Project Description
The Geostationary and Lidar space-borne Aerosol 4-Dimensional Synergy (GLADIS) project aims to develop and validate novel retrieval methods that expand the portfolio of products available from the EarthCARE mission. The primary goal is to generate a highly detailed, 4-dimensional (spatial, temporal, and vertical) aerosol product. This new dataset will help reduce key uncertainties in climate science by providing a more comprehensive understanding of aerosol vertical distribution and properties. The project will specifically focus on challenging scientific goals, such as quantifying desert dust emissions, which are difficult to observe using conventional methods over bright desert surfaces.
Project Objectives
Objective 1. To develop and validate novel retrieval methods and innovative prototype products beyond the mission primary products, that may enlarge the EarthCARE product portfolio.
Objective 2. To develop a solid scientific understanding regarding the contribution of EarthCARE data in the context of different scientific domains, beyond the EarthCARE primary mission objectives;
Objective 3. To maximise the impact of EarthCARE to address major knowledge gaps in Earth system science and process understanding, ensuring EarthCARE delivers breakthroughs in Earth system and climate research.
Objective 4. Contribute to develop a scientific roadmap and formulate a scientific plan for potential full development of proposed novel scientific areas, applications or products.
Approach
The project’s core innovation is a profound synergy processing method based on the GRASP multi-pixel algorithm. This advanced approach allows the algorithm to combine active lidar observations from EarthCARE (ATLID) with passive sensor data from multiple other missions, even when the observations are not perfectly co-located or simultaneous. It will rely on a well-established developments of multiple passive instruments synergism concieved during the SYREMIS (Litvinov et al., 2025) and matured in AIRSENSE projects, further expanding the best practices of active and passive space-borne synergies being tested in frame of ECAMS project.
GLADIS will be one of the first projects to synergetically combine L1 data from a diverse set of remote sensing instruments:
By combining the vertical profiling capabilities of lidar with the rich spectral and angular information from passive imagers, the project aims to create a single, enhanced aerosol product that describes particle properties (like size, absorption, and type) resolved on vertically on a continuous spatio-temporal scale synchronised with EarthCARE overpasses.
Consortium
The project consortium comprises of GRASP SAS as a prime and Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique (LOA), and the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) as subcontractors.
GRASP SAS shorten from ‘Generalized Retrieval of Atmosphere and Surface Properties” was founded in 2015 with the main goal of development of remote sensing algorithms and scientific methods for environment studies of atmosphere and surface of the Earth.
GRASP SAS will lead management and software developments in the project, as well as provide necessary assistance and in subcontractor activities. GRASP SAS specializes in developing remote sensing algorithms for studying Earth’s atmosphere and surface. Birthed from efforts by CNRS and the University of Lille, the core idea is realized in GRASP-OPEN, an open-source software. GRASP SAS focuses on algorithm development for comprehensive atmospheric and surface analysis from various remote sensing sources, scientific consulting, and supporting the GRASP open-source code. Collaborating with global organizations like ESA, NASA, and JAXA, their objective is to enhance understanding of atmospheric and surface properties affecting Earth’s climate.
CNRS-LOA — Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique is a highly regarded research institute specializing in atmospheric science, with a team of approximately 50 researchers. It focuses on studying radiative transfer in the atmosphere, aerosol and cloud remote sensing, and climate impacts.
LOA’s work spans a wide spectral range, from ultraviolet through infrared and into millimetre waves, making it a national leader in atmospheric data (AERIS) and a hub for innovation in remote sensing technology, both on the ground and in airborne prototypes. It operates a diverse atmospheric measurement platform on-site and remotely at an observation facility in M’Bour, Senegal, contributing essential data to international networks such as NDACC and AERONET. Recently, LOA has also developed meso-scale modelling capabilities to simulate the life cycles and impacts of aerosols, clouds, and precursor gases from urban to continental scales. This multi-faceted research is conducted by two specialised teams that focus on aerosols and clouds and are further enriched by interdisciplinary studies of aerosol-cloud interactions.
NOA (with the group of Remote sensing of Aerosols, Clouds and Trace gases (ReACT), operating under the Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing (IAASARS)) utilizes the synergy of ground-based and space-borne remote sensing along with theoretical models to understand the complex aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions, towards understanding the related effects on climate and extreme weather. NOA will lead data selection, preparation and analysis, utilizing its experience in Cal/Val activities of space profilers, and provide feedback and assistance to the prime contractor, utilizing and expanding its experience with the GRASP algorithm. NOA is a renowned institution with over 170 years in science and education, specializing in atmospheric observations. Within NOA’s IAASARS, the ReACT group focuses on remote sensing of aerosols, clouds, and trace gases, using advanced observations in the Mediterranean. Their expertise encompasses aerosol remote sensing, lidar system design, and aerosol transport modeling. They’ve developed lidar systems for Cal/Val of ESA missions, participated in projects like LIVAS and CORAL, and organized ESA campaigns for satellite Cal/Val and assessment of aerosol and cloud characteristics. Additionally, ReACT manages Greece’s PollyXT lidar system, and operates the Remote Sensing section of the PANGEA climate observatory, and is a member of EARLINET and ACTRIS.
Data
Data will be available in the beggining of 2027.
