The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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The two images show monthly averaged brightness temperatures, which corresponds to microwave radiation from Earth’s surface, at northern latitudes for May 2011 and May 2012. In May 2011, before 13 sources of radio frequency interference (RFI) in Canada and Greenland were either refurbished or switched off, a circle of higher brightness temperatures can be seen, exceeding the expectations for natural variations of such measurements in the northern latitudes over ocean. Once the RFI sources were switched off (prior to May 2012), natural variability returns. Higher brightness temperature measurements, being the starting point for salinity retrievals, lead to erroneously fresher water in the oceans.