spectrometers requires both high spectral resolution and advanced retrieval schemes. Why should we care about SIF? Over the last few years, solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) observations from space have emerged as a promising resource for evaluating the spatio-temporal distribution of gross carbon uptake (GPP = gross primary productivitt) by terrestrial ecosystems, the characterization of which still remains uncertain to date. In the particular case of climate studies, our ability to anticipate the evolution of net and gross carbon fluxes over the globe under a changing climate largely relies on global terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs). Their parameterization remains largely uncertain and it is anticipated that satellite SIF products will provide a significant constraint (reduction in uncertainty) on the projections of the terrestrial carbon updake. |
| SMART-CH4 | Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas contributing significantly to climate change. Due to its relatively short lifetime mitigation efforts on CH4 emissions could rapidly and efficiently pay-off to limit climate change. Targetted mitigation [...] | CEA – Commissariat a l Energie Atom (FR) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, IASI, Metop, science, Sentinel-5P | Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas contributing significantly to climate change. Due to its relatively short lifetime mitigation efforts on CH4 emissions could rapidly and efficiently pay-off to limit climate change. Targetted mitigation efforts should rely on a solid understanding of sources and sink of CH4 at all scales, from the global scale to local scales. Dedicated monitoring and modelling efforts are on-going to improve our understanding of the methane budget, including satellite platforms. The main satellite instruments contributing to the current understanding of the methane budget are TANSO on-board GOSAT, TROPOMI on-board Sentinel 5P, and IASI on-board METOP-B and METOP-C. Another category of satellite has recently been added to the existing constellation of CH4-monitoring platforms. These satellites (e.g., GHGSat, PRISMA, MethaneSat) provide very high-resolution data focusing on specific areas. The ESA initiative SMART-CH4 (Satellite Monitoring of Atmospheric Methane) builds upon previous experience and projects in satellite-based methane quantification, aiming to enhance emission products derived from satellites. The key objectives and tasks of SMART-CH4 include: Enhancing TROPOMI retrievals and multi-sensor products, incorporating SWIR/TIR data from IASI and TROPOMI. Advancing fine-scale emission detection using mid-resolution mappers like TROPOMI and high-resolution imagers such as GHGSat, MethaneSAT, EnMAP, or PRISMA. These improvements will lower detection thresholds, enabling the identification of smaller emitters like landfills, wetlands, and agricultural sources. Utilizing improved products to deepen our understanding of regional methane budgets, focusing on three key target regions: (i) Bucharest, Romania, for its landfill super-emitters; (ii) the Arctic, with its scientific interest in peatland and wetland emissions, alongside technical detection challenges arising from Arctic night and albedo effects (from snow and cloud cover); and (iii) South America, concerning tropical wetlands, forest fires, and anthropogenic emissions from landfills and agriculture. Contributing to the attribution of recent trends in CH4 concentrations to specific sectors on a global scale. |
| SOLFEO – Spaceborne Observations over Latin America For Emission Optimization applications | South America hosts the Amazon rain forest, the largest source of natural hydrocarbons (HC) emitted into the atmosphere. However, the forest undergoes continuous pressure due to increasing needs for pasture and agricultural land. Next to this, [...] | KNMI (NL) | Science | applications, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, permanently open call, science | South America hosts the Amazon rain forest, the largest source of natural hydrocarbons (HC) emitted into the atmosphere. However, the forest undergoes continuous pressure due to increasing needs for pasture and agricultural land. Next to this, large urban centers of South America face acute air quality problems. In this tense situation, it is important to closely monitor both the natural emissions released by the rainforest (hydrocarbons) and the rapidly changing anthropogenic emissions from agricultural activities (NH3 and NOx) and fossil fuel burning (NOx). By using satellite observations combined with a state-of-the-art model representation of the relevant processes, we develop advanced inversion algorithms for the estimation of emissions of ammonia(NH3), NOx and hydrocarbons, providing both qualitative and quantitative biogenic and anthropogenic emissions. SOLFEO takes advantage of the fine spatial resolution of OMI (AURA), IASI (METOP) and TROPOMI (Sentinel 5p) data to improve emission estimates over a largely understudied region. |
