Earth Observation Plans: by
Measurement
Introduction
In late 2013 there were around 110 CEOS
agency Earth observation satellites
operating and providing important data about
Earth and its environment, helping us to
develop our understanding of the basic Earth
System and human influences on it. These
data cover measurements of a very wide range
of geophysical parameters, spanning the
whole spectrum of the environment –
atmosphere, land, oceans, and ice. This
section considers some of the key
observations contributed by Earth
observation satellites, as indicated in the
table.
This list is not exhaustive, but it does
include many key measurements of interest to
the main user groups of Earth observation
satellite data, and describes a significant
part of the capability of current and
planned instruments – including those
related to the Essential Climate Variables
that are largely measured by satellite.
This section identifies the satellite
instruments that primarily contribute data
for any particular measurement from the list
shown and indicates the plans for future
provision of that measurement over the next
15 years. Measurement continuity is a key
requirement, particularly for climate
applications and environmental change
detection, in order to detect and quantify
long-term trends. This section identifies
the prospects for achieving that continuity,
given the programmes and plans that exist in
2013 – whether it may be provided by a
single series of satellites dedicated to a
particular measurement, or whether users of
that measurement must look to various
satellite missions planned by different
agencies worldwide to satisfy their
information requirements.
The need for this continuity and the
necessity to ensure that the measurements
obtained by different agencies from
different countries can be inter-compared
and calibrated to meet the most demanding
requirements (typically for climate
applications) requires a significant degree
of coordination in mission planning and data
provision. Harmonisation and maximum
cost-effectiveness for the total set of
space-based observation programmes is the
objective of CEOS.
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Measurement categories
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ATMOSPHERE
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Aerosol properties
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Atmospheric temperature fields
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Atmospheric humidity fields
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Atmospheric winds
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Cloud type, amount and cloud-top
temperature
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Cloud particle properties and
profile
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Liquid water and precipitation
rate
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Ozone
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Radiation budget
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Trace gases (excluding ozone)
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LAND
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Albedo and reflectance
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Land topography
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Soil moisture
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Vegetation
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Surface temperature (land)
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Multi-purpose imagery (land)
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OCEAN
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Ocean colour/biology
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Ocean topography/currents
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Ocean salinity
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Ocean surface vector winds
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Surface temperature (ocean)
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Ocean wave height and spectrum
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Multi-purpose imagery (ocean)
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SNOW AND ICE
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Ice sheet topography
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Snow cover, edge and depth
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Sea ice cover, edge and thickness
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GRAVITY AND MAGNETIC FIELDS
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Gravity, magnetic and geodynamic
measurements
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