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Campaigns  Current campaigns
AgriSAR 2009
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 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 is now simulating various imaging modes for the Sentinel satellites from the series of images acquired during the campaign. Analysis is enhanced through the participation of scientists interested in the data analysis. Location: Remningstorp forest, Northern Sweden Instrumentation: L-, P-band airborne imaging SAR
BioSAR-3 is a campaign in support of the Candidate Earth Explorer Mission BIOMASS. The BIOMASS mission objective is to improve estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes over land through global measurements of forest biomass and changes in this biomass with time. The BioSAR-3 campaign leverages the data and results from the 2007 BioSAR-1 campaign to address additional requirements linked to the BIOMASS mission. In particular, the campaign focuses on documenting the potential of the mission to detect and map temporal changes in forest biomass and disturbances.
Location: Sodankyla, northern Finland Instrumentation: Ku- and X-band Scatterometer (SnowScat) The objectives of Nordic Snow Radar Experiment NoSREX are based on the scientific objectives of the candidate Earth Explorer mission CoReH2O (Cold Region Hydrology High-Resolution Observatory). Snow-pack morphology (stratification, grain size and type, etc.) can be very different, depending on the climate and meteorological conditions. Therefore, experimental data on backscattering signatures of snow are being collected throughout the entire season. These data will test theoretical backscatter models, and validate and advance retrieval algorithms.
PHAETHON
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. This concept will be used for validation of satellite-derived products, either from campaign or on a long-term basis.
PremierEX Location: Kiruna, Sweden Instrumentation: Infrared limb-sounder
The objectives of the PremierEx campaign are based on the scientific objectives of the candidate Earth Explorer mission PREMIER. PREMIER aims to quantify processes that control the composition and structure of the mid to upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The campaign will support the in-flight testing of the MARSCHALS airborne simulator, and the preparation and execution of flights in 2010. This will 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.
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-3. The data will be used as input for the 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 is 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 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. SMOS carries the first spaceborne 2D interferometric radiometer that operates at 1.4 GHz (L-band). The campaign is simulating commissioning phase validation conditions, albeit at a reduced scale – using equipped test sites, tools and participants, representative of post-launch conditions.
SnowSAR
A small and cost-efficient airborne X-and Ku-band airborne SAR instrument is being developed to support the candidate Earth Explorer CoreH2O mission preparations. One completed, the system will be able to acquire high-quality, dual-frequency SAR imagery with two different polarisation settings. The maiden campaign with the SnowSAR system is planned for February 2011 in Sondankyla, Finland over the same site as used for the NosREX campaign. The images will be important for interpreting CoreH2O images and for developing image-based methods for extracting environmental parameters such as snow water content.
Location: French Guiana Instrumentation: P- and L-band airborne imaging SAR
The objectives of the TropiSAR campaign are based on 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 affecting the mission such as temporal decorrelation, forest biomass and height retrieval performance in tropical forests, and uncertainties in the ground estimates of biomass.
The following campaigns have recently concluded:
BioSAR-2 The BioSAR 2008 campaign represented 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
CEFLES2 (CarboEurope, FLEX and Sentinel-2) was a multi-objective campaign that exploited the synergies between a wide range of concomitant airborne and ground measurements performed in coordination with CERES (CarboEurope Regional Experiment). The campaign supports the development of the Sentinel-2 mission.
Location: East Antarctic plateau Instrumentation: Multi-frequency dual-polarisation radiometer and a collocated thermal infrared (ThIR) radiometer. The DOMEX-2 campaign was carried out within the context of the SMOS mission. The main aim was to provide an external ice-sheet target calibration reference to serve as a basis for calibration monitoring.
CryoVEx 2008
CryoVEx 2008 was the last pre-launch calibration and validation campaign before ESA's CryoSat-2 mission launched in April 2010. CryoVEx 2008 was a continuation of a number of earlier campaigns, aimed at understanding the signatures of sea and land ice signals measured by CryoSat-2. The campaign also prepared for operational post-launch validation of CryoSat, with a complex logistics setup that involved airborne radar, laser and electromagnetic sensors, as well as in situ ground teams.
Location: Greenland Instrumentation: P-band airborne polarimetric radar sounder The POLARIS campaign acted 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.
Thermopolis
The Thermopolis campaign took place in July 2009 to support the Urban Heat Islands and Urban Thermography Project. The main goal was 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 were evaluated by means of ground-based measurements.
Last update: 30 August 2010
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CryoSat ground validation campaign (http://multimedia.esa.int/Videos/2011/06/Cryosat-Ground-validation-campaign)