Opportunities for research with Meteosat Second Generation
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) have jointly opened a research announcement of opportunity (RAO) to use data from the Meteosat second generation satellite system (MSG). The objective of their announcement is to foster innovative research in a range of research areas including hydrology, land surface processes and atmospheric, oceanographic and climate research. A series of three satellites are expected to be launched after the first (called MSG-1), and will provide observations over a period of at least twelve years. MSG-1 should be deployed in October 2000 with an Ariane launcher. The main instrument it will carry is a SEVIRI imager, with the ability to provide ten times as much information as the current Meteosat satellites. The ESA and EUMETSTA, who developed the MSG, say it will offer new capabilities to characterise processes in the lower atmosphere as well as improved thermal infra-red calibration and radiometric performances. It will also be able to observe the Earth's radiative fluxes. The organisations expect the announcement to trigger the demonstration of innovative MSG products beyond traditional imagery and weather forecasts, and to contribute towards improved calibration and validation. The selected investigators will be invited to present their results in workshops or conferences jointly organised by EUMETSAT and ESA. The first workshop is provisionally scheduled for 2000 - before the launch of MSG-1.