Researchers at the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) led by oceanographer Jordi Font, with researchers from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, will explore ocean salinity in the SMOS (Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity) mission, whose satellite was launched into space by the European Space Agency (ESA) on Monday, 2 November, from the base at Plesetsk, Russia. The mission aims to systematically monitor ocean salinity and soil moisture on the continents to better understand the planet's climate.

From the results of this project, scientists can develop better climate models, oceanographic and weather prediction, and improve risk assessment, such as fires, floods, droughts and famines. The international initiative will also undertake hydrological modelling for predicting the availability of fresh water, improving knowledge of available fisheries resources (given that salinity has an influence on marine ecosystems) or making calculations of likely agricultural production.

Once the satellite is in orbit, the SMOS Barcelona Expert Centre (SMOS-BEC), a joint venture between the CSIC and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, will start acting as laboratory support in the processing of data on ocean salinity, among other activities. The centre will study the characteristics of the first measurements taken by satellite, will coordinate the work of different teams working from Spain in calibration and validation activities, and propose improvements in the algorithms to optimise the products obtained from the SMOS data: from individual images of the radiation emitted from the earth surface to global salinity maps generated from observations made on successive passes of the satellite.

Font, a member of the Department of Physical Oceanography at the Institute of Marine Sciences, CSIC, in Barcelona, is the principal researcher for the SMOS ocean salinity mission. His team developed, in collaboration with researchers from the Department of Signal Theory and Communications at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and other European centres, the algorithms required to process the radiation data that will be collected by the MIRAS radiometer aboard the satellite, and to convert them into ocean salinity values.

Font said: "The job of processing the information gathered by the satellite will begin in the Barcelona SMOS centre as soon as minimally calibrated data is available, which could be about four weeks after launch". On the basis of this calibrated data, oceanographers and engineers from the Barcelona SMOS centre will then begin to calculate the salinity of the ocean with algorithms developed by them.

DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE PROJECT

The CSIC researcher added: "After the launch an initial test phase will begin, during which the aim is to assess the quality of the data collected by the satellite sensors, rule out possible errors in the algorithms, due to contamination or noise pollution, and see what results are obtained".

In late December, the pre-operational phase will commence, during which satellite data will be systematically processed to obtain data on ocean salinity and soil moisture. This information will be validated by a small number of research groups, contrasting data from the mission with other known data and measured in situ.

Following this phase, it is expected that six months after the launch it will be possible to begin the operational phase, so that the data obtained by satellite and processed routinely in the ESA satellite tracking station, European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in the Madrid town of Villafranca del Castillo, will then be available to all interested research groups. From this data, researchers will be able to obtain information such as regular salinity maps, which may be used by scientists for climate studies.

TWO FUNDAMENTAL VARIABLES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE CLIMATE

The SMOS mission, which is expected to last three to five years, has been designed in response to the scientific community's need to obtain data from the moisture in the first centimetres of soil in inland areas, and from the salinity in the surface layers of the ocean. Both geophysical variables allow us to observe and understand the climate as they are a fundamental part of the global water cycle. SMOS will enable data on these two variables to be obtained on a regular and comprehensive basis for the first time.

Many institutions and companies have been involved in this mission, with a notable Spanish involvement in both its conception and development. In addition to the CSIC and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the Universities of Valencia and Salamanca are taking part in the validation of results. The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia has participated in the development of a demonstrator of the MIRAS radiometer. Many companies have worked on instrument building.

More information is available at: http://www.smos-bec.icm.csic.es