On November the 2nd 2009
SMOS was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome
on top of a Rokot launcher
SMOS is one of ESA’s Earth Explorer missions
that address key scientific challenges
and demonstrate new technology in space
Carrying a novel instrument to return information on soil moisture
and ocean salinity
both key components of the Earth’s water cycle
SMOS is advancing our knowledge
of how water is cycled between the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere
Understanding these exchange processes
is crucial for understanding climate change
for improving weather prediction
and, for example
helping to optimise water consumption when growing crops
SMOS measures directly the surface soil moistures
So this is really kind of the rain gage of the atmosphere
so we collet the rain and we store it
Measuring surface soil moisture
gives us a hint on the rainfall
so we can partition the rainfall
But also looking at its evolution
we can link it to different other things
One of them is of course dryness or wetness of the soil
So floods or droughts
But also the fact that the impact of other events
such as El Niño or La Niña
and its impact on the rainfall distribution and the wetness
So it is used to infer or monitor the droughts
but also for food security in many regions
to anticipate crop yields
especially in areas which are limited by rainfall
This research satellite
was originally planned to be in orbit for five years
but thanks to Europe’s technological excellence
it has already doubled its life on orbit
providing a time series data
for a variety of applications
For instance
SMOS data is used for ESA’s Climate Change Initiative
through which data are compiled
to understand how climate variables are changing over time
Its data are also combined with data from other satellites
such as CryoSat
to map the thickness of sea-ice
a crucial climate variable
But now with SMOS
we have the possibility to measure the sea ice thickness
In particular the thickness of thin ice
we can measure with SMOS
We have also the companion the ESA Earth Explorer CryoSat
This was specifically designed to measure the sea ice thickness
and CryoSat is great to measure the thickness of thick ice from the freeboard
But with SMOS
we can accurately measure the thin ice
SMOS data are also used to map the freezing and thawing of soil
This is important because frozen soil and in particular permafrost
acts as a carbon sink
When permafrost thaws
carbon is released back into the atmosphere
amplifying the greenhouse effect
By comparing data over several years
SMOS helps us to better understand variables
affected by and affecting climate change
Over the years
SMOS has proven to be a versatile satellite
going way beyond its original scientific goals
Today, SMOS data are even used operationally for weather prediction
by organisations such as
the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts
SMOS is very important for weather prediction
Because Weather is related to forecast of the atmospheric variables
but it is also related to land surface forecast
ocean forecast
river forecast and for this
for weather prediction
our strategy is to develop an Earth system approach
where have a consistent forecast
for the different components of the Earth’s system
And in this context variables
which are at the interface between land surface and atmosphere
or ocean and atmosphere
are very important to ensure the consistency
across the different Earth System components
And SMOS is exactly that
it is providing information at the interface
between the different Earth System components
Over the course of a decade
SMOS has given the scientific community an unprecedented wealth of data
And while it has long surpassed it intended lifespan
SMOS remains hard at work
while new missions are being studied and prepared
to ensure continuous datasets
with even higher resolutions
and improved technology