Two months after launch, Europe’s biomass satellites returned its first image and they have revealed hidden secrets in some of the world’s most indestructible forests. The spacecraft’s advanced radar can be gazed through dense Amazon canopies to measure carbon locked in tree trunks and branches, providing scientists with an unprecedented tool to track how forests store and release them into the atmosphere.
The European Space Agency today launched the inaugural imagery at the Life Planet Symposium, demonstrating the satellite’s ability to penetrate vegetation and have long been opaque to traditional optical satellites. In addition to its main forest mission, biomass has shown unexpected capabilities – from mapping the ancient riverbed buried under the Sahara Desert to detecting the internal structure of Antarctic ice.
Revolutionary forest vision technology
Biomass carries the first P-band synthetic aperture radar ever deployed in space, which can be cut into forest canopies, such as an X-ray machine that examines human bodies. Although optical satellites can only see treetops, this long-wavelength radar reveals the entire forest structure from the canopy to the floor.
“Bimass is equipped with new space technology, so we have been closely monitoring its performance in orbit, and we are pleased to report everything running smoothly and its first image is unparalleled,” explains Michael Fehringer, ESA biomass project manager. The satellite is still in the commissioning phase and scientists are still fine-tuning its tools to the highest accuracy.
The radar’s different polarization channels create vivid, color-coded maps, where green represents rainforests, red represents forest floodplains and wetlands, and blue-purple marking grasslands. The black area reveals rivers and lakes cut through the landscape.
Track deforestation in real time
A stunning image captures the forests of Bolivia, the country that accounts for the highest loss of major forests in the world due to agricultural expansion. The radar reveals the winding Beni River, which is a perfect example of wild, unsymptomatic waterways, and many features of the Amazon Basin when it flows from the Bolivian lowlands of the Andes to Brazil.
Over time, the real power of the satellite combines multiple observations of the same area. The technology allows scientists to calculate precise forest altitude and biomass measurements that directly translate into carbon storage estimates that are critical for climate modeling.
Key features revealed in the first image
- Permeate up to 5 meters through dry desert sand to map buried geological characteristics
- Detect forest floor terrain with dense tree canopy cover
- Measure the ice structure and velocity inside the polar region
- Distinguish between forest types, wetlands and grasslands with color-coded accuracy
- Tracking deforestation modes is invisible to optical satellites
Beyond the Forests: Desert Archaeology and Ice Science
Perhaps most surprisingly, biomass proved to go far beyond its forest mission. Images of the Chad Sahara Desert reveal complex underground structures, including ancient riverbeds and lake strata, which can help you locate fossil water resources in arid areas. The radar’s five-meter sand penetration capacity opens up new possibilities for desert archaeology and exploration.
In Antarctica, satellites capture detailed views of the transverse mountains and the Nimrod Glacier flowing into the Ross Ice Shelf. Long radar wavelengths can be detected in ice, potentially revealing internal structures and flow dynamics that are undetectable in short wavelengths.
Applications of climate science
Simonetta Cheli, director of Earth Observation Program, highlighted the broader implications of this mission: “We fully expect this new mission to be a groundbreaking leap in our ability to understand the Earth’s forests – combining state-of-the-art radar technology with scientific excellence to unlock vital insights into carbon storage, climate change, and the precious environment of our Earth’s forests.
Schedule is not more critical. As climate negotiations intensify and the carbon market expands, accurate forest carbon measurements have become crucial to verify climate commitments and understand the planet’s natural carbon cycle.
Although these debug phase images are not yet able to support quantitative scientific analysis, they show that biomass has the ability to fulfill its commitment to transition from space to forest monitoring. Once fully operational, the satellite will provide precise global forest carbon data that climate scientists have long been seeking, allowing trees to see visible measurable climate assets 400 miles above Earth.
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