System Vicarious Calibration for Copernicus Ocean Colour Missions: Updated Requirements and Recommendations for a European Site

The Copernicus Program has been established through the Regulation EU No377/2014 with the objective to ensure long-term and sustained provision of accurate and reliable data on environment and security through dedicated services. Among these, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service and the marine component of the Climate Change Service, both rely on satellite ocean colour observations to deliver data on water quality and climate relevant quantities such as chlorophyll-a concentration used as a proxy for phytoplankton biomass. Satellite ocean colour missions require in situ highly accurate radiometric measurements for the indirect calibration (so called System Vicarious Calibration (SVC)) of the space sensor. This process is essential to minimize the combined effects of uncertainties affecting the space sensor calibration and those resulting from the inaccuracy of processing algorithms and models applied for the generation of data products. SVC is thus a fundamental element to maximize the return on investments for the Copernicus Program by delivering to the user science community satellite ocean colour data with accuracy granting achievement of target objectives from applications addressing environmental and climate change issues. The long-term Copernicus Program foresees multiple ocean colour missions (i.e., the Sentinel-3 satellites carrying the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI)). The need to ensure the highest accuracy to satellite derived data products contributing to the construction of Climate Data Records (CDRs), suggests the realization, deployment and sustain of a European in situ infrastructure supporting SVC for Sentinel-3 missions, fully independent from similar facilities established and maintained by other space agencies (e.g., that operated in the Pacific Ocean by US agencies). It is emphasized that the need to cope with long-term Copernicus objectives on data accuracy, implies very stringent requirements for the in situ infrastructure and location providing reference measurements for SVC. These requirements, in fact, are much higher than those imposed by SVC for a single mission. The content of this Report, which is a revised version of a previous one (Zibordi et al. 2017), builds on the long-standing experience of the JRC on ocean colour radiometry. This experience counts on decadal field and laboratory measurements performed in support of validation and SVC applications, and additionally on activities comprehensively embracing measurement protocols, instruments characterization and the initiation of autonomous measurement infrastructures. Overall, this Report summarizes a number of recent investigations led by the JRC on SVC requirements for the creation of CDRs. The final objective is to consolidate in a single document the elements essential fJRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

System Vicarious Calibration for Copernicus Ocean Colour Missions: Requirements and Recommendations for a European Site

The Copernicus Program has been established through the Regulation EU No377/2014 with the objective to ensure long-term and sustained provision of accurate and reliable data on environment and security through dedicated services. Among these, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service and the marine component of the Climate Change Service, both rely on satellite ocean colour observations to deliver data on water quality and climate relevant quantities such as chlorophyll-a concentration used as a proxy for phytoplankton biomass. Satellite ocean colour missions require in situ highly accurate radiometric measurements for the indirect calibration (so called System Vicarious Calibration (SVC)) of the space sensor. This process is essential to minimize the combined effects of uncertainties affecting the space sensor calibration and those resulting from the inaccuracy of processing algorithms and models applied for the generation of data products. SVC is thus a fundamental element to maximize the return on investments for the Copernicus Program by delivering to the user science community satellite ocean colour data with accuracy granting achievement of target objectives from applications addressing environmental and climate change issues. The long-term Copernicus Program foresees multiple ocean colour missions (i.e., the Sentinel-3 satellites carrying the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI)). The need to ensure the highest accuracy to satellite derived data products contributing to the construction of Climate Data Records (CDRs), suggests the realization, deployment and sustain of a European in situ infrastructure supporting SVC for Sentinel-3 missions, fully independent from similar facilities established and maintained by other space agencies (e.g., that operated in the Pacific Ocean by US agencies). It is emphasized that the need to cope with long-term Copernicus objectives on data accuracy, implies very stringent requirements for the in situ infrastructure and location providing reference measurements for SVC. These requirements, in fact, are much higher than those imposed by SVC for a single mission. The content of this Report builds on the long-standing experience of the JRC on ocean colour radiometry. This experience counts on decadal field and laboratory measurements performed in support of validation and SVC applications, and additionally on activities comprehensively embracing measurement protocols, instruments characterization and the initiation of autonomous measurement infrastructures. Overall, this Report summarizes a number of recent investigations led by the JRC on SVC requirements for the creation of CDRs. The final objective is to consolidate in a single document the elements essential for the realization of a European SVC infrastructure in support of the Copernicus Program. Briefly, the various Chapters summarize: • General requirements for a long-term SVC infrastructure, which indicate the need for spatially homogenous oceanic optical properties, seasonal stability of marine and atmospheric geophysical quantities, negligible land perturbations, hyperspectral radiometry, and low measurement uncertainties; • Spectral resolution requirements for in situ SVC hyperspectral measurements as a function of bandwidths and center-wavelengths of most advanced satellite sensors, which specify the need for sub-nanometre resolutions to allow for supporting any scheduled satellite ocean color sensor; • Suitable SVC locations in European Seas showing the fitness of regions in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to satisfy fundamental requirements.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

