Land Surface Analysis SAF
The scope of LSA-SAF is to increase benefit from Satellite (MSG and EPS) data related to land, land-atmosphere interactions and biospherical applications.
The main purpose of the Land SAF is to increase the benefits from MSG and EPS data related to land, land-atmosphere interactions and biophysical applications, namely by developing techniques, products and algorithms that will allow a more effective use of data from the two planned EUMETSAT satellites.
Although directly designed to improve the observation of meteorological systems, the spectral characteristics, time resolution and global coverage offered by MSG and EPS allow for their use in a broad spectrum of other applications, namely within the scope of land biophysical applications.
Activities to be performed within the framework of the Land SAF shall involve the development of products that are especially relevant in the following fields of application:
» Weather forecasting and climate modelling, which require detailed information on the nature and properties of land. Highest Land SAF priority should be towards the meteorological community and, within that community, NWP has been already identified as the one that has the greatest potential of fully exploit the products;
» Environmental management and land use, which require information on land cover type and land cover changes (e.g. provided by biophysical parameters or thermal characteristics);
» Natural hazards management, which requires frequent observations of terrestrial surfaces in both the solar and thermal bands;
» Climatological applications and climate change detection.