Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) evolution: new and innovative processing and methods for future Sentinels and other satellites for reanalyses
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The research and innovation (R&I) priorities focus on enhancing the ability of Copernicus and related models to better integrate diverse satellite observations, especially those sensitive to surface parameters and fluxes. This includes leveraging early satellite data for global and regional reanalyses. Key actions involve using advanced techniques, such as AI and machine learning, for rescuing and correcting historical in situ and remote sensing data, improving data quality and consistency. Additionally, improving the use of Sentinel and other datasets across Copernicus services requires better error characterization and observation models. Lastly, innovative approaches are needed to speed up reanalysis production, better quantify uncertainties, and reduce the computational energy and carbon footprint.
Detailed Call Description
The areas of R&I to address the above expected outcomes include:
- Improve the ability of Copernicus’ and other models to assimilate new and other satellite observations (e.g. the Copernicus Sentinel Expansion and Next Generation missions, contributing missions, meteorological satellites, research satellites) that are sensitive to surface parameters and fluxes. It is also necessary to undertake research on information content of early satellite data and unlock their exploitation in reanalyses at global and regional scales;
- Exploit innovative methods (including AI/ML) for data rescue for in situ and remote sensing observations, in particular regarding past and changing observing methods and environmental factors, and on error analysis, quality control and bias adjustment of the historical observation record. The aim is to make best possible use of early observations from various records of in situ and remote sensing observations to improve physically consistent analyses of the atmosphere, the ocean, the land and the cryosphere towards centennial timescales;
- Improve the use of Sentinel and other data in all Copernicus reanalyses and their use across different services. Beyond processing and reprocessing activities, specific coordinated developments in terms of observation operators and observational error characterization will be required;
- Explore innovative methods (e.g. AI/ML) to accelerate the production and updates of reanalyses, to capture reanalyses uncertainties efficiently, and to reduce overall computing energy/carbon footprint.
The C3S reanalyses represent a significant portion of the service data requests and are at the heart of the service product line and further exploitation (e.g. initialising climate predictions, evaluation of climate historical projections, climate intelligence, development of climate applications, AI/ML weather forecasts). The preparation of the future C3S coupled Earth system reanalyses is underway to significantly improve the consistency across earth system components and lengthen the timespan. An extension of the reanalyses back to the early 1900’ would meet many requirements of users but such a task would be impossible without an adequate investment in data rescue and in the reprocessing of EO data. Reanalyses play a key and vital role in climate monitoring and in the attribution of extreme events, but the development of the required counterfactual dataset is often ad-hoc and lacks operational implementation.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
Expected EU contribution per project: €10.00 million.
Thematic Categories
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Space
Eligibility for Participation
- Businesses
- Educational Institutions
- Large Enterprises
- Legal Entities
- NGOs
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Semi-governmental organisations
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.
Bringing together European expertise on a wide variety of observations, climate data records and global and regional reanalyses will be paramount, and this will require a very tight collaboration with space agencies, the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). International cooperation is hence strongly encouraged in this topic.
Synergies with Destination Earth are also encouraged.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia,
P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Persons to Contact:
Dr Angelos Ntantos
Scientific Officer
Email: antantos@research.org.cy
Mr. George Christou
Scientific Officer
Email: gchristou@research.org.cy