| SUNLIT – Synergy of Using Nadir and Limb Instruments for Tropospheric ozone monitoring | The SUNLIT project aimed at developing new global tropospheric ozone datasets using combination of total ozone column from OMI and TROPOMI with stratospheric ozone column dataset from several available limb-viewing instruments (MLS, OSIRIS, [...] | FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE (FI) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, permanently open call, science | The SUNLIT project aimed at developing new global tropospheric ozone datasets using combination of total ozone column from OMI and TROPOMI with stratospheric ozone column dataset from several available limb-viewing instruments (MLS, OSIRIS, MIPAS, SCIAMACHY, OMPS-LP, GOMOS). The novelty of the SUNLIT approach is using measurements from several satellite instruments in limb-viewing geometry for deriving the stratospheric ozone column dataset. Several methodological developments have been made within the project. The main datasets developed in the SUNLIT project are: Monthly 1°x1° global tropospheric ozone column dataset using OMI and limb instruments Monthly 1°x1° global tropospheric ozone column dataset using TROPOMI and limb instruments Daily 1°x1° interpolated stratospheric ozone column from limb instruments. The data are in open access at Sodankylä National Satellite Data centre https://nsdc.fmi.fi/data/data_sunlit.php Other datasets, which are created as an intermediate step of creating the tropospheric ozone column data, have their own value. These datasets are daily gridded with 1°x1° horizonal resolution and include (i) homogenized and interpolated dataset of ozone profiles from limb instruments, (ii) stratospheric ozone column from limb instruments, and (iii) clear-sky and total ozone columns from nadir instruments. |
| Synergetic Retrieval from GROund based and SATellite measurements for surface characterization and validation (GROSAT) | Reflectance of the Earth surface is one of the natural major components affecting climate. Surface interaction with incoming solar radiation and the atmosphere has a substantial impact on the Earth’s energy budget. Moreover, the accurate [...] | GRASP-SAS (FR) | Science | Aerosols, Altitude, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, permanently open call, science, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3, Sentinel-5P | Reflectance of the Earth surface is one of the natural major components affecting climate. Surface interaction with incoming solar radiation and the atmosphere has a substantial impact on the Earth’s energy budget. Moreover, the accurate description of the surface reflection is crucial for different atmospheric studies including aerosol and trace gases characterization. One of the grand science challenges in remote sensing and climate studies is the accurate separation of surface and atmosphere contributions to the satellite signal. This separation is a crucial requirement of any algorithm for the accurate retrieval of atmosphere and surface properties from remote sensing measurements (Dubovik et al., 2011, 2021; Hasekamp et al., 2011). Despite the evident need for the universal and robust reference dataset for surface reflectance, BRDF (Bidirectional Distribution Function) and BPDF (Bidirectional Polarization Distribution Function) retrieval validation, it still does not exist. In this project it is proposed to perform a simultaneous synergistic retrieval of aerosol and surface properties using combined ground-based (for example, AERONET) and satellite measurements for obtaining the surface reflectance product with enhanced accuracy (Figure 1). In such approach the main information about aerosol comes from AERONET direct sun and diffuse sky-radiance measurements, whereas the information about surface reflection properties originates from satellite observations. The synergetic AERONET + satellite retrieval approach has already been prototyped within GRASP algorithm in the frame of ESA S5P+Innovative AOD/BRDF (Litvinov et al., 2020; https://eo4society.esa.int/projects/sentinel-5pinnovation). Figur1.. Schematic representation of the GROSAT approach based on synergetic retrieval from satellite and AERONET measurements. Further adjustment of GRASP algorithm to the synergistic retrieval from the combined ground-based (AERONET) and satellite measurements provides new possibilities for aerosol and surface characterization. This GRASP synergetic approach promises to become a rather robust and universal tool that can be applied to any space-borne instruments independently of spatial resolution or information content: for any spectral bands, radiance only or polarimetric measurements, single or multiple view instruments. |
