Aim This project aims to provide a comprehensive, long-term analysis of fuel characteristics to understand the role of vegetation in controlling the changing trends of fire activity on the planet. To achieve this goal, Fuelity will leverage the extensive information available from ESA-funded missions that have improved biomass estimations. It will also complement several other …
The oceans, a major sink of carbon dioxide (CO2), rely on a set of food web processes that generate gravitational sinking particles to transfer CO2 from the atmosphere to the deep ocean. These processes are collectively known as the biological carbon pump (BCP) and have become a focal point of research as anthropogenic CO2 emissions …
The upcoming ESA FORUM (Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring) mission will be the first to measure the Earth’s spectrally resolved outgoing longwave radiation in the far-infrared (FIR) at high spectral resolution. This spectral region is responsible for over half of the Earth’s emissions to space, with the principal absorbers being CO2 and H2O. The …
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) has experienced an alarming increase since the Industrial Revolution due to anthropogenic factors like fossil fuel combustion and deforestation. Before the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric CO₂ levels were relatively stable, around 280 parts per million (ppm). By the 21st century, human activities have increased CO₂ concentrations beyond 400 ppm, reaching levels not seen …
Background Environmental crime is growing at annual rates of 5% to 7% globally. Countering environmental crime is complex as it is often perpetrated by criminal organizations operating across borders. It also spans a broad range of activities, such as illegal waste management and shipment, illegal logging and trade in timber, illegal water abstraction, pollution, habitats …
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are organizing a Coastal Blue Carbon from Space Forum, which will take place at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI, Bern, Switzerland), on 14-17 May 2024. Coastal Blue Carbon describes the carbon stored in vegetated coastal and marine ecosystems, mostly by seagrasses, mangroves, …
The ocean plays a central role in modulating the Earth’s carbon cycle. Monitoring how the ocean carbon cycle is changing is fundamental to managing climate change. Satellite remote sensing is currently our best tool for viewing the ocean surface globally and systematically, at high spatial and temporal resolutions, and the past few decades have seen …
Soils are being rediscovered from numerous stand viewpoints: biochemical, ecologic, technical, analytical, social, policy, economic, etc. The EU soil strategy for 2030 sets out a framework and concrete measures to protect and restore soils and ensure that they are used sustainably. It sets a vision and objectives to achieve healthy soils by 2050, with concrete …
As a third project in the EO for Ocean Acidification pathway, the objectives of the current efforts are: (i) to advance the scientific state-of-the-art in Ocean Acidification and its impact on marine life and ecosystems; (ii) to develop the next generation of EO-based products by capitalizing on the synergistic opportunities offered by the increasing fleet …
In the next decades, population growth is expected to amplify current pressures on critical resources such as fresh water or food, intensify the stress on land and marine ecosystems and increase environmental pollution and its impacts on health and biodiversity. Global warming and the increasing impacts of climate change, especially on most vulnerable populations, will …
