This project will involve validation of the operational and user-generated vegetation products derived from the optical instruments on-board Sentinel-2 and -3. The results of the project will help to ensure fitness for purpose, enabling users to select the products most appropriate for their needs. The results of the project will also play a key role in algorithm maintenance and product evolution, thus involving the NERC ARF in NERC’s new technology theme.

Systematic estimates of biophysical variables that describe the amount and condition of vegetation are a key input into a range of biogeochemical, climate, and weather models, and are essential for forest monitoring and agricultural management. Over the last two decades, a range of methods have been developed to retrieve key biophysical variables such as canopy chlorophyll content (CCC), the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR) and leaf area index (LAI) from optical remote sensing data. Launched in 2015 and 2016, ESA’s Sentinel-2 and -3 missions will provide continuity to the archive established by existing instruments such as MODIS and MERIS. However, if the data provided by these missions are to be of real use in environmental decision making, their quality and consistency must be assured.
This project will involve validation of the operational and user-generated vegetation products derived from the optical instruments on-board Sentinel-2 and -3. The results of the project will help to ensure fitness for purpose, enabling users to select the products most appropriate for their needs. The results of the project will also play a key role in algorithm maintenance and product evolution, thus involving the NERC ARF in NERC’s new technology theme.
This project will use NERC-ARF (NERC Airborne Research Facility) Remote Sensing instruments collected on board the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Twin-Otter aircraft.