Photo credit: www.esa.int
ESA’s EarthCARE Satellite Yields Initial Results on Climate Influencers
The European Space Agency (ESA) has taken a significant step in understanding the complex interactions between clouds and aerosols with the release of initial data from its EarthCARE satellite. Launched in May 2024, EarthCARE is a collaborative mission with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aimed at measuring how these atmospheric components influence the Earth’s energy balance.
Presented at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, the first findings underscore the satellite’s ability to capture simultaneous measurements from its four advanced instruments. This multi-faceted approach is designed to enhance our understanding of how clouds and aerosols play a crucial role in regulating temperatures in the atmosphere.
The energy balance of the Earth is pivotal for maintaining climate stability, representing the equation between the solar energy absorbed by the planet and the thermal radiation released back into space. Various components, such as clouds, aerosols, and greenhouse gases, engage in complex interactions that can either trap heat or facilitate its escape. Despite a general acknowledgment that clouds and aerosols assist in cooling the atmosphere, the specifics of these processes remain inadequately understood.
Technical Overview of EarthCARE’s Instruments
EarthCARE is equipped with a suite of four sophisticated sensors designed to analyze atmospheric conditions. The satellite’s cloud profiling radar—developed by JAXA—offers insights into the vertical structure and dynamics of clouds. The atmospheric lidar, on the other hand, focuses on aerosols and thin cloud layers, providing profiles of cloud tops and other critical data. Complementing these instruments, the multispectral imager captures a broad view of the atmosphere across various wavelengths, while the broadband radiometer gauges the solar radiation reflected back into space as well as the outgoing infrared radiation emitted by the Earth.
Recent data captured on September 18, 2024, covers a significant geographic range from Central Europe to Sweden, shedding light on specific weather phenomena. Notably, the dataset illustrates various signatures from a thunderstorm that occurred near Milan, Italy, which had resulted in considerable flooding in surrounding regions.
Understanding Thunderstorm Dynamics
The research animation provided by ESA emphasizes EarthCARE’s ability to monitor atmospheric events. Initially focusing on the thunderstorm over northern Italy, the cloud profiling radar predominately collects data thanks to larger precipitation particles emerging from the storm. Following this, the atmospheric lidar identifies a layer approximately 1-2 km thick at the clouds’ uppermost regions, which is essential for assessing the ice layer above the clouds.
The collaboration between radar and lidar functionalities becomes apparent when they jointly analyze the upper cloud areas, enabling detailed cloud characterization and offering insights into whether clouds contribute to atmospheric warming or cooling. The first results indicate a notable cooling effect at the top of the thunderstorm due to a significant emission of thermal radiation into space. Below this point, dense clouds absorb heat radiated from the Earth’s surface, thus warming that layer of the atmosphere.
Cirrus Clouds: A Dual Effect on Climate
The animation also examines cirrus clouds located over Sweden, which play a vital role in climate science. Although these high-altitude ice clouds are thin enough to allow sunlight to penetrate and warm the Earth’s surface, they also create a greenhouse effect by trapping thermal radiation emitted from below, leading to an overall warming trend in the atmosphere. Dual data collection from both the radar and lidar further enhances understanding of these complex formations.
Even as cirrus clouds reflect solar radiation, they absorb both incoming and outgoing energy. Consequently, during instances where the clouds thicken, larger ice particles may inhibit the escape of thermal radiation, causing localized cooling effects, yet contributing broadly to atmospheric warming.
A Collaborative Effort Towards Climate Insight
The initial findings from EarthCARE serve as a potent reminder of the collaborative achievements between ESA and JAXA, emphasizing the importance of their joint capabilities. Thorsten Fehr, ESA’s EarthCARE Mission Scientist, remarked on the early-stage data availability as a significant milestone for the mission, affirming the exceptional work of the EarthCARE team and the scientists responsible for the data products.
JAXA’s continuing efforts in data processing, captured under their initiative, can be found in previous communications regarding the satellite’s synergistic cloud imagery capability. Hitonori Maejima, Senior Chief Officer on Earth Observation Missions at JAXA, noted that EarthCARE’s integration of multiple measurement types marks a pivotal achievement in understanding the operational dynamics of clouds and aerosols and their ramifications for global climate conditions.
Source
www.esa.int