A system for monitoring NO2 emissions from biomass burning by using GOME and ATSR-2 data

In this paper, we propose a system for monitoring abnormal NO2 emissions in troposphere by using remote-sensing sensors. In particular, the system aims at estimating the amount of NO2 resulting from biomass burning by exploiting the synergies between the GOME and the ATSR-2 sensors mounted on board of the ERS-2 satellite. Two different approaches to the estimation of NO2 are proposed: the former, which is the simplest one, assumes a linear relationship between the GOME and ATSR-2 measurements and the NO2 concentration. The latter exploits a nonlinear and nonparametric method based on a radial basis function (RBF) neural network. The architecture of such a network is defined in order to retrieve the values of NO2 concentration on the basis of the GOME and ATSR-2 measurements, as well as of other ancillary input parameters. Experimental results, obtained on a real data set, confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system, which represents a promising tool for operational applications

The CEOS Atmospheric Composition Constellation: Enhancing the Value of Space-Based Observations

The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) coordinates civil space-borne observations of the Earth. Participating agencies strive to enhance international coordination and data exchange and to optimize societal benefit. In recent years, CEOS has collaborated closely with the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in implementing the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS) space-based objectives. The goal of the CEOS Atmospheric Composition Constellation (ACC) is to collect and deliver data to improve monitoring, assessment and predictive capabilities for changes in the ozone layer, air quality and climate forcing associated with changes in the environment through coordination of existing and future international space assets. A project to coordinate and enhance the science value of a future constellation of geostationary sensors measuring parameters relevant to air quality supports the forthcoming European Sentinel-4, Korean GEMS, and US TEMPO missions. Recommendations have been developed for harmonization to mutually improve data quality and facilitate widespread use of the data products

Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Global Satellite Observations of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Methane

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Nonlinear operators on graphs via stacks

International audienceWe consider a framework for nonlinear operators on functions evaluated on graphs via stacks of level sets. We investigate a family of transformations on functions evaluated on graph which includes adaptive flat and non-flat erosions and dilations in the sense of mathematical morphology. Additionally, the connection to mean motion curvature on graphs is noted. Proposed operators are illustrated in the cases of functions on graphs, textured meshes and graphs of images

Methane and water spectroscopic database for TROPOMI/Sentinel-5 Precursor in the 2.3 μm region

The ESA project „SEOM-Improved Atmospheric Spectroscopy Databases (IAS)“ will improve the spectroscopic database for retrieval of the data products CO, CH4, O3 and SO2 column amounts measured by the TROPOMI instrument (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) aboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor. The project was launched in February 2014 with 3 years duration extended to 4 years recently. The spectroscopy of CO, CH4 and O3 in the 2.3 ?m region is covered first while UV measurements of SO2 and UV/FIR/IR measurements of ozone will be carried out later. Measurements were mainly taken with a high resolution Fourier Transform spectrometer combined with a coolable multi reflection cell. Cavity ring down measurements served for validation. The analysis has been completed. A clear improvement can be seen when using the new data for CH4, H2O and CO retrieval from ground-based high resolution solar occultation measurements obtained with instrumentation in the TCCON and NDACC network

TROPOMI/S5P total ozone column data: global ground-based validation and consistency with other satellite missions

In this work, the TROPOMI near real time (NRTI) and offline (OFFL) total ozone column (TOC) products are presented and compared to daily ground-based quality-assured Brewer and Dobson TOC measurements deposited in the World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre (WOUDC). Additional comparisons to individual Brewer measurements from the Canadian Brewer Network and the European Brewer Network (Eubrewnet) are performed. Furthermore, twilight zenith-sky measurements obtained with ZSL-DOAS (Zenith Scattered Light Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) instruments, which form part of the SAOZ network (Système d'Analyse par Observation Zénitale), are used for the validation. The quality of the TROPOMI TOC data is evaluated in terms of the influence of location, solar zenith angle, viewing angle, season, effective temperature, surface albedo and clouds. For this purpose, globally distributed ground-based measurements have been utilized as the background truth. The overall statistical analysis of the global comparison shows that the mean bias and the mean standard deviation of the percentage difference between TROPOMI and ground-based TOC is within 0 –1.5 % and 2.5 %–4.5 %, respectively. The mean bias that results from the comparisons is well within the S5P product requirements, while the mean standard deviation is very close to those limits, especially considering that the statistics shown here originate both from the satellite and the ground-based measurements.This research has been supported by the European Space Agency “Preparation and Operations of the Mission Performance Centre (MPC) for the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor Satellite” (contract no. 4000117151/16/1-LG)

