|  | Radarsat-2 image of Flevoland in the Netherlands | |
Current campaigns
The list below gives an outline of current campaign activities:
AgriSAR 2009
Location: Flevoland, the Netherlands, Barrax, Spain, Indian Head, Canada
Instrumentation: Radarsat-2 and RapidEye satellites
The objective of the campaign is to evaluate how frequent multi-polarisation acquisitions provided by Sentinel-1 will improve applications such as land-cover mapping and crop monitoring. To accomplish this ambitious task, ESA has asked MDA Geospatial Services to acquire multi-temporal, quad-polarisation
Radarsat-2 imagery throughout the 2009 growing season over three test sites. MDA Geospatial Services will be able to simulate various imaging modes for the Sentinel satellites from the series of images acquired during the campaign. Analysis will be augmented through the participation of scientists interested in the data analysis.
| | Sodankylä test site in late winter | |
NoSRex
Location: Sodankylä, northern Finland
Instrumentation: Ku- and X-band Scatterometer (SnowScat)
The scientific objectives of Nordic Snow Radar Experiment NoSREX are derived from the scientific objectives of the candidate Earth Explorer mission CoReH2O (Cold Region Hydrology High-Resolution Observatory). Since snow pack morphology (stratification, grain size and type, etc.) can be very different, depending on the climate and meteorological conditions, experimental data on backscattering signatures of snow will be collected throughout the entire season for testing theoretical backscatter models and for validating and advancing retrieval algorithms.
PHAETHON
Location: Greece, Thessaloniki
Instrumentation: UV-VIS-IR CCD spectrometer, Raman Lidar
The primary objective of PHAETHON is to provide an operational concept of portable ground-based instruments that can provide with sufficient accuracy measurements of tropospheric and total columns of various trace gases (e.g. NO2, SO2, O3, and H2O) and aerosol optical and microphysical properties to be used for validation of satellite derived products either on campaign or on long-term basis.
| | Shallow-sounding profile from Polaris campaign | |
POLARIS
Location: Greenland
Instrumentation: P-band airborne polarimetric radar sounder
The POLARIS campaign acts a proof-of-concept for the development of a P-band (435 Mhz) ice sounding radar to determine the electromagnetic properties of the Antarctic ice sheet. The sounder offers high sensitivity and a large dynamic range. At the time of the campaign, the bedrock was under almost 3 km of ice. A novel surface clutter suppression technique required for spaceborne ice-sounding was also tested.
PremierEX
Location: Kiruna, Sweden
Instrumentation: Infrared limb-sounder
The scientific objectives of PremierEx are derived from the scientific objectives of the candidate Earth Explorer mission PREMIER. The PREMIER mission aims to quantify processes that control the composition and structure of the mid to upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The PremierEx campaign will support the in-flight testing of the MARSCHALS airborne simulator, and the preparation and execution of flights in 2010 to support the definition of PREMIER capabilities to quantify the horizontal transport and mixing processes in the mid to upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and cirrus cloud formation in the upper troposphere above the Arctic.
| | Land surface-temperature measurements for Sen3Exp | |
Sen3Exp
Location: Barrax agricultural crops, Spain; Boussole oceanographic buoy, France; San Rossore Forest, Italy; Venice Acqua Alta Oceanographic Tower, Italy
Instrumentation: Airborne hyperspectral
(400-2400 nm) and multispectral thermal
(3.7-12 µm) data, spaceborne Envisat MERIS/AATSR
The campaign supports the Sentinel-3 mission by generating spectrally, geometrically and radiometrically representative imagery of the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) and Sea and Land Surface Temperature Instrument (SLSTR) instruments on-board Sentinel-1. The data will be used as input to Level 1b/c Ground Prototype Processor and the System Performance Simulator that are currently under development. The output data will also support the Level 2 product development contract through the provision of suitable scenes and test datasets.
