Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Polar Hemispheric Acquisition of Remote Observations of the Environment by Satellites  (PHAROES)

Outline
PHAROES is an ESA proposed effort to coordinate, acquire, archive and distribute relevant remote sensing data sets from the following ESA polar-orbiting Earth observation satellites: The new approved ESA Earth Explorer series: - CryoSat (launch 2005) - GOCE (launch tbc 2006) - SMOS (launch tbc 2007) - ADM/Aeolus (launch tbc 2007) Together with: - Envisat (currently operating) - METOP (launch tbc 2006) The intent of this proposal would be to develop the most effective mechanism by which to plan and synchronise IPY satellite acquisition data requests (ultimately resulting from approved IPY Projects) via an instrument such as a coordinated IPY ESA Announcement of Opportunity (AO). This is necessary in order to receive approval from ESA Member State delegations for required support of the IPY satellite data processing overhead, and is also needed in order to anticipate volumes of data, mission planning and data distribution demand. Furthermore, approved ESA AO’s may be needed to secure remote sensing data needs in advance of requests for funding from the appropriate National or EU funding bodies. Due to the anticipated volume of IPY data acquisition requests, it may be important to consider establishing and IPY interdisciplinary coordination or satellite data acquisition planning group(s) to streamline and consolidate independent overlapping and/or complementary data requests. This will make the optimisation of the complex mission planning aspects more efficient.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
METOP and Envisat will provide valuable information on met-ocean parameters, as well as high latitude atmospheric chemistry and stratospheric ozone. Contemporaneous Envisat + CryoSat + GOCE data have to the potential to contribute to estimates of ice mass budgets of the large polar ice sheets and marine ice fields. SMOS has the potential to provide a unique new L-band passive microwave cryospheric dataset in addition to ocean surface salinity for improved upper ocean buoyancy parameterisation in ocean models. ADM/Aeolus plans to obtain routine wind profiles in troposphere and lower stratosphere in the polar region, and will significantly contribute to improvements in high-latitude NWP forecasts

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
ESA coordinates deployment of space-based resources on behalf of 15 member states throughout Europe, together with Canada who participate under a cooperation agreement. Announcements of Opportunities (AOs) for Category 1 research use of ESA data are by definition international in scope, allowing data applications from IPY participating project participants.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
No field work is specified at this time, other than potential opportunities for coordinated calibration and validation activities that could be performed by IPY approved-project field teams. - Geographical details of such cal/val field experiment activities remain unspecified at this time.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Multi-instrumented satellites, together with ground data receiving, processing, distributing and archiving infrastructure. There may be benefits to establishing data sharing agreements with other flight Agencies, for the purpose of developing blended satellite products.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
The legacy will be an improved infrastructure for remote sensing data assimilation in operational NWP, ocean and other models, as well as satellite data processing infrastructure for new products and polar services.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
National agency
Own support
Other sources of support

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
No - due to the conditions identified below: Full endorsement is not possible from ESA member states until after the extent of consolidated IPY remote sensing data requests is assessed. In spite of this, the proposal serves as an Agency backbone for ESA support of implementation of the IGOS-P Cryosphere Theme. Moreover, it acts as an enabling mechanism for other WCRP CliC-endorsed IPY proposals requiring satellite data sets; inter-alia: State and Fate of the Cryosphere; Arctic Ocean Observing System; Arctic GOOS; Arctic Climate Change; OASIS; and the GEWEX Polar Enhanced Observing Period, etc...

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Expansion

The enabling mechanism for data distribution amongst the IPY research community is proposed as the standard Announcement of Opportunity for Category 1 proposals (i.e. to non-commercial research entities). These opportunities are published regularly on the Web at the following location: http://eopi.esa.int

How will the project be organised and managed?
ESA will propose to host and manage a dedicated IPY Announcement of Opportunity using existing standard web interface tools dedicated for this purpose. ESA will be responsible for reviewing and approving scientific basis and remote sensing data acquisition proposals for their scope and feasibility. Data requests from a myriad of independent IPY projects will have to be synthesised by an IPY coordinating group, perhaps with appropriate sub-groups for different flavours of remotely sensed data. Coordinated and distilled data requests from approved AO projects will then have to be submitted to ESA to facilitate the appropriate mission planning and accompanying satellite mission management. ESA will employ standard archiving, distribution and user support capabilities.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
For IPY education and outreach, ESA will use existing interfaces for publicising key progress and results stemming from approved AO projects. Examples are available at: http://www.esa.int/eo and http://eopi.esa.int

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Existing ESA archival systems are the assumed baseline for IPY data management.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
ESA Member States will have to support overhead involved in acquiring, processing, archiving and distributing IPY data. This will require Earth Observation Programme Board (PB-EO) approval of the IPY commitment. However, this cannot occur until after the full scope of the data requirement is known. Approved ESA AO Project activities are expected to be funded by National agencies or by other bodies such as the EC. ESA is not mandated provide funds to support or maintain a scientific programme in connection with the data.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
This is essentially an umbrella proposal for all future approved IPY projects requiring ESA datasets. It is not necessary to have an ICSU-approved IPY proposal for the benefit of support to IPY. However, it will be necessary to formalise a mechanism for placing as yet unspecified IPY data requests to the ESA Agency for satellite remote sensing data sets in a timely manner.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr  Mark Drinkwater
Ocean/Ice Unit (EOP-SMO)
Keplerlaan 1
Noordwijk
2201 AZ
Netherlands

Tel: +31 71 565 4514
Mobile: no
Fax: +31 71 565 5675
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation