- 4253 - EARTH CARE MISSION - Europe's “Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer” mission will take to the skies in 2024 to advance our understanding of the interactions between clouds, aerosols and radiation in Earth's atmosphere.
------------------------- 4253 - EARTH CARE MISSION
- Clouds remain one
of the biggest uncertainties in how the atmosphere drives the climate system. A
better understanding of the relationship between clouds, aerosols and radiation
is a high priority in both climate research and weather prediction.
-
- What happens to
infrared radiation when emitted from Earth's surface and trapped by clouds?
What role do aerosols play in reflecting solar radiation back to space? How do these processes affect climate and
weather?
The EarthCARE mission
will provide novel observations to answer some of these critical scientific
questions. EarthCARE is equipped with four state-of-the-art instruments, each
designed to provide unique insights into the complex interactions between
clouds, aerosols and radiation.
-
- “Atmospheric
lidar” -
The atmospheric lidar is an advanced lidar (light detection and ranging)
system designed to measure the vertical profile of aerosols and clouds in
Earth's atmosphere along the EarthCARE track.
-
- By emitting light
pulses and analyzing the reflected signals, this unique lidar can precisely
provide the distribution and properties of aerosols and clouds, including their
altitude, thickness and detailed optical properties and aerosol type. This
information is crucial for improving climate models and understanding the role
of aerosols and clouds in Earth's energy balance.
-
- “Cloud profiling
radar” -
Provided by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), the cloud profiling radar
is a key instrument that enables EarthCARE to observe the internal structure of
clouds.
-
- Operating in the
millimeter-wavelength range, the cloud profiling radar penetrates through
clouds and light precipitation providing detailed insights into their vertical
structure and velocity, particle size distribution and water content. This
radar is essential for studying cloud processes, such as the formation and
dissipation of clouds, and contributes valuable data for improving weather and
climate models.
-
- “Multispectral
imager” - Whereas the lidar and radar will provide
profiles of the atmosphere in a rather thin curtain, directly underneath the
satellite, EarthCARE's multispectral imager provides a much wide field of view
to give context to the profile measurements.
-
- The multispectral
imager captures high-resolution images in multiple spectral bands in the
visible and infrared spectrum, which will allow scientists to differentiate
between various types of clouds, aerosols and Earth's surface.
-
- The imager provides
additional information about the optical properties of clouds and aerosols,
aiding in the characterization of their composition and distribution. It will
allow the generation of a three-dimensional cloud and aerosol field using the
atmospheric lidar and cloud profiling radar data. These data are crucial for
understanding the radiative impact of clouds and aerosols on Earth's climate
system.
-
- “Broadband
radiometer” - This radiometer plays a crucial role in
EarthCARE's mission by measuring the radiative fluxes at the top of Earth's
atmosphere. As the satellite travels along its orbit, the radiometer views the
atmosphere from three directions, allowing it to accurately quantify the amount
of reflected solar radiation and the outgoing thermal radiation emitted by
Earth.
-
- This is known as
the planet's energy balance. Comparing this to the radiation calculated from
the combined observations of the other instruments will help scientists improve
our current understanding of the aerosol-cloud-radiation interaction.
-
- EarthCARE is the
largest and most complex Earth Explorer, developed within ESA's Earth
Observation FutureEO program. The mission comes at a critical time in the
development of kilometer-scale resolution, global climate models and will
provide an important contribution to an improved understanding of cloud
convection and its role in Earth's radiation budget.
-
-
December 4, 2023
EARTH CARE
MISSION
4253
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Tuesday, December 5, 2023 ---------------------------------
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