The ionosphere forms a comparatively dense layer of partially ionized gas around Earth. The ionosphere as a whole works to dissipate the energy provided by the constant connection it has to the solar wind and magnetosphere systems. This energy dissipation, which creates beautiful displays of aurora in Earth’s polar regions, is associated with plasma turbulence …
Two scientists working on ESA-funded research projects have recently been honoured with prestigious international awards for their exceptional contributions to Earth science and remote sensing. Felix Gerick, from CNES and the Royal Observatory of Belgium, was awarded the prestigious Doornbos Memorial Prize during the Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior (SEDI) conference, held in Great …
Edna is currently an ESA Living Planet Fellow at the University of Bristol, UK. She completed a PhD in volcano remote sensing at the University of Leeds, UK in 2022 where her research focused on using high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to examine volcanic deposits. During her PhD she worked closely with the Centre …
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) backscatter can provide crucial information about the progression of a volcanic eruption,regardless of the time of day or environmental conditions (e.g., cloud coverage). SAR backscatter is dependent on the surface scattering properties, which can be altered during a volcanic eruption through the emplacement or removal of material. Monitoring backscatter changes through …
FBURST aims at better understanding the ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling based on multi-spacecraft observations that can monitor the status of the high latitude ionospheric field aligned current system (FAC) and the conditions in the geomagnetic tail. In particular, this project focusses on the fast plasma jets detected at more than 60000 km from the Earth in the …
Understanding the detailed spatial and temporal dynamics of the space environment is a key task in solar-terrestrial research. This is also a fundamental requisite for providing successful space weather forecasts, such as predicting changes in atmospheric drag experienced by satellites at low-Earth orbits (LEO). The high-latitude auroral ionosphere is connected by magnetic field lines to …
The day-to day variability of quiet-time ionosphere is surprisingly high even during periods of negligible solar forcing. Relatively well understood is the high-latitude variability where the solar wind is directly driving the high latitude currents, convection electric field or polar aurorae. But the current understanding does not allow to accurately model the ionospheric state during …
Unveil the secrets of Earth’s Dynamic Systems: Join the Open Challenge! The European Space Agency is hosting the 2nd edition of the Earth System Science Workshop at its new research facility – the ESRIN Science Hub, in partnership with the Sorbonne Universite Paris, Academie Spatiale d’Ile de France and IPGP. The event will take place …
This activity is the continuation of an previously-completed ESA project (“PASTA: Phenomena-Aware Spatial and TemporAl Clustering”). The overall objective is to develop a software tool providing higher-level solutions for automated interferometric data analysis and interpretation, geared mainly to key Hungarian users. The precursor project had successfully performed the user consultations and defined a number of …
The Earth crust represents less than 1% of the volume of our planet but is exceptionally important as it preserves the signs of the geological events that shaped the Earth. This thin layer is the place where the natural resources we need can be accessed (e.g. minerals, critical raw materials, geothermal energy, fresh water, hydrocarbons). …
