SMOS: Measuring Sea Surface Salinity from Space

Martech 2007 International Workshop on Marine Technology, 15-16 november 2007, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain.-- 2 pagesIn May 1999, the European Space Agency (ESA) selected SMOS as an Earth Explorer Opportunity mission. One of its goals is the generation of global Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) maps. The sensor embarked is an L-band interferometric radiometer with full-polarimetric capability called MIRAS. The retrieval of SSS from microwave measurements is based on the fact that the brightness temperature (TB) of seawater is a function of the dialectric constant, temperature and sea surface state (roughness, foam,...). The sensitivity of TB to SSS is maximum at L-band, but it is necessary to quantify the other effects to have a reliable SSS retrieval. In order to improve the present understanding of these effects on TB, ESA sponsored to WISE (Wind and Salinity Experiment) 2000 and 2001 and EuroSTARS field campaigns. These experimental results are of great importance for the development of sea surface emissivity models that will be used in the future SMOS SSS retrieval algorithms. This paper presents an overview of campaign performed as well as the activities there has been developedPeer reviewe

Study of salinity retrieval errors for the SMOS mission

Memoria de tesis doctoral presentada por Carolina Gabarró Prats para obtener el título de Doctora por la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), realizada bajo la dirección del Dr. Jordi Font Ferré del Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) y del Dr. Adriano Camps Carmona.-- 201 pages[CAT] El treball realitzat en aquesta tesi està emmarcat en la missió SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) de l’Agència Espacial Europea. El satèl•lit es llançarà el febrer del 2007, i mesurarà la salinitat superficial del mar i la humitat del sòl. L’instrument (MIRAS) consisteix en un radiòmetre interferomètric en banda L (1,400-1,430 GHz). Serà la primera vegada que es posarà en òrbita un instrument d’aquestes característiques i que es mesuraran aquests paràmetres des de l’espai. No obstant, encara son molts els aspectes científics que queden per resoldre. Aquesta tesi, doncs, ha intentat abordar alguns del temes oberts en la recuperació de la salinitat a partir de les mesures de SMOS. [...][EN] This PhD thesis has been done in the framework of the SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission, from the European Space Agency. This satellite will be launched in February 2007 and will provide global sea surface salinity and soil moisture maps, variables that never have been measured before from space. The payload instrument (MIRAS) is an L-band interferometric radiometer. This will be the first time an instrument with this characteristics is put in orbit. However, there are still a lot of issues that need to be solved. This thesis is focused on some open questions of the salinity retrieval process from SMOS measurements. [...]Peer reviewe

Satellite salinity to monitor the freshwater fluxes in the Arctic Ocean

Ocean Salinity Conference, 6-9 June 2022, New York, USAPeer reviewe

Magnetic molecules on surfaces: SMMs and beyond

In this critical review we cover the state of the art of surface deposition of complex magnetic molecules. Deposition methods are reviewed, as well as the most used types of surfaces, including the use of nanoparticle supports. The relevant characterization methods for molecules on surfaces are reviewed along with the molecules deposited and their most relevant examples. The perspectives of the field close the review article, the reader will get an overview of what has been done in the field of surface deposition of magnetic molecules and will acquire the tools to design their own experiments

A new empirical model of sea surface microwave emissivity for salinity remote sensing

SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) is a European Space Agency mission that aims at generating global ocean salinity maps with an accuracy of 0.1 psu, at spatial and temporal resolution suitable for climatic studies. The satellite sensor is an L-band (1400-1427 MHz) aperture synthesis interferometric radiometer. Sea surface salinity (SSS) can be retrieved since the brightness temperature of sea water is dependent on the frequency, angle of observation, dielectric constant of sea water, sea surface temperature and sea surface state. This paper presents a new empirical sea water emissivity model at L-band in which surface roughness effects are parameterized in terms of wind speed and significant wave height. For the SMOS mission these parameters can be obtained from external measurements and model diagnostics. An analysis has been done on the effect on SSS retrieval of different sources for this auxiliary information. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical UnionThis study was funded by ESA-ESTEC under WISE (14188/00/NL/DC) and EuroSTARRS (15950/02/NL/SF) contracts, and by the Spanish National Program on Space Research under grant ESP2001-4523-PEPeer Reviewe

