The scientists of CERSAT contribute to some major international projects (climatology, sea-ice studies,...), bringing their scientific expertise and the products generated at CERSAT. This page provides links to these projects.
The scientists of CERSAT contribute to some major international projects (climatology, sea-ice studies,...), bringing their scientific expertise and the products generated at CERSAT. This page provides links to these projects.
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Following the recent reprocessing of ERS and ENVISAT wave mode data and the preparation of Sentinel-1 ocean science objectives, the European Space Agency (ESA) is seeking to promote a wider use of wave measurements derived from all existing remote sensing sources including altimeters (ERS, ENVISAT and others), SARs (ERS, ENVISAT and others), and future instruments. At the same time, many new users are asking for wave data (renewable energies, Integrated Coastal Zone Management, ?) who need a global picture on the existing data, availability and quality. Accordingly, there is an opportunity to improve the combined use of numerical model outputs, in situ and remote sensing data, to advance in calibration/val idation investigations and to develop methodologies merging all separate sources of wave information. Using the full potential of all this data for different marine applications requires a multi-mission multi-sensor combination of the measurements, likely including in situ observations and numerical model results. Given the high value of such products, the economic model that may sustain a better use of data has also to be discussed.
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The Medspiration Project is a European initiative, funded by ESA (in the frame of DUE program), to combine sea surface temperature (SST) data measured independently by several different satellite systems into a set of data products that represent the best measure of SST, presented in a form that can be assimilated into ocean forecasting models or used for various kinds of application. It has pioneered the implementation of operational services for SST following GHRSST project recommendation and standards.
The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) is a component of the World Climate Research Program ( WCRP) and is the most ambitious oceanographic experiment undertaken to-date. The experiment aims first to develop models to predict decadal climate variability and change, to collect the data - provided by satellites, conventional in-situ physical and chemical observations - to test them and then to determine the representativeness of the specific WOCE data sets for the long-term behaviour of the ocean, and to find methods for determining long-term changes in the ocean circulation. The success of WOCE will have considerable impact on follow-up programmes; CLIVAR, a global study of ocean climate variability and predictability, and GODAE, the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment.
The CERSAT contributes substantially to the experiment by providing global satellite wind fields within the WOCE package (see the 'Mean Wind Fields' in the 'data' rubric).
The Medspiration Project is a European initiative, funded by ESA, to combine sea surface temperature (SST) data measured independently by several different satellite systems into a set of data products that represent the best measure of SST, presented in a form that can be assimilated into ocean forecasting models or used for various kinds of application. The temperature at the surface of the ocean is an important physical property that can be measured quite easily from Earth Observation satellites. SST has a strong influence on the exchange of heat, momentum, water and gases beteen the ocean and the atmosphere. Knowledge of the geographical distribution of SST and its variation with time is therefore essential for predicting the dynamical behaviour of the atmosphere and the ocean. SST is also an important indicator of climate and climate change, giving us a finger on the pulse of the planet itself.
The Medspiration project is led by Ian Robinson, from National Oceanographic Center, Southampton. Ifremer/CERSAT is deeply involved in this project, being the processing (together with Meteo-France), archiving and dissemination component of this project.
The MERCATOR mission seeks to develop and deploy a truly operational oceanography system over the next five years capable of analyzing and predicting ocean conditions around the globe. This system will describe and predict ocean conditions over the whole ocean column continuously and in real time, at scales ranging from global phenomena to regional eddies.
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The objective of CONVECTION is to understand the physics underlying the convection process in the Greenland Sea and how this process links with climatic factors. At the end of the project we expect this understanding to be such that a successful technique will be implemented to predict year-to-year variability, and long term trends, in the convection process. The investigation will be carried out by a combination of remote sensing, modelling and field measurements.
The CONVECTION project is coordinated by Prof. Peter Wadhams from the Scott Polar Research Institute; 10 laboratories are involved. The Département d'Océanographie Spatiale of IFREMER contributes mainly to the remote-sensing component, using the PSI products generated at CERSAT from scatterometer measurements (ERS, NSCAT and QuikSCAT/SeaWinds). It also provides its expertise concerning other satellite sensors (microwave radiometers, synthetic aperture radars). All satellite data will be used as forcing data for a salt flux model within in a regional ocean circulation model.
DAMOCLES is an European contribution to the International Polar Year (http://www.ipy.org/). It is an integrated ice-atmosphere-ocean monitoring and forecasting system designed to observe, understand and quantify climate changes in the Arctic. An advanced observing system is being developed and will be deployed in order to evaluate climate change impacts, improve forecasting models, and quantify the effects on the environment.
DAMOCLES is coordinated by J. C. Gascard (Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France) and involves 45 European research institutes and other international entities.
The Laboratoire d'Océanographie Spatiale of IFREMER with the CERSAT contributes to the description of the actual sea ice cover at ocean basin scale using scatterometer and radiometer data. The next scatterometer to be launched in 2006 is ASCAT (EUMETSAT-METOP). IFREMER develops the algorithms to build the homogeneous ASCAT backscatter maps and ice drift estimation.
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The objective of this project is to expend the use of SAR data archive to generate geophysical products to be uses by the climate community over Arctic sea ice. These products are sea ice motion and deformation.
This project is coordinated by S. Baker (University College, London, UK), it involves European research institutes and other international entities.
The Laboratoire d'Océanographie Spatiale of IFREMER with the CERSAT has a key role in the product validation comparing the GlobIce sea ice motion with the IFREMER-CERSAT drift maps estimated from the combination of scatterometer data (QuikSCAT) and radiometer data (SSM/I).
PolarView program is the follow-on of the ICEMON program as GMES. It is a contribution to the International Polar Year (http://www.ipy.org/). The objective is to design and implement and operate an integrated monitoring service for sea ice and related atmospheric and ocean processes in polar regions using satellite earth observation data in combination with in situ observations and modelling methods.
This ESA project involves European and international research institutes. It is coordinated by C. Randall (C-core, Canada).
The Laboratoire d'Océanographie Spatiale of IFREMER produces operationally daily products as concentration and drift maps. The actual drift product has a 62.5 km grid spacing combining scatterometer data (QuikSCAT) and radiometer data (SSM/I). A new product is being tested for evaluation and systematic production at CERSAT, based on AMSR-E enhanced resolution which leads to a 31.25 km grid spacing.
This project was an ESA project as demonstration for GMES. The objective was to design and implement an integrated monitoring service for sea ice and related atmospheric and ocean processes in polar regions using satellite earth observation data in combination with in situ observations and modelling methods.
This ESA project involved European and international research institutes. It was coordinated by S. Sandven (NERSC, Norway).
The Laboratoire d'Océanographie Spatiale of IFREMER developed daily drift products combining scatterometer data (QuikSCAT) and radiometer data (SSM/I) at a 62.5 km grid spacing. This enhanced product has a better spatial coverage, a longer useful time duration each winter and a better quality than each of the individual drift product.