Category: Updates

SPECCHIO is a spectral information system designed to hold reference spectra and spectral campaign data obtained by spectroradiometers. MetEOC-3 is going to use a dedicated SPECCHIO spectral information system instance to deal with the multifaceted spectral point data accumulated in various activities related to sensor CAL/VAL. MetEOC-3 is going to use a dedicated SPECCHIO spectral information system instance to deal with the multifaceted spectral point data accumulated in various activities related to sensor CAL/VAL. SPECCHIO is a specialised software solution to allow the organised storage of spectral data accompanied with detailed metadata to describe the sampling conditions, experimental setups and target properties. One key feature is the easy sharing of data within a research team and the selection of spectral data …

Streamlined Spectral Data Management using SPECCHIO Read More »

The MetEOC-2 partners have produced second MetEOC-2 newsletter the  detailing some of the activities undertaken in 2016 within the MetEOC-2 programme. Download the newsletter

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) attended Cheltenham Science Festival and demonstrated how satellites can be used to observe the Earth’s surface. As one of the UK’s most prestigious and popular science festivals, the event was an ideal setting to explain the work of NPL, and to give the public the opportunity to see the Earth from a new perspective. An annual celebration of science Each summer, Cheltenham Science Festival holds six days of talks, practical demonstrations, debates and experiments. Speakers this year included Richard Dawkins, Alice Roberts and Jim al Khalili; and visiting institutions included the BBC and GCHQ, alongside NPL. Volunteers from NPL manned a stand at the Festival to demonstrate satellite Earth observation and spectroscopy to members of the public. A …

NPL gives the public a new perspective on Earth and climate change Read More »

MetEOC-2 partners have produced the first annual MetEOC-2 newsletter, detailing some of the activities undertaken in 2015 within the MetEOC-2 programme.

A proposal for a follow-on phase of this project (MetEOC-3) is currently being planned. Ideas from the community relating to priority needs, particularly where metrology support to an existing international project is desired, are welcome

NPL’s Joanne Nightingale is currently serving as an invited Science Advisory Panel (SAP) member for Alberta’s Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency (AEMERA) and recently attended a SAP meeting in Edmonton, Canada, to review the current science implementation strategy.

The CEOS-WGCV-IVOS meeting in Toulouse, France, was attended by more than 40 world experts from space agencies and associated industry across the globe, with additional attendance remotely via the internet. NPL was well-represented, with Nigel Fox chairing the Infrared and Visible Optical Sensors (IVOS) subgroup, and Javier Gorroño presenting work on using pseudo-invariant calibration sites for TRUTHS and work on the Sentinel-2 uncertainties. The RadCalNet working group also met during the IVOS week, where Tracy Scanlon presented her uncertainty analysis for the USA’s RadCalNet site.

Scientists from NPL’s Earth Observation, Climate and Optical (ECO) group have recently installed the Cryogenic Solar Absolute Radiometer (CSAR) at the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos / World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) in Switzerland. CSAR was developed in close collaboration with PMOD/WRC and METAS (NMI Switzerland). As a cryogenic radiometer, CSAR provides a direct link to the International System of Units (SI), and offers a much-reduced measurement uncertainty compared to the current standard. During the WMO International Pyrheliometer Comparison (IPC XII) CSAR was measuring Solar Irradiance alongside the existing World Standard Group (WSG) which currently provides the worldwide radiometric reference scale for Solar Irradiance measurements.

NPL’s Joanne Nightingale was an invited presenter at the University of Edinburgh seminar series in GIS, Remote Sensing, and Geo-Informatics that was organised by the Edinburgh Earth Observatory in conjunction with the Association for Geographic Information, Scotland. The seminar covered work carried out within the TREES (TRaceability in tErrestrial vEgetation Sensors and biophysical products) group at NPL, and was attended by postgraduate students and industry professionals across Edinburgh.

Emma delivered a training course on Metrology for Earth Observation to the Academy of Opto-Electronics, AOE, in Beijing, and Nigel Fox met with CMA (the Chinese Met Office). They also visited the Chinese RadCalNet site (radiometric calibration network of instrumented test sites), belonging to AOE (Academy of Opto-Electronics) in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.

Tracy Scanlon visited the Railroad Valley RadCalNet site, Nevada. She accompanied a team from the University of Arizona who utilise the radiometric test site for the vicarious calibration of instruments on-board satellites. The methods used in both measuring the site and propagating the surface measurements to Top-of-Atmosphere will aid in developing a robust and complete uncertainty budget for the site.

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) published an extensive report Metrology for Climate – Metrology priorities for the earth observation and climate community, containing the recommendations from international research organisations on the role of metrology in supporting climate research. The report summarises the workshop ‘Metrology for Climate’  hosted by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) on 21-22 May 2015, organised in conjunction with technical experts from European Space Agency (ESA), EUMETSAT, the European Commission, the UK Met Office and the University of Reading. The two-day workshop investigated the role that metrology should play in supporting the robust measurement of Essential Climate Variables. The concept of Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) provides a systematic and internationally consistent framework of variables/parameters to facilitate the monitoring and understanding of climate change and forecast models. …

Metrology for Climate workshop follows up 2010 BIPM/WMO recommendations challenges for the metrology community specific to ECVs Read More »

Eija Honkavaara, Olli Nevalainen, Teemu Hakala, Tomi Rosnell, Roope Näsi, Sanna Kaasalainen from FGI carried used an unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV)-based hyperspectral imaging system, terrestrial hyperspectral passive imaging system and an active hyperspectral LiDAR (HSL) during the campaign.

Six hectares of forest were sampled with a range of optical devices to estimate forest structure, leaf/canopy area and the spectral properties of individual foliage elements, bark and understory

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) hosted a conference in May, bringing together representatives from international research organisations to discuss the role of metrology in supporting climate research.

The Earth Observation, Climate and Optical (ECO) group has won a €500k contract with ESA to intercompare instruments used to measure the Earth’s surface temperature (Ocean, Land and Ice) to validate satellite observations.

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MetEOC2 has officially started with a meeting of all project partners at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK.

NPL hosted a free, two-day training course on 3 and 4 July on uncertainty analysis for earth observation measurements, with particular emphasis on the calibration and characterisation of remote sensing radiometric instruments: both pre-flight satellite instruments and for ground validation instrumentation.

Joanna Coote, is a recipient of an EMRP Researcher Excellence Grant to undertake research complementary to MetEOC. Joanna is a photonics design engineer at ZiNIR. Find two summaries of her work on their website.

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