Advanced Agricultural Monitoring with Copernicus Expansion Missions (AgriCEM)

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sentinel Users Preparation (SUP) project “Advanced Agricultural Monitoring with Copernicus Expansion Missions (AgriCEM)” aims at

• Generating a representative dataset for the hyperspectral CHIME and the thermal LSTM mission
• Developing and testing advanced vegetation stress products using CHIME and LSTM
• Involving stakeholders and end-users

Synthetic CHIME and LSTM data will be generated using an end-to-end simulator combining the Soil Canopy Observation, Photochemistry and Energy fluxes (SCOPE) model and the OHB Remote Sensing Image Simulation Environment (RISE). The parameterization of vegetation in the SCOPE model will be configured for sugar beet based on the data provided by the partner company QZ Solutions and the champion user KWS (a seed company). The output of the SCOPE model (i.e. top of canopy reflectance images) will feed into the OHB simulator, which simulates the acquisition geometry, the optical effects and noise within the instrument, and the ground processing chain including atmospheric correction. Based on the simulated datasets of CHIME and LSTM and their synergistic use, we will develop retrieval algorithms for vegetation biophysical and biochemical traits (ITC, OHB), land surface temperature (LST, LIST) and evapotranspiration (ET, LIST), and several vegetation stress indicators of different complexity (LIST, ITC) . AgriCEM aims to demonstrate the added value of the new hyperspectral instruments and higher resolution LST, compared to the currently available multispectral and coarser resolution sensors and develop beyond state-of-the-art stress indicators. The generated synthetic images and the algorithms will be made available to the scientific community and stakeholders. Let's get ready for the new era of Copernicus Expansion missions!