Biomass related missions

Frank Martin Seifert

Earth Observation Directorate ESA-ESRIN, Frascati

Cool Forests at risk? – Laxenburg, 20 September 2018

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use Near Future Biomass Missions

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 2 Near Future Biomass Missions

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 3 Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation • GEDI is a High Resolution Laser Ranging of the Earth’s Forests and Topography • Instrument on ISS (observations: +/- 51.5o) • Waveform laser • Launch scheduled for November 27, 2018

GEDI Goal: Advance our ability to characterize the effects of changing climate and land use on ecosystem structure and dynamics

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 4 SAOCOM

• A constellation of two identical satellites, SAOCOM 1A and SAOCOM 1B, carrying each one a polarimetric L-band SAR instrument • Sun synchronous, nearly circular frozen polar orbit (attitude 620 km) • repeat cycle of 16 days for each satellite (8 days for the constellation) • Launch SAOCOM 1A end-2018

SAOCOM Mission Objectives Natural resources mapping, Emergency mitigation, volcanoes, maritime surveillance, etc

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 5 NISAR

• NISAR is a requirement driven mission o Ecosystems, o Ice Sheets o Solid Earth Dynamics o Applications • dual - band SAR mission with interferometric and polarimetric capabilities • L- & S-band 12-day orbital repeat • 240 km swath using SweepSAR NISAR Biomass Requirement • Dominant observing mode is L-band dual-pol in 10 m resolution NISAR will estimate global above ground biomass up to • Launch in late-2021 (December) 100 t/ha at a 1 ha resolution, • 3TB/day data downlink with an accuracy of 20 t/ha.

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 6 ALOS-4

• ALOS-4 is in continuation and enhancement of Japan’s history of L-Band SAR Missions • Polarimetric L-Band mission • Global mission • Launch end 2020

ALOS-4 Mission Objectives • Land deformation • Environmental Monitoring • Marine monitoring with AIS

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 7 MOLI

• Multi-footprint Observation LIDAR and Imager • JAXA LIDAR mission to fly on the International Space Station, Japan Experimental Module (ISS-JEM) • Double beam LIDAR o Wavelength: 1064nm o Pulse width: less than 7ns MOLI o PRF: 150 Hz o Double beam (2 foot prints) • Mission Design Review completed May 2017 • Operations foreseen from around 2020 i-SEEP (IVA-replaceable Small Exposed Experiment Platform) ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 8 Earth Explorer BIOMASS

BIOMASS is the 7th Earth Explorer • Biomass based on global  First P-band SAR in space interferometric and polarimetric P-Band radar observations  Full polarimetric (HH, HV, VV) • Essential to understand  6 MHz bandwidth the Earth’s carbon cycle  Level 1: 50 x 50 m2 resolution • To be launched in 2022  Multi-pass interferometry with a three days repeat cycle

BIOMASS products  Two mission phases: • Above ground forest biomass - Tomography (year 1), • Upper canopy height - Interferometry (year 2-5) • Areas of forest clearing

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 9 Biomass Products First P-band SAR in space Level 2/3 products to be delivered

Forest biomass Forest height Disturbances

Above-ground biomass Upper canopy height Areas of forest clearing (tons/hectare) (meter) (hectare) • 200 m resolution • 200 m resolution • 50 m resolution • 1 map every 7 months • 1 map every 7 months • 1 map every 7 months • global coverage of forested areas • global coverage of forested areas • global coverage of forested areas • accuracy of 20%, • accuracy of 20-30% • 90% classification accuracy or 10 t ha–1 for biomass < 50 t ha–1

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 10 Synergistic Forest Observations NISAR: Global Coverage, sensitivity to AGB < 100 Mg/ha BIOMASS: Tropical and East Eurasia Coverage, Sensitivity to AGB > 50 Mg/ha GEDI: Sampling between 50 deg North and South, Sensitivity to AGB > 20 Mg/ha

ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 11 Expected Biomass Geographic Accuracy Mission Agency SynergisticLaunch Data Forest Type ObservationsProduct Domain Requirement Date Resolution <20% RMS NASA/ 1 ha (<100 NISAR 2021 L-band SAR Global accuracy for ISRO Mg/ha) <100 Mg/ha 1064 nm <20% SE for Nov 27, ISS (+/- GEDI NASA waveform 1 km 80% of forested 2018 ~51.6) lidar 1 km cells Global Accuracy of 20%; BIOMASS ESA 2022 P-band SAR 4 ha (- defense 10 Mg/ha for <50 issues) Mg/ha 1064 nm ISS (+/- MOLI JAXA 2020? waveform 500 m NA ~51.6) lidar SAOCOM CONAE 2018 L-band SAR NA Global NA 532 nm Sept 15, ICESat-2 NASA photon NA Global Global ESA UNCLASSIFIED - For Official Use 2018 counting lidar FM Seifert | 20/09/2018 | Slide 12 20% accuracy or 20 TanDEM-L DLR 2022-2023? L-band SAR 1 ha Global Mg/ha