| Synergetic retrieval from multi-mission space-borne measurements for enhancement of aerosol characterization (SYREMIS) | Atmospheric aerosol is one of the main drivers of climate changes. Importance of accurate global aerosol characterization for climate studies and air pollution monitoring is a well recognized problem (e.g., see IPCC AR5 by Boucher et al.2013). [...] | GRASP-SAS (FR) | Science | Aerosols, air quality, Altitude, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, permanently open call, science, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3, Sentinel-5P | Atmospheric aerosol is one of the main drivers of climate changes. Importance of accurate global aerosol characterization for climate studies and air pollution monitoring is a well recognized problem (e.g., see IPCC AR5 by Boucher et al.2013). In addition to the traditional spectral Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) such characterization should also include such extended aerosol information asaerosol size and type. The global information about aerosol can be obtained from space-borne measurements only. Therefore, climate studies are becoming more and more relying on high quality aerosol characterization from space. At present time there are a number of different satellites on Earth orbit dedicated to aerosol studies. However, due to limited information content, the main aerosol products of the most of satellite missions is AOD while the accuracy of aerosol size and type retrieval from space-borne remote sensing still requires essential improvement. The problem of accurate extended aerosol characterization from satellite measurements is strongly affected by the complexity of reliable separation of atmosphere and surface signals. In addition to this, the information content of the measurements should be enough for aerosol characterization itself. Since the end of the POLDER/PARASOL mission in 2013, no single currently operating satellite satisfies completely the requirements for extended aerosol characterisation. At the same time, different satellites dedicated to atmospheric studies may overpass the same area on Earth surface during the same day but at different times or different relative positions. As a result, being properly collocated, such combined measurements can provide multi-angular,multi-temporal measurements in extended spectral range. More independent satellite measurements with different complementary capabilities are combined,the richer the information content of combined measurements becomes. Thetreatment of these data seems to be beyond the capacity of most of the existent traditional algorithms since the processing of multi-instrument observations is not commonly used. In contrast, such retrieval algorithms of the new generation like GRASP (Generalized Retrieval of Atmosphere and Surface Properties) were specifically designed for synergetic processing of diverse observations and can be highly useful for multi-instrument data processing (Dubovik et al. 2011,2021). The GRASP multi-pixel retrieval concept has already been successfully applied to the observations of different single space-borne instruments: polar-orbiting like POLDER/PARASOL, MERIS, AATSR/ENVISAT, OLCI/Sentinel-3, TROPOMI/S-5p and geostationary, for example, Himawari, satellites. Moreover, the synergetic approaches were successfully approved on the synergy of MERIS and AATSR measurements (ESA CAWA-2 project) as well as on the synergy of the ground-based and satellite (AERONET+OLCI, AERONET+ TROPOMI/Sentinel-5p etc retrieval) measurements (ESA GROSAT project (Litvinov et al., 2021), https://www.graspsas.com/projects/grosat/). In the SYREMIS project we develop the prototyped synergetic retrieval with GRASP algorithm of combined measurements from diverse satellite instruments to bring the accuracy and scope of space-borne aerosol characterization to a new level required for climate studies and air-quality monitoring. In particular, these developments are expected to enhance the accuracy of traditional spectral AOD retrieval and allow the characterization of such aerosol properties as particle size, absorption, and chemical composition. Moreover, the proposed synergetic retrieval is expected to increase essentially the spatial and temporal coverage of the available aerosol product, which is absolutely required to identify aerosol sources and monitor aerosol