SMOS validation campaign
Location: Upper Danube, Germany; Valencia, Spain
Instrumentation: EMIRAD DTU, Denmark, HUT2D, TKK
SMOS will be ESA's second Earth Explorer in orbit. The main aim of the mission is to further the development of climatological, meteorological and hydrological models by observing soil moisture over the Earth's landmasses, and sea-surface salinity over the oceans. Not only will the SMOS mission further our understanding of the Earth system, but it will also demonstrate a new measuring technique by adopting a completely new approach in the field of remote sensing. SMOS will carry the first spaceborne 2D interferometric radiometer that operates at 1.4 GHz (L-band). It will provide global coverage every 3 days. The campaign aim is to simulate commissioning phase validation at a reduced scale and is using equipped test sites, tools, participants, as close as possible to post-launch conditions.
| | Thermal image of the Parthenon | |
Thermopolis
Location: Athens, Greece
Instrumentation: CASI550 hyperspectral sensor covering visible to NIR and TASI600
The Thermopolis campaign taking place in July 2009 is setup to support the Urban Heat Islands and Urban Thermography Project. The main goal is to perform an assessment of optimum spatial resolution and revisiting time for land-surface temperature retrievals in European cities, taking Athens as an example. Land-surface temperature and air temperature retrieval of urban and sub-urban areas, at high spatial resolution (10 to 30m) to characterise the spatial Urban Heat Islands variability are being evaluated by means of ground based measurements.
| | Large tropical tree | |
TropiSAR
Location: French Guiana
Instrumentation: P- and L-band airborne imaging SAR
The scientific objectives of the TropiSAR campaign are derived from the scientific objectives of the candidate Earth Explorer BIOMASS mission. During the campaign reference radar and ground datasets at P- and L-band will be collected over tropical forests. The aim is to assess key issues such as temporal decorrelation, forest biomass and height retrieval performance in tropical forests, and the uncertainties in the ground estimates of biomass.
The following campiagns have recently concluded:
| | Aligning a corner reflector | |
BioSAR-2
Location: Krycklan, Northern Sweden
Instrumentation: X-, L-, P-Band airborne imaging SAR
The BioSAR 2008 campaign represents the first ESA airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) campaign over northern boreal forest. Because of the importance of boreal forests for the candidate Earth Explorer BIOMASS mission, and the global carbon cycle in general, highly accurate and robust methods for transforming the P-band radar signals into forest biomass maps are required. By collecting airborne SAR measurements at P-Band over boreal forest and comparing these to extensive measurements made on the ground we can ensure that the satellite mission will accurately map forest biomass across this unique biome.
CEFLES2
Location: Gascony (France), Madrid and Mediterranean Coast (Spain)
Instrumentation: SIM.GA HYPER, AHS, AirFLEX, airborne eddy covariance and ground measurements
CEFLES2 (CarboEurope, FLEX and Sentinel-2) is a multi-objective campaign that exploits the synergies between a large panoply of concomitant airborne and ground measurements performed in coordination with CERES (CarboEurope Regional Experiment). The campaign supports the development of the Sentinel-2 mission.
| | Measuring ice-surface height for CryoSat validation | |
DOMEX-2
Location: East Antarctic plateau
Instrumentation: Multi-frequency dual-polarisation radiometer and a collocated thermal infrared (ThIR) radiometer
The DOMEX-2 campaign is performed within the context of the SMOS mission. The main aim is to provide an external ice-sheet target calibration reference to serve as a basis for calibration monitoring.
CryoVEx 2008
Location: Northern regions of Greenland, Canada and Antarctica
Instrumentation: ASIRAS (Airborne Radar Altimeter) laser scanner
CryoVEx 2008 is the last prelaunch calibration and validation campaign before the planned launch of the ESA CryoSat-2 mission in 2009. The CryoVEx 2008 is a continuation of a number of earlier campaigns, aimed to understand the signatures of sea and land ice signals to be measured by CryoSat. The campaign also prepares for the operational post-launch validation of CryoSat, with a complex logistics setup involving airborne radar, laser and electromagnetic sensors, as well as in-situ ground teams.
Last update: 18 August 2009 | 
