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  • Data (6)
  • News (7)
  • Missions (1)
  • Events (2)
  • Tools (2)
  • Activities (1)
  • News - Data Release news

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    FDR4ALT - ESA unveils new cutting-edge ERS/Envisat Altimeter and Microwave Radiometer Datasets

    The European Space Agency (ESA) has developed a comprehensive suite of innovative Earth system data records as part of the Fundamental Data Records for Altimetry project - FDR4ALT.

  • Data - EO Sign In Authentication (Open)

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    Sea Ice Thematic Data Product [ALT_TDP_SI]

    This is the Sea Ice Thematic Data Product (TDP) V1 resulting from the ESA FDR4ALT project and containing the sea ice related geophysical parameters, along with associated uncertainties: snow depth, radar and sea-ice freeboard, sea ice thickness and concentration. The collection covers data for the ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat missions, and bases on Level 1 data coming from previous reprocessing (ERS REAPER and the Envisat V3.0) but taking into account the improvements made at Level 0/Level 1 in the frame of FDR4ALT (ALT FDR). The Sea Ice TDP provides data from the northern or southern hemisphere in two files corresponding to the Arctic and Antarctic regions respectively for the winter periods only, i.e., October to June for the Arctic, and May to November for the Antarctic. For many aspects, the Sea Ice TDP is very innovative: First time series of sea-ice thickness estimates for ERS Homogeneous calibration, allowing the first Arctic radar freeboard time series from ERS-1 (1991) to CryoSat-2 (2021) Uncertainties estimated along-track with a bottom-up approach based on dominant sources ERS pulse blurring error corrected using literature procedure [Peacock, 2004] The FDR4ALT products are available in NetCDF format. Free standard tools for reading NetCDF data can be used. Information for expert altimetry users is also available in a dedicated NetCDF group within the products. Please consult the FDR4ALT Product User Guide before using the data. The FDR4ALT datasets represent the new reference data for the ERS/Envisat altimetry missions, superseding any previous mission data. Users are strongly encouraged to make use of these datasets for optimal results.

  • Data - EO Sign In Authentication (Open)

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    Land Ice Thematic Data Product [ALT_TDP_LI]

    This is the Land Ice Thematic Data Product (TDP) V1 resulting from the ESA FDR4ALT project and containing estimates of ice sheet surface elevation and associated uncertainties. The collection covers data for three different missions: ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat, and based on Level 1 data coming from previous reprocessing (ERS REAPER and the Envisat V3.0) but taking into account the improvements made at Level 0/Level 1 in the frame of FDR4ALT (ALT FDR). The Land Ice TDP focuses specifically on the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, providing these data in different files. For many aspects, the Land Ice Level 2 and Level 2+ processing is very innovative: Improved relocation approach correcting for topographic effects within the beam footprint to identify the Point of Closest Approach Homogeneous timeseries of surface elevation measurements at regular along-track reference nodes. The FDR4ALT products are available in NetCDF format. Free standard tools for reading NetCDF data can be used. Information for expert altimetry users is also available in a dedicated NetCDF group within the products. Please consult the FDR4ALT Product User Guide before using the data. The FDR4ALT datasets represent the new reference data for the ERS/Envisat altimetry missions, superseding any previous mission data. Users are strongly encouraged to make use of these datasets for optimal results.

  • News - Thematic area articles

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    Transforming space data into climate action

    ESA’s Earth observation activities are playing a key role in the revitalised global drive to combat climate change.

  • News - Events and Proceedings

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    Data preservation takes centre stage at Living Planet Symposium

    Against the backdrop of the famed Rhine River, world-class scientists and Earth observation data-users are gathered this week in the historical city of Bonn, at the Living Planet Symposium (LPS).

  • News - Spotlight on EO community

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    Introducing Mirko Albani

    In this short introduction, ESA's Heritage Missions Programme Manager describes what he likes most about ESA's long term archive of satellite mission data and his role in the programme.

  • Event - Training

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    2nd Advanced Training Course on Ocean Remote Sensing 2009

    This advanced training course focused on ocean remote sensing theory and applications.

  • News - Data Release news

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    New reprocessing of datasets celebrates 30 years of ERS

    The ERS programme celebrated its 30th anniversary on 17 July. Today, we are still exploiting ERS data and experts continue to work on improving the altimeter, radiometer and SAR data the programme acquired.

  • News - Success Stories

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    ERS Heritage Data allow for 30 years of science

    At their time of launch thirty years ago, the two ERS satellites were the most sophisticated Earth observation spacecraft ever developed and launched by Europe.

  • News - Infographics

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    ERS - ESA’s first Earth observation satellites

    To mark the 30th anniversary of ERS, we've released a new infographic summarising the mission.

