EU’s Copernicus probe gets to grips with environmental monitoring

Following its launch on 16 February, the latest EU environmental monitoring satellite Sentinel-3A, has delivered some impressive first images of ocean features off the coast of Namibia.

Sentinel-3A carries state-of-the-art instruments that are systematically measuring the temperature of Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere. These measurements will be used to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics and provide critical information for ocean and weather forecasting.

By accurately measuring temperature changes, the satellite will, for example, make an important contribution to monitoring large-scale events such as El Niño.

The very first images show thermal signatures over a part of western Namibia and the South Atlantic Ocean. Cold water is seen along the Namibian coast, upwelling from deeper waters.

The Benguela current flows north along the west coast of South Africa driven by south-easterly winds creating coastal upwelling. Many eddies and meanders are generated in this complex system, and understanding changes in the pattern of these waters is important for fisheries, for example. Over land, Sentinel-3A has captured the distinct folds of desert dunes.

Susanne Mecklenburg, ESA’s Sentinel-3A mission manager, said, “It is still early days, but the data already look good and we are confident that we will be able to provide high-accuracy surface temperature products, so that fine thermal structure both over land and over sea can be detected.”

“It's extremely satisfying to see that all of the satellite's instruments are working well and we can be proud of the European industry and technology that makes it possible.”

ESA said it is now looking forward to being able to provide data to the oceanography and meteorology communities, as well as to all citizens and decision-makers, for maximum data exploitation.