Earth observations and volcanic ash. A report from the ESA/Eumetsat Dublin workshop, 4-7 March 2013, April 2014

FOREWORD: The Eyjafjallajökull eruption in spring 2010 found the European air transportation system unprepared to deal effectively with such a large-scale event. At that time the European Space Agency and Eumetsat convened a two-day meeting in Frascati, Italy, with specialists in spacebased observations of volcanic emissions, to consider if best possible use was being made of observing systems, along with models, to inform management of the situation. The workshop demonstrated that the research community across Europe had responded extensively to the crisis on a best-effort basis, and their results offered significant promise for more effective future management of such events. A comprehensive set of recommendations was made for work to realize this research potential as operational tools that could better inform the response to any similar future situations. The present report summarizes the outcome of a follow-on workshop in March 2013, also convened by ESA and EUMETSAT, in Dublin, Ireland. This brought together representatives of the research community along with aircraft manufacturing industry, airline operators, regulators and meteorological offices, to review progress and guide on-going work within the ESA “Volcanic Ash Strategic Initiative Team” project, led by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). This report summarizes the workshop findings on progress made in the intervening three years on observations and models, as well as on the regulatory side. It shows that, while a similar event would today be met with a more adaptive and economically effective response, there remains significant opportunity to optimize the operational use of satellite, ground and airborne observations during such situations

Earth observations and volcanic ash. A report from the ESA/Eumetsat Dublin workshop, 4-7 March, 2013.

FOREWORD: The Eyjafjallajökull eruption in spring 2010 found the European air transportation system unprepared to deal effectively with such a large-scale event. At that time the European Space Agency and Eumetsat convened a two-day meeting in Frascati, Italy, with specialists in spacebased observations of volcanic emissions, to consider if best possible use was being made of observing systems, along with models, to inform management of the situation. The workshop demonstrated that the research community across Europe had responded extensively to the crisis on a best-effort basis, and their results offered significant promise for more effective future management of such events. A comprehensive set of recommendations was made for work to realize this research potential as operational tools that could better inform the response to any similar future situations. The present report summarizes the outcome of a follow-on workshop in March 2013, also convened by ESA and EUMETSAT, in Dublin, Ireland. This brought together representatives of the research community along with aircraft manufacturing industry, airline operators, regulators and meteorological offices, to review progress and guide on-going work within the ESA “Volcanic Ash Strategic Initiative Team” project, led by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). This report summarizes the workshop findings on progress made in the intervening three years on observations and models, as well as on the regulatory side. It shows that, while a similar event would today be met with a more adaptive and economically effective response, there remains significant opportunity to optimize the operational use of satellite, ground and airborne observations during such situations

The GOME-type Total Ozone Essential Climate Variable (GTO-ECV) data record from the ESA Climate Change Initiative

We present the new GOME-type Total Ozone Essential Climate Variable (GTO-ECV) data record which has been created within the framework of the European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiative (ESA-CCI). Total ozone column observations – based on the GOME-type Direct Fitting version 3 algorithm – from GOME (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment), SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption SpectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY), and GOME-2 have been combined into one homogeneous time series, thereby taking advantage of the high inter-sensor consistency. The data record spans the 15-year period from March 1996 to June 2011 and it contains global monthly mean total ozone columns on a 1°x1° grid. Geophysical ground-based validation using Brewer, Dobson, and UV–visible instruments has shown that the GTO-ECV level 3 data record is of the same high quality as the equivalent individual level 2 data products that constitute it. Both absolute agreement and long-term stability are excellent with respect to the ground-based data, for almost all latitudes apart from a few outliers which are mostly due to sampling differences between the level 2 and level 3 data. We conclude that the GTO-ECV data record is valuable for a variety of climate applications such as the long-term monitoring of the past evolution of the ozone layer, trend analysis and the evaluation of chemistry–climate model simulations