  • Tools - Apps

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    Heritage Missions app for iOS

    Download the Heritage Missions application to discover what the missions were about, how it worked and what the elements of the space and ground segment that make these missions unique.

  • Tools - Apps

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    Heritage Missions app for Android

    Download the Heritage Missions application to discover what the missions were about, how it worked and what the elements of the space and ground segment that make these missions unique.

  • Data - EO Sign In Authentication (Open)

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    ERS-1/2 SAR IM Precision L1 [SAR_IMP_1P]

    The SAR Precision product is a multi-look (speckle-reduced), ground range image acquired in Image Mode. This product type is most applicable to users interested in remote sensing applications, but is also suitable for calibration purposes. The products are calibrated and corrected for the SAR antenna pattern and range-spreading loss. Radar backscatter can be derived from the products for geophysical modelling, but no correction is applied for terrain-induced radiometric effects. The images are not geocoded, and terrain distortion (foreshortening and layover) has not been removed. The numbering sequence relates to the satellite position and therefore differs between Ascending and Descending scenes. Product characteristics: Pixel size: 12.5 m (range - across track) x 12.5 m (azimuth - along track) Scene area: 100 km (range) x at least 102.5 km (azimuth) Scene size: 8000 pixels range x at least 8200 lines (azimuth) Pixel depth: 16 bits unsigned integer Total product volume: 125 MB Projection: Ground-range Number of looks: 3.

  • Data - EO Sign In Authentication (Open)

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    ERS-1/2 SAR IM Single Look Complex L1 [SAR_IMS_1P]

    The SAR SLC product is a single look complex acquired in Image Mode. It is a digital image, with slant range and phase preserved, generated from raw SAR data using up-to-date auxiliary parameters. The products are intended for use in SAR quality assessment, calibration and interferometric applications. A minimum number of corrections and interpolations are performed on the data. Absolute calibration parameters (when available) are provided in the product annotation. Product characteristics: Pixel size: 8 m (range - across track) x 4 m (azimuth - along track – varying slightly depending on acquisition Pulse Repetition Frequency) Scene area: 100 km (range) x at least 102.5 km (azimuth) Scene size: 5000 samples (range) x at least 30000 lines (azimuth) Pixel depth: 32 bits signed integer (16 bits I, 16 bits Q) Total product volume: 575 MB Projection: Slant range- Number of looks: 1.

  • Data - EO Sign In Authentication (Open)

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    ERS-1/2 SAR IM Medium Resolution L1 [SAR_IMM_1P]

    This ERS Medium Resolution stripline product is generated from the Image Mode Level 0 Product. Stripline image products contain image data for an entire segment, up to a maximum size of 10 minutes per product for IM mode. The processor concatenates together several sub-images called "slices" that were processed separately on a dataset-by-dataset basis in order to form the entire stripline image. The product is processed to an approximately 150 m x 150 m resolution and has a radiometric resolution that is good enough for ice applications. This product has a lower spatial resolution than the SAR_IMP_1P and SAR_IMS_1P products. Product Characteristics: Pixel size: 5 m (ground range – across track) x 75 m (azimuth – along track) Scene area: 100 km (range) x at least 102.5 km Scene Size: 1300 pixels (range) x at least 1350 lines (azimuth) Pixel depth: 16 bits unsigned integer- Total product volume: at least 3.5 MB Projection: Ground-range Number of looks: 8 (azimuth) x 7 (range).

  • Data - Data Service Request (Restrained)

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    ERS-1/2 SAR IM L0 [SAR_IM__0P]

    This SAR Level 0 product is acquired in Image Mode. The products consist of the SAR telemetry data and are supplied as standard scenes. It also contains all the required auxiliary data necessary for data processing. The product serves two main purposes: For testing ERS SAR processors independently from the HDDR system For users interested in full SAR data processing. Product characteristics: Scene area: 100 km (range - across track) x full segment length (azimuth - along track) Scene size: 5616 samples (range) x full segment length (azimuth) Pixel depth: 10 bits signed integer (5 bits I, 5 bits Q) Projection: Slant range.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    ERS

    The ERS programme was composed of two missions, ERS-1 and ERS-2, which together observed the Earth for 20 years, from 1991 to 2011.

  • Activity - Quality

    SCIRoCCo

    The SCIRoCCo project is an interdisciplinary cooperation of scatterometry experts aimed at promoting the continuing exploitation of ESA's unique 20 years' worth of ERS Scatterometer data.

  • Event - Training

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    Advanced Training Course in Ocean Remote Sensing 2011

    Within the framework of the Dragon Programme, a joint collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), ESA and NRSCC are providing a series of advanced thematic training courses on remote sensing applications hosted by university and research institutions in P.R. China.