transport. In this regard, the enhanced synergetic aerosol product is projected to have a significant impact on regional and global climate models (for example, CAMS and MERRA-2 global models). It is also expected to achieve the monitoring of natural or anthropogenic aerosol emissions which is crucial for air quality monitoring. The synergetic retrieval in SYREMIS project is planned to be tested on the currently operating polar-orbiting (TROPOMI/Sentinel-5p, OLCI/Sentinel-3, SLSTR/Sentinel-3) and geostationary (Himawari) satellites. Moreover, the constellation of these multi-mission satellites is expected to be extended in future by the new generation of satellites like Sentinel-5, 3MI/EPS-SG, Sentinel-4, etc. The input for the synergetic retrieval may be diverse measurements from different satellites. Themain attention in this project will be played on the operating polar orbiting and geostationary satellites to enhance current state of aerosol characterization and to test the developments on the actual aerosol events. In particular,the multi-mission constellation in this project includes measurements from such polar-orbiting satellites like OLCI/Sentinel-3 A and B, TROPOMI/Sentinel-5p as well as the geostationary Himawari. On one hand such a constellation will extend the spectral range of the measurements. On another hand it will provide unprecedented spatial and temporal coverage which is crucial for global climate studies and air-quality monitoring. Moreover, the synergetic retrieval tested on this constellation can be easily adapted for future instruments like 3MI, Sentinel-5, Sentinel-4 etc. The brief description of the selected satellites for the prototyped synergetic retrievalis summarized in Table 1. Satellites Description OLCI/Sentinel-3A and OLCI/Sentinel-3B – Polar-orbiting, global coverage – One observation per grid point (4 by 4 pixels) – Moderate spatial resolution – Radiance measurements in VIS and NIR spectral range TROPOMI/Sentinel-5p – Polar-orbiting, global coverage – Hyperspectral measurements in UV, VIS, NIR, SWIR spectral range Himawari – Geostationary. Coverage area: Asia – Every 10 min daily measurements – Radiance measurements in VIS, NIR and SWIR spectral range Table 1.Multi-mission constellation for prototyped synergetic retrieval INNOVATION ASPECTS The synergetic multi-mission retrieval developed in SYREMIS is expected to enhance essentially the characterization of such aerosol produced from space-borne measurements as spectral AOD, SSA, and aerosol size characteristics etc. The proposed synergetic retrievals are expected both to improve accuracy of the retrievals and increase spatial and temporal coverage of the aerosol dataset. As a result, the enhanced synergetic aerosol product is expected to be of particularly high value for global climate studies and aerosol data assimilation in global aerosol models such as CAMS and MERRA-2. RELATED PUBLICATIONS 1. Climate Modelling UserGroup (CMUG), User Requirement Document, version 0.6,2015, 2. Dubovik O. et al.,“Statistically optimized inversion algorithm for enhanced retrieval of aerosol properties from spectral multi-angle polarimetric satellite observations“ 2011 : Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 3. O. Dubovik, D, Fuertes, P. Litvinov at al. “A Comprehensive Description of Multi-Term LSM for Applying Multiple a PrioriConstraints in Problems of Atmospheric Remote Sensing: GRASP Algorithm,Concept, and Applications” Front. Remote Sens., 19 October 2021 4. Litvinov P., O. Dubovik, Ch. Cheng, B. Torres,I. Dubovik et al. “Combined Retrieval from Ground Based and Space-borneMeasurements: New Possibilities for Surface Validation and Beyond.” AGU, 1-17December, 2020. |
| Technology and atmospheric mission platform – OPerations (TOP) | The atmospheric mission platform has demonstrated that (1) multiple data sources (the "data triangle" namely satellite-based products, numerical model output, and ground measurements) can be simultaneously exploited by users (mainly scientists), [...] | SISTEMA GMBH (AT) | Digital Platform Services | atmosphere science cluster, permanently open call, platforms, science | The atmospheric mission platform has demonstrated that (1) multiple data sources (the “data triangle” namely satellite-based products, numerical model output, and ground measurements) can be simultaneously exploited by users (mainly scientists), and (2) a fully Virtual Research Environment that allows avoiding the download of all data locally, and retrieving only the processing results is the optimal solution. |