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

analysis of two years of ascat and smos derived soil moisture estimates over europe and north africa

More than two years of soil moisture data derived from the Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT) and from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) radiometer are analysed and compared. The comparison has been performed within the framework of an activity aiming at validating the EUMETSAT Hydrology Satellite Application Facility (H-SAF) soil moisture product derived from ASCAT. The available database covers a large part of the SMOS mission lifetime (2010, 2011 and partially 2012) and both Europe and North Africa are considered. A specific strategy has been set up in order to enable the comparison between products representing a volumetric soil moisture content, as those derived from SMOS, and a relative saturation index, as those derived from ASCAT. Results demonstrate that the two products show a fairly good degree of correlation. Their consistency has some dependence on season, geographical zone and surface land cover. Additional factors, such as spatial property features, are also preliminary investigated

An evaluation of soil moisture downscaling techniques using L.Band Airbone observations

Peer Reviewe

Surface topography and mixed-pixel effects on the simulated L-band brightness temperatures.

The impact of topography and mixed pixels on L-band radiometric observations over land needs to be quantified to improve the accuracy of soil moisture retrievals. For this purpose, a series of simulations has been performed with an improved version of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) End-to-End Performance Simulator (SEPS). The brightness temperature (TB) generator of SEPS has been modified to include a 100-m-resolution land cover map and a 30-m-resolution digital elevation map of Catalonia (northeast of Spain). This highresolution TB generator allows the assessment of the errors in soil moisture retrieval algorithms due to limited spatial resolution and provides a basis for the development of pixel disaggregation techniques. Variation of the local incidence angle, shadowing, and atmospheric effects (up- and downwelling radiation) due to surface topography has been analyzed. THE AVAILABILITY of high-resolution brightness temperature (TB) maps at L-band is crucial to analyze important issues dealing with bare and vegetation-covered land emission and to develop inversion algorithms in preparation for real Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission data. Mixed-pixel, coastlines, shadowing, and topography effects on the measured brightness temperatures need further study, but the lack of global geophysical data at sufficient temporal and spatial resolution and the large amount of data involved in the generation of high-resolution TB maps on a global basis complicate the issue. In fact, in spite of the existence of global digital elevation models with sufficient spatial resolution, accurate land cover data do not exist for most parts of the world. To address these issues, a series of simulations has been performed with an improved version of the SMOS End-to-End Performance Simulator (SEPS) [1], [2], in which, to date, all points on Earth have been assumed to be at sea level. The study has been done over the region of Catalonia, on the northeastern coast of Spain, because of its many different land cover types, topography, and the presence of a coastline. A 30-m-resolution digital elevation map [3] and a 100-m-resolution land coverage map of Catalonia [4] have been used as inputs, and SEPS has been conveniently modified to generate high-resolution TB maps of this area. A variety of soil and land cover types (crops, bushes, marshes, etc.) have been parameterized using the values obtained from field experiments and literature [5]–[10], [12].The impact of topography and mixed pixels on L-band radiometric observations over land needs to be quantified to improve the accuracy of soil moisture retrievals. For this purpose, a series of simulations has been performed with an improved version of the soil moisture and ocean salinity (SMOS) end-to-end performance simulator (SEPS). The brightness temperature generator of SEPS has been modified to include a 100-m-resolution land cover map and a 30-m-resolution digital elevation map of Catalonia (northeast of Spain). This high-resolution generator allows the assessment of the errors in soil moisture retrieval algorithms due to limited spatial resolution and provides a basis for the development of pixel disaggregation techniques. Variation of the local incidence angle, shadowing, and atmospheric effects (up- and downwelling radiation) due to surface topography has been analyzed. Results are compared to brightness temperatures that are computed under the assumption of an ellipsoidal Earth

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

Peer Reviewe

Lapsen yksilöllinen huomioon ottaminen ja tukeminen suuressa päiväkotiryhmässä : uuden toimintakulttuurin kehittämisprojekti 2010-2011

