02/05/2025
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As the brand new Biomass satellite tv for pc settles into life in orbit following its launch on 29 April, ESA has launched its most intensive satellite-based maps of above-ground forest carbon to this point. Spanning practically twenty years, the dataset gives the clearest world image but of how forest carbon shares have modified over time.
Developed via ESA’s Local weather Change Initiative, this new long-term file integrates knowledge from a number of satellite tv for pc missions – and can quickly be additional enhanced by knowledge from the Biomass mission itself.
It tracks the carbon-rich woody components of vegetation, primarily trunks and branches, throughout the globe for various years between 2007 and 2022, at resolutions starting from 100 m to 50 km.
Importantly, it’s tailor-made to assist local weather and carbon modelling, forest administration, and nationwide greenhouse-gas reporting actions as a part of the United Nations Framework Conference on Local weather Change Paris Settlement.
ESA’s Frank Martin Seifert, famous, “The brand new launch, model 6, is a pivotal second for local weather science because it offers an unprecedented stage of consistency and timeliness within the provision of above-ground biomass estimates globally.
“This empowers researchers and policymakers alike to trace carbon dynamics with the temporal precision essential for significant local weather motion.”
Timber play an important position within the world carbon cycle, storing giant quantities of carbon as biomass. Whereas this carbon inventory will increase as forests develop, it may be quickly launched again into the environment via deforestation and wildfires – contributing considerably to rising carbon dioxide ranges and, subsequently, driving local weather change.
The dataset attracts from completely different Earth-observing satellites together with ESA’s Envisat and Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel-1, Japan’s ALOS PALSAR, and NASA’s ICESat and GEDI lidar missions.
Thanks to shut worldwide collaboration, notably with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Company, this newest launch considerably improves on the accuracy of biomass estimates and corrects long-standing underestimates in high-biomass areas.
Refinements to the biomass retrieval algorithm have resulted in a dataset that delivers extra constant and dependable data internationally’s forest biomes – although it stays most correct as much as 400 tonnes of biomass per hectare.
Richard Lucas of Aberystwyth College, who leads ESA’s Local weather Change Initiative Biomass Challenge, mentioned, “The brand new dataset offers a way more correct illustration of world forest biomass, notably in areas the place earlier variations underestimated high-density forests.”
Nonetheless, Prof. Lucas added that challenges stay in capturing essentially the most carbon-rich ecosystems.
“Detecting biomass densities above 400 tonnes per hectare is significantly tougher as a result of the comparatively brief wavelengths of present radar sensors don’t totally penetrate or work together with the bigger woody elements of dense tropical forests.”
Maurizio Santoro, from Gamma Distant Sensing in Switzerland, added, “When assessed towards impartial reference knowledge from all around the world, the brand new maps are of upper high quality.
“Nonetheless, higher characterisation of the states and dynamics of carbon saved in vegetation continues to be essential, which shall be facilitated by ingesting further satellite tv for pc knowledge from previous missions, and from future satellites.”
Enter ESA’s Biomass mission, which is ready to remodel how we assess the planet’s forest carbon shops.
Outfitted with the primary spaceborne P-band radar, which has a wavelength of round 70 cm, this pioneering satellite tv for pc shall be able to penetrating thick forest canopies to measure the carbon locked in even the densest vegetation.
It guarantees to drastically cut back uncertainties in forest carbon estimates, particularly in tropical areas such because the Amazon, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia.
“We hope and anticipate that knowledge from the Biomass mission, as soon as out there, will be capable to lengthen the file of biomass saved on the earth’s forests, with this lowering uncertainties within the world carbon cycle and its contribution to local weather change,” added Prof. Lucas.
The ESA Local weather Change Initiative Biomass Dataset Model 6 is free and open: access here.
Learn extra: How Biomass the mission shall be used within the Local weather Change Initiative Biomass Challenge.
