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By Brian Tristam Williams
The European Space Agency is moving ahead with plans to develop an Earth observation calibration and validation supersite at Sodankylä in Finnish Lapland, adding new instruments and airborne sensing campaigns to an existing high-latitude research infrastructure.
The Sodankylä supersite is being developed with the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) and Finnish industrial partners. ESA said in a 6 May update that it is proceeding with procurement and installation of new sensing equipment at the site, supported through its FutureEO programme.
The work builds on earlier ESA-FMI agreements to turn FMI’s Arctic Space Centre into an Earth science, calibration and validation site for satellite missions operating over Arctic and boreal environments. The location is above the Arctic Circle, surrounded by boreal forest, and is well placed for comparing satellite observations with ground, tower and airborne measurements.
ESA says the new equipment will include a tower-based multifrequency radiometer and greenhouse gas sensors. Regional surveys are also planned using a remotely controlled airship system able to fly for up to 12 hours, with the aim of generating a 3D vegetation map around Sodankylä.
A radiometer installed at the Sodankylä site in Finnish Lapland, where ESA and FMI are expanding Earth observation calibration and validation infrastructure. Source: ESA.
FMI’s Arctic Space Centre already supports satellite data reception, processing, storage and distribution, as well as research programmes covering upper-atmosphere chemistry and physics, snow and soil hydrology, carbon fluxes, and biosphere-atmosphere interaction.
The site also includes satellite antennas, reference instruments, observation towers and other measurement systems used to support Earth observation missions. ESA says one image of the site shows five active satellite antennas, four with a diameter of 7.3 metres and one smaller 3 metre antenna, along with a reception station and supercomputer-level data processing, storage and distribution centre.
Calibration and validation are central to the project. Satellite data used for environmental monitoring has to be checked against independent measurements, particularly in high-latitude areas where ground reference data can be sparse. That is especially relevant for Arctic-boreal terrain, snow, vegetation, greenhouse gases and atmospheric composition.
ESA has linked the Sodankylä supersite to upcoming Copernicus missions including the Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission and the Radar Observing System for Europe at L-band. These missions are part of Europe’s broader Earth observation infrastructure, which also feeds climate and environmental modelling work, as previously reported by eeNews Europe when the DestinE system was switched on.
The Sodankylä supersite is also intended to support Finnish and European companies developing environmental sensing technologies. ESA says companies will be able to test advanced sensors against reference instruments at the site, while improved satellite-derived data could support new services and applications for Arctic conditions.
Finland’s SpacEconomy project is involved in the supersite, with a role in connecting non-space companies to ESA and wider space activity. ESA Phi-Lab Finland is also associated with the project, reflecting the commercialisation angle around Earth observation data and sensing hardware.
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