Satellite 'Biomass' Set to Map Global Forests for Climate Insights

As the planet's green lungs, forests play a vital role in absorbing greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide (CO2). However, significant uncertainties persist regarding the extent and health of these ecosystems. To address these gaps, the European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to launch the 'Biomass' satellite from the Kourou spaceport, utilizing a Vega-C rocket. This mission aims to enhance our understanding of forest biomass, which is crucial for climate modeling.

Forests worldwide are under threat from drought, climate change, and pests, while large areas are being cleared for development. The 'Biomass' satellite will be controlled from the ESA's center in Darmstadt, Germany, and is expected to provide valuable data for scientific research in the coming years.

The primary reason for mapping forests is their ability to sequester CO2; fewer trees lead to increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, exacerbating global warming. According to the German Aerospace Center (DLR), current estimates of global forest biomass are inadequate. Understanding the size and health of forests is essential for accurately calculating global warming and predicting climate change impacts, as well as developing appropriate countermeasures.

There are still significant gaps in our understanding of how forests interact with CO2. Klaus Scipal, the mission manager for 'Biomass,' emphasizes that human activities release carbon through the burning of coal, oil, and gas, which then enters the atmosphere. Forests help mitigate this by absorbing some of that CO2. The mission seeks to clarify the complex processes of CO2 exchange between forests and the atmosphere, including where forests release and absorb carbon.

A single tree can store a substantial amount of CO2, with the mission focusing on determining global forest biomass levels. The primary scientific goal is to understand the role of forests within the global carbon cycle.

The satellite is equipped with a unique radar system designed to penetrate forest canopies. Although current satellite technology can detect deforestation, it lacks the capability to measure the mass and carbon content of forests. The 'Biomass' satellite aims to change this by providing insights into how much forest mass is lost and how much CO2 is released back into the atmosphere.

Over the expected mission duration of five and a half years, ESA scientists hope to quantify changes in biomass and enhance the data available for climate models. The satellite will be able to create three-dimensional images of forests, revealing their structure and height, which cannot be seen from traditional photographic techniques.

The ESA has positioned itself as a leader in Earth observation, with a range of satellites already monitoring factors such as photosynthesis, cloud formations, water levels, ice thickness, and Earth's magnetic field, all aimed at providing open-access data for scientific use.

The journey to launch 'Biomass' has been extensive, with the mission first proposed in 2005. It has taken nearly two decades to reach this launch point.

During its mission, the satellite is expected to map forests six times, producing a global forest inventory approximately nine months after launch. It will orbit Earth at an altitude of 666 kilometers, with the total mission cost estimated at around EUR500 million. Currently, forests cover about 40.6 million square kilometers, making up nearly a third of the planet's land area, and are essential for life on Earth due to their role in photosynthesis. A recent forest condition report indicated that 2023 alone saw a loss of forest area equivalent to the size of Latvia, with nearly 96% of deforestation occurring in tropical regions.