Using data from ESA’s SMOS satellite, scientists collaborating in the Southern Ocean Freshwater (SO Fresh) project have discovered a surprising reversal in the Southern Ocean: instead of becoming fresher as Antarctic sea ice melts, surface waters are growing saltier, particularly south of 50° S, with salinity rising even as ice cover rapidly retreats. This unexpected trend …
Using data from ESA’s Swarm satellites, together with those from the US–German GRACE mission and from ground-based instrument networks, scientists have measured atmospheric density changes resulting from auroral Joule heating during 276 geomagnetic storms between 2010 and 2024. Such dramatic shifts in Earth’s upper atmosphere associated to geomagnetic activity are described as “hot flushes.” These …
A new, higher resolution, version of the OceanSODA‑ETHZ was presented at ESA’s Living Planet Symposium. This product, developed through a creative blend of machine‑learning methods, reveals how oceans absorb (and sometimes release) carbon dioxide on a fine-scale, 25 × 25 km grid every eight days, a thirtyfold improvement over previous monthly, 100 × 100 km datasets. This allows capturing rapid and …
Scientists have unveiled a new insight into the origins of the North Atlantic’s volcanic hotspot: it all comes down to the lithosphere being extra thin. By combining gravity data from ESA’s GOCE satellite, seismic and other terrestrial datasets, and thermodynamic inversion methods, researchers have found that ancient upwellings from the Iceland Plume funneled into these …
Background The Living Planet Symposium 2025 (LPS25) is the latest in ESA’s triennial series of global events on Earth observation. Held every three years, these symposia have grown in both size and scope, focusing on key environmental issues. In response to the intensifying climate crisis, LPS25 will center on the theme of moving “from observation …
When it comes to climate change, the land surfaces are where the vast majority of impacts happen. The task of monitoring those across the globe is formidable and must necessarily rely on satellites – at a significant cost: the measurements are only indirect and require comprehensive physical understanding. ESA’s Carbon Cluster projects LCC and TCCAS …
From May 12–16, 2025, the European Space Agency (ESA) participated in the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Global KM-scale Hackathon, a global event that brought together the climate modelling community to accelerate research using climate simulations at unprecedented kilometre-scale resolution (horizontal resolution < 10 km). Hosted simultaneously across ten international nodes spanning nine time zones …
This June, at the Living Planet Symposium 2025 (LPS25) in Vienna, ESA’s EarthCODE initiative will showcase how we are turning ESA’s strategic commitment to Open Science into action. EarthCODE (Earth Science Collaborative Open Development Environment) is designed to enable researchers to publish, discover, and reuse Earth Observation (EO) datasets, code, and analytical workflows in accordance …
In the heart of the Swiss Alps, scientists are pioneering new methods to monitor glacier health with unprecedented precision. By harnessing satellite data and advanced modelling techniques, they’re gaining insights into the subtle changes in glacier mass balance, crucial for understanding water resources and the impacts of climate change. Glaciers are sensitive indicators of climate …
The One Ocean Expedition (2025–2026) has embarked on a global voyage aboard the Norwegian tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, aiming to raise awareness about the ocean’s pivotal role in a sustainable future at global level. As part of this journey, the European Space Agency (ESA) organises the Advanced Ocean Synergy Training Course 2025 (#OTC25), blending satellite …
