39 th Conference of Directors of EU Paying Agencies ESTEC, 25 May 2016 M. Drusch, Principal Scientist Earth Observation Programmes Directorate Science, Applications, and Future Technologies Department EOP-SME ESA’s Earth Observation Missions Supporting Food Security and Agriculture

Satellite observations (and agriculture) +Satellites provide unique global measurements at the relevant spatial and temporal scales with adequate data latency. +Satellite measurements describe the actual state of a system: land use classification, discrimination of crops, forest harvest monitoring, forest fire damage, mapping of floods and droughts, precipitation, etc.... +Measurements provide accurate initial conditions for forecasting models: weather forecasting, crop yield modeling, flood forecasts, forest fire risk assessment, trafficability, etc.... Satellite instruments do not measure geophysical parameters directly. The retrievals are often complex and expert knowledge is needed for the interpretation. Ground truth / in-situ observations are needed for the interpretation of the signal. Often (local) time-series are needed for the parameter retrieval resulting in a limited spatial transferability of results.

ESA Earth Observation Programmes Meteorological Programme Copernicus Programme Earth Observation Envelope Programme

Sentinel-1 Monitoring of marine environment (e.g. oil spills, sea ice zones) Surveillance of maritime transport zones (e.g. European and North Atlantic zones) Land Monitoring (e.g. land cover, surface deformation risk) Mapping in support of crisis situations (e.g. natural disasters and humanitarian aid) Monitoring of Polar environment (e.g. ice shelves and glaciers) Provide routinely and systematically C-band SAR data to GMES services and National services focussing on:

Sentinel-1 Monitoring Rice Crops in the Red River Delta

Sentinel-2 Wide swath high resolution super-spectral imaging mission Land and Security Services Data continuity Landsat and SPOT-type missions Launched 23 June 2015 Unique combination of spectral coverage, spatial resolution and temporal revisit time

Sentinel-2 Spatial Resolution Landsat-8 Sentinel-2 Atzberger, 2016

Sentinel-2 Crop map Prague Based on ~ 1000 scenes from Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 from 2015

SMOS – Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity Data delivery since February 2010 Complete Earth coverage within three days Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) mitigation continues Outstanding international cooperation Mission extension until 2017 Wide range of products and applications including drought monitoring, crop yield forecasting, weather prediction, forest fire risk assessment...

Using SMOS data for yield prediction Credit: USDA FAS Credit: USDA FAS, Soil moisture in southern Africa in mid-April SMOS data used to predict drought and improve crop yield by US Department of Agriculture, Crop Explorer website: © CESBIO

FLEX- Fluorescence Explorer (Earth Explorer 8; Launch in 2021) Control herbicide Scientific Objectives:  FLEX will quantify actual photosynthetic activity of terrestrial ecosystems  FLEX will provide physiological indicators for vegetation health status  by direct measurements of vegetation fluorescence at relevant spatial scales

Fluorescence tracks the functional changes of photosynthesis Rossini et al. (2015) Geophysical Research Letters, 42, doi: /2014GL Low concentration Higher concentration Control Herbicide Far-red fluorescenceRed fluorescence

Conclusions  Satellite measurements are the only data source allowing a systematic and continuous monitoring of the Earth’s surface at continental to global scales.  The Sentinel missions provide measurements: Across a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum; In a timely fashion; At a high quality; With guaranteed continuity; Forming an ideal basis for agricultural applications and credible decision making.  The Earth Explorer missions complement the Sentinels: Providing new measurement techniques; Advanced products; Leading to new capabilities and applications.  The data volume is large: Sentinel-1 – up to 2.4 TB / day (for two satellites) Sentinel-2 – 1.6 TB / day (for two satellites)

Thank you for your attention 14

The electromagnetic spectrum Clouds

Sentinel-2 Atmospheric Correction Atzberger, 2016 B02: 30/08/2015 B10: 30/08/2015 Vienna