Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) are contributing significantly, developing algorithms to derive aerosol and cloud stratification from the instrument's data. A large-scale measurement campaign involving around 50 ground stations from the European ACTRIS network, coordinated by TROPOS in Leipzig, further enhances the precision of this new climate satellite.

Comprehensive Climate Monitoring with Advanced Technology
EarthCARE is equipped with four cutting-edge instruments, including a cloud profiling radar, an atmospheric lidar, a broadband radiometer, and a multispectral imager. These instruments will work in tandem to capture various measurements that contribute to a deeper understanding of how clouds and aerosols reflect solar energy and trap thermal radiation. This data is essential for assessing the effects of climate change on Earth's energy balance and forecasting how the cooling effects of clouds and aerosols might diminish in the future.

Launched into orbit on May 29, 2024, EarthCARE began delivering its first images just one month later, starting with the cloud profiling radar and followed by the broadband radiometer and multispectral imager. The ATLID atmospheric lidar, activated in August, provides highly detailed vertical profiles of aerosols and clouds. These include both natural particles, like dust and sea salt, and those from human activities, such as industrial emissions. By using short ultraviolet laser pulses, ATLID detects and analyzes reflections from atmospheric particles, offering precise measurements of aerosol distribution, type, and concentration.

The synergy between the satellite's instruments is vital for understanding the interaction between clouds, aerosols, and Earth's energy system. To support this, a new aerosol classification model called the "Hybrid End-to-End Aerosol Classification" (HETEAC) has been developed to ensure accurate aerosol typing across the instruments. ATLID's data also holds potential for improving air quality forecasts. Ulla Wandinger, a key figure in ATLID's development, expressed her excitement: "The wealth of data and the detailed insight into the structures of the atmosphere are absolutely impressive."

First Images Show Atmospheric Diversity
The initial images from August demonstrate the variety of aerosols and clouds present in the atmosphere, including Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) over Antarctica, which are key in ozone depletion, and smoke plumes from Canadian wildfires. Simonetta Cheli, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes, commented, "These profiles from the atmospheric lidar come exactly as we had anticipated... The atmospheric lidar brings us completely new insight into the vertical distribution of clouds and aerosols and, together with the other instruments, puts us on course to gaining new scientific understanding into Earth's energy balance."

Collaborative Efforts to Validate Data
To ensure the accuracy of the satellite's data, ongoing international campaigns compare EarthCARE's data with measurements from ground-based and airborne instruments. Until November, the German research aircraft HALO will conduct validation flights under EarthCARE's path over regions such as Cabo Verde and Barbados. This effort is part of the HALO-PERCUSION mission, a joint project by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M), involving various academic and research institutions.

In addition to airborne campaigns, ground-based measurement stations from the European research infrastructure ACTRIS play a crucial role in validating EarthCARE's data. Around 50 stations across Europe and beyond are part of the atmo4ACTRIS campaign. The network ensures regular overflights by EarthCARE due to the satellite's low-Earth orbit, which completes a full pass every 25 days. Dr. Holger Baars of TROPOS, coordinating the campaign from Leipzig, emphasized the importance of these stations: "Although the ACTRIS stations all work according to the same standards, some of them have very different backgrounds when it comes to validating satellite data. We are all looking forward to comparing the first EarthCARE data with the ground-based measurements."

TROPOS and its partners are contributing data from stations in Europe and overseas, including remote locations like Ny-Alesund in the Arctic and Cabo Verde in the Atlantic. These observations will be crucial for ensuring the accuracy of EarthCARE's data and further advancing climate research.

Research Report:Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS): The European Research Infrastructure Supporting Atmospheric Science

Related Links
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research
Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application