Owing to its novel imaging techniques and its great acquisition capacity, Tandem-L will deliver urgently required information for the solution of pressing scientific questions in the domain of the bio-, geo-, cryo- and hydrosphere. In this
Owing to its novel imaging techniques and its great acquisition capacity, Tandem-L will deliver urgently required information for the solution of pressing scientific questions in the domain of the bio-, geo-, cryo- and hydrosphere. In this way, Tandem-L contributes significantly to a better understanding of the Earth system and its dynamics. Important mission goals are:
- the global measurement of forest biomass and its variation in time for a better understanding of the carbon cycle,
- the systematic monitoring of deformations of the Earth’s surface on a millimetre scale for the investigation of earthquakes and risk analysis,
- the fine scale measurement of variations in the near-surface soil moisture as well as observations of the dynamics of ocean surfaces and ice drift as well as
- the quantification of glacier motion and melting processes in the polar regions.
This will allow Tandem-L for the first time, to measure simultaneously seven essential climate variables in a single satellite mission. Following scientific key questions will be addressed with Tandem-L.
- How large is the amount of biomass stored in the forests of the Earth, and what is its spatial distribution, considered in various scales of resolution?
- How are the biomass and the structure of forests changing over time? Where and to what extent are these changes taking place? Where are the hotspots of anthropogenic deforestation?
- How do climate change and anthropogenic disturbance impact the structure and stability of forests? Where does disturbance take place, and how quickly is it spreading?
- Is it possible to measure the build-up of stress along plate boundaries (at scales >> 1000 km²) and to improve the forecast model for a particular earthquake?
- Where is the fracture zone of an earthquake located, and what is its size? How much ener