AgriCEM

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sentinel Users Preparation (SUP) project “Advanced Agricultural Monitoring with Copernicus Expansion Missions (AgriCEM)” aims at

Generating a representative dataset for the hyperspectral CHIME and the thermal LSTM mission
Developing and testing advanced vegetation stress products using CHIME and LSTM
Involving stakeholders and end-users

Synthetic CHIME and LSTM data will be generated using an end-to-end simulator combining the Soil Canopy Observation, Photochemistry and Energy fluxes (SCOPE) model and the OHB Remote Sensing Image Simulation Environment (RISE). The parameterisation of vegetation in the SCOPE model will be configured for sugar beet based on the data provided by the partner company QZ Solutions and the champion user KWS (a seed company). The output of the SCOPE model (i.e. top of canopy reflectance images) will feed into the OHB simulator, which simulates the acquisition geometry, the optical effects and noise within the instrument, and the ground processing chain including atmospheric correction. Based on the simulated datasets of CHIME and LSTM and their synergistic use, we will develop retrieval algorithms for vegetation biophysical and biochemical traits (ITC, OHB), land surface temperature (LST, LIST) and evapotranspiration (ET, LIST), and several vegetation stress indicators of different complexity (LIST, ITC) . AgriCEM aims to demonstrate the added value of the new hyperspectral instruments and higher resolution LST, compared to the currently available multispectral and coarser resolution sensors and develop beyond state-of-the-art stress indicators. The generated synthetic images and the algorithms will be made available to the scientific community and stakeholders. Let's get ready for the new era of Copernicus Expansion missions!

Partners

OHB System AG (OHB; coordination)
University of Twente, ITC
Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST)
QZ Solutions
KWS (champion user)

Study areas

Sugar beet fields in Poland, Italy and Germany.

CHIME and LSTM

CHIME - Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment – revisit time 12.5 days – spatial resolution 30 m – > 200 bands in VIS-NIR-SWIR 400-2500 nm https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/chime-copernicus#mission-capabilities

LSTM - Land Surface Temperature Monitoring – revisit time 4 days – spatial resolution 50 m – 5 TIR bands 8-12 um (sensor characteristics at the ITC sensor database https://webapps.itc.utwente.nl/sensor/getsen.aspx?name=LSTM)

Both missions' launch is planned for 2028.

Agricem Midterm Meeting 2025

The EO ASCENT Team joined the Mid-term Review meeting and created a series of videos about the project and insights from ESA, partners, and stakeholders.