POSTER Session 1

GALENE: an envisioned satellite mission for observing coastal and inland aquatic ecosystems and wetlands

Coastal and inland aquatic ecosystems are of fundamental interest to society and economy, given their tight link to urbanization and economic value creation. These ecosystems, which are continuously impacted by natural processes and human activities, play a significant role in the carbon cycle, and they comprise critical habitats for biodiversity. Systematic, high-quality and global observations, such as those provided by satellite remote sensing techniques, are key to understand complex aquatic systems. While multitudes of remote sensing missions have been specifically designed for studying ocean biology and biogeochemistry as well as for evaluating terrestrial environments, missions dedicated to studying critical coastal and inland aquatic ecosystems at global scale are non-existent. Thus, these ecosystems remain among the most understudied habitats on the Earth’s surface. A satellite mission called Global Assessment of Limnological, Estuarine and Neritic Ecosystems (GALENE), is proposed to ESA’s Earth Explorer Mission Idea call to respond to current and future challenges linked to coastal and inland ecosystems. The mission concept synergizes three innovative instruments, namely a hyperspectral sensor, a panchromatic camera and a polarimeter. GALENE will then provide optimized measurements of these aquatic ecosystems by enabling an adaptive spectral, spatial, multidirectional and polarimetric sampling of properties and processes in water column, benthic habitats and associated wetlands. GALENE will substantially contribute to solving global water challenges, including water pollution and ensuring clean drinking water supply for all and protecting coastal areas and populations. The GALENE science objectives and the main innovative features will be presented.

Shungu Garaba, University of Oldenburg, Germany, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9656-3881

Malik Chami, Sorbonne Université, France

Astrid Bracher, Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany

Xavier Briottet, ONERA, France

Maycira Costa, University of Victoria, Canada

Alexander Damm-Reiser, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Arnold Dekker, S&A, Black Mountain, Australia

Peter Gege, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany

Claudia Giardino, National Research Council (CNR), Italy

Els Knaeps, VITO, Belgium

Tiit Kutser, University of Tartu, Estonia

Richard Lucas, Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom

Daniel Odermatt, Eawag, Switzerland

Gerard Otter, TNO, the Netherlands

Nima Pahlevan, NASA, USA

Nicole Pinnel, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany

Sindy Sterckx, VITO, Belgium

Kevin Turpie, University of Maryland Baltimore County, USA

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