This project aims at developing, testing and implementing innovative methods able to use space geodetic data from altimetry and gravimetry to generate the regional ocean heat content (OHC) change over the Atlantic Ocean. The ESA MOHeaCAN project strategy has been pursued and refined at regional scales both for the data generation and the uncertainty estimate. In …
The ESA Polar Science Cluster involves a set of different ESA-funded scientific activities addressing different aspects of Polar research. Through this set of projects ESA aims at working hand by hand with the scientific community to: Improve our observation capacity over Polar regions and contribute to develop the next generation of Polar observations from …
The thin ozone layer positioned in stratosphere is crucial for the survival of life on Earth. This stratospheric ozone layer shields the Earth from most of the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. In the late 1970s, scientists found out that humanity was creating a hole in this protective ozone shield. In 1985, the Vienna Convention for …
Estimating sea ice thickness is essential to monitor the effects of long-term climatic change and understand their consequences for Arctic ecosystems. The continued sea ice loss – widely observed through EO data since 1979 – is bringing to an increased Arctic maritime activity for which timely forecasts of ice conditions are required too, to ensure …
Ice velocity is an essential parameter to study ice sheet and glacier dynamics. It is needed to estimate the mass flux and discharge of ice from the accumulation zone to the ocean and hence influences estimates of ice sheet mass balance and sea level rise. Furthermore, ice velocity measurements constitute valuable input for constraining and …
The SWARM+ Ionosphere Science Coordination Meeting will bring together ESA and Swarm science experts to share and discuss the state-of-the science results and knowledge gained from Swarm-based ESA projects over the last 3 years, focussing on physics of the Earth’s ionosphere, and its interactions with the lower atmosphere. The meeting will also contribute to the …
Outcomes of the first European Polar Science event, part of a new ESA-EC joint Earth System Science initiative, aimed at fostering closer collaboration and networking across the EU and ESA Polar activities.
Background The carbon cycle is central to the Earth system, being inextricably coupled with climate, the water cycle, nutrient cycles and the production of biomass by photosynthesis on land and in the oceans. In the natural system the balance among carbon in the atmosphere, land and ocean is regulated through fluxes between these three …
How does taking into account vertical variability of Soil Moisture impact on predicting vegetation productivity? Does this impact depend on climatic areas and vegetation types? These are the main questions addressed by a recently published paper, outcome of Living Planet Fellow Sophia Walther research. The study demonstrates how, at the global scale, semi-arid areas and …
Kicking-off next 1 July, a 15m€ project funded by the European Union is about to promote the integration of international environmental observing systems for the Arctic and improve the tailoring of these systems to the needs of various user groups – including local inhabitants, academia, industry and decision makers – for the 2021-2025 period. Read …