Issues in the balancing of the SMOS ocean salinity trieval cost function

Peer Reviewe

A multifunctional Dysprosium-carboxylato 2D metallorganic framework

We report the microwave assisted synthesis of a bidimensional (2D) MOF of formula [Dy(MeCOO)(PhCOO)2 ]n (1) and its magnetically diluted analogue [La0.9 Dy0.1 (MeCOO)(PhCOO)2 ] (1 d). 1 is a 2D material with single-ion-magnet (SIM) behaviour and 1 d is a multifunctional, magnetic and luminescent 2D material. 1 can be exfoliated into stable nanosheets by sonication

De campañas de medidas a productos de salinidad: un tributo a las contribuciones de Jordi Font a la mision SMOS

Camps, Adriano ... et al.-- Special volume: Planet Ocean. Scientia Marina 80(Suppl.1) 2016.-- 14 pages, 20 figures[EN] This article summarizes some of the activities in which Jordi Font, research professor and head of the Department of Physical and Technological Oceanography, Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC, Spanish National Research Council) in Barcelona, has been involved as co-Principal Investigator for Ocean Salinity of the European Space Agency Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Earth Explorer Mission from the perspective of the Remote Sensing Lab at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. We have probably left out some of his many contributions to salinity remote sensing, but we hope that this review will give an idea of the importance of his work. We focus on the following issues: 1) the new accurate measurements of the sea water dielectric constant, 2) the WISE and EuroSTARRS field experiments that helped to define the geophysical model function relating brightness temperature to sea state, 3) the FROG 2003 field experiment that helped to understand the emission of sea foam, 4) GNSS-R techniques for improving sea surface salinity retrieval, 5) instrument characterization campaigns, and 6) the operational implementation of the Processing Centre of Levels 3 and 4 at the SMOS Barcelona Expert Centre[ES] Este artículo resume algunas de las actividades en las que Jordi Font, profesor de investigación y jefe del Departamento de Física y Tecnología Oceanográfica, del Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC) en Barcelona, ha estado desarrollando como co-Investigador Principal de la parte de la misión SMOS de la ESA, una misión Earth Explorer, desde la perspectiva del Remote Sensing Lab, de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Seguramente, estamos olvidando algunas de sus muchas contribuciones a la teledetección de la salinidad, pero esperamos que esta revisión dé una idea de la importancia de su trabajo. Este artículo se focaliza en los siguientes puntos: 1) las medidas de alta calidad de la constante dieléctrica del agua marina, 2) las campañas de medidas WISE y EuroSTARRS que ayudaron a la definición del modelo geofísico relacionando la temperatura de brillo con el estado del mar, 3) la campaña de medidas FROG 2003 que ayudó a entender la emisión de la espuma marina 4) presentación de las técnicas de GNSS-R para la mejora de la recuperación de la salinidad superficial 5) campañas para la caracterización del instrumento y 6) la implantación del centro de procesado operacional de niveles 3 y 4 en el SMOS Barcelona Expert CentreThis work has been performed under research grants TEC2005-06863-C02-01/TCM, ESP2005-06823-C05 and ESP2007-65667-C04, AYA2008-05906-C02-01/ESP, AYA2010-22062-C05 and ESP2015-70014-C2-1-R, and EURYI 2004 awardPeer Reviewe

2000 days of SMOS at the Barcelona Expert Centre: a tribute to the work of Jordi Font

Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) is the first satellite mission capable of measuring sea surface salinity and soil moisture from space. Its novel instrument (the L-band radiometer MIRAS) has required the development of new algorithms to process SMOS data, a challenging task due to many processing issues and the difficulties inherent in a new technology. In the wake of SMOS, a new community of users has grown, requesting new products and applications, and extending the interest in this novel brand of satellite services. This paper reviews the role played by the Barcelona Expert Centre under the direction of Jordi Font, SMOS co-principal investigator. The main scientific activities and achievements and the future directions are discussed, highlighting the importance of the oceanographic applications of the mission.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version