| Understand and mitigate impacts of 3D clouds on UV-VIS NO2 trace gas retrievals by AI exploration of synthetic and real data (MIT3D) | Operational retrievals of trace gas column amounts assume (near) cloud free conditions. However, the large pixel size of the satellite instruments (for example the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument on Sentinel 5P, TROPOMI-S5P, is 5.5 km by 3.5 [...] | NILU – NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE FOR AIR RESEARCH (NO) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, permanently open call, science, Sentinel-5P, SUOMI-NPP, TROPOMI | Operational retrievals of trace gas column amounts assume (near) cloud free conditions. However, the large pixel size of the satellite instruments (for example the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument on Sentinel 5P, TROPOMI-S5P, is 5.5 km by 3.5 km at nadir) imply that pixels may be contaminated by sub-pixel sized cloud(s). Furthermore, clouds in neighbour pixels may lead to in-scattering of radiation or cloud shadow effects, both which are three-dimensional (3D) radiative transfer effects that may both decrease (cloud shadow) and increase (in-scattering) the retrieved trace gas amount. The goal of the ESA MIT3D project is to understand and mitigate impacts of 3D clouds on UV-VIS NO 2 trace gas retrievals by AI (artifical intelligence) exploration of synthetic and real data. The main objectives of the activity are to: Use AI to find parameters that affect NO2 retrievals using a unique synthetic TROPOMI-S5P data set based on 3D Monte Carlo simulations which includes realistic clouds from large eddy scale simulations. Identify associations between TROPOMI-S5P NO2 and Suomi NPP Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) products using maximal information-based nonparametrix exploration statistics. Improve standard 1D NO2 cloud correction. The MIT3D activity thus aims to reduce errors due to the impact of 3D clouds. The achievement of the main objectives will be demonstrated by analysis of cloud affected synthetic and real TROPOMI-S5P data and the quantitative comparison of the MIT3D improved NO2 cloud correction and the standard NO2 cloud correction. |
| Volcanic monItoring using SenTinel sensors by an integrated Approach (VISTA) | Volcanic monItoring using SenTinel sensors by an integrated Approach (VISTA) project is aimed at developing a novel ensemble of algorithms to completely characterized the effects of volcanic emissions on land and atmosphere. Volcanic activity is [...] | GEO-K SRL (IT) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, land, permanently open call, science, Sentinel-5P | Volcanic monItoring using SenTinel sensors by an integrated Approach (VISTA) project is aimed at developing a novel ensemble of algorithms to completely characterized the effects of volcanic emissions on land and atmosphere. Volcanic activity is observed worldwide with a variety of remote sensing instruments, each one with advantages and drawbacks. Because a single remote sensing instrument able to furnish a comprehensive description of a given phenomenon doesn’t exist, a multi-sensor approach is required. In particular, the aim of this study is the definition of a new generation of integrated methods which aim at exploiting the information of the COPERNICUS Sentinels data (from Visible-VIS to Thermal Infrared-TIR) by means of already consolidated retrieval algorithms and novel ML procedures. The increasing availability of Sentinel’s data allows an innovative perspective to achieve the objective of a complete monitoring of the eruptions effects by a unique satellite mission. Currently the possibilities offered by the COPERNICUS Sentinel missions are only partially explored to provide new consistent and statistically reliable information about volcanic cloud quantification and dispersion in the atmosphere and ash deposits on the ground. Such information is crucial for aviation safety and civil protection purposes therefore new tools to exploit satellite observations are required. The project will develop specific methodologies integrating inverse modeling techniques (based on radiative transfer models) with dedicated machine learning (ML) approaches to formulate a set of novel integrated methods. The expected outcomes of the project are improvements in satellite volcanic ash/ice/water vapour particles/SO2 cloud detection and retrievals (altitude, extension, mass, concentration, aerosol optical depth and effective radius), the development of a specific ML based algorithm to map the presence of ash deposits over land and the generation of new satellite-based prototypal services to mitigate the effect of volcanic eruption on health, environment, aviation and to better understand volcanic processes. |
