Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Last week was spent surrounded by the dreaming spires of Oxford, at the EarthCARE Science and Validation workshop. The EarthCARE (Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer) satellite, nicknamed HakuryĹ« (Japanese for “white dragon”), is an amazing European Space Agency/Japanese Space Agency/Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology mission that was launched in May 2024 into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of approximately 393 km. The satellite has four instruments designed to make a range of different measurements to help scientists better understand clouds and aerosols. The instruments are the:

• Atmospheric Lidar (ATLID) that provides vertical profiles of aerosol structures.
• Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) that provides vertical profiles of clouds.
• Multi-spectral imager (MSI) enables different cloud types and aerosols to be identified.
• Broad-Band radiometer (BBR) provides broadband radiances at the top of the atmosphere to help ensure the consistency of the other instruments.

I am part of the team that work on the calibration of the EarthCARE instruments through Telespazio UK who are part of the EarthCARE Data, Innovation and Science Cluster (DISC) that is responsible for the mission’s data quality control, calibration and validation activities. So, it was great to catch up with everyone I normally meet online and discuss the satellite.

The workshop began with a fascinating welcome video that combined the imagery and folklore of the Tolkien universe with the story of EarthCARE, and you can watch the video here. This was followed by addresses from the organisers, and a review of the mission, instruments and product status. Prof Myles Allen, from the University of Oxford, described Oxford as a city of long-time horizons which he equated with the EarthCARE mission, and despite the satellite itself having a limited lifetime it will generate science that will last forever. EarthCARE has just celebrated its second birthday and aims to continue providing data for another 10 years.

Throughout the week, we saw presentations on the data, validation activities and science being undertaken. The applications range from those planned from the start to innovative uses of the data; for example, as the ATLID laser penetrates the ocean surface, it can see what’s happening in the water and be used to study phytoplankton. Regular web stories capture the insights EarthCARE is providing and can be read here.

The workshop was held in Rhodes House, which meant we could wander around the gardens and eat outside when it wasn’t raining – including a reception on the first night and BBQ for lunch on the last day. While, the workshop dinner was held at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and so we able to have look around before we and eat and for dinner we sat between the exhibits, including dinosaur skeletons and, in my case, under whale skeletons.

Summary

It was a fantastic week, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet, sometimes for the first time in-person, people involved in different aspects of the mission and discuss how we can continue to develop the opportunities offered by EarthCARE.