Objective To develop remote sensing based approaches to the study of the terrestrial and marine biospheres with particular emphasis on changes in vegetation distribution and regional (north east Atlantic) and temporal variations of sea surface temperature and biological activity. To facilitate this a suite of models will be developed to link surface conditions and dynamics to climate, and to relate hydro-dynamic and ecosystem processes to earth observation observation data.The processing of the Advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) global area coverage (GAC) time series for West Africa has been completed. Temporal series analysis has been performed improve upon the noise introduced in the data by the earth satellite system and by the particular sampling. The vegetation index times series has been exploited to derive land cover characteristics of that part of Africa. A new processing chain incorporating algorithms developed in the project and outside is being designed systematically to process the GAC data as the continental level. Series of selected AVHRR GAC images over the transition zone between the tropical forest and the savanna of the northern equatorial belt of Africa have been analysed to assess their information content in terms of vegetation cover type and conditions, and biomass burning. Continental patterns of biomass burning have been identified and linked to human activities in different biomes. Together with AVHRR HRPT images from local stations, the GAC selections has led to a series of scales studies linking resolution to information content. Mathematical modelling of the physics of radiation transfer has led to the development of vegetation indices less sensitive to atmospheric and directional effects; methods of numerical inversion for the extraction of surface parameters relevant to climate processes have been explored. Spatiotemporal analyses of surface characteristics have been conducted in the framework of agroecosystem analysis in arid regions.A study is being conducted on air sea energy fluxes and skin sea surface temperature as observed by ERS-l's along track scanning radiometer (ATSR). This is being carried in area of the eastern North Atlantic where IRSA has been performing sea surface temperasture studies since 1981. This will allow the comparison of the new ATSR data with the multiannual data set derived from the operational AVHRR sensor. The development of more precise estimations of primary productivity using ocean colour data has been undertaken. The techniques require the development of biooptical models to account for biomass distribution throughout the euphotic zone at the local level. Methods must be chosen to allow extrapolation over large spatial scales. Modelling related to marine processes has progressed with the setting up and testing of 3-dimensional model. An 8 component ecosystem model that investigates biochemical process and related trace gas fluxes has been applied to the problem of dimethylsulphide cycling in the euphotic zone. The model should allow an estimate of sea air interface fluxes of this gas. These data can be used in atmospheric chemical and transport models to estimate cloud condensation nuclei (CCN)Progress to end 1991 Two main activities have been undertaken : a) Terrestrial Biosphere : The processing of the AVHRR GAC time series for West Africa has been completed. Temporal series analysis has been performed in view of improving upon the noise introduced in the data by the earth-sattelite system and by the particular sampling. The vegetation index times series has been exploited to derive land cover characteristics of that part of Africa. A new processing chain incorporating algorithms developed in the project and outside is being designed to systematically process the GAC data at the continental level. Series of selected AVHRR GAC images over the transition zone between the tropical forest and the savanna of the northern equatorial belt of Africa have been analysed for assessing their information content in terms of vegetation cover type and conditions, and biomass burning. Continental patterns of biomass burning have been identified and linked to human activities in different biomes. Together with AVHRR HRPT images from local stations, the GAC selection has led to a series of "scales studies" linking resolution to information content. Mathematical modelling of the physics of radiation transfer has led to the development of vegetation indices less sensitive to atmospheric and directional effects; methods of numerical inversion for the extraction of surface parameters relevant to climatic processes have been explored. Spatio-temporal analyses of surface characteristic have been conducted in the framework of agroecosystem analysis in arid regions. b) Marine Environment: Three main lines of research have been continued and developed, emphasis being placed on integrating the different projects within on-going international programmes such as IGBP and WOCE. These have been based on the archives of the Institute, including AVHRR (1981-1990), CZCS (1978-1986), meteorological paramaters ECMWF (1981-1990) A study is being conducted in collaboration with other European institutes a study (in the framework of WOCE) on air-sea energy fluxes and skin sea-surface temperature as observed by ERSI's Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR). This is being carried in a area of the eastern North Atlantic where IRSA has been performing sea surface temperature studies since 1981. This will allow the comparison of the new ATSR data with the multi-annual data set derived from the operational AVHRR sensor. The development of more precise estimations of primary productivity using ocean colour data has been undertaken within the framework of the International project JGOFS. The techniques require the development of bio-optical models to more realistically account for biomass distribution throughout the euphotic zone at the local level. Methods must be chosen to allow extrapolation over large spatial scales. Modelling related to marine processes has progressed with the setting-up and testing of a three dimensional model. An eight component ecosystem model that investigates bio-chemical process and related trace gas fluxes has been applied to the problem of dimethylsulphide cycling in the euphotic zone. The model should allow an estimate of sea-air interface fluxes of this gas. These data can be used in atmospheric chemical and transport models to estimate cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Over six publications have been made on these activities. Detailed description of work foreseen in 1992 a) Terrestrial Biosphere: Effort will be given to the processing and analysis of 3 years of continental Africa GAC data: - analysis of vegetation index time series over selected ecosystems for assessing seasonality patterns, interannual variability and response to climate; - application of semi-empirical models of ecosystems primary productivity to satellite data sets; - development of procedures to integrate multispectral AVHRR 4km resolution data in land cover classification using a time series of vegetation index data; - analysis of spatio-temporal patterns of burning using 4 and 1km AVHRR data (Africa); - integration of satellite derived surface parameters into meso- climatic models (West Africa); research on fractional cover determination; - development of improved methods of data retrieval including bidirectional reflectance models and atmospheric effect improved numerical inversion techniques. b) Marine Environment: Three main lines of research will be continued and extended: - sea surface temperature data from ers-1's ATSR sensor will be compared to data collected in the 1991 in-situ campaign data, including skin temperature and bulk temperature measurements and meteorological parameters; - to verify the main components of the primary production model developed for JGOFS, an in-situ campaign will be undertaken in the eastern North Atlantic wich should provide the first precise estimates of primary productivity. The results will be compared to OCEAN CZCS data for same area; - the three dimensional hydrodynamic model of the eastern North Atlantic will be verified and the multi-component ecosystem module incorporated. Preliminary tests on the numerical stability of the model will be carried out. A first application will be made to the North west African upwelling area. Short description of evolution of work in 1993 a) Terrestrial Biosphere: The processing chain for AVHRR GAC data will be verified, and the processing of low resolution GAC data over Asia will be started. The time series of derived surface parameters in will be integrated into primary productivity models and on that basis an assessment of inter annual variability and response to climate will be undertaken. In addition a study of the spatio-temporal patterns of fire at a regional and continental level will be made and integrated with models of biogenic gas release. b) Marine Environment: Development of sea-surface temperature and marine primary production activities will continue. Using the IRSA marine data (AVHRR, CZCS) archives initial tests will start to compare model predictions for regional and temporal variability with those from satellite observations. Results should indicate how best to develop assimilation techniques for remote sensing data. Programme(s) JRC-REMSENS 4C - Specific research programmes (EEC) to be implemented by the Joint Research Centre - Application of remote sensing techniques -, 1992-1994 Topic(s) Data not available Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme Data not available Coordinator Joint Research Centre (JRC) EU contribution No data Address Sito di Ispra 21020 Ispra Italy See on map Total cost No data