| Water vapour Isotopologue Flask sampling for the Validation Of Satellite data (WIFVOS) | Atmospheric moisture strongly controls Earth’s radiative budget and transports energy through latent heat. Uncertainties in the atmospheric moisture transport pathways have large effects on climate modelling and prediction. Isotopologues of [...] | FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE (FI) | Science | atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric water vapor, open call, science | Atmospheric moisture strongly controls Earth’s radiative budget and transports energy through latent heat. Uncertainties in the atmospheric moisture transport pathways have large effects on climate modelling and prediction. Isotopologues of water offer further insights into the water cycle due to fractionation processes on phase changes. High-quality measurements of the vertical distribution of water vapour isotopologues are urgently needed, e.g. to investigate the relative importance of different vertical moisture transport mechanisms, to improve models, and to validate remote sensing observations by satellite borne instruments, including the TROPOMI instrument onboard ESA’s Sentinel 5P satellite. To date, profile measurements are costly and thus sparse. In this project, a novel instrument to measure profiles of water vapour isotopologues from ground to the upper troposphere on a small (<20kg payload) balloon-borne platform will be developed. The system will sample air in flasks at different altitudes, which will be analysed with a cavity ringdown spectroscopy instrument after landing and recovery. The flask sampler will be based on an existing and proven flask sampling technology currently used on drones, which will be adapted to lower pressures and lower water vapour mixing ratios present at higher altitudes up to the tropopause. The new instrument will be much more flexible and cost-effective than current instruments for profiles of water vapour isotopologues on aircraft or large balloons. The instrument will be deployed in a field campaign at Sodankylä with concurrent measurements by the Fourier transform spectrometer within the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Based on these measurements, comparisons with TCCON HDO data product will be made. |
| WORLD EMISSION | Pollutant and greenhouse gas emission inventories provide essential information for policy makers, governments and subsidiary bodies to evaluate progress towards emission abatement measures, and decide on future strategies. Inventories use [...] | GMV AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE, SA (ES) | Applications | air quality, atmosphere, atmosphere science cluster, atmospheric chemistry, Ecosystems, environmental impacts, science | Pollutant and greenhouse gas emission inventories provide essential information for policy makers, governments and subsidiary bodies to evaluate progress towards emission abatement measures, and decide on future strategies. Inventories use different methodologies between countries, and have large uncertainties related to both activity data and emission factors. The use of satellite data, notably the imagery of the atmospheric composition, should enhance the accuracy, timeliness and the spatial and temporal resolution of inventories. The European Space Agency (ESA)-funded WORLD EMISSION project kicked-off on 4th of March 2022 and will last two years. The project aims to provide an enhanced global emission monitoring service by developing top down emissions estimates based on satellite data. These estimates based on proven methodologies from the science community will be compared with bottom-up inventories, in close collaboration with end-user organisations, to define related product target requirements. The WORLD EMISSION project team’s ambition is to achieve an emission inventory system with the following characteristics: Species to be monitored: CH4 (methane), CO2 (carbon dioxide), H2O (water vapour), NH3 (ammonia), SO2 (sulphur dioxide), NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), PM (particle matter), CO (carbon monoxide), CH3OH (methanol), CH2O (formaldehyde), CHOCHO (glyoxal), C5H8 (isoprene). Increase spatial and temporal resolution of existing inventories by introducing high resolution satellite data New processing framework that is capable to work globally (at least, capable to manage the heterogeneities of different regions) Cover localized point source emissions from large industrial sites, hotspot emissions from oil, gas, and coal extraction basins forest fires and megacities, and regional and national scale emissions Attribution of the anthropogenic sources to socioeconomic sectors Merge the specific processing stages of each specie into a unified flow For more information on the project, contact Beatriz Revilla-Romero (brevilla@gmv.com) |