TIIVISTELMÄ Eskel, Paulina. Lapsen yksilöllinen huomioon ottaminen ja tukeminen suuressa päiväkotiryhmässä. Uuden toimintakulttuurin kehittämisprojekti 2010–2011, Helsinki, kevät 2011, 77 s. Diakonia-ammattikorkeakoulu, Diak Etelä Helsinki. Sosiaalialan koulutusohjelma, sosionomi (AMK) + Lastentarhanopettajan virkakelpoisuus. Tämän kehittämishankkeen tarkoituksena oli kehittää Helsingin kaupungin päiväkoti Pääskylän yläkerran 29 lapsen ryhmän toiminta sellaiseksi, että se mahdollistaisi lasten yksilöllisen huomioimisen ja tukemisen päiväkodin arjessa. Uuden toimintakulttuurin kehittämisprojekti koettiin tarpeelliseksi suuren lapsiryhmän toimivuuden sekä lasten yksilöllisen huomioimisen kannalta. Työntekijöiden aiempien vuosien kokemuksista syntyi kehittämistarpeita ja muutosideoita. Kehittämishankkeessa korostettiin erityisesti toimintaympäristön ja perusrakenteiden kehittämistä, aikuisten ja lasten välistä vuorovaikutusta, lasten osallisuutta päiväkodin arjessa, lasten yksilöllisyyttä sekä koko ryhmän yhteisöllisyyttä. Kehittämisprojektissa saavutettiin tavoitteet tuloksellisesti, ja lasten yksilöllinen huomioiminen sekä tukeminen päiväkodin suuressa ryhmässä mahdollistuivat muutosten myötä aiempaa paremmin. Uusi toimintakulttuuri vaikutti kokonaisvaltaisesti positiivisesti ryhmän lapsiin, aikuisiin ja vanhempiin. Kehittämishankkeen aikana kasvattajayhteisön kehittyminen vahvistui, ja sen merkitys tälle kehittämisprojektille oli tärkeä. Myös koko ryhmän yhteisöllisyyden merkitys ja sen kehittäminen nousivat projektin myötä jatkokehittämistä vaativaksi aiheeksi. Tämän kehittämishankkeen aikana tehdyt muutokset ja uudet ideat vaikuttivat toimivan hyvin sekä tarkoituksenmukaisesti ja niistä on mahdollista ottaa mallia muihinkin päiväkoteihin. Toimintakulttuuri on siis osoittautunut toimivaksi suuressa päiväkotiryhmässä, ja lapset saavat tällä tavoin enemmän yksilöllistä huomiointia ja tukea. Työ perustuu reflektiiviseen kehittämiseen, ja arviointimenetelmänä on käytetty prosessiarviointia. Avainsanat: toimintakulttuuri, päivähoito, vuorovaikutus, lapset, osallisuus, yksilöllisyys, yhteisöllisyys, kehittäminen, varhaiskasvatusABSTRACT Eskel, Paulina Individual attention and support of a child in a large nursery group: development project of a new operational culture 2010-2011. 77 p. Language: Finnish. Helsinki, Spring 2011. Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. Degree Programme in Social Services. Degree: Bachelor of Social Services. The aim of this development project was to develop the operating culture of a large children´s group at Pääskylä daycare centre in Helsinki. The objective was to improve individual attention and support of a child in the daily life of the daycare centre. Based on previous years´ experiences, the need for the development project of the new operation culture was evident. The methods of this project were reflective development and process evaluation. In my work I emphasized in particular the development of the daycare centre environment and structures, adult and child interaction, child inclusion in day care, children's individuality and the whole group community. The results of this project were positive, resulting in a more successful individual consideration of the children than during previous years. A new operating culture in Pääskylä´s group seemed to have a positive impact on children and adults of the group as well as children´s families. Workplace community development was seen as important in this project as well as the community cohesion of the whole group of adults and children. Therefore, this seems to be the next issue to develop in Pääskylä´s large group. The changes and new ideas in this project seemed to function well and appropriately giving a model for other daycare centers too. This indicates that the new way to work in daycare should be functional. Keywords: individuality, community, child inclusion, interaction, operating cultur

Toward an assessment of the fitness-for-purpose of Copernicus ocean colour data

The Copernicus Program has been established through the Regulation EU No377/2014 with the objective to ensure long-term and sustained provision of accurate and reliable data on environment and security through dedicated services. Among these, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service and the marine component of the Climate Change Service, both rely on satellite ocean colour observations delivering data on water quality and climate relevant quantities such as chlorophyll-a concentration used as a proxy for phytoplankton biomass. This Report, building on the long-standing experience of the JRC on ocean colour, summarizes a number of recent investigations essential to assess the fitness-for-purpose of Copernicus ocean colour data products. These investigations embrace: i. The accuracy of radiometry data from the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) on board Sentinel-3a. The assessment is performed relying on geographically distributed in situ reference measurements from autonomous systems and dedicated oceanographic campaigns. ii. Uncertainty analysis of ocean colours radiometry data from a number of international missions. The analysis aims at assessing the potentials for the construction of Climate Data Records (CDRs) from independent missions. iii. The impact of adjacency effects in coastal data limiting the accuracy of ocean colour radiometry products. The study relies on state-of-the-art radiative transfer simulations and aims at quantifying adjacency effects in space data from sensors exhibiting different signal-to-noise ratios. iv. Uncertainties affecting in situ radiometry data as a result of the lack of comprehensive characterizations of field instruments. This is an attempt to illustrate the fundamental importance of comprehensive radiometric calibrations and characterizations for in situ instruments supporting validation activities. v. Reproducibility of the experimental determination of pigments concentrations for the validation of satellite data products. The analysis documents the differences affecting the quantification of pigments concentrations through